Isle of Coconuts

Explore

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players examine the board throughout the Isle of Coconuts game as they consider their next moves.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Remind children to look at the board carefully during play, making sure to identify where the Monkeys are played and open frond spaces are available. This will discourage impulsive actions.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Playing Isle of Coconuts helps children develop spatial reasoning skills, situational analysis, risk assessment and perspective changing. Educators can help social emotional development of patience and persistence by asking kids to explore the game board completely before making a move. This involves visual exploration and mental modeling of different scenarios.

Determine

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players need to determine where they want to place Monkeys and how to combine their dice on each turn.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Parents can explain various strategies, so that children can add to their thinking in making a decision. For example, "Would it be better to use each dice separately, or combine them together?" Or "What are your options?" Isle of Coconuts is good for teaching risk and reward analysis, as well as a combination of offensive and defensive strategies. Encourage children to consider a range of options such as pursuing high or low point trees, or avoiding trees that others are placing Monkeys on.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Isle of Coconuts involves examining the board and creating mental models of the consequences of placing Monkeys, which in turn is based on the different dice combinations a player can choose. When first learning to play, players will think about consequences of the immediate move. As they become more proficient, children will think about multiple moves ahead in order to anticipate the moves of other players and set up trees to avoid or have the most Monkeys upon. Isle of Coconuts is also good for teaching risk and reward analysis. Educators can explain various strategies, so that children can add to their thinking in making a decision. For example, "Would it be better to use each dice separately, or combine them together?"

Compare

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
As with determine, Isle of Coconuts requires a high level of comparing. Players will create mental models of the outcomes for different dice combinations and placement of Monkeys. Based on those models, they will compare outcomes to determine the best move.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
To help children evaluate different options, encourage them to "Wait. Look. Think." Ask children to describe aloud the potential reward and cost for playing Monkeys based on different dice combinations. Help them think about the impact of varying plays on their score as well as limiting the points of the other players.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Making mental models of a space and movement in Isle of Coconuts is an advanced, complex cognitive skill that supports learning spatial relations, pattern recognition and creative problem solving. The game also helps children develop complex comparison skills as they consider options for placing Monkeys based on dice combinations to maximize scoring and avoid non-scoring moves. This also involves perspective changing as a child thinks about what other players may do in response to their placement of Monkeys. Further, Isle of Coconuts helps develop spatial reasoning, risk/reward analysis and directionality.

Remember

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players may remember moves from prior games that were successful or not.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Parents can remind children of similar situations from prior games and what happened when a player moved a particular piece.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Educators can remind children of similar situations from prior games and what happened when a player moved a particular piece.

Predict

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players think about where opponents are trying to capture a tree, or which trees they are trying to avoid.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
To help children predict, ask them to share different moves they are considering and what they think an opponent might move in response. Alternatively, ask them to think about what their opponent might move next. This may require playing non-competitively for the purpose of learning.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Predicting involves skills like analysis, observation, empathy and interpretation. Also, children need to learn how to change perspective, imagining being their opponent, in order to have optimal predicting skills. Educators can prompt children to practice predicting by asking them to share what opportunities they see on the board, different moves they are considering and what they think an opponent might move on their next turn. This may require playing non-competitively for the purpose of learning.

Plan

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Isle of Coconuts involves a lot of planning as players think about how to play their 15 Monkeys while reacting to the moves of other players.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
To be successful in Isle of Coconuts requires thinking about consequences beyond a player's immediate move. This type of long-term, sequential thinking is important beyond the game for activities such as building forts, making art, successfully completing schoolwork on time and launching a new business from a lemonade stand to a company later on in life. Discuss options available on each turn to help children think about potential outcomes.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Planning is an important skill for developing strategic thinking, persistence and reaching a goal. Encourage the children to discuss the goal throughout the game and how they might play their Monkeys to achieve the goal of scoring points while limiting others from scoring. Additionally, to be successful in Isle of Coconuts requires thinking about consequences beyond a player's immediate move. This type of long-term, sequential thinking is important beyond the game for activities such as building forts, making art, successfully completing schoolwork on time and launching a new business from a lemonade stand to a company later on in life.

