stranded - a group survival simulation. Social Studies CCSS

Which people would you choose to start a new community with until being rescued? Who deserves to be saved?

What’s more important: their character or their skills? Their past or their future?

This simulation has been done lots of times in many different ways. Here’s my variation on it, complete with gorgeous graphics and some tongue-in-cheek humor with the names of characters.

NOTE: I've used this activity with grade 4 all way through to adult friends at small group :)

Apart from the cover page (Slide 1) and info page(Slide 2), you will find 4 pages. They are:

(Slide 3) Simulation introduction page –useful for introducing to a large group. Could be printed or projected onto a wall.

(Slide 4) Activity page –useful for individual or small groups. Students could be given a laminated version to share in a small group, or be given an individual page which can be trimmed and glued into an activity book.

(Slides 5 and 6) Character pages –each page has six characters on it. Could be printed for each child to be glued, laminated for repeated small group use or projected onto screen for large group use.

Feel free to use the resources however suits your setting. Here is some suggestions how:

1. Students have their own individual copy of the 3 pages. This is how I used the simulation in my class. Students can glue the activity page in their book, and attach their final 4 choice cards to the page and write their responses next to it. We spent 10mins solo reading options and initial decision/elimination. Then 20mins small group discussion arguing merits for inclusion/exclusion of members. Finally, another 10mins with individuals concluding their decisions.

2. Print and laminate the cards and use it as a small group activity. Students could discuss the pros and cons of each character before ranking all twelve. This is how I used the simulation in my small group.

3. Project slides onto screen/smartboard for large group discussion. Introduce simulation by using the introduction page before discovering each of the characters individually.

All the best, and happy discussing!

Cheers,

big idea learning

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2

graphics used with written permission from http://vectorcharacters.net/