InFlight at EVCS

Kindergarteners: Workers on the Railroad!

2011-11-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

Inflight has begun it's drama-in-education residency in the Kindergarten classes! InFlight is a program that was developed 6 years ago with Phoenix Theatre Ensemble's teaching artist, Kelli Holsopple and EVCS teachers.

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Since then, I have been collaborating with teachers to bring theatre arts into the classroom as a way to explore social

studies!

In Kindergarten this year we are doing a study on trains, railroads and transportation. In drama, the students play characters and I play characters. We work together to tell a story; going on adventures and solving problems along the way.

In this year's interactive drama,

the students are in-workers building the Transcontinental Railroad. On our first day, we went far far back in time.....when the only mass transportation was powered by horses! I played a character of the inventor of the steam locomotive and showed them my new invention. (see the students acting out the inner workings of a steam engine!)

We took a ride on the very first steam locomotive in the United States!

Then they received a visit from Thomas Durant, the owner of the Union Pacific Railroad company. Thomas and the Kindergarteners decided that a train needed a track to ride on and the Kindergarteners volunteered to build the first ever track all the way across the U

nited States. We looked at a huge map and saw that we would be crossing many different habitats....the Eastern Forests, the Mississippi River, ther Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and deserts of the west. Even so, the Kindergarteners were excited! They talked about how if they all worked together, they would be able to do it! The workers made a list of promises for our work together:

Work together as a team
Stay together
Be nice to each other
If we don't agree, we'll work it out!
Solve any problem that comes our way. Together!

We packed our equipment and hit the road! The next day the workers met another couple characters....Ida the railroad worker (named after Ida Hewitt, the first female steamlocomotive driver) and a prairie dog (puppet!) who left his prairie dog town to have an adventure, got lost, and is searching for his home. They were looking for work, so the Kindergarteners invited them to join the team.

Since then we have done lots of building and singing (songs to help us work). And it's a good thing that one of our promises was to solve any problem that came our way because we have had a few huge ones!....one of them was called an "infinity problem" by one of the students.

To find out more about the incredible problems the workers have had to solve, ask your child what they did when they got to the Mississippi River and then ask them what happened when they got to the Great Plains!

Today, we worked on plans for the Great Plains....and Thursday we will hit the Rockies! A brand new set of problems for the workers to solve!

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This curriculum has incorporated a lot of singing and history. Bradley has done a lot of research on old-time train songs and we are learning "The Great Pacific Railway". He's been playing mandolin and guitar for us. We will also be learning the legend of John Henry and the song that was written about him. I've also done research on railroad work songs from the south and have used them to write some of our work songs that help us keep in time. We have also looked at real spikes used in the railroad and a real railroad hammer!

If you would have any train books, pictures or research that you would like to send in, please do (steam locomotives, railroads, trains, John Henry)! We are setting up walls in each room to keep pictures.

Also! Reserve Thursday, December 15th for our final celebration and share! Clara and David's will be at 9am and Yadir's will be at 9:45am.

LEEANE/LENORE: Communities Study

2011-01-30T11:37:00.001-08:00

The YOUTH AMBASSADORS hard at work!

I am in the third week of classes with Leanne and Lenore's second graders studying urban, suburban, and rural communities and we are having a wonderful time. The students are Youth Ambassadors, helping refugee children from all around the world get settled here in the United States. Our first friend was named Sangoel, a refugee from Sudan who was moving to NYC with his mom and sister (based on a children's book called My Name is Sangoel).

The children wrote him letters telling him about the features of the city: transportation, school, deli's, apartment buildings, etc. Many of them told him they would like to be his friend and guide once he arrived. We took a walk through the neighborhood, making a video to teach him about New York City life. The students carefully planned the lines they would say at each of the 5 stops we made: a corner deli, the dog run at Tompkins Square Park, an apartment building, and the school, and a bus stop. Towards the end of the walk, however, the students were so excited to show Sangoel everything! They kept saying, "Let's show him this!" and I would use the flip cam to tape their quick explanation. They were especially excited when they saw the word "Urban" (one of our main vocab words) on the side of a Vet Hospital. They decided Sangeol needed to know about that since he has a dog named Moon.

Since that day, the students have been busy. We had a surprise welcome party for Sangoel, during which all the students presented him with gifts and advice. Sangoel shared with them a recording of Sudanese music and they had the chance to drum along.

One day the worked in the phone room of the International Rescue Committee Office "answering phones" and helping place families in urban, suburban or rural neighborhoods. We were working on the concept of where each of these kinds of communities are located in relation to each other. They placed apartment buildings or houses made of connecting blocks with the families names on them on huge maps of the United States, placing them near cities, just outside them, or in between them. Some of them had a harder time understanding the spatial relationships, but by the end, they all seemed to understand. They thoroughly enjoyed "answering phones" and I we could hear quiet voices saying "this is the Youth Ambassdors, how may I help you?" all over the room. Isaiah was especially excited and proud of his work, saying, "I'm doing really good! I'm ready to have a clipboard now to take notes!!" I had told them that once they got the hang of answering phones, they could have a clipboard to write down the names of cities or towns. At the end of the day, Samir said, "I really liked answerign phones and helping families. There is alot of homelessness in the world and I think it should end." Taine said, "I really liked answering phones and I would do it again."

