EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
1. To help students
understand ecosystems, plant life and humanity’s potential effects on
the natural world.
2. To expose students to an interactive fable which integrates theatre, dance and visual art
3. To provide a variety of opportunities for student artistic and analytic response to the themes presented.
2. To expose students to an interactive fable which integrates theatre, dance and visual art
3. To provide a variety of opportunities for student artistic and analytic response to the themes presented.
WORKSHOPS
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Elmer and the Elder Tree can
be followed by a variety of 30 minute to 1 hour long post-show
workshops led by company members.
These sessions can be tailored to a group’s specific needs and interests within 3 general subject areas that link to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks of Arts, English Language Arts and Life Sciences. Below are a few examples . . .
These sessions can be tailored to a group’s specific needs and interests within 3 general subject areas that link to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks of Arts, English Language Arts and Life Sciences. Below are a few examples . . .
Arts
1. Create a mural showing the interactions between species in a healthy ecosystem.
2. Create a dance that represents your feelings about nature.
English Language Arts
1. Write a poem,
play, story or essay describing how your community would appear after
you've solved a local environmental problem. Work backwards to discover
the steps . . .
2. Make a nature journal. Describe the relationship between human beings and nature in your neighborhood using pictures and words. How does your experience compare to Elmer's?
2. Make a nature journal. Describe the relationship between human beings and nature in your neighborhood using pictures and words. How does your experience compare to Elmer's?
Life Science
1. Using simple tools,
observation and deductive reasoning, we will estimate the age and
height of trees, then, write their “history”. How have weather patterns
influenced the appearance of the tree? What environmental factors can
we hypothesize from the observations we have made?
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
For those who would like to further integrate Elmer into the classroom, we have provided examples below of how Elmer could be connected to elementary school curriculums.
Arts
1. During the play, Elmer
observes different stages in the revival of a woodland ecosystem. Start
by planting a real seed in your classroom and as the seed sprouts use
your knowledge imagination to create the stages of the ecosystem
developing around your seedling. Will it be a woodland? A rainforest?
Which insects or animals would arrive first? Who or what would come
later?
English Language Arts
1. Some of the characters in the play Elmer and the Elder Tree do not speak and some say very little. Instead, they tell us who they are through their actions and body language. Choose two of the characters and write their story.
1. How old is the Nomad, and how far has she traveled? Why can she not speak?
2. What are Forest Beings? Are they Elves, do they have a language?
Extend the stories by writing songs, poems, and skits for the characters.
Life Science
1. Some of the characters in the play Elmer and the Elder Tree do not speak and some say very little. Instead, they tell us who they are through their actions and body language. Choose two of the characters and write their story.
1. How old is the Nomad, and how far has she traveled? Why can she not speak?
2. What are Forest Beings? Are they Elves, do they have a language?
Extend the stories by writing songs, poems, and skits for the characters.
Life Science
After watching Elmer and the Elder Tree, students received seeds to plant. Research the seeds and the plants they are from.
1. In what type of ecosystem would each normally be found?
2. What are the specific needs of the plant? How are the propagated?
3. How do they support other organisms?
