The life cycle of sockeye salmon is an incredible journey that begins
and ends in the cold freshwater streams of the Pacific Northwest. In
this activity, your students learn about the salmon life cycle by
developing a board game based on the many helpful and harmful events
salmon encounter during their incredible journey. This activity is
designed for upper elementary and middle school students and addresses
the following National Science Education Standards:
Grades K-4
- Characteristics of Organisms
- Organisms and Environments
- Characteristics and Changes in Populations
Grades 5-8
- Reproduction and Heredity
- Regulation and Behavior
- Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms
Background
Sockeye salmon are one of 5 species of fish in North America
referred to as Pacific salmon. They have an amazing and unusual life
cycle because they hatch in freshwater streams and migrate to the ocean
to mature. After reaching maturity, they return to their home streams to
spawn and eventually die. Pacific salmon are called
anadromous fish because they are born in freshwater and then
migrate to saltwater.
Their lives begin in freshwater streams during the fall when adult
females lay their eggs in gravel nests called
redds, which they have dug in the streambed. After adult
males fertilize the eggs, the adult females cover the eggs with gravel
for protection until they hatch. The adults, exhausted after their
journey and digging and guarding their redds, die about a week after
spawning. In the spring, the eggs hatch into small larval fish called
alevin that still have their yolk sacs attached. Alevin
usually stay in the redds until they absorb their yolk sacs, and then
they emerge as
salmon fry to hunt for food. The young fry stay in the
freshwater streams and continue to grow and develop before they migrate
to the ocean. Young salmon that are ready to enter the ocean are called
smolts.
Smolts face many daunting hazards on their journey to the ocean,
such as predators, hydroelectric dams, and pollution. These hazards
claim the lives of many of them. Those that survive the journey feed and
grow in the ocean until they reach full maturity and become
adult salmon. After a number of years in the ocean, adult
salmon are ready to return to their home streams to spawn. The journey
home is also plagued by the same hazards as the journey to the ocean,
and thus claims the lives of many adults. The few that arrive safely at
their home streams and spawn ensure the survival of future generations.
The goal of this activity is to help your students learn about the
incredible journey of sockeye salmon. During the course of the activity,
students gather information on the salmon life cycle and use that
information to develop a Salmon Life Cycle board game. Developing and
playing the game helps reinforce concepts and terms and serves as a
valuable learning tool.
Materials (per group)
Preparation (teacher)
- Make enough copies of the crossword puzzle and word bank so
that each student has his or her own copy of each.
- Make a copy of the Salmon Life Cycle game board for each
group of 3 or 4 students. Hint: You can use your photocopier to
enlarge the game boards when you copy them so that they are
bigger and easier to use.
- Make 5 copies of the Salmon Life Cycle game card sheet for
each group
Procedure
- Use the background information provided with this activity
to introduce your students to the salmon life cycle. You may
also choose to have your students gather additional resources
from the Internet.
- Divide your class into groups of 3 or 4 students each.
- Distribute copies of the crossword puzzle to each student.
Students complete the puzzle using knowledge gained from the
background information and the Internet. If your students do not
have access to the Internet, you can pass out the word bank and
let them use it as a guide. Note: An extra term, anadromous,
that is not used in the puzzle was added to the word bank to
generate discussion and challenge students. The word bank can
also be used on its own as a vocabulary sheet, e.g., instead of
passing out the crossword puzzle you may choose to just pass out
the word bank and have your students research each term on it.
- Distribute a copy of the Salmon Life Cycle game board to each
group that has completed its research, crossword puzzles, and
word banks. Have each group decorate its board using crayons or
colored pencils. Hint: A small piece of tape on each corner of
the board prevents it from sliding on a desk or table.
- Pass out at least 5 copies of the salmon life cycle game
card sheet to each group. Each group needs to decorate and cut
out the cards before it can begin developing its game and should
have at least 30 game cards along with its game board.
- Challenge each group to come up with 15 events that could be
helpful to the salmon life cycle and 15 events that could be
harmful to it. Students can use information from their research
or possibly information from the crossword puzzle to help them
with this task. Once each group has its 30 events, group members
write each event on an individual game card. All events that are
helpful to the salmon life cycle are followed by a command that
tells the player to go forward one, 2, or 3 spaces (or more if
you like). All events that are harmful to the salmon life cycle
are followed by a command that tells the player to go back one
or 2 spaces (or miss a turn). For example, “a fishing trawler is
in the water above you—go back one space” or “a fish ladder has
been constructed to help you go upstream—go forward 2 spaces.”
- Have each student make or choose his or her own game piece.
Students can use a small item such as a colored plastic chip or
cut out a shape from paper, e.g., a salmon shape, and color it
with crayons or colored pencils.
- Instruct each group to shuffle its game cards and place them
face down in a stack next to the board. All players start with
their game pieces on the “Start” position. The first player
draws a card, follows its instructions, and places the card face
up on the table to form a new stack. The player on his or her
left draws a card, follows its instructions, and places his or
her card face up on the new stack. Play continues in this manner
until a player makes his or her way successfully to the “Finish”
position, thus winning the game. If a group goes through the
stack once with no winner, it reshuffles the cards and continues
play until someone wins. If you find that groups are finishing
too soon or not finishing at all, then have them add or delete
“harmful event” and “helpful event” cards as needed.
Further investigation
- After a few games you can have groups trade game cards. Each
group will come up with a unique set of cards so this will give
your students even more exposure to different aspects of the
salmon life cycle.
- Have students design their own game boards on a large piece
of paper or poster board. Students can add special spaces to the
board such as “Free” spaces or “Danger” spaces.
Related products
When your students are ready for further explorations of the
salmon life cycle or river and stream ecology, we have the resources to
help you advance their knowledge.
