‘Morphy’ is an interactive Science game created by the Smithsonian Science Education Program. In Year 5, within Biological Sciences, the content descriptor that is relevant to this learning episode is:
Living things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in theirenvironment (ACSSU043)
Mrs Sansness has designed a series of learning activities in her current Year 5 Science unit about Adaptations that utilise the knowledge gained as a result of playing this game. The game itself has captured the imaginations and minds of many of the Year 5 students and this interest assisted in the development of some really key concepts within this unit.
I had a play myself with the game and it basically is all about a creature who has crash landed his space ship and trying to find his missing crew members. During this journey, it meets animals who are surviving and thriving in the different environments. Morphy (the creature) has the ability to ‘scan’ this animal to discover information about the adaptations and then is able to choose from a selection of its features – and the choice must be the right one – to get him through the next environment.
One of the guiding worksheets for the students:
Some students’ thoughts:
“It was great for understanding how animals use their adaptations and why.”
“The game made us more interested.”
“I don’t know a person in my class who didn’t love it.”
“To make it better, they could have made a different series of creatures and adaptations…..as we loved it so much”.
Another of the learning activities was to enable the students to ‘screen-shot’ key parts of their progress through the game and then to make a comic demonstrating the key understandings that for them, had emerged.