We have now moved on to studying suburban communities. On Friday, the students found out that they recieved a grant to build a suburban community full of new houses for Marwa and her family from Afghanistan as well as other refugee families. They spent the day planning their communities. They had to plan where the houses, yards, streets, stores, and school would go. They also had the chance to plan an area that served children specifically. Layla Jean had the idea that along with a playground, they would also build a community center where children could take English classes. This idea spread quickly, so by the end of class, almost all of the groups had added English classes to their offerings for the children, along with pools, playgrounds, amusement parks, daycare centers and even a museum for kids! Everyone seemed very engaged and focused on this activity for the full 25 minutes that we worked on it. Don, Lenore, Leanne and I took notes and observations on each students' understanding of what makes a suburban community different from urban or rural and how they were doing on the project. We noticed a few students really working at including everyone's ideas in thier small groups. This was good to see.

We will continue with our work next Wednesday!

LEEANE/LENORE: Day One of Communities Study!

2011-01-12T15:04:00.000-08:00

THE YOUTH AMBASSADORS

Today I began the first InFlight session in Leanne and Lenore's 2nd Grade class. We are studying types of communities: urban, suburban, and rural.

We started out by playing some fun drama games incorporating listening, movement, and body awareness. We talked about what we would be doing in the drama together: creating a story! We talked about one of the aspects of stories: problems. Sam was able to give us a great definition: "It's when something goes wrong and it needs solving." When I asked, who do you think will be solving the problems in our story, they said, "We will!"

I started out by talking to the students about what a refugee is: someone who is forced to leave their country because of war or conflict. Then we read a beautiful children's book called, "My Name is Sangoel" about a boy refugee from Sudan who moves to the US. When his doctor, students, his soccer coach, and his teacher have trouble saying his name, he has the wonderful idea to where a teeshirt with a picture of a sun and a goal to teach people how to say his name correctly. Sun-goal. The students were so interested in the story. They talked about how sad he was, leaving his friends and how hard it would be for him to be in a completely new place. They all raised their hands when I asked if they had ever been new to a place.

After a short dicussion, we began the drama.....1-2-3-ACTION! I came into the room in role as Ms. Johnson, one of the characters from the book who I imagined as a worker from the International Rescue Agency. Ms. Johnson was looking for a group of Youth Ambassadors to help the agency. She explained that when refugee families arrive, they often have children with them and that the agency decided it was time to have a team of 2nd graders who could act as guides and a welcome committee to these young people. Ms. Johnson was shocked to know that the students knew the definition of refugee and that they had such knowledge about New York City. The students answered the final question, "If you were a Youth Ambassador, what would you do to help a young person who had just arrived to the United States?" After hearing their answers, the IRC decided they should definitely be the Youth Ambassadors!

Before we even had time to celebrate, we recieved 3 emergency letters delivered to our door. They were all 3 from young people from different countries who were moving to the United States. Based on what they said in their letters, the students decided which of the three communities their families might like to live in (urban, suburban, rural). The final letter was from Sangoel, who would be arriving in 2 days! From what he said in his letter, they decided that he would be most happy living in the city.

Tomorrow we will write him letters letting him know that we will help him and we will send him pictures of the city!

ALEXIS PhotoZone--from the school of Photo-opolis from Minneapolis in Minnesota

2010-11-16T07:04:00.000-08:00

In the Fall of 2010 INFLIGHT sessions, Alexis' 4th and 5th graders were in role as a covert team of the International Detective Agency, traveling through South America trying to discover Carmen San Diego's next plan. They created their own cover story: that they were photography students from a school called Photo-opolis in Minneapolis. They decided this would allow them to take pictures, research and travel as much as they needed to to track Carmen. One day, at a border crossing, however, the border guard said, "You must have a blog if you are a photography school! Can I look it up?" In order not to raise suspicion, the undercover agents said yes. Thankfully, the guard said his internet was not working, so the agents had a few days to create a fake blog. These were their entries:

10-11-10
Today I heard from my friend, Bryanna that she was going to a school called Photo-opolis. And I said, "what's that?". She said, "it's a school that you get to go on trips and take pictures!". Then I said, "Sounds cool. I'm going to apply also." She said, "awesome".
Tajah

10-12-10
Today my teacher said, "Class, do you want to go to take pictures in South America?" I was so excited. I love taking pictures of nature. When I was little, my mom said I was a photographer.
Rayna

10-16-10
This is the day that we get close to Brazil. Outside the window we saw trees, grass, plants, flowers, people, food....we took pictures and ate food and listened to the radio. When we were driving we we learning about South America....the food, people, and places.
Serafina

10-17-10
Today we were fixing a real engine with first aid stuff. I had to put a needle shot in the oil. And trust me, it was not easy. You have no idea how hot it is!

10-20-10
Today I was in the bus with my colleagues and we just ate lunch and the rope that held our luggage snapped and 5 bags fell on a tree on the side of the mountain we were driving on.
Miles

Today we had the most amazing day. We were going along a cliff when our luggage fell off and landed on a tree sticking out of the cliff. So we went to a remaining bag and took out a rope and tied it to a big and wide rope....
Daniel

10-23-10
Today we had been taking pictures of waterfalls, rain forests, another things. I came on this trip because I wanted to see around the world and visit around the world. This is a great trip because I like to take pictures.

10-25-10
We'd been driving for 2 hours with no problems. But then something happened: A flood. Right in front of the road. Go figure. So, we had to build a raft, which was SUPER hard, not at all like in the movies. I got really frustrated, but then we were done. So we climbed on and hoped for the best. It got worse. One of the people in our group couldn't swim so they wouldn't go on. In the end we had to tie him to the raft. We got floating. But then a huge wave came and me and som eother person almost fell off. Terrifying. LIke the water wanted to eat me. Why didn't I fall off? Lidija saved me. Thanks Lidija.

I.D.A. Mission in Iraq Complete!

