![[Lesson Plans Banner]](/US/en/digital/edu/images/bannerLessonPlans.gif)
Sounds for Survival
Karen Larka
Virginia Avenue School, Bakersfield, California
Subject: Language Arts/Art/Science
Grade: 6
"The biggest change in my children was their attitude toward
each other and school. They didn't want to miss class and when
chicken pox broke out, the sick children begged to come back."
Purpose and Description of Project
Karen Larka's goal was to teach her students about the plight
of endangered species and about the interdependence of people,
plants, animals, and the total environment. She helped them to
express what they had learned and their feelings about it through
a variety of artistic media, including poetry, photography, sculpture,
and dance.
Using the stimulus of the recorded sounds of endangered animals,
the students wrote poems that were later included in a book with
photographs of their own sculptures of such creatures as the bald
eagle, the alligator, and the prairie dog. These photos were also
exhibited at a local college and during a special parents' night
program that also included choral readings of poems, a student
choreographed ballet dramatizing the plight of endangered species,
and a slide show produced by the students about the project. The
ballet was also presented at a "Day in the Arts" program
at a local theatre. Larka found that the students not only improved
in such cognitive areas as writing, spelling, and ecological studies
but developed a sense of togetherness and of pride in their work.
Activities
The students were involved in numerous activities over a three-month
period, a sampling of which are cited below. The class worked
on its listening skills, including listening with closed eyes
to recordings of music, animals, sound effects, and environmental
sounds; keeping nightly listening logs; and playing listening
games, such as trying to identify the nature and direction of
sounds made by classmates. The students also studied how hearing
occurs and how various sounds are made. The students wrote poems
inspired by the sounds of endangered animals and had lectures
and labs about animals in nature. They then created clay sculptures
of the animals they had studied. The class learned about
camera
use, lenses, lighting, and
composition
and then photographed their
clay sculptures as well as creatures they saw during field trips
to a zoo, the California Living Museum, and a local college's
Facility for Animal Care and Training.
Materials, Resources, and Expenses
The project drew on a wealth of human resources, including the
county school system's science consultant. A local poet taught
about imagery and area sculptors discussed their techniques. The
director of the Living Museum brought animals to class and told
why they are endangered; and the director of the animal care facility
donated funds for
film
and processing. Also involved were a musician,
a professional photographer, an Audubon Society representative,
and a composer who wrote the foreword for the children's poetry/photo
book and sent them an album featuring animal sounds. Equipment
and materials included a 35 mm SLR camera,
KODACHROME 25 Slide Film and KODAK Technical Pan Film; chemicals
for developing black-and-white prints; a 55 mm lens; tripod; photo
floods; photographic paper; the photo lab at the county school
office; a KODAK CAROUSEL Slide Projector; and Indian red clay, clay
tools, and kiln.
Outcomes and Adaptability
Larka reports that during the project, student behavior improved
and attendance improved. She also found that students improved
in spelling, listening, writing, and reading; learned about sculpture
and photography; and came to understand people's interaction with
the environment and how and why some species are endangered.
She believes that the combination of photography, sculpture, and
environmental studies would be suitable for any age level and
notes that both "children with learning difficulties and
gifted students found the creativity stimulating."