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Science Launch G3 / Week 08 / Launch Lab
6/6
Week 08 · Better Together

Launch Lab

Launch Lab: Lookout Game
// Animals that live in groups
⏱ about 15 min

Launch Lab: Lookout Game

Rocket scatters paper "seeds" across the living room rug. "Let's play meerkats!" he says.

Raven picks a sentinel. "What do you notice when someone is watching for the hawk?"

Nova hovers near the door. "Play twice," she says. "Once with a lookout, once without."

  1. Some animals live in groups that help them survive.
  2. Wolves hunt together and care for pups together.
  3. Honey bees share jobs in a colony.
  4. Emperor penguins huddle to stay warm.
  5. Meerkat sentinels watch for danger and bark a warning.
◇ LOOKOUT GAME
Tear paper into twenty small pieces. These are the seeds.
Scatter them on the floor. Players are meerkats who gather seeds.
One grown-up is the hawk. The hawk tiptoes in from another room.
Round 1: everyone gathers. No lookout. Freeze when you spot the hawk.
Round 2: one player is the sentinel and only watches. The sentinel calls "Hawk!"
Compare: which round spotted the hawk sooner?
Safety first
Walk, do not run.
Clear the floor of anything you could trip on.
For a grown-up
Ask: what did you notice? What would you change?
Ask: did the sentinel help? Did gatherers collect fewer seeds with a sentinel?
LAUNCH LAB CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Why does a group of meerkats need a sentinel?
Wolves hunt large animals ____.
Emperor penguins ____ to stay warm.
A bee group is a ____.
GROUP BENEFITS
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which group benefit did the lookout game show?
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