2010-06-01T11:12:00.001-07:00

Here is a report of the IDA mission in Iraq! Sally Sleuth (Kelli) sent them a message that she had just had some amazing luck! She had discovered one of Carmen's hide-outs in New York City. Instead of heading to Iraq ahead of the agents, she decided to stay in New York to try to figure out Carmen's plans. The night before, she saw Carmen outside her hideout and caught her on video talking to one of her agents! This is what she saw:

From this message, the agents figured out what Carmen was trying to steal: The Cradle of

Civilization (Tigris and Euphrates rivers) and all the books ever written about it. They decided to head to Alia Mohomad Baker's house right away before Carmen's agent would get there! Thankfully, the agents knew all about her. They had read a book about her in the Hero Center the week before. Alia was a librarian in Basra who carried 30,000 books to her house before the US invaded. She saved the books just in time, before the library was burned down.

First we read a letter that Agent Shams and her father had written giving us more important information about Iraq. Agent Shams read it to us. The students seemed excited that one of our agents was from Iraq. They knew she would be able to help all of us!

Here are some reports from the Agents themselves about what happened next:

"...when we arrived at Alia's house (the great and mighty book keeper of 30,000 books)...

Agent Lidija

"She offered us baklava and black tea. The baklava was sweet and crunchy and the black tea was sweet, silky and smooth. It all filled my belly up so I could get down to stopping Carmen." Agent Solomon

"...we had to ask for the book called the Arts of Assyria. When we asked for the book we had to make a distraction because in Carmen's video she said that there is a hidden flip cam in the back of the book..." Agent Lindsay

"...then we calmly asked for the book, lying to Alia about how we are students, then sneaking the flip cam over her shoulder, then taking the book and reading..." Agent Lidija

"So, then we took a look through the Arts of Assyria. And when we saw a secret note we said, "Oh hey! look there's a blue jay!" to Alia so she turned around so we could get the notes...." Agent Solomon

"After we saw the two notes, we had to hunt for the books before Carmen's agent finds them because Carmen want to steal Alia's books. So we had to stop them. And we searched everywhere!" Agent Lindsay

"Lucky for us we got all the books and finished the list. When Carmen replied back we found out we had to go to the Great Mosque of Sammara..." Agent Lidija

"When we got tothe Mosque of Sammara, we had to walk up and around it six times to get to the top of the the Mosque. But as soon as we started up, we ran into guards and they told us that the Mosque was closed....so we took a test they gave us." Agent Andre

"...they asked us questions about the 5 Pillars (of Islam). They told us to name them. We didn't do to well on that." Agent Shams

"...So we had to do another test. The other test was to make a figure of one of the 5 pillars: Ramadan fasting, one God, Charuty, Praying 5 times a day, and visiting Mecca." Agent Andre

"But they put us in groups for doing that. Then we passed the test so they let us in the Mosque. But then we had to go up 6 times around and it was really hot." Agent Shams

"It was in the shape fo a spiral." Agent Christopher

"Oh man! I'm gonna have to walk up that thing!? The third time around I'm going to melt! Now I'm wishing we didn't survie the tests! ooh! I forgot! I'm afraid of heights! 1.....we're getting higher...2...and higher...3...and higher...4...Don't look down, Tanner...5...don't...look...down...6..we're at the top! There's a message in stone. Can we run down now?"

Agent Tanner

"...and then we got up to the top of the minnaret, then we found the stone. Then Agent Christopher picked it up and there was the final plan for Carmen's Agent!" (carved into the stone) Agent Shams

"Then we reached the top of the Mosque of Sammara. And I, Christopher found the stone that was the message to Carmen's Agent D. Then we went back to the ship. And slammed the stone on the floor and it shattered into a thousand pieces and everyone threw the pieces into the water!" Agent Christopher

"...and that was how we passed the mission!!" Agent Shams

Leadership Training Videos

2010-05-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

The agents have just complete their mission to Iraq. Details of their adventures will be coming soon.

In the meantime, I.D.A. Headquarters asked the agents to develop a training video to teach new recruits how to work with a team.

Check out what the agents came up with!

Alexis: I.D.A. Mission to IRAQ

2010-05-15T10:48:00.001-07:00

Here is a report on our fifth InFlight drama session with the agents of the IDA.

Safely back on the yacht after our successful adventure in Tibet, the IDA agents checked their mail! They had received a thank-you letter from the Ruben Museum, who had heard that they had saved the stories from Buddhism and the monks from being stolen by Carmen.

The agents hit the fitness room on the yacht, where they exercised and did some small group training work. In Tibet, there had been a few glitches with team-work skills, especially when the entire group of agents had to work together to create a formation with all of their bodies....the shape of a mountain that could be seen from above.

After exercising, we recieved a message from HQ! They had intercepted some messages from Carmen! We got out our atlases to be prepared. We listened to a music clip picked up from a cell phone call. Shams recognized it! We deciphered a math problem that gave map coordinates and re-assembled mixed up words that turned out to be the countries surrounding Iraq. Finally, we watched a video of one of Carmen's computer screens that HQ had hacked into. After all those clues, the kids had no doubt that the next place Carmen was headed was Iraq!

We mapped our course on the world map. The agents spent the next week on the ship, going through the learning stations Alexis (aka Ingrid) had so brilliantly set up. By the next week, they were ready for their Iraq adventure!

Mission Reports from Tibet

2010-05-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

In our next drama session, the Agents arrived in Tibet and found out what Carmen was trying to steal: all of the stories of Tibetan Buddhism!!

They had only one hour to intercept and solve the clues that Carmen was leaving her agents! They had 3 clues to solve.

1. At the Yak Hotel in Lhasa they ordered vegetable momos (traditional Tibetan dumplings). As they were eating (yum!), they noticed that the bottom of the plates had scrambled letters on them! They had to work together quickly to unscramble the letters, sending them to...

