kids creating their own skits in the past, but since I have limited time with the students on a field trip, the outcome is usually filled with umms, ahhs, and nervous giggles. Even I have trouble coming up with a succinct, interesting story- line. Using trade books can be fun, but they sometimes feel wordy or constraining. By using a teacher-led, progressive skit, you get to decide how much information to share about each character. You control the pace, and you have ample opportunity to create a visual on the white board. The stu- dents just have to remember their one line, which both cre- ates an emotional connection to their organism, and frees their minds up to remember information about other charac- ters besides their own. Both students and teachers rave about the skits in their
field trip evaluations. “The students wrote about the trip in their journals and many mentioned that they liked the skit the best,” wrote one teacher. “My favorite part was when we did the play!” shared a second-grader named Olivia. Surprisingly, my favorite evaluation came from a group
of college students in an Outdoor Education class. They imparted more than a little personal flair to the characters as we demonstrated how to execute this teaching tool. The Sun danced from east to west. The alga rapped about photosyn- thesis. The snail slimed its way onstage. The heron balanced like Karate Kid. And the crayfish didn’t give up his inflat- able lobster pool-float until long after the final bow. When I received their thank-you card the following week, I laughed out loud to see that each student had signed their skit char- acter under their name. With a personal connection like that, you can bet they will remember more of what they learned.
Variations: • Use the skit to review or introduce the life cycle of a plant or animal, or to follow one or several animals through their seasonal changes
• Decide on the characters ahead of time and allow your students to create their own masks or costumes
• With smaller groups, get everyone involved by becoming decomposers wiggling toward the carcass at the end
• As a follow-up assignment, have the students draw the skit characters or write out the storyline in their own words
• View a short video of a skit in action on YouTube https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz2Tlk-zJPU Next time you need to teach about food chains, consider
using a progressive skit. It’s a great way to marry science with the arts. It can be tailored to any age level or ecosys- tem. And you all get to laugh while you’re learning.
Emily M. Stone is a naturalist who spent her childhood spent as a “mud and water daughter” in northeast Iowa. She has taught students of all ages about nature in beautiful places from Maine to California. As the Naturalist/Education Director at the Cable Natural History Museum in Cable, Wisconsin, Emily writes a weekly “Natural Connections” column published in more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. Her first book, Natural Connections: Exploring Northwoods Nature through Science and Your Senses, is on sale now at
cablemuseum.org.
New Resources for the Trail and Classroom
Acorn Naturalists’ catalog features hundreds of new tools for educators, naturalists, and interpreters. Call for a free copy of our latest catalog or visit our website.
180 Prospect, Ste 230 Tustin, CA 92780 (800) 422-8886 (800) 452-2802 FAX
acornnaturalists.com
GREEN TEACHER 113 Page 17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
