ACTIVITY 1: Madagascar movie
On the first day, we worked with the kindergarten students. We prepared an opening activity: Madagascar, themovie. We created a movie theater for the students in which we gave them tickets to enter the room, popcorn, soda, and chips. We got carpets and sofas where the children sat down while watching the movie. We blocked the light from the windows with black paper to make it look as real as possible. We presented ourselves and welcomed the students. We asked the students to pay attention because at the end we would ask them some questions.
Once the movie was over we did the following activity:
1) Shadya: Why did the animals want to escape from the zoo?
Rafa: They wanted to go to the jungle.
David: They wanted to go to Africa.
Luis: They wanted to go to the zoo of Guadalajara.
Thomas: The zebra wanted to go to the wild in San Diego.
2) Quentin: Once they are on the island, what does the lion miss from the zoo?
David: The steak.
Thomas: He missed his friends.
Jeronimo: He missed the people to cheer at him.
Rafa: Didn’t like salt water.
Luis: Wanted his “chuletas’
3) Do you think the animals in real life would want to stay in the zoo?
Paola: In the zoo, because they have a house.
Sebastian: They want to watch the people.
Alonso: The zebra wanted an open space.
Activity: 2 Puppet Theater
We went to the library to research information about twelve animals that Ms. Janet told us her students were interested in studying (sharks, dolphins, elephants, tigers, bats, snakes, koalas, lions, anteaters, butterflies, turtles, and camels). We looked for activities based on the animals given to each one of us, activities such as puzzles and drawings. Then we designed puppets for the puppet theater and wrote down the dialogues of six short plays. In each play, we presented two animals at a time. After each presentation, we took time to answer the students’ questions.
Quentin: Did you like it?
Children: Yes!
Quentin: What did you learn about the turtles?
Alonso: When they eat they grow.
Rafa: lay eggs.
Alvaro: They walk slowly.
David: They ate so much.
Carlos: What did you learn about the butterfly?
Alvaro: The butterfly wanted to go home with the turtle.
Ale: Butterflies don’t eat.
Shark and Toucan
Luis: The shark put 100 eggs.
David: The shark has shiny teeth.
Sebastian: It can see in the water.
Ms. Janet: Which other animal also has a layer over their eyes to help them see under the water?
Luis: crocodile.
Ale: Toucans don’t have teeth, just a beak.
Rafa: Sharks have one to one hundred babies.
Quentin: What do you know about snakes?
Sebastian: The snake eats birds.
David: They have venom.
Ale: The snake has babies.
Luis: The snake lives in a jungle.
Paola: Babies.
Rafa: Snakes are long.
Carlos: What did you learn about bats?
Rafa: They suck the blood of cows and horses.
Ale: Bats can see in the night.
Carlos: How?
Ale: They emit sounds.
Sebastian: They got a light in their eyes.
Alvaro: They don’t like the light.
Alonso: Just like the owl.
Luis: Bats don’t like day.
Carlos: Why?
Luis: they are nocturnal.
Quentin: What is this animal? (looking at the puppets)
Ale: Kangaroo.
Quentin: And this one? (looking at the puppets)
Luis: a Koala.
Shadya: What do koalas eat?
Ana Paula: leaves.
Rafa: grass.
Shadya: Where do kangaroos live?
David: China.
Luis: Australia.
Shadya: What did you learn about the tiger and the kangaroo?
Sebastian: The tiger had babies.
Shelby: It lives in the zoo.
Quentin: What is this animal? (looking at the puppet)
Stephanie: wolf
Miguel: horse
Thomas: anteater
Rafa: Anteaters eat ants and live in Mexico.
In order to give the kindergarten students a chance to move around, we measured how high a dolphin can jump on the floor with a tape measure . We all took turns jumping to see how many jumps it would take us to reach the height of one dolphin jump.
Ms. Janet: Now you have to jump to reach the height of a dolphin jump.
Ms Janet: Three jumps.
Andrea: Four jumps.
Paola: Four jumps.
Ms. Fer: Three jumps.
Stephanie: Five jumps.
Paola: Six jumps.
Activity 3: Working In the Classroom with Kinder 6 students.
We went to the library to check out reference books about the twelve animals to show the kindergarten students real pictures about these animals. We went to their room, and each one of us had five students in a group. We presented the students information about three animals and asked them to draw the animals. They had the choice of doing the following activities, clay, drawing with crayons, or drawing with markers. If they finished early, we gave them three other activities to do. The activities were puzzles, drawings, or making their own animal puppets. The students were changing groups, so every student had the chance to do all the animals.
Quentin: So, which animal do you want to start with?
Thomas: The anteater!
Quentin: The anteater?
Thomas: Yes.
Quentin: OK. What do you want to know about the anteater?
Thomas: They have a long nose.
Quentin: And what do they do with that long nose?
Thomas: They eat the ants. Why do the ants have a hammer? (In the picture)
Quentin: They want to defend themselves.
Thomas: Oh! Yes!
