Early Science  /  Plants  /  Week 3: Lesson 7  /  Activity

Wonder Farm Dice Game

 

Plants
Hands-On

Children throw a giant die and remove cards from a game board if the die shows a source of water or light that will help a plant grow.

A pair of students cover their game board. Teacher looks at pictures on dice and engages with group of students.

Each team covers their game board with three light cards and three water cards.

Plants need light and water to grow. Talk about the six pictures on the die.

 

Materials


 
Materials PDF
  • 2 copies of the Wonder Farm Dice Game (PDF), including game boards, game cards, sticker images for the dice
  • 2 cube-shaped gift boxes, 3″ x 3″ x 3″ in size, to serve as the dice
  • Full-sheet sticker labels such as Avery® 5265, or copy paper and tape (for printing images for the dice)
  • Cardstock
  • Scissors

Preparation

  1. Print out two copies of the Wonder Farm game boards and game cards on cardstock so that two games can be played at once.
  2. Print out two copies of the images for the Wonder Farm dice on sticker sheets or copy paper. Attach sticker images or tape paper images to the 3″ x 3″ x 3″ gift boxes, which will serve as the dice.
 

Directions: Lesson 2


Guided Small Group
  1. Give a Wonder Farm game board with a different plant to each pair of children. (In Lesson 2, use the bean and carrot game boards; in other lessons, offer all four plants.) Help children identify the plants: bean, carrot, tomato, cabbage. Discussion ideas:
    • Which of these vegetables have you eaten?
    • Help children identify the roots, stem, and leaves of each plant.
    • Do the leaves on these plants look the same or different?
    • How are the bean plant leaves different from the carrot leaves?
    • How are the bean plant roots different from the carrot roots?
    • Help children make additional comparisons between different plants.
  2. Help children cover the picture of the plant on each game board with the six game cards, placed faceup. There are three light cards and three water cards.
  3. Examine the six sides of the die with children. Possible discussion ideas:
    • Plants need water. Which pictures show ways that a plant can get water?
    • Plants need light. Which pictures show ways that a plant can get light?
    • What are the other two pictures?
    • What does a rabbit do when it finds a plant like a carrot plant? Do plants need rabbits in order to grow?
    • What do you think a caterpillar does when it finds a leaf? Do plants need caterpillars in order to grow?
  4. Explain the rules of the game. The goal is to remove all the cards from the game board and reveal the full-grown plant. The child/team to remove the last card wins.
    • If you roll a water image (rain or watering can) or a light image (sun), you get to remove a corresponding water card or light card from the game board—because water and light help the plant to grow.
    • If you roll a rabbit or a caterpillar, you do not remove a card. Hungry rabbits and caterpillars do not help plants grow.
  5. Pairs of children will take turns rolling the die and removing cards from their game board. You may want to suggest that they remove the cards from the bottom of the board (the roots) and work their way up to the top of the plant. Encourage children to describe each plant part as they are revealed.
  6. Play again, this time starting with an empty game board and covering the plant back up with light and water cards!
Learning Center
  1. Invite children to explore the Wonder Farm Dice Game in pairs. Observe how children approach the game, and use prompts such as those above to engage children in a discussion about plants.
  2. Invite children to describe the parts of the plants as they are revealed and to describe the positive or negative role of the elements represented on the dice. Reinforce key vocabulary.
  3. Support children as needed in following the game rules.
 

Directions: Lessons 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12


Learning Center
  1. Invite children to explore the Wonder Farm Dice Game in pairs. Observe how children approach the game, and use prompts such as those above to engage children in a discussion about plants.
  2. Invite children to describe the parts of the plants as they are revealed and to describe the positive or negative role of the elements represented on the dice. Reinforce key vocabulary.
  3. Support children as needed in following the game rules.

Length of Play

5–10 min.

Group Size
In the Schedule

 
Vocabulary

  • describe
  • different
  • leaves
  • plant (noun)
  • roots
  • same
  • stem
  • vegetable
 
Learning Goals

Science
  • Observe and describe what plants need to live and grow.
  • Observe and describe plant parts and their functions.
  • Compare and contrast plant parts and their functions.
  • Observe and describe how plants and animals depend on each other.