2. Potala Palace, "West Hall". At the Potala Palace, the guards were only letting religion students into the West Hall. To prove they were studying Buddhism, the IDA agents were asked to draw a picture of one symbol or story of Buddhism. Thankfully, the guards were very impressed by their knowledge and let them in.

3. The next clue lead them to the sacred Nam-Tso Lake where they had to accomplish a difficult task as a team!

Hear all about this latest mission to Tibet from the Agents themselves!

First stop, Yak Hotel where Agents Karma, Tenzin, Dream, Jackson, and Mateo share the details.

What happened next? Listen to Agents Bryanna, Shams, Tajah and Lindsey and find out!

Agents Jose, Christopher, Julian, Tanner, Owen, and Andre tell more about Potala Palace.

The adventure continues at Lake Nam Tso, hear from Agents Spencer, Solomon, and Cormac!

And finally, hear more about how the Agents saved the day - straight from Agents Dolma, Lidija, and Willa!

Alexis: I.D.A. Mission to TIBET

2010-05-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

Here is a report on our third InFlight drama session with the agents of the IDA.

Safely back on the yacht after our adventure in Kenya, the IDA agents had a debriefing of their mission. They had successfully foiled Carmen San Diego's plans to steal all of the trees of the Green Belt Movement (planted by Wangari Maathai and the women of Kenya) as well as the National Motto, "Harambe!", which means "to pull together". We discussed the kinds of things that Carmen likes to steal: very significant, large-scale things that are very important to a country. We also talked about how well we did as agents and how we could improve for our next mission. Ideas included listening better, paying attention to details, improving our tourist disguises, and thinking on our feet to come up with better answers when asked about who we are and what we're doing.

We were just about to have a little free time in the fitness and pool room, when an urgent message came in from Headquarters! They had intercepted a message from Carmen! The message said: "Same latitude as Cairo, Egypt". We got out our atlases and started making guesses as to what country it could be. Two more intercepted communications were retrieved. They were pictograms that we deciphered: "Roof of the World" and "Home of Snow". I think Karma, Tenzin, and Dolma knew where it was at this point! But, we all discussed the meaning of the messages and came to conclusion that there must be many mountains in this place. Just then, HQ called again. They had just hacked into one of Carmen's computers and were able to record the screen of one of the computers as a google search was happening. This was the google search of one of Carmen's agents: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhPQxO6qbDE

They were very excited about this video and had lots of

ideas about what Carmen might be up to in Tibet! This was on April 27th, sowe knew that we had one week to get there. Headquarters sent us information about traveling in Tibet immediately. I read some information to the students about the very high altitude of Tibet and how most travelers need to take several days to rest and acclimate. We discussed how this would be impossible to do since when we would arrive on May 4th, we would only have a few hours to discover Carmen's plan. We decided we would need to be in excellent shape before we arrived! We got right to work. A team of agents started redesigning the fitness room. They drew up plans for rock climbing walls, high-tech tread-mills that simulate steep mountains, and even fake mountains with fog/snow machines and fans simulating the weather conditions in the Himalayas. Another group studied the symptoms and remedies for altitude sickness. Another team studied pictures of Mt. Everest climbers and made a list of all the supplies we would need should we have to do any Himalayan climbing while there. It was a very productive, exciting end to our 3rd drama session. Sally Sleuth told everyone she would head straight to Tibet to start sleuthing for clues. In the meantime, the agents would spend one week on the yacht, researching all the could about Tibet (and working out in the new fitness room!)

The following week, Alexis (Ingrid Investigator) prepared amazing centers for the students. They read books about hte Dalai Lama, they listened to recordings of Tibetan words (recorded by Tenzin, Dolma, and Karma), they listened to music, watched a video, and took a field trip to the Ruben Museum of Himalayan art where they heard many stories of Buddhism!

Stay tuned for the agent reports about what happened when they arrived on May 4th in Tibet!

I.D.A. Kenya: Mission Report on the Game Park, Marketplace, and Our Escape!

2010-04-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

After our encounter at Casablanca, the clues led us to the Game Park. Hear all about what happened!

Agent Andre gives us the details:

Agent Tenzin tells us the story!

Agent Mateo gives us the report!

After solving the Game Park Puzzle, we were off to the Marketplace in Meru.

Check out Agent Dream's Report:

And finally, listen to Agent Tanner describe our daring escape!

I.D.A. Kenya: Mission Report on the Encounter at Casablanca Dance Club!

2010-04-26T12:27:00.001-07:00

Hear firsthand from our agents about our encounter with Carmen's henchmen in the Casablanca Dance Club!

First, from Agent Christopher:

Now hear from Agent Owen:

Agent Bryanna tells her side of it:

Agent Lindsey fills in some details:

Agent Shams gives the play-by-play:

Agent Willa gives us the details!

I.D.A. Learning about Kenya

2010-04-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

Listen to Agent Jose's report on Kenyan music. This information was absolutely invaluable to our agents when they were deep undercover in the Casablanca dance club!

Want to know more about food in Kenya? Check out Agent Cormac's report! The agent's used this information when they were tracking Carmen's agents in the Meru Marketplace.

Curious about the people of Kenya? Listen to Agent Dolma!

I.D.A. Mission in Kenya!

2010-04-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

Last week, our agents successfully stopped Carmen from stealing the Trees of Kenya! Before they could tackle this mission, they researched and learned about the country. Read on to see our Field Reports on Kenya and our Mission Reports on how we stopped Carmen's nefarious plan!

Alexis: The International Detective Agency's New Recruits!