Quentin: And what do you want to know about anteaters?
Ana Paula: The long tongue.
Quentin: And what else do you know?
Thomas: I know they smell good with their long nose. They have good smell sense.
Quentin: Do you know how the anteaters eat?
Thomas: No.
Quentin: It sticks its tongue into an ant nest. When the ant gets stuck on its tongue, it brings them back into its mouth.
All students: Can we draw that?
Quentin: Yes. Later ok. Which other animal do you want to continue with, the kangaroo or the camel?
Children: Kangaroo!
Quentin: So, what do you know about the kangaroo?
Frida: They jump really high!
Quentin: Yes. Did you know that when they are tired or lazy they jump about 2m which is about 2 of you guys. When they are active they jump 4 to 6m which is about 4 to 6 of you guys.
Ana Sofia: Now, the camel.
Thomas: We are not finished with kangaroo.
Quentin: Oh! Look, this is where the kangaroo puts its baby. Did you know that when the kangaroo gets really hot they stay in the shade and lick themselves and then they stay cool? Do you know what kangaroo babies are called?
Thomas: No.
Quentin: They are called joeys.
Children: Joeys?
Quentin: Yes.
Children: Hahaha, joey, joey, joey, joey.
Quentin: Do you know that kangaroos are the biggest marsupial?
Children: No.
Quentin: Do you know what a marsupial is?
Children: No
Quentin: A marsupial is the animal that has a bag to carry their babies. Like the koala, the koala is a marsupial.
Thomas: Oh! I knew that.
Quentin: Kangaroos can’t walk; they just hop. The red kangaroo is the biggest one of all; there are various types of kangaroos in the world, like the gray kangaroo, the wallaby. Ok, now the camel.
Ana Sofia: Yes!
Quentin: Look, the two types of camels are the Dromedary camel and the Bactrian camel. Learn it by this image that Dromedary has one hump and Bactrian camel has two humps.
Fausto: What have you learned about sharks?
Alonso: Some are big and some are smaller.
Fausto: And did you know what the hole that dolphins have is for?
Paola G: So they can breath.
Fausto: Hey Rafa, do you remember how many eggs a shark can lay?
Rafa: 100.
Fausto: Ale what did you learn about the turtles?
Ale: That they eat
cactus.
Paola G: What is its shell for?
Fausto: It’s so that the turtle can get inside its shell and can protect itself from danger, because the shell is very strong and hard.
Fausto: Do you have any more questions?
David: I saw that in Animal Planet a dolphin also eats at the sand.
Fausto: Do you know how many teeth sharks have?
Ale: Nineteen
Fausto: No, in all their life time they can have 20,000, imagine, that is more than all of this class together.
Ale: I saw on TV that a dolphin bit a shark.
Fausto: It is because sharks also eat dolphins, so when a dolphin is being attacked the dolphin also attacks back with his long and hard nose.
Do you know which type of shark is the most dangerous?
Rafa: The black shark and white shark.
Alonso: The tiger shark and the white shark
Fausto: Very good.
Fausto: Do you know what the sharks have in their eyes?
Rafa: They have a special eye that makes them see under water.
Fausto: Yes, but it is a layer of skin that makes them see under water, they have that layer in their eyes.
Activity 4: designing a zoo
In the last session, we prepared all the materials to help Kindergarten students to design their zoo map. Ms. Janet made four groups of five students each. Then we asked our groups to choose 8 to 10 animals they would like to have in their classroom zoo. The Kindergarten students measured the length and width of the classroom by counting the bricks, so they could have a realistic map. Afterwards, we helped them to make a map and designed how the zoo would be displayed on block paper by using the measurements of the room (long-27 and wide-17). Later, Ms. Janet and Ms. Fer asked one representative of each group to explain their map to the rest of the class.
Team 1
Fausto- what would you like to have in your zoo?
Rafa- In the entrance should be rocks and sand and a lot of cages for the animals.
Alonso- that the animals are separated
David- grass and food for animals.
Paola G .- a dolphin and water
Andrea- roads with rocks and sand
Fausto- Now let’s vote to see what animals we are going to put in our zoo.
Rafa- shark and snake
Andrea- Dolphin and kangaroo
Paola G.- Toucan and bat
Alonso- crocodile and koala
David- cheetah and lions
Fausto- Where are we going to locate the animals?
Paola G.- in the corner of the classroom; the bats and toucan in the center
Alonso- in the center the crocodile and in the corner the koala
Andrea- The kangaroo in one of the corners and in the top center the dolphin
David- cheetah in the left side and the lions right side of classroom
Rafa- At the bottom the snakes and at the left side the sharks
Fausto- What materials do we need for the dolphin?
Andrea- fish and water
Fausto- What materials do we need for a kangaroo?
David- grass
Andrea- plants
Fausto- What materials we need for the shark?
Alonso- fish
David- water
Rafa- octopus
Fausto- What materials do we need for a snake?
Rafa- meat
Alvaro- grass and water
Rafa- sand
Fausto- What materials does a toucan need?
