Life of a Mollusk Game Project

Student Handout The Life of a Mollusc

What would the Game of Life look like for a member of the Phylum Mollusca?
Molluscs are invertebrates that live in a wide variety of habitats, including saltwater,
freshwater, and terrestrial habitats. This diverse group includes a variety of animals that at
first glance seem unrelated. These include gastropods (slugs, snails, and nudibranchs),
bivalves (such as clams and oysters), and cephalopods (nautilus, octopus, and squid).

Gastropod Bivalve Cephalopod
Most molluscs share the uniting characteristics of having a mantle, a visceral mass, and a
foot. Outside of these characteristics, however, these animals have an amazing variety of
lifestyles!
OBJECTIVE: Working in your table group of 3-4 people, and using classroom resources,
you will create either a card game or board game that explores the life of a mollusc. Your
game will include the life functions of your mollusc and some challenges it might encounter
over the course of its life.
PROCEDURE: First, with your table group, decide which mollusc will be the star of your
game. Let your instructor know which mollusc you choose (we will try to have a variety
amongst the groups), and youre ready to start making your game!
Things to think about when creating your game:
What kind of game will you be making? (Card game or board game)
How will the game work? (Rolling dice, choosing cards, spinner, etc.)
What is the end goal for the mollusc in your game? (Reproduction? Escape from a
predator? World domination?)
What kinds of setbacks and advantages could your mollusc encounter?
How will you incorporate the life functions of the mollusc into your game?
YOUR GAME MUST:
Include the life functions of your mollusc (choose at least 5 of: body plan, feeding,
respiration, internal transport, excretion, reproduction, nervous system and
movement).
Be for 2-4 players and should be able to be played in about 20-30 minutes.
Include clear instructions on how to play.

Be creative! As long as your molluscs life functions are addressed, anything goes for this
game!




EVALUATION: Your game will be handed in and marked using the following rubric to give
a group mark. (The rubric will help you make sure your game meets the criteria!)
Total /32
Category 8 6 4 2
Life Functions
Clearly
Explained
<5 life functions
clearly and
accurately
addressed.
5 life functions
clearly and
accurately
addressed.
3-4 life
functions
clearly and
accurately
addressed.
>3 life functions
clearly and
accurately
addressed.
Interest
Generated
The game is fun
to play and
makes me want
to learn more
about molluscs!
The game is fun,
and I guess
molluscs are
alright.
I wouldnt play
it with someone
who wasnt
already a board
game or mollusc
fan.
The game
makes me hate
games. And
molluscs.
Player Number
Criteria Met &
Clear
Instructions
Game for 2-4
players, and the
instructions
were so clear I
could teach a
two-year-old to
play.
Game for 2-4
players, and I
only had to read
the instructions
once to mostly
understand.
Game for 2-4
players Wait,
what am I
supposed to do
again?
Solitaire. With
no instructions.
Creativity &
Aesthetics
Oh man, I have
never seen a
game like this in
my life! And it
looks amazing!
Ive seen a
similar game
before, but the
design and
artwork are
great!
I suppose I can
play this game
again. Thanks
for making the
board, at least.
So I see youve
used regular
playing cards
with
instructions on
scrap paper
In addition to a group mark, you will be asked to complete a self-evaluation and peer-
evaluations for your group members, based on how well you worked as a group. This
rubric will look like this, with a space for you and each member of your group:
Name Mark you would
give (out of 5)
based on
cooperation with
the group and
effort by the
individual.
Justify how you decided upon this mark for the
individual.








Questions ( /18) Name__________________
1. What three characteristics unite the Phylum Mollusca? ( /3)
___________________________, ____________________________, and __________________________.

2. Give two examples of each: ( /3)
Gastropod _____________________________ ___________________________________
Cephalopod ______________________________ ___________________________________
Bivalve ______________________________ ___________________________________

3. Contrast the feeding mechanism of a snail to that of an octopus. ( /4)
A snail ________________________________________________________________________________
while an octopus _____________________________________________________________________.

4. Explain the role of the mantle for the following molluscs: ( /4)
Squid___________________________________________________________________________________
Clam____________________________________________________________________________________

5. Create your own mollusc! You can describe or draw it below. Identify the features that
characterize it as a mollusc, and if possible explain whether it would be a bivalve,
gastropod, or cephalopod. ( /4)





Teacher Marking Key - The Life of a Mollusc
Each game will be marked using the rubric above (Page 2). Half marks can be given if the
product falls in between the categories. This will result in a single mark for the group out of
a maximum of 32 marks.
In addition to the group mark, the self- and peer-marks out of 5 will be used to give an
additional mark to each individual. This mark will vary depending on the number of people
in a group (for example, a group of three will result in a mark out of a total of 15 for each
individual). This mark for the individual should be scaled to be out of 10 and will be added
to the group mark for the individual, resulting in a total mark out of 42 for the project.
Questions Answer Key
1. What three characteristics unite the Phylum Mollusca? ( /3)
_________foot______________, _______visceral mass________, and ______mantle__________.
2. Give two examples of each: ( /3) Many possibilities, including:
Gastropod ___________snail__________________ _________slug__________________________
Cephalopod ___________octopus___________________ _________squid____________________
Bivalve _______________clam_______________ _______________oyster_______________
3. Contrast the teeth and food of a snail to that of an octopus. ( /4)
A snail __uses its radula to scrape food off surfaces into its mouth ________
while an octopus ___uses its beak (and radula) to tear up prey or drill into shells _______.
4. Explain the role of the mantle for the following molluscs: ( /4)
Squid_______its mantle forms fins that help with movement_________________________________
Clam_________its mantle secretes its hard shell__________________________________________
5. Create your own mollusc! You can describe or draw it below. Identify the features that
characterize it as a mollusc. ( /5)
Neatly drawn or fully described (1 mark). Mollusc must have foot, visceral mass and
mantle labeled or discussed (3 marks).






RATIONALE: This activity is structured to address PLO G4 (examine members of Phylum
Mollusca and describe their unifying characteristics; describe how molluscs carry out their
life functions) of the Biology 11 curriculum (page 42), within the Animal Biology unit. The
students will (hopefully!) be able to describe the life functions of a variety of molluscs
following completion of the games.
The activity is intended to be introduced during the first lesson when Phylum Mollusca is
discussed. Identifying features of Phylum Mollusca can be addressed at the beginning of the
lesson, followed by introduction of the activity. Some basic notes about the phylum can be
provided to students at the beginning of the class to give them some starting points for
their research on their mollusc. However, understanding of how various molluscs carry out
life functions will be taught meaningfully through completing their own project and
subsequently playing other groups games in a later class.
Time frame: This project would likely require 1-2 weeks for students to complete (in a
linear school system). Some class time (after introducing molluscs and part of a lesson
another day) can be provided, but students will likely need to finish their games outside of
school.
I believe this activity will facilitate meaningful learning as students will first have to
research their mollusc in some way and then translate their knowledge into a format
suitable for their game. Because the game will be played by students not in their group, the
students must also ensure that their game adequately explains the life functions of their
mollusc. I also hope that by using a fun board game format and providing students with a
choice of mollusc, their interest and motivation in the topic will be increased, which will
also promote meaningful learning.
Individual accountability within the group has been built in in the form of self- and peer-
evaluations, which then contribute to the individual mark received by each member of the
group. This accounts for about 25% of the total mark, which I believe will be significant
enough for students to be motivated to work cooperatively in their group. Additionally, by
asking students to justify the marks they give I aim to promote honesty and fairness when
students are marking themselves and their peers.