2010-04-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, April 13th, I started the InFlight residency with Alexis' class! Alexis, myself, and the students will be blogging about our adventures over the course of the next two months. Our social studies topic is World Communities. Here is what happened on the first day.

The students received a TOP SECRET manilla envelope addressed to 3rd and 4th grade students of the five boroughs (and their teachers). They were concerned that the envelope might have aroused curiosity from non-3rd and 4th graders and that it may have been tampered with. So I asked them to help with the story-telling and figure out a way that this could have been prevented. They came up with the idea that it was actually sealed with a finger-print scanner that would open only for the students of Alexis' class. Excellent thinking and problem-solving! Also, a great way to give them an early chance to co-create the drama, setting the stage for what is to come!

The envelope contained a DVD from Sally Slueth (myself) from the International Detective Agency explaining how 10 years ago the criminal mastermind, Carmen San Diego and her crew (you may have heard of her) went on a stealing spree around the globe, stealing such treasures as the Pyramids of Egypt, the Milky Way, the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, the Hip Hop music from NYC, the penguins from Antarctica and the Brooklyn Bridge. Fortunately detectives returned the stolen goods, but recent intercepted communications indicate that she is back and greedier and smarter than ever. A new generation of agents are needed to find out what she is up to, before it's too late! The students followed Sally Slueth's instructions to text message a code if they were interested in being interviewed. Luckily, they were all interested--whew!

Myself and Alexis were in role as Sally Slueth and Ingrid Investigator, the recruitment agents. We administered a series of tests to find out if the students were up to job including world geography questions and mapping skills. They also completed a language proficiency test, making a list of the word "hello" in as many languages as they could. We counted at least 25

different languages! In small groups, they were asked to create statues of world treasures with their bodies which included the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Pyramids, a space hotel, and the house of the Dalai Lama! They also had to answer why they, as a class would make great agents.

"We're very sneaky."

"We play alot of video games and some games are detective games so we are good mystery solvers."

"We did a mystery unit and solved mini mysteries."

"Because we listen."

"Because we have mixed grades and are from different places"

"We are smart"

"We are talented"

When Ingrid and I faxed the test scores to headquarters, the results came back with good news:

all the students were chosen as the new recruits! The chief also had a surprise for them: he was giving them a high speed yacht fully equipped with all the technology they would need. This way they could travel the world, following Carmen's trail. The chief named Ingrid Investigator the Captain, due to her extensive navigation experience.

These are the new recruits for the IDA and these are the recruits in their tourist disguises!

After we took a tour of the ship, we got a message from HQ! They had just intercepted some communications and needed us to figure them out immediately! We gathered in the stern of the boat (the captains room) and listened to a clip of music picked up from the background of a cell phone call. After listening several times, the students guessed that the music was from Africa. They got out their atlases again and from the following words, discovered that they think Carmen and her crew are headed to Kenya and will arrive in 7 days! "Equator, Coast, Lake Victoria, Nobel Peace Prize, Nairboi". The new agents mapped a route from NYC to the coast of Kenya through the Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and finally the Indian Ocean. I said good-bye to the agents, letting them know I would go to Kenya ahead of them and make arrangements for their arrival.

They will spend the next 4 days traveling to Kenya. On the yacht they will go through an intensive study of Kenya in order to be prepared with as much knowledge when they arrive next Tuesday. Alexis (Captain Ingrid) has outfitted the yacht with a music and language listening/learning center, a library, a map/geography center, articles on the daily life of Kenyans and many other resources. They should be experts by the time they arrive, disguised as tourists to catch Carmen before she strikes again!

Yadir, Jeanine, and Georga's Classes: Wangari and the Trees of Kenya

2010-02-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

Hello All! Welcome to the first post of the 2010 InFlight season at EVCS. My name is Kelli Holsopple and I am the teaching artist for Phoenix Theatre Ensemble's InFlight Program. I collaborate with teachers to create learning experiences for students, using interactive theatre as a way to explore their curriculum. I have worked at EVCS for five years and we have found that drama as a learning tool fits perfectly with EVCS's project-based, hands-on curriculum.

I'm excited about beginning with the Kindergarten classes this year! Please become a follower so you can keep updated on our drama adventures.

The drama for the Kindergarten classes is based on the story of Wangari Maathai, the winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her work planting trees in Kenya. (Thanks to Finn's family for giving Georga's class the book, Wangari and the Trees of Kenya! You inspired Georga and myself to make this the focus of our drama exploration this year. Wangari's story is a perfect extension of the Kindergarteners tree study; weaving in environmental, social justice, and global themes. The drama will be based on the story line of the book and other research.)

Monday, we began the drama with a huge envelope addressed to "The Scientists, Earth Helpers, and World Travelers of Georga, David, Jeanine, and Yadir's classrooms". I told the students that it must have been addressed to the wrong place: "Where are the scientists in this room?" I said.

They all emphatically informed me that they were, indeed, scientists. They informed me that they studied animals, trees, and nature! They know that trees have trunks, branches, and leaves that change color. They know there are different kinds of trees. They know that baby trees are called saplings. They also informed me that they were earth helpers. They recycle, clean up trash, and Georga's class pointed out that one of their daily jobs is "animals and plant caretakers". What more proof did I need that they were the intended recipients of the letter?!

The letter was from Wangari Maathai. She sent pictures of herself planting trees and giving speeches. She is also a scientist and earth helper and had heard about the students tree study and wanted to meet them. She invited us all to Kenya! She said she wanted to show us the trees she loves and three special places in Kenya: a big city, Nairobi....a big park, Masai Mara....and a big mountain, Mt. Kenya!

On Tuesday, we flew in an airplane from New York City to

Nairobi, the largest city in Kenya.

