Whales, Our Teachers from the Animal Kingdom
Lesson Overview
This series of tasks puts focus on our responsibility to take care of our habitat as our habitat takes care of us. Students become more involved in getting to know about the ocean creatures thorugh this lesson, they become more cognizant about connections between nature and humans. This lesson culminates in a collaborative sculpture that students complete as a public art work.
Big Idea
The animal kingdom can teach us something about migration, survival, and perpetuation of species.
Essential Questions
Why and how do animals such as whales migrate?
Is there evidence of migratory populations where I live? In my region?
How does art communicate important issues in society?
Evidence of Understanding
Use literature to explore stories/legends of culture that relate to places and transcend time
Create art work that is based on place names and stories from legends
Build sculptures of animals from beach debris
Instructional Learning Experience Number One
Allow students to go online a play the Whale migration Game. Have students familiarize themselves with the region using whale migration map. On the back of the map, students can record what events happen in the life of a whale.
Formative Assessment: check how students are playing the game and make sure they are noting the proximity of whale habitat to Hawai'i. Did students record the events of a whale's life?
Read to students about the Maori legend involving migration, rescue and comraderie between whales and humans.
Formative Assessment: After the reading and the whole class has had a chance to play the migration game, have a class discussion and allow students to take leadership by writing their conclusions and understandings on the board.
Instructional Learning Experience Number Two
Get students inspired by watching the short vimeo by Wyland showing ocean creatures and himself creating his work.
Formative Assessment: Have a class discussion about the essential questions and generate ideas from students about how we share the ocean habitat with marine life.
Instructional Learning Experience Number Three
Students will participate in a field trip to the beach and pick up rubbish to keep our community habitat clean. Students should brainstorm reasons that it is important to have a clean beach, clean ocean.
Formative Assessment: Check for students' understanding of the big idea here. Have students talk to their neighbor about it, then share understandings with the class. What can we learn about survival and perpetuation of species through our actions?
Instructional Learning Experience Number Four
Students will create collaborative sculptures of marine life modeled on the work of David Rogers. Use recycled materials such as plastic bottles, bags, styrofoam, and any viable rubbish that was picked up at the beach. Use wire to assemble.
Summative Assessment: Have students write an artist statement about the reason their art work is meaningful and how they think it will impact the public.
Assessment
Formative assessments will be frequent and involve discussions and brainstorming
Summative assessment will use the artist's statement to conclude understandings and involvement as an artist and the role of art to communicate ideas about social issues. A checklist can be used to address contents of statement. Students should answer the questions: What did my role as an artist contribute to this piece? How did I use art to speak about this important topic? What was the public's reaction to the art work? What did I learn about this issue, related to my region, through creating this art piece?
Materials for this lesson:
Computers and printers
click here for link to the whale migration game
click here for link to gallery of marine artist and conservationist, Robert Wyland
click here for vimeo link to Wyland
Click here for link to sculptures by David Rogers
click here for whale migration map
click here for Maori Legend
Recycled materials such as plastic bottles, aluminum cans, fish nets, plastic floaters, drift wood, etc, rope and wire
maori_and_whaling.pdf | |
File Size: | 97 kb |
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