2005 First-Place Winner
Lesson Plan
Sue Rolf/Jean Ann Keen
Dunbar Elementary
Lufkin, Texas
The Envelope Please … Dem Bones, a Tale From the Inside
Out
A Science Documentary in Clay Animation
Lesson Overview
This extravaganza in science learning is an interdepartmental
effort involving a multiage class of high-ability first and second
graders and a high school advanced anatomy and physiology class.
The two populations collaborate and work cooperatively as science
partners within the various modules that make up the semester-long
project. Much consideration is given to individual learning styles:
visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning. It combines practical
learning styles with highly creative and imaginative learning
styles.
The overall theme of the lesson is "supporting
structures, or the architecture of vertebrates." The
large-scale project spans more than 12 to 18 weeks of in-depth
study of skeletal bones in humans and other animals. The students
act as scientists as they uncover mysteries of dynamic structures
that support anatomy. Each phase of this project offers a myriad
ways to the capture minds of the learners:
- A Family Science Night featuring an elaborate, hands-on,
mock bone surgery simulation facilitated by members of the local
medical community.
- A live, interactive, kid-friendly broadcast surgery via
videoconferencing in cooperation with the Museum of Science
and Industry in Chicago.
- A whole-class research study on the human skeletal
system inspired by an orthopedic surgeon.
- The hands-on construction of a 10-foot geodesic dome to
demonstrate the importance of the underlying framework of any
structure.
- Whole-group focus encounter lessons on bones through the
study of specific animals that lend themselves to bone studies,
starting with bats.
- A grand learning journey to do some field research on
skeletons of the big dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural
Science in Houston.
- Back in the classroom, a study of owls, including owl
pellet dissection, both live and on an owl pellet Web site.
- A course of study on animal identification based on bone
structure, focused on the Elmendorf Beast, an unidentified animal
that has been seen in Lufkin.
- Independent, small-group research on specific vertebrate
groups: fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, rodents,
whales/dolphins, seals, and marsupials.
- The making of an original clay animation movie
with child-created documentaries of each animal group in which
clay animal skeletons emerge into full-blown animals.
- An Academy Awards Premiere Night, when the movie is shown to
parents and members of the community, and await the emcee's
words, "The envelope please."
Learning Objectives
- Understand the importance and describe the function of the
skeletal system in vertebrates;
- Research facts about the owl and the bat and relate this
knowledge to the study of bones;
- Explore owl pellets to further understand about bone
structure and to learn how to reconstruct a skeleton from random
bones;
- Compare the bones in a human hand to the bones in a bat
wing;
- Study bones of the big dinosaurs in a museum setting;
- Investigate scientific findings and draw conclusions about
the Elmendorf Beast, a mystery animal;
- Understand how scientists can identify and reconstruct an
animal from its skeletal pieces;
- Work cooperatively in research groups;
- Learn about orthopedic surgery and the repair of a bone
through a mock surgery;
- Develop awareness about health care professionals who play a
role in surgery through a live videoconference,
- Construct a 10-foot geodesic dome to illustrate the
importance of architectural frameworks, and
- Create a clay animation movie as a product to share research
findings with others.
Materials Used
- Class set of owl pellets and dissection tools; owl pellet
dissection Web site;
- National Geographic science book sets about animals;
- All items necessary to transform a classroom into an
operating room (OR): stretcher, SimMan, anesthesia machine, drug
cart, instrument stand, and OR supplies for mock surgery;
- Videoconferencing materials at conference site (local junior
college);
- Internet search engines for research;
- Pictures of Elmendorf Beast;
- Materials to construct a dome: PVC pipe cut in two lengths,
rubbing tubing to make four- and five-hub rubber connectors, nuts
and screws, child-safe pipe and tubing cutting devices, electric
drill; and
- Clay animation software, storyboarding materials, clay,
aluminum foil, toothpicks, chenille stems, tissue paper, wiggly
eyes, digital cameras, projector, and screen.
Methods of Implementation:
This multifaceted lesson plan has 11 modules of learning that
make up the whole picture:
Module One
-
Opening Night:
The project begins with a Family Science Night at the primary
school. The cafeteria or gym is transformed into a cutting-edge
operating room. A full-scale, child-friendly, mock surgery is
staged under the direction of volunteer nurse anesthetists and
local nursing school students. The star of the show is the SimMan
patient, who has broken his arm in an accident. The leading man is
the orthopedic surgeon, and the leading lady is the nurse
anesthetist. All the students enter the mock surgical suite wearing
scrubs. The surgeon teaches the students about bones as the
operation progresses. The students learn not to fear the OR while
they learn about careers in medicine. They also learn about the
important role of the internal skeletal system. The project is
explained to the parents at this time.
Module Two
-
The A-Team:
The high school science buddies "bone up" on the basics of
scientific research as they participate in a live video
teleconference surgery sponsored by the Museum of Science and
Industry in Chicago. The students sit in a classroom at the local
junior college and interact via computer cameras and microphones
with the surgeons during a live bone surgery at a Chicago hospital.
This
final cut
is a once-in-a-lifetime lesson. It is learning at its very
best.
Module Three
-
What's Up Doc?
An orthopedic surgeon visits the class and teaches about
bones and how they are the internal structural system holding the
human body together. He shows X-rays and anatomic models of bones
to give the students insight into the importance of having healthy
bones.
Module Four
-
Five Feet High and Rising
: The class embarks on a whole-group research study of bones as
architecture. The class constructs a 10-foot tall geodesic dome in
the classroom to emphasize the importance of underlying structure
in nonliving as well as living things. Using specially designed
child safety devices, the students cut PVC pipe into two sizes of
struts and connect them with homemade rubber tubing hubs (drilled
and bolted together into four and five prongs). The pieces are put
together in intricate patterns of triangles. Once erected, the
structure is indestructible and is a perfect example of the
strength of foundational architecture … similar to the skeletal
system of vertebrates.
Module Five
- Batman
: The class soars through a fascinating study of bats. They read
informational books and Web sites about the similarity of the bone
structure of the human hand and the bones of bats.
Module Six
-
Jurassic Park
: The class travels to the Museum of Natural Science in Houston for
a look at the big dinosaur exhibit. Here the students act as bone
detectives as they make first-hand connections about how bones can
be reconstructed to scientifically identify features of animals
that modern man has never seen. They observe and raise meaningful
questions about the role of reconstructing bones in the mystery of
science unknowns.
Module Seven
-
Of Mice and Men
: Once the students see how bones can be used for scientific
research, they study the owl and his mysterious owl pellets to
learn to piece together bones like a puzzle to find out what the
owl has eaten. Using wooden probes, forceps, hand lenses, and bone
charts, the students dissect individual owl