Polar Bears Around the Pond

1st Days of School Activity 

Polar Bears Around the Pond also goes by the name Petals Around a Rose.

Materials:
5 or 6 dice

I use different colors to challenge students a little more.  For example, I use 1 white, 2 blue, 1 green and 1 yellow.  Throwing different colors in makes students look for patterns that involve the numbers rolled and possibly the colors.

Rule (that I tell students):
There is only one rule.  Everyone must find the solution for themselves.

If you want to challenge students even more:
I also add in a temperature reading just to throw students off.  I tell students, the polar bears are the opposite of what you know.  These polar bears like warm weather and hate cold weather.  Then, I just make up temperature readings after I roll the dice.

Example roll:
The roll produces 4, 6, 1, 2, 3.  I say, right now it's about...15 degrees out.  How many polar bears are there?  Once someone guesses correctly, just move on and roll right away without explanation.

Solution:
On a die, the 1, 3 and 5 all have a dot in the center.  The center dot is the pond.  The 3 has 2 dots surrounding the center dot, and the 5 has 4 dots surrounding the center dot, while the 1 doesn't have any dots surrounding it.  The polar bears are the dots around the center dot.  For example, a roll of a 3 has 2 polar bears around 1 pond, while a roll of a 5 has 4 polar bears around 1 pond.

Once students start to catch on, I start to ask how many ponds there are because if a 1 is rolled, it is a pond that doesn't have any polar bears around it.  Some students don't realize what makes a pond, but catch on to the polar bear part.

Example roll #2:
The roll produces 3, 3, 4, 5, 1.  I say, it's getting hotter, right now it's about...89 degrees out.  How many polar bears are there?

Solution:
Total polar bears:  8 (the 3s have 2 polar bears each, the 5 has 4 polar bears and the 1 is empty)
Total ponds:  4 (1 empty pond)

I throw in temperature readings like 87 and 3/4 or other fractions or decimals to make it fun and get a reaction out of students.

This usually takes me several days.  I use it at the end of class (10 min or so) and then at the end of class the next day if needed.  I've had to go on for a week or more, but once students start to catch on, the secret gets out pretty fast :)

If one student catches on quickly, you can have that student go off with a group to make the groups smaller.