Alvaro- fruits
Fausto- What materials do we need for bats?
Rafa- a cave
Alvaro- blood
Paola- Fruit
Fausto- What materials do we need for a crocodile?
David- water
Paola G.- meat
Fausto- What materials do a koala need?
Andrea- plants
Paola G.- trees
Fausto- What materials do cheetahs need?
Alonso- meat
Rafa- a lot of space to run
Alonso- water
Fausto- What materials does a lion need?
Andrea- meat
Paola- water
David- space to run
Fausto- OK, we are done and now we are ready to start our zoo.
Team 2
Carlos: Which animals would you like to have in your zoo?
Alvaro: Snake, bat, tiger, lion, shark, dolphin, hippo, giraffe, camel.
Sebastian: Crocodile, snakes, elephant, bat, koala, cheetah, lions, tiger.
Shelby: Lion, zebra, giraffe.
Aranza: Hippos, cheetah, zebras, elephants, lions.
Paola: Butterflies, giraffe, crocodiles, dolphins, zebra, lions, tiger, hippos.
Carlos: Do you want the animals to be in cages or without cages?
Alvaro: without cages
Sebastian: with cages
Shelby: with cages
Aranza: with cages
Paola: with cages
Ms Fer.- Where do you want the cages to be?
Paola: there where the hats are
Ms.Fer: Where do you want the snakes?
Sebastian: There in the little carpet.
Alvaro: In the big carpet.
Paola R: In the big carpet.
Aranza: In the big carpet.
Alvaro: In the red table.
Carlos: Where do you want the lion?
Alvaro: In the same cage as the tiger.
Paola R: Yes because they are very close in family.
Carlos: Where do you want the hippo?
Alvaro: in the little carpet.
Carlos: Where do you want the bat to be?
Alvaro: here
Sebastian: I know, here in the big carpet.
Carlos: Where do you want the dolphin to be?
Alvaro: In the yellow table.
Paola R: No. In the yellow table no.
Alvaro: in the gray shelf.
Shelby: on the big carpet.
Sebastian: on the big carpet.
Aranza: on the big carpet
Alvaro: in the gray shelf.
Everyone: Yes. In the gray shelf.
Carlos: Where do you want the cheetah?
Alvaro: Here on the back.
Team 3
Shadya: What animals would you like to have in the zoo?
Jeronimo: A dolphin.
Luis: Crocodile.
Ale: dolphin.
Stephanie: shark.
Loren: Turtle.
Shadya: What animals do you want for land?
Loren: Tiger
Stephanie: Kangaroo
Ale: Elephant
Luis: Lion
Jeronimo: I want also the elephant.
Shadya: Now, which air animals would you like to have in the zoo?
Jeronimo: Bat
Luis: Bat
Ale: Butterfly
Stephanie: Butterfly
Loren: Butterfly
Shadya: Where do you want the animals placed?
Jeronimo: The bat on the fan.
Stephanie: The crocodile in the floor close to the bathroom.
Ale: The butterfly in the fan also.
Luis: The crocodile in the carpet with a beach.
Loren: The turtle under the desk.
Ale: No, on the other carpet.
Jeronimo: The dolphin with the crocodile.
Loren: The tiger in the corner of the left.
Ale: The elephant in front of the computer.
Jeronimo: The shark in the carpet with water.
Jeronimo: The kangaroo close to the bathroom.
Jeronimo: The tiger where we put our backpacks.
Shadya: Where do you want the water animals?
Jeronimo: In the carpets and we put them together.
Shadya: Does everybody agree?
Children: Yes!
Team 4
Quentin: What and how many animals do you want to have in your zoo?
Children: Ten
Miguel Angel: Two sharks
Ana Paula: A dolphin and a kangaroo
Frida: Two turtles
Thomas: A tiger and an anteater
Quentin: A giraffe and a lion
Thomas: Where will the bathroom be?
Ana Paula: Right where it is in the classroom.
Quentin: Where will the animals be in cages or in an open space?
Thomas: Let all the animals be in cages.
Quentin: So where are the water animals going to be?
Ana Paula: In an aquarium.
Quentin: Thomas, where do you want the tiger to be, near the kangaroo?
Thomas: No because they will fight.
Miguel Angel: Let’s put that thing; you put a machine where you put in a coin and food comes out for people to give to the animals.
Quentin: OK guys lets start.
Reflection
Working with kinder 6 students was fun, although, we worked hard and were tired afterwards. Now we understand and thank our teachers for their hard work. The students in Kinder 6 are amazing. We enjoyed and laughed a lot when we were working with them. We were surprised at their capability of learning. Through the questions, we became aware that they understood most of the information we taught them about these twelve animals. Most of the students did the three activities that we prepared for them, and participated in the making a map of their zoo. We will always remember with affection these kindergarten students. We want to give special thanks to Ms. Janet and Ms. Fer for believing in our project and for giving us the chance to work with their students. This week was wonderful!