We rode in a matatu through the huge city filled with tall buildings, buses, cars, and palm trees. Here is a real matatu, and here is an illustration of our ride through Nairobi.

Wednesday, we went to Masai Mara, one of the most famous game parks in Kenya. We rode in an open-air truck and spied many animals through our binoculars. We saw amazing pictures of elephants, lions, giraffes, warthogs, zebras, and hippos swimming in Mara River. In Yadir's class I held up big pictures and in Georga's class, we looked at pictures on the computer screen!

An elephant walked right up to our truck and sprayed us with water!

(See the lion next to the truck?)

That night, the scientists and their teachers gathered around a fire outside their tent and roasted marshmellows. They watched the sunset and the stars. I was "in role" as the tour guide of Masai Mara and I told them about Thigi, the peace tree. A long long time ago there were many thigi trees all over Kenya. When a village elder would break off a branch from the tree and place it between two people having a fight, it meant that they would have to find a way to reconcile. We listened to a lullaby and fell asleep.

Thursday was the day we were to climb Mt. Kenya and meet Wangari at the top. It was a tough climb, but with our ropes we all made it! I was in-role as Kaya, the tour guide, who was very scared of heights. The students told me that they weren't scared at all (except one, who was also scared of heights) and that they would help me to the top. Here is an illustration. Note the smiling faces and teamwork! We used our ropes to lasso a rock jutting out and then pulled ourselves up. When we got to the top, I went into role as Wangari. We had talked at the beginning about how I would be playing many different characters, so by now the students were used to accepting the different roles that myself, the teachers and they were playing (at one point, they were in role as lions and giraffes, and the sunrise).

When the students realized that I was representing Wangari, Yadir's class began handing me pretend pictures of the trees in New York City and books about trees from their classrooms (they had remembered that Wangari had asked for them in the letter!). They also spontaneously broke into song, singing "Jambo Bwana" to show Wangari that they knew a song of Kenya!

PS. At the airport, we saw a man with a black bag who asked the students about the skyscrapers in New York City. We saw him again at Masai Mara, talking to someone about plans for buildings. We're not sure what he's up to, but we're curious.

PSS. Feel free to leave comments!

1st Grade: Jo Jo's Farm!

2009-04-22T17:14:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first entry of Clara's Inflight project! I have been working with Clara's class on their farm study for the last 5 weeks and much has transpired! If you will be in Town Meeting tomorrow, you will hear the story of Jo Jo's farm from the students. If not, please enjoy this narrative about what has happened so far! Everything I will write about has taken place within the four walls of Clara's room with one short trip to the hallway. So when I talk about "going to Brooklyn" or anywhere else, it means we are using the magical transportation system of theatre! (First Graders are really good at this, by the way!!)

CLICK on the PICTURE for a close up of the map the students' created of Jo Jo's farm! They collectively decided what the farm needed and how it should be laid out.

The drama began with a trip to a farmer's market in Brooklyn, in a neighborhood where there are lots of fast food restaurants, lots of deli's but very few grocery stores. We met Maria (me in role as a 12 year old from the neighborhood) who helped us find the way. She was on her way to buy fruits and vegetables from Jo Jo, the woman who brought produce from her farm to the market every week. We arrived and met Jo Jo (me again with a straw hat and glasses). She was very excited to meet Clara's first graders and told them about how she runs the farm by herself since her children have all grown up and moved away. The students sampled food from her stand and had a dance party to the live band that was playing (courtesy of the stereo).

I then narrated that the next week the students went to visit Jo Jo at the market and the whole place was empty. Only a sign reading "sorry" was hanging where the stand used to be. Maria burst onto the scene frantic about the situation. Clara called Jo Jo (they had exchanged numbers at their first meeting) and Jo Jo asked if she could come to the classroom to explain. When I put the hat back on and entered the room limping, the students were very kind. They asked why I was limping and I told them I had fallen off a ladder and because I was running the farm alone, had decided that I couldn't handle it anymore. I had decided to close the farm. They were shocked and immediately hands were waving in the air and they were shouting, "we can help! we can help!" I really thought I would have to prompt this response....but their generosity and enthusiasm was abundant!

I said, "But you all live in the city! You don't know anything about farms!". "Yes we do!!" they cried. And one student said very adamantly, "we are studying about farms! Look at all these books!". "There's 22 of us!", another student called, "We can do it!" Another student posed, "If the farm closes, the people won't get fresh food! It's the only place in Brooklyn to get fresh food! It's the only place in new york city! It's the only place in the whole state!" I had to correct him, but the sentiment was right: Jo Jo's stand was very important to the health of the city. I told them they should really discuss whether or not they would want to take over the farm while I recovered from my sprained ankle. One student expressed concern about being away from home for so long. Indeed, this was a big decision that they should consider carefully. I told Clara to call me once they had made their decision. I said good-bye, as Jo Jo, and expressed my deep gratitude that the 1st graders were so brave and willing.

The next day when I was at home, my cell phone rang and Clara said, "Is Jo Jo there?". She had her cell on speaker phone and the whole class said, "YES!" They had made their decision. The adventure began!

