Lights, Camera, Action! Using progressive skits to teach food chains to kids of all ages


By Emily M. Stone “L


IGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!” Right on cue, the first grader wearing a yellow cape pops up, flings out her arms, and shouts, “Rise and shine!” Beside her,


an alga draped in green grows taller, and the entire class joins him in chanting, “photosynthesis, photosynthesis, photosynthesis.” The aquatic snail creeps into action then, pretending to rasp the plant with his radula and delivering the line, “munch, munch, munch.” He doesn’t have long to eat though because soon the dragonfly nymph zooms in from offstage, flings out her hydraulically powered jaws, and exclaims, “gotcha!” At this point, the audience giggles but stays focused in


anticipation of the next bit of drama. They’ve seen it before, so they know what’s coming. The insect’s line of travel takes her right in front of a hungry bluegill, and he responds with his own playful attack and a satisfied, “slurp!” As the well-fed bluegill swims away, its luck runs out. A great blue heron lurks nearby, primed and ready with a kitchen tong beak, “yum!” After her fish snack, the heron crumples to the ground, a victim of old age. The crayfish scuttles in, drawing more giggles with his comment, “mmm, dead stuff!” Finally,


four aquatic worms from the front row wiggle toward the feast on their bellies chanting, “decomposition, decomposi- tion, decomposition.” The room erupts in applause and the actors take their bow. Teacher-led progressive skits like this one are a quick


and engaging way to make food chains come alive for stu- dents aged six and up (even adults enjoy getting in on the fun). They provide a good mix of teacher control and student creativity, and use repetition and humor to facilitate learn- ing. They can be customized to work with any grade level or even mixed groups by purposefully selecting the level of vocabulary and detail you include. Depending on how much instruction you provide, the activity could take anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, with 30 minutes being about aver- age. For kindergarteners, I keep it simple. With elementary and middle school students, I introduce and review impor- tant vocabulary. With mixed-age groups, I include vocabu- lary appropriate for the oldest students, while being sure to include simple explanations, too. When working with high schoolers or adults, this can be a fun way to introduce higher level concepts such as energy flow, the trophic pyra- mid, and details about your ecosystem. One magical thing about this format is that it’s easily customizable to teach about food chains in a forest, tide


GREEN TEACHER 113 Page 15


Photographs: Emily M. Stone


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