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Zoo Crew Captivates Lower Elementary Students
Believe it or not, strange beasts once roamed the halls of The Red Oaks School. There
was the Flying Lagon which foiled predators with a stinger and horns
and the tundra-dwelling Big-Antlered Snow Gila which gave birth to two
or three venomous young in a single litter.
These
animals have long since departed, but soon new species will grace the
premises of this progressive independent school, proving once again
that young minds are capable of incredible things when given the tools,
the inspiration and the freedom to think and create.
Now
in its ninth year, the Red Oaks Zoo Crew curriculum remains a seminal
experience for students who experience it. Originated by Lower
Elementary (1st - 3rd grade) teacher Rachael McQuillan, Zoo Crew truly
is experiential learning at its best. "I designed Zoo Crew to be an
interdisciplinary curriculum, one that would help students acquire not
only important knowledge about organisms and their environments, but
also critical learning skills that they can apply to future problems
and challenges," says Ms. McQuillan. And in a world that is marked by
dramatic and accelerating change, Red Oaks places a premium on
preparing students for that future, cultivating important thinking and
life skills that they can apply to new situation and problems.
What
are these critical skills? Zoo Crew cultivates growth in a rich array
of competencies, from analytical and critical thinking, to rsesearch
and organization, to creativity and collaboration. It all begins with
the concept of a biome -- a habitat defined by its unique
forms of vegetation and by the adaptations of the organisms that live
there. Did you know there are five major biomes on earth? They are:
Tropical rain forest, deciduous forest, desert, savanna and tundra.
The students learn about biomes through live animal workshops with a
wildlife expert, a field trip to the Bronx Zoo, personal research and
in-class videos.
Then,
the student are divided into small multi-age work groups, each assigned
to a specific biome. Immersion education ensues as students pursue the
creative and challenging mission of imagining a new animal for their
biome. Group brainstorming, research and planning complements
specialized roles that are assigned within each group: The Ranger
researches habitat, including climate, indigenous vegetation, and
wildlife; the Nutritionist outlines eating habits and food sources and
details how the animal uses adaptations to eat and drink; the Body
Guard explains the animal's physical adaptations and how it will
protect itself; the Obstetrician determins the animal's means of
reproduction and how it will care for its young; and the Technician
decodes the sound of the animal and oversees the creation of souns
effects for the group's final presentation.
Together,
students in each work group design, name and build their new animal.
Classrooms are transformed into bustling workshops of productively
engaged teams with lots of plaster of Paris, wire, newpapers, recycled
cardboard containers, boxes, bags, smiles, squeals of delight, looks of
determination, and intense concentration. The unit culminates in a
presentation to parents describing the biome, the invented animal, and
the work process that led to the final output.
"At
Red Oaks we talk a lot about educating students for the 21st cenetury
and Zoo Crew is a stellar example of what a 21st century learning
process looks like," says Head of School Marilyn Stewart. "It
integrates knowledge with process, and focuses heavily on building the
kinds of specific learning and life skills that these young students
will need in order to succeed in future academic settings and beyond."
So
remember,if you hear trumpeting, squawking, scratching roars, and yelps
coming from inside The Red Oaks School, don't be alarmed. It's just
another day at the zoo! |
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