HAPPY NEW YEAR!
So, it is the first of January and we have just returned home from various festive family visits.
I wonder how many of you, like us, at some stage heard the dreaded request to play Monopoly? This game has been in our family games cupboard for decades and it has rarely brought out the best in people.
As it happens, Monopoly had its 88th birthday yesterday, and, so far as I’m concerned, it is no longer fit for purpose and it is time we moved onto younger, fresher games, preferably those with a collaborative nature.
So it is for this reason that we make a conscious effort when visiting family to pack a small bag of alternative board games to avoid family conflict or “bored gamers”.
I am particularly fond of games with a collaborative element and I am keen to share some of the favourites from our games cupboard and signpost one or two that might be suitable for a Biology classroom.
This is not intended as a comprehensive list (there were so many others I wanted to mention) and, indeed, I’m hoping this will spark conversation and an opportunity for others to share their favourites.
One thing I should mention is that many of these games were either gifts or home purchases, which I then borrow from time to time to use in lessons. Many of the word games I use have been purchased from the various charity shops in Cambridge.
I am well aware that not many school budgets are able to stretch to purchasing board games for the classroom (not even mine!), hence my latest idea of approaching our local board game cafe, which rents out board games. My fingers are crossed that they, for example, are able to source Daybreak for us and other local schools to be able to borrow. Perhaps a board game cafe exists near you that could do the same?
Here’s wishing you all, again, a Happy New Year. May it be filled with fun, laughter – and a bit of learning along the way!
PANDEMIC
Pandemic (designed by Matt Leacock and first published by Z-Man Games) was my first exposure to collaborative games.
The premise is that four new diseases have emerged across the globe and players need to work together to eradicate them.
This game lends itself to Science Club activities where you can have up to five players or teams (as long as you purchase the appropriate extensions to the game).
This game has stayed on the shelf for the last few years since the COVID 19 Pandemic was declared, but perhaps 2024 will be the year we get it out again. It is certainly very playable and has direct links to the Yr 10 Infectious Disease topic. Medics will enjoy it too.
FORBIDDEN ISLAND
Forbidden Island (also designed by Matt Leacock) has a similar collaborative approach.
You, as a group, must work together to collect various treasures from across a sinking island before it succumbs to the waves. This game with its original rules has been popular with Yrs 7 and 8.
More recently, though, (post-COP28) I have been working on a rewrite of the backstory of the game where the island is one of the Pacific Isles currently prone to flooding due to climate driven sea-level rise.
CLIMAT TIC TAC
Also on a Climate change theme is Climat, Tic Tac.
This is a French language game where players need to collaborate using combinations of up to 150 action cards to prevent Carbon dioxide levels increasing and causing Climate Collapse.
Recently, post COP28, I provided a range of these action cards to members of Yr 8 and Yr 9 and asked them to translate the actions from French to English. They then had to discuss with each other how each action was going to make a difference to climate change. This was met with resistance from some at first but they soon got into it once allowed to use their digital devices.
This YouTube video describes the game in French but clicking on the cog in the top right corner allows you to convert the subtitles to English.
Since finding and playing Climat Tic Tac, I have discovered that Matt Leacock (of Pandemic and Forbidden Island fame) has teamed up with another game designer, Matteo Menapace to produce Daybreak, a collaborative board game in English with similar vibes to Climat Tic Tac.
TIDDLYWINKS (don’t giggle!)
We have a stash of these small plastic discs in various colours (Gratnell Tray 26, Store 2) and they are versatile game pieces with myriad applications.
Examples for how we use them include:
1. Modelling exponential growth on a chess board (Yr 9)
2. Modelling herd immunity (Yr 10)
3. Modelling the Lincoln Index (mark, release, recapture) method (KS4 and A level)
This video uses beans instead of Tiddlywinks but the principle is the same:
4. Modelling accuracy and reliability – If time allows, there could even be an opportunity to demonstrate the actual game of Tiddlywinks to help with these definitions!
DICE
Another versatile tool: I have three boxes of dice at the back of my classroom – one box of six sided (D6) dice and two boxes of twenty sided (D20) dice. These are readily available at reasonable prices online or from most good game shops.
Dice are handy for random number generation and specifically when generating coordinates.
Most recently, Yr 7 pupils practised spellings for the RSB Biology Spelling Bee #BioloBee using both D6 and D20 dice to randomly select words from a five by twenty spreadsheet.
Yr 8 also used dice to select atomic numbers of elements from the periodic table. They were then challenged to model the selected element using the Build a Nucleus simulator.
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/build-a-nucleus
STORY CUBES
Not exactly Biological but Rory’s Story Cubes are another compact resource that can provide great stimuli for creative writing and story telling.
As a family, we have collected dozens of these cubes over the years (on various different themes). These story cubes, combined with illustrated cards from the Dixit board game can make for some spectacular tales. https://www.collater.al/en/marie-cardouat-dixit-illustration/
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Photosynthesis (designed by Hjalmar Hach and published by Blue Orange in 2017)
Photosynthesis (the game) was a bit overwhelming when first purchased so it sat on a shelf, gathering dust for months.
When Yr 8 came to the end of their Ecosystems unit, it seemed like a lovely opportunity to crack open the box and to learn the rules. I was so glad we did!
With a bit of tweaking and some help from Heather in Reprographics we were able to make the game “class friendly”, allowing “Team Oak”, “Team Sycamore”, “Team Pine” and “Team Linden” to put their newly-learned forestry management skills into practice.
