Predator/Prey Tag

The 1-2 kids have been learning about energy webs as well as the many food chains that compose them. Plants are our only producers as they can use energy from the sun with soil and water to create their own food. All other creatures are consumers by nature - needing to eat as a source of energy. Some animals (and people) eat only plants. These are called herbivores (or vegetarians/vegans in the case of humans!). Animals that have a primarily meat based diet are carnivores, and those whose diet is comprised of a mix of plant and animal sources are omnivores.

The energy web starts with the sun. Plants use this energy to produce their own food. Herbivores eat plants and are generally prey animals for larger predatory carnivores. But ultimately, even apex predators don't live forever and when they die their bodies are decomposed back into matter that enriches the soil which helps our plants continue the cycle.

In this game, students were given a role as a plant (arms kept at their sides), an herbivore/prey animal (hands on head as antlers like deer/moose have) or a carnivore/predator animal with hands out front to signify claws. The tag game that followed acts out the many links of an energy web - plants who are tagged (eaten) by the herbivores become prey animals in the game, herbivores who are tagged (eaten) by the carnivores become predators themselves and predators who are tagged (decomposed/consumed) by the plants are transformed into plants.

The kids had a lot of fun with this tag game as it required everyone to be both "it" while also needing to keep looking over their shoulder lest they should be tagged by another. It was quite the feeding frenzy on Sargent Field! We played several rounds and all kids had an opportunity to try all roles (sometimes the tags happened so fast, you weren't quite sure what your new role was at the end of it!). 

Near the end of our game we noticed that an interested viewer had come to observe - a coyote who seemed very curious about our game sat down and watched us (from a distance and behind a fence and just before we went inside). We thought maybe he was thinking that coyotes should have been our game's predator animal (we were using mountain lions). But all the kids were excited at this rare sighting. 

Enjoy the pictures below of kids playing the game and of our special guest!