Happy new week!
This week we are focusing on the cycle of energy through an ecosystem. Today in class we played a fun game to introduce ourselves to this week’s vocabulary words. It is a cross between BoomBag and another game (which the name of it has actually escaped my mind at the moment).
Just like BoomBag, students were grouped into pods of 4 (Partners A + B are a team and Partners C + D are a team) each team sitting across from his/her partner and the “Concept Cards” were placed in the bag.
Partner A blindly draws a card and holds it above his/her head – out of sight. Partner B (the partner sitting across from him/her) first reads the definition.If Partner A knows the concept/word he/she can guess, if not, then Partner B reads the critical attributes. If Partner A still doesn’t know, Partner B can read the IS/AND IS NOT statement. Partner B can add more details to the description if possible.
If Partner A gets the concept/word correct, the Concept Card is theirs to keep; if not, it goes back into the bag. The turns alternate between teams — Partner A / Partner C / Partner B / Partner D.
Note: This game could easily be played in pairs too, depending on the number of Concept Cards you have available.
It was a great introduction activity that kept everyone engaged and promoted a fun, safe practicing environment. Students were allowed to copy down the definitions after playing the game.
Here’s our vocabulary list for the week:
Our Concept Cards (4 per page) can be found here: 8.L.3.3 – Vocabulary Concept Cards.
The homework can be found here: Weekly HW 8.L.3.3 – Energy Flow in Ecosystems
Flashcards are due tomorrow! Remember the criteria below: 
Have a great evening!
