MAD-DASH MEMORY MATCH!

On your marks…get set…go! Create your own outdoor memory matching game, and race to see how quickly you can complete it!

Materials

• Chalk
• Paper/Plastic Plates
• Ziploc Bags (optional)
• Rice (optional)
• Tape (optional)

Directions:

• Go outside and find a space to work! Lay your plates down in a grid. Choose how many images you want to hide – any even number will do! Choose a smaller number for an easier game, or a larger number for a more challenging one! Arrange your plates accordingly.
  • If you are using paper plates and are worried they will blow away, fill a small Ziploc bag with some rice, seal it, and tape it to the back of each plate. This will help give your plate some added weight so it won’t blow away!
• Using chalk, trace around each of your plates so you remember where they go!
• Lift up one plate and decide what you would like to draw beneath it. Draw your image within the outline you traced for your plate so that it will be completely hidden later. See our suggestions below for ideas that tie into learning outcomes for each grade level!
• Choose another plate anywhere in your grid. Lift it up and draw the same image underneath it.
• Choose another plate. Pick another (different) image to draw beneath it. Pick a second plate, and draw this same image beneath it as well.
• Continue working on your plates in pairs until you have drawn images beneath all your plates.
• Now it’s time to play! Cover all your images and make yourself a starting line using chalk. Stand behind your line and get ready to run! Race to your plates and flip two over. Are they a match? If so, bring the turned over plates back with you to the starting line and go again! If they don’t match, re-cover them and head back to the starting line. You can either switch off with a family member to give them a turn, or head back to the plates and try again!
• Repeat the game as many times as desired. As you become more familiar with your game, start timing yourself to see how quickly you can uncover all the pairs. Can you do it without making any mistakes?

How does this spark creative learning?

Kindergarten:
What are the different parts of a tree? What kinds of things can we make out of paper? How do trees help us? Use answers to all of these questions to fill your memory game with pretty pictures showing just how much you know about trees!

Grade 1:
What we need is different from what we want in this memory matching extravaganza! What are things that you need in order to survive? What are things that you want? Draw examples of each below your plates. Make your memory game extra challenging by trying to only uncover pairs of items that you need to survive!

Grade 2:  
What kinds of natural resources can be found in communities? Draw pictures of these resources to create your game. As you uncover each pair of resources, challenge yourself to think of ways that people in communities use these resources in their daily lives.

Grade 3:
Roots, stems, seeds, leaves, there are many different parts that make up plants! Hide images of these parts below your plates and practice some fun floral facts as you put your working memory to the test!

Grade 4:
It’s time for dinner…but not just for you! Plants and animals are important parts of a food chain too! Construct a food chain and hide all the different organisms that complete it beneath your plates. Give yourself an extra challenge by trying to uncover the matching pairs of your food chain in order!

Grade 5:
Simple machines may make our lives easier, but today they can be part of a tricky challenge! Identify the six types of simple machines and draw examples of each beneath your plates. As you uncover each matching pair, describe how that type of simple machine modifies force to help us out!

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