There is so much Biology in this game to tease out: scoring based on light / shade; seed dispersal based on tree height; inter and intra-specific competition; growth; soil nutrition; resource management; budgeting. Factoring in time, each round, for the teams to discuss their strategies really makes for a collaborative feel for the game despite teams being put against each other.
ECOSYSTEM
Ecosystem (designed by Matt Simpson, published by Genius Games)
This is a card drafting game where players work with picture cards of different organisms / habitats in order to build Ecosystems and score points based on trophic interactions and biodiversity levels.
Bees, Bears, Dragonflies, Trout, Foxes, Rabbits, Wolves, Deers and Eagles interact with each other within habitats you create of Meadows and Streams.
The rules are simple and quick to learn – games are quick to play too. Various ecological concepts are explored: Trophic Levels, Predators, Prey, Communities, Competition, Habitats, Niches, Biodiversity
LEGO
Lego has so much potential as a collaborative learning tool, from accurate recreations of actual botanical specimens to scale models of the Mars Rover. Following the instructions provided in the traditional sets can be a challenge in itself for some. These do, however, make for excellent Science Club/extension activities.
Many of these official releases also contain scientific or technical notes with the building instructions – these can be used as discussion and learning opportunities during the build.
- My models of various succulents come out along with actual living examples from the windowsill when teaching about Xerophytic adaptations.
- My various Lego flower / Bonsai models have had various pupils helping with their construction and they add a splash of colour to our windowsills when our live plants are out of flowering season.
- If the model you want to build does not exist, then there are many MOC versions (My Own Construction) on various websites such as Rebrickable.
- Don’t have enough Lego bricks? Trawl around charity shops and ask pupils / parents / colleagues for donations. We asked the parents of Yr 7 and 8 if they had any spare Lego bricks at home, gathering dust. The resulting donations of assorted bricks and kits have allowed us to do much more than we would have been able to otherwise.
- Lego is not just for the pupils. The back table in my classroom has a Lego kit on the go at all times, colleagues in the department know they are welcome to pop in and build whenever they need a break. We currently have the Lego dried flower display under construction.
Science Club Examples:
As a last day of term treat for Yr 7 last month, we had downloaded a Lego parts list and instructions for building a 1/48 scale model of NASA’s Europa Clipper. This space craft which is currently being built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is scheduled to take off in October 2024 on a 1.8 billion mile journey to survey Europa, one of the icy moons of Jupiter.
https://europa.nasa.gov/spacecraft/meet-europa-clipper/
Once the pupils had signed up for their names to be engraved on the actual spacecraft, they downloaded the instructions and worked together to build their model using the parts we had ordered from Lego last month.
One model that we have in the pipeline for Science Club is the Historical Development of the International Space Station at 1/110 scale. A sequential set of Lego builds that mirrors the actual historical development of the International Space Station
Another set of Science Club activities are the Lego “Build the Change” projects. These are free materials designed to engage children in sustainability and the environment. Designed for use in classrooms, with lesson plans, presentations, and printables available.
Lego mini-figures add another dimension to learning through play.
Thanks to https://minifigs.me we have been able to bring Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace and Rosalind Franklin into the classroom – available as pocket-sized visual aids, for discussion starters and for the occasional stop-motion video!
During the first lockdown, minifigures were used alongside hex bugs to model the advantages of social distancing
TOP TRUMPS
As space is of a premium when travelling, one fun and compact game to fit in your hand luggage is Top Trumps. These packs of cards cover all manner of topics but we have a soft spot for those relating to Natural History.
A personal favourite which comes on most holidays is Plop Trumps – it, along with its brother (Plop Trumps 2) is a lot of fun!
BANANAGRAMS
Like scrabble but with no board, we have a number of these bags of letter tiles that get pulled off the shelf for plenary tasks from time to time.
The official rules involve creating word combinations based on randomly selected tiles.
My version involves all letters visible in the pool in front of the pupils who are then challenged with generating word clouds based on vocabulary they have encountered in the topic. As the teacher wanders round the class, pupils take it in turns to define the terms in their word cloud.
Limited budget? Check out local charity shops and look for second hand Scrabble boards. It only takes a few shopping trips to build up a useful stash of letter tiles.
PASS THE BOMB
This is another charity shop find.
The game of Pass the Bomb by Gibson games contains a small black plastic spherical bomb with a string fuse sticking out of the top which has a randomised countdown to an audible “explosion”.
This was originally intended to go alongside series of cards for a word game, these cards have been discarded, and I occasionally use this bomb for plenary exercise similar to hot potato. Basically, pupils who receive the bomb have to say something meaningful about the topic they have been given before passing the bomb to the next person. This continues until the bomb “explodes”.
KLUSTER
This was a new discovery earlier this year (fortuitously just prior to starting the Magnetism topic with Yr 8).
This game is great for exploring magnetic field interactions. I bought one box and borrowed another (48 magnetic stones in total) to ensure there were enough to go round a class.
We initially started with teams of pupils playing each other using the rules that came with the game.
We then modified it so players had to make an already placed magnet move using forces of repulsion before placing their own stone.
Then pupils were paired up and provided with graph paper & pencils so they could try and plot the extent of the magnetic fields.
This gave pupils a really tactile introduction to the topic of magnetism and this lesson smoothly led onto the standard practical of modelling magnetic fields with bar magnets and iron filings.
Denz Fernandes
Biology Teacher & i/c Junior Science at The Leys in Cambridge
@leysbiotutor
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