Solve

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players solve the game by responding appropriately to opponents' moves and scoring the most points with their Monkeys on the palm trees.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Isle of Coconuts is good for trying different strategies to win. For example, is it a good idea to sacrifice a Monkey to prevent another player from scoring or would it be better to place a Monkey on an open tree? Discuss different strategies prior to starting the game and encourage the child to select one. Play the game and discuss. Then, play again with the child trying a different strategy. Discuss again and compare the advantages and disadvantages. Once children understand different strategies, they can shift and adapt strategies within a game.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Isle of Coconuts is good for trying different strategies to win. For example, is it a good idea to sacrifice a Monkey to prevent another player from scoring or would it be better to place a Monkey on an open tree? Is it better to place Monkeys on high or low point value trees? Discuss different strategies prior to starting the game and encourage the child to select one. Play the game and discuss. Then, play again with the child trying a different strategy. Discuss again and compare the advantages and disadvantages. Once children understand different strategies, they can shift and adapt strategies within a game.

Review

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
While not required in the game, players may review if encouraged.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
During or after the game, discuss moves and what worked and did not work as expected.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
During or after the game, discuss moves and what worked and did not work as expected. Teachers can watch as children play and ask children to describe their thinking when they make a particularly good move.

Demonstrate

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
While not required in the game, players may demonstrate their thinking if encouraged.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
During or after the game, replay and discuss moves and what worked and did not work as expected. Thinking out loud is a good strategy for parents to use while playing the game. Children can be encouraged to do the same.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
During or after the game, replay and discuss moves and what worked and did not work as expected.

Cognitive

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Players need to weigh options for use of the numbers on the dice across different trees, as well as the number of Monkeys on each tree. Simple addition up to 10 is needed. Players also need to be able to add dice multiple ways to see options. For this reason, children with cognitive delays may benefit from playing the game in teams. Other players can then help the child see options and make good decisions.
To simplify the addition options, try playing with just two dice. This reduces the number of addition possibilities, making visualizing options easier.
Simplify the rules, so that the player with the most Monkeys on a tree gets two Coconuts and others on the tree get one Coconut. This simple "more" and "less" scoring will be easier for the child with cognitive challenges to understand.

Communication

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Players need to announce the totals of the dice they are playing. If children cannot verbally communicate, they can show totals with their fingers.
Encourage children to talk by asking why they chose to put their Monkey on specific trees.
Play with a partner to encourage talking to each other to make Monkey placement decisions.

Sensorimotor

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Players need to manipulate Monkeys, Coconuts, and dice. If fine motor skills are an issue, use a dice cup to make throwing easier. Have other players move Monkeys to the fronds and hand out the Coconuts that are won.
Players who cannot manipulate the pieces can play with a partner. This way one partner can move game parts, but both partners make Monkey placement decisions.

Social Emotional/Behavioral

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
The game requires frustration tolerance, as opponents may place a Monkey in a desired spot or a specific roll of the dice may limit options. Talk about the player's feelings and reframe the situation to encourage positive thinking. For example, "I can see that move upset you. But, now you have more trees to choose from".
Players who are impulsive may not think about all of the options. Encourage players to manipulate the dice to see different options for totals. Also encourage them to think about what other players may be trying to do with their Monkeys.

Vision

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children with low vision may have difficulty differentiating the yellow and orange Monkeys and purple and blue Monkeys, so seeing exactly how many of each color are on a tree may be difficult. The numbers on the tree may also be difficult to see, although they are fairly large and have a white against brown contrast.
If two players are playing, use contrasting colored Monkeys to make it easier for children with low vision to see where Monkeys are located.

Hearing

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Hearing concerns should not be an issue, as communication is not needed. Players may use sign language or indicate play explanations with fingers.

*Data compiled from CCSSI ELA Standards, WA Science Standards, and Washington Social Studies Standards

Extra Ways to Play the Game
Allow players to use addition, subtraction, multiplication, and/or division with the three dice to come up with totals that match the numbers on their desired palm trees.

Materials Needed
No additional materials are needed.

Developmental Benefits
This modification to Isle of Coconuts elevates the game into a higher level math game. Players still need to make strategic decisions, but they have more options for how to end up on desired trees.

Extra Ways to Play the Game
If you roll 3 of a kind of 1, 2, or 3, you can take the total number (3, 6, 9) and move your Monkey to a frond on the 3, 6, or 9 tree, OR remove another player's Monkey from a frond on a tree.

Materials Needed
No additional materials are needed.

Developmental Benefits
This modification gives players an opportunity to use an additional reasoning and strategy. Players can weigh the risk and reward for removing another player's Monkey versus adding another of their own Monkeys.