Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

 

Fish Out of Water

This is a basic counting game for younger students.  It's a great math activity to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss, as the fish theme correlates well with this famous Dr. Seuss book.  Each student begins with 20 fish out of water.   Each player rolls a die and counts out that many fish to return to the fish bowl.   The first player to return all 20 of his/her fish to the bowl wins the game.   You may use foam fish cutouts and a plastic bowl for a more realistic version of the game or download the directions, game mat and center icons for Fish Out of Water.   This game was developed by Christine Sweeney, a Monmouth University student, for the ED 556 Probability Fair.  

• Download the directions, game mat and center icons for the Fish out of Water game. 

Game Pieces:   Students may use any classroom counters as fish, but dollar stores often have collections of fish that may be used as game pieces for the game. Students may also  use goldfish crackers as a special treat for this birthday.

Data Analysis:  Even very young students can learn about probability by predicting how many dice rolls it will take them to get all of the fish back in the water.  A simple tally chart may be used to record both predictions and actual counts.  Lead a discussion with students to probe their understanding of the probability of a single die toss and to introduce basic concepts of probability -- equally likely, fair, probability, outcome.