Kindergarten: Adventure in the Woods

2009-02-05T12:55:00.001-08:00

It's time for one last entry about the Bear Expert Team! This entry will explain some of the work we did between the last entry and the final share for friends and family that took place the Friday before break. Thank you to all the friends and families that came and for those of you who could not make it, I have included some pictures. Thanks to Georga, Jeanine, Renee, Angie, Nellie, Robyn, Shifra, and Bradley for your help and support! (:

Our Trip to the Woods

The next day, we began preparations by packing our backpacks. All of the students participated in creating a very thorough checklist for what we should bring. Students listed camping equipment: tents, sleeping bags, ropes, food, water, pillows. They also remembered all of the bear studying equipment we would need: cameras, video cameras, binoculars, telescopes, notebooks, pens, walkie talkies (to keep us together). We also decided on guidelines we should follow in the woods: --no one should ever be alone, --we shouldn't pick any flowers or plants (so others can enjoy them and because "plants have feelings too") --stay far away from the bears and try not to scare them. I decided that someone should stay behind to take care of the office and answer phone calls, so after some protestations from the students I agreed to stay behind. I told them they were Bear Experts and they had each other to depend on......they would be fine! Soon after, I went into role as a young person decked out in a backpack, hiking hat and headlamp who knocked tentatively on the office door. I asked if I could be an expert-in training and go along into the field with them. They agreed but only after telling me the forest rules and getting me to agree.

I had had fun laying down tracks

(laminated, cut-out animal tracks) that morning before school. So, when we got to the "woods" we followed the tracks to find different pictures of animals.

After a chaotic and fun activity of following and identifying animal tracks, we came back to the circle on the rug to gather around the "campfire". Soon the students were roasting marshmallows (without prompting from me) and singing songs! As the Expert in Training, I acted scared about sleeping out in the woods in the dark and they told me to be brave and sang me lullabies so I would not be so scared.

The next several sessions took place in the woods. We watched videos of black bears, looked at pictures, and talked about black bear behavior. One of the sessions focused on bear "emotions". We looked at pictures of angry bears and talked about how bears "bluster" (huff and puff and snort and clack their teeth) when they are scared or threatened to scare away potential threats. I went into role as a hiker who was terrified of a bear that was blustering. The Bear Experts convinced the hiker that everything was okay, that the bear was just faking it and was more scared of me than I was scared of it. In Georga's class, J. said, "Some bears might attack you but the bear you saw was a black bear and they don't attack humans!" Moments like these, when students are explaining their understanding to characters, are great opportunities for assessing student comprehension.

We also spent a day in role as bears, acting out bear behavior/activities in all the four seasons. I sang them through summer and fall, then when snow started to fall, I gave them their coats (their winter bear skin) and then found places in the room to build their dens: by digging them out of the ground, finding a cave, or finding an empty tree trunk. They "hibernated" through the winter (to a long, meditative song) and then awoke in spring to a dance party!

After several days exploring bear behavior in the woods, the Bear Experts encountered a problem! They ran into a logger who had cut down a tree only to find that it was hollow and that three baby bears were inside. The Bear Experts deduced that the mother had heard the sound of the saw and had run away in fear. The logger had been waiting all night in the cold for the mother to return. At this point we had a very serious discussion about what to do. We discussed that at this point in their lives they could not find food on their own, but were dependent upon their mother's milk. Some students wanted to go try to find the mother by tracking pawprints. Others were concerned about having to split up the group. Since the mother had not returned by this point, some students conjectured that she may have died or may not be coming back at all. In both classes students said, "we need to be the mother for the cubs". The over-all consensus was that we should take the cubs back to the office and feed them until we decided what to do. A convention that worked nicely throughout our time "in the woods" was "calling" Kelli back at the office since I was now playing the young Expert in Training. Again, it was a great way to have students recap what had happened within the context of the drama, instead of having to ask, "So, what happened today?" The students would pick up a block and pretend to dial and pretend to talk to me back at the office.

When we returned, we talked about what the cubs needed. We decided that we would need to recreate what their den might have been like. A group of students got to work in the block area, making a "den". Others gathered soft things from the classroom, stuffed animals, cloth, blankets to put inside. Others started warming up milk in the kitchen and feeding the tiny bears with baby bottles. In Georga's class, a student who carried a teddy bear with her at all times in the classroom offered to give it up to put in the den so it could mimic the mother's fur. I thought this was very generous, as the teddy bear was very important to her and I hadn't seen her without it for several days. All throughout this process we looked at pictures of real infant cubs and discussed what their lives were like in the very beginning. I set an alarm and we fed them every 5 minutes.

After taking care of the baby bears it was time to decide what to do. We talked about the importance of returning them to their natural habitat. While it was necessary to take care of them now, we could not teach them how to be bears...only another bear could do that. In Georga's class, N brought up an idea that we could give the baby bears to the three mother bears we had observed and seen in the woods (the students had named them Yoony, Jewel, and Toughie). When I mentioned that the mother's woudl still be hibernating, S had the idea that we should sneak up very quietly to the dens and deposit the baby bears inside next to the mothers. In fact, this very solution that the students came up with was the same solution used by The Appalachian Bear Rescue organization to rehabilitate 3 bears they found in the woods. Here is the story that I borrowed from for our drama:

www.appalachianbearrescue.org/bearly_alive.html

The Final Performance

On the final day of our Bear study, we invited friends and family to join us. Shifra brought in real black bear bones and a black bear pelt for us to look at! The students were thrilled to have real bones in our "bone room". For the performance I explained that the audience would join our drama as journalists at the first ever Bear Expert Team press conference. I handed parents questions to ask and we began the conference. Here were some of the questions: "I heard that you all sing a chant that explains who you are. Could you sing it for us?" "What do bears do in each season?", "I can see pictures you have of bears that look very angry! Why are they so angry?" "How did you find the bears in the woods?" Each question gave us a chance to sing a song or explain something we had discovered in our study. After the questions were asked, we "walked into the woods" all together, searched for the mother's dens and sang a quiet lullaby as the students ceremoniously passed the bears down a line and placed them carefully in the mother's den. I narrated that 2 years later the BET decided to go out into the woods and check in on how their bears were doing. I then showed the students and audience pictures of young cubs with their mothers and the students speculated on how they were doing now. To end the performance, I awarded each Bear Expert Team member with a special gift, a CD of the songs we had created during our study. We applauded each member as I shook their hand. A success!

