Oh deer!

1. Oh Deer! A game to learn about limiting factors 8SCIENCE: Tues. Nov. 2 nd

2. Information to know before we start: What are the most important things that animals need to survive? Food Shelter Space Water In today’s game we will be learning about three of these: food, shelter and water

3. Game rules I will divide you up into 4 groups – numbered 1, 2, 3, or 4 When we go outside, all 1s should stand together on one side of a line and the rest of 2,3 and 4 will stand together in one group on the other side of a line 1s are deer, and 2,3 and 4 will be the different parts of the habitat (food, water or shelter) that an animal needs to survive Each part of the habitat has a special symbol : PRACTICE Food – hands on stomach Water – hands over mouth Shelter – hands over head like a point / v – shape *When we get outside to the plaza by the library, I will show you where to stand

4. Game rules continued… The goal is for the deer to get the ‘resource’ they need to survive: MATCHING The deer must match with the habitat part they are looking for and bring them back to the deer side. You must high-five when you match-up. The habitat person becomes a deer. If a deer does not find a matching partner, it ‘dies’ and they are recycled to become part of the habitat group Each round I will be keeping track of the number of deer that are still ‘alive’, so we can create a graph of our results and see the changes in the deer population We are going to play about 10 - 15 rounds

5. Changes to deer population 8A

6. Changes to Deer Population 8B

7. Finally…what happened? Answer these questions as your Science Journal for today: 1) From the game, what have we learned about what animals need to survive? 2) Do wildlife populations stay the same or do they fluctuate (change a lot)? 3) What do you think would have happened if I introduced a ‘disease’ (someone that could catch you when trying to run back to your deer side) ?