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Hidden
Villa Eco-Play
~ Inspiration
SUMMARY: Students read, practice and perform all or part of a play based on how human actions can hurt natural ecosystems that takes place at Hidden Villa. It is a bilingual (Spanish/English) play that very purposefully addresses the importance of speaking more than one language. English-only classes can enjoy reading the first scence as an example of how to dramatize food chain links in an entertaining manner. DURATION: 1
day to 6 weeks GRADES: 3rd-5th
CALIFORNIA
STANDARDS |
| This
project encompasses a range of state standards. Working
with the first part of the play reinforces 3rd and 4th
grade life standards of understanding interactions within
an ecosystem. The play in its entirety also addresses
4th and 5th grade earth science standards (erosion and
watershed). Practicing the play involves many reading
standards including vocabulary development, fluency,
reading comprehension and the analysis of the structure
features of plays. This unit also very obviously support
the oral presentation standards in all grade levels. |
HIDDEN
VILLA GOALS |
| This
play involves all of the Hidden Villa goals. The events
in the play reinforce the understanding of basic ecological
concepts in both students and audience members. In giving
the animals a voice, this play also increases students'
sense of compassion towards the plight of animals whose
habitat is affected by human actions. The final effort
of the animals to ban together and inform the Smith Family
about how their actions are affecting the ecosystem
emphasizes the importance of humans taking responsibility
for their impact on the environment and offers some concrete
information to help students and audience members make
ecologically responsible choices in their own lives.
Finally, participation in a play greatly supports the
development of students' self-confidence. |
CLASSROOM
RELEVANCE |
Plays
are a great way to engage other learning modalities
in the study of academic content areas. In this case,
by becoming the animals in an ecosystem under stress,
many students can use their imaginations and emotional
connection
to their characters to enrich their understanding of
the
ecological concepts. Additionally, I wrote the play to enrich my students' vocabulary, since performing a play requires repeated readings of the tect to truly understand what one is saying. Since to perform a play
you must read and reread the text many times over and
truly understand what you are saying, this seemed the
perfect opportunity to plant some new
words that would enrich my students vocabulary. To
produce this entire play takes an investment of
time. My students' enthusiasm for Hidden Villa helped
them maintain their excitement about the project all
the way through to the end. This was a fabulous way
to do something a bit different and fun after the craziness
of standardized testing. It maintained my students' engagement with important state
standards
all the way to the end of the school year.
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