Kindergarten: Working in the Office

2009-02-05T12:48:00.000-08:00

On their first day as the B.E.T. the students arrived at their office ready to work! They ceremoniously entered the office one by one through the doors they had designed. The door on the right was designed by Renee's class. Notice the carefully drawn keyhole. The door on the left was designed by Georga's class. Notice the bear claw door knob, designed by Sebastian. He also made a similar claw which he placed above the door to "keep us safe". Lino thought that the office's address should be #10, so he was sure to add a #10 above the door.

The first step was to decide which departments should occupy the office. Renee's class decided on: a library full of bear books, a museum ("like the natural history museum where all the dinosaur bones are") full of bear bones and artifacts, a hospital to take care of sick and injured bears, and a phone center. Georga's class decided on: an equipment room (Oliver suggested making a telescope powerful enough to see into the woods behind the office in order to observe the bears), a phone center (complete with phones, computers with which to look up information on the internet and a copier), and an observation room, where the Bear Experts would leave food that would attract bears. The experts would then observe the bears' behavior through the window.

The students spent two busy days in the office. Students got to work building the hospital in the block area, looking through bear books and making library cards, and building bear bones out of play-dough while looking at pictures of bear skeletons. Oliver made the telescope and along with Lily began looking through it and then mapping the forest. Ayaana had had the idea to build a bear observation room, so she and Sebastian worked on making bear food out of connecting blocks. They made fish, honey, and berries. According to Ayaana, they laid them out and waited for bears to come. When the bears arrived, the experts observed that their teeth and claws were sharp. They ate "lots of berries and a little of the other foods." The bone team reported that they had dug in the ground to find bones that were 100 years old! They made rib bones, vertebrae, and bear claws out of play-dough.

Perhaps the most exciting room in both offices was the phone room. Phones were ringing off the hook! Georga, Jeanine, Angie, and myself took notes on what kinds of calls the Bear Experts were receiving and what their answers were. One caller thought that bears ate pasta and hotdogs. The experts corrected them! One caller said that a bear had broken out of the Central Park Zoo and was headed east. Another caller said that the bear was now headed west. Li Bing answered a phone call from someone who saw a bear paw print with hair in it---"it was humongous!" Another caller confessed that he had killed a bear by accident thinking it was a deer. Another man was scared because a bear was outside his window. The experts called the Central Park Zoo to take care of the bear. A worried woman called because she had seen a skinny bear. The B.E.T. decided to feed it berries. A very scared grandmother called because a bear was right outside her window! The Experts told her not to worry, but to stay inside. One woman was feeding a bear pizza and the expert who took the call told her not to. "It will get out of control," the expert told her. Many of the phone calls were about bear sightings which the experts recorded by putting star stickers on the map of NY State. By the end of the day, the map was full of star stickers. Apparently there are lots of black bears living among us! The phone room also had to juggle countless requests for photocopies of bear information from schools all over the state.

The students worked very hard at all the different stations. At the end of the second day, I told them about a phone call I had received. Someone thought they heard baby bears crying in the woods. Both classes felt strongly that the next day we should leave the office behind and take our first trip into the forest! To be continued...

Kindergarten: The Bear Expert Team

2009-02-03T17:33:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the first post of the InFlight Blog! InFlight began working with the Kindergarten classes on a process drama about black bears in New York 2 weeks ago and so much has transpired!

It all began with a paw print in Central Park. I showed them this picture, and they quickly identified it as a bear print. What in the world was a bear print doing in Central Park? The students turned on the news and saw me "in role" as a reporter explaining the mystery of the paw print on the evening news. The news program was interrupted by a message from the mayor of NYC! Again "in role" I played the mayor, completely overwhelmed by hundreds of phone calls that were coming into the office. They were all about the bear in Central Park. New Yorkers wanted to know why! They also wanted to know about bears: where they lived, what they ate, whether they were dangerous or not. The mayor begged New York to stop calling the office. Apparently he knows nothing about bears and neither does his staff! He had other things to do so he pleaded for someone to help. "If only we had a team of people that could take care of all these phone calls!" he sighed.

Even before the news report was over, the students were raising their hands and bursting out of their seats to volunteer their services. As it turned out, they did know something about bears (definitely more than the mayor), and they were willing to help out in any way they could. Unanimously, both classes decided that they could become the "Bear Expert Team" for New York State.

As the inauguration had taken place a couple days before, they agreed to be "inaugurated" as the Bear Team. First, we had to decide what a "Bear Expert Team" would do. In Georga's class, they decided to: be the babysitters of bears, take care of the bears in the forest and at the zoo, take care of the forest (as that's where bears live), teach the city about bears, watch bears, and go on the news once in awhile to tell people about bears. In Renee's class they decided to watch bears in the woods, take care of the bears, answer phone calls about bears, and look for footprints.

Both classes thought a proper inauguration meant that they should hold one hand up and one hand on their heart and that the mayor should preside. The mayor read their lists of promises and they repeated them. In no time at all they were the official B.E.T.

As the B.E.T., we would need an office. We got out a map of New York State and identified where the forests were located. Renee's class decided that the office should be right on the edge of the Adirondacks, as that was the biggest area of green on the map and where most of the black bears probably lived. Georga's class placed their office in between the Adirondacks and NYC, as they were in charge of educating the city!

Every office needs a door. So the B.E.T. set to work decorating their doors and making keys to open them. The work has begun!