Week 10: The Shared Fish Pond Game (The Resource Pool Game)

Unit 3: Limits and Patterns

This Week's Big Question

What happens when many people use the same pool of something that can grow back?

This week the game does the teaching. Children use tokens as fish in a shared pond, make choices each round, and see how different rules can help the pond stay healthy or make it collapse.

Kid Version in One Sentence

In a shared system, the rules can decide whether the pool grows back or gets used up.

Communication Moment

After each round, explaining what changed helps the whole group learn: "Last round there were ___, now there are ___, because ___." Describing the change in clear, ordered words turns a confusing collapse into a pattern everyone can see and talk about. (More on the Communication Skills page.)

Problem Solving Moment

After running the simulation, observe carefully: what changed, what stayed the same, what surprised you? Results are information for the next design, even when the outcome wasn't what you hoped. (More on the Problem Solving Skills page.)

You'll Discover

• how a shared resource can shrink or recover
• why talking, rules, and timing change group outcomes
• how a pond can collapse even when no one planned to ruin it

Grown-up Note

• Keep the emotional tone safe. The point is not who is greedy. The point is how the rules shape choices.
• Start with talking allowed for the younger path. Silence becomes an optional harder round later.
• Sessions are designed for about 20 minutes. Use the Short Path when you only have 15-20 minutes. Extra Challenge options can stretch closer to 25-30 minutes.

Common Kid Misconceptions

• Misconception: "If the pond empties, it means the players were bad." Response: "The rules may have pushed the group toward that result."
• Misconception: "If fish grow back, the pond can always recover." Response: "Only if enough fish are left to regrow."
• Misconception: "One person's choice never matters." Response: "In a shared system, even small choices can add up."

Quick-Start Rule Card

1. Put 20 fish tokens in the pond.
2. Each player may take 1-4 fish each round.
3. Count how many fish are left.
4. Let the pond grow back by a small set rule, such as adding back half the fish left, rounded down, or a fixed number chosen ahead of time.
5. Play several rounds and watch what happens.

Coping Skill Moment

Watching a resource run out — even in a simulation — can feel heavy or hopeless. When that happens, sort your thoughts with the circle of control: What can I control, what can I influence, and what can I only care about? Putting your attention on the parts you can act on turns helplessness into a next step. (More on the Coping Skills for Big System Problems page.)

Week at a Glance

Session length	About 20 minutes
Prep time	About 10 minutes
Materials	Tokens, beans, or paper fish; bowl or paper pond; tracking sheet; pencil; Systems Log
Safety	Keep small tokens away from very young siblings who might swallow them
Core vocabulary	shared, round, grow back, rule, pool
Older learner words	common-pool resource, regeneration rate, maximum sustainable yield, tragedy of the commons

Core Vocabulary

Word	Kid-friendly meaning
shared	Used by more than one person
round	One turn in a repeating game
grow back	To return over time
rule	A condition that shapes what players can do
pool	The amount everyone is using from

Short Path for Younger Learners

• Play one talking round.
• Track only three things: round, fish left, and did fish grow back?
• Talk about which rule helped most.
• Draw the pond at the start and end.

Success looks like: the child can explain why the fish pool stayed healthy or got smaller.

Extra Challenge for Older Learners

• Compare a talking round with a no-talking round.
• Test different growth-back rules and see how the outcome changes.
• Discuss the most the group can take while the pond still grows back.

Read-Aloud Opening

"Today we are going to share a fish pond. The pond can grow back, but only if enough fish remain. You are not trying to be a hero or a villain. You are trying to notice what the rules make likely."

Guided Session 1: Talking Round

Time: 20-25 minutes

Materials: 20 tokens, bowl or paper pond, tracking table

Safety note: Use tokens large enough to handle safely.

Setup: Put all fish tokens in the pond and show the tracking table.

Activity steps:

1. Explain the round rules.
2. Let players talk before choosing.
3. Count how many fish are left.
4. Apply the grow-back rule.
5. Repeat for several rounds.

Use this simple tracking table:

Round	Fish left	Fish grew back?
1
2
3

What to ask:

• What rule helped the pond most?
• How did talking change the choices?
• What happens if too many fish are taken early?

Draw It: Draw the pond at the start and after several rounds.

Talk About It:

• Was it easy or hard to think about later rounds?
• Did the group make a plan?
• Which choice helped the pond keep growing back?

What success looks like: The child can connect the group rules to the pond's outcome.

Guided Session 2: Rule Change Round

Time: 20-25 minutes

Materials: same pond setup, Systems Log

Setup: Choose one rule change: no talking, lower harvest limit, or a stronger grow-back rule.

Activity steps:

1. Play the second round set with one changed rule.
2. Compare the new result to the first game.
3. Ask which rule made the biggest difference.
4. Name one rule that made the system easier to protect.

What to ask:

• What changed when the rules changed?
• Which rule made it harder to keep the pond healthy?
• How could you redesign the game to help the group succeed?

Draw It: Draw a before-and-after picture of the pond under two different rule sets.

Talk About It:

• What did the game teach you about shared systems?
• Why can a system fail even when people do not mean for it to fail?
• Which rule would you keep if you played again?

What success looks like: The child can name at least one rule that improved the shared outcome.

Systems Log

Use this simple entry:

What I noticed:
What moved:
Where it came from:
Where it went:
My drawing:
One question I still have:

Helpful prompts for this week:

• What I noticed: "The pond changed when..."
• What moved: "Fish moved from the pond to..."
• Where it went: "After the round the fish pool..."
• My drawing: start pond and end pond

Systems Thinking Move

An environmental system is made of connected parts. When one part changes, other parts may change too. Some changes are quick. Some changes take time. Some effects are easy to see, and some are hidden.

Learner questions:

• What parts are in this shared system?
• What moves through the system?
• What changes over time?
• What causes what?
• What feedback loop might make the change stronger or weaker?
• What part of the system could we change safely?

Environmental Data Check

• What does this tracker measure?
• Who collected the numbers?
• What trend or pattern do I notice across rounds?
• What might this game not show about a real pond or shared resource?
• What should I ask before using the game as evidence?

Who Is Affected?

Environmental problems and benefits are not always shared equally. In shared systems, rules, access, timing, and information can shape who benefits and who carries the burden.

• Who is affected when the shared pool shrinks too fast?
• Who benefits when the rules help the resource grow back?
• Who might be missing from the conversation about the rules?
• What would make the system fairer, safer, or easier to use?

Engineer Corner

Older learners and facilitators can keep the formal resource-language here.

• Common-pool resource is the formal name for a shared pool that many users draw from.
• Regeneration rate describes how fast the pool grows back.
• Maximum sustainable yield means the most a group can take while the pool still grows back.
• Tragedy of the commons belongs here as an optional label, not the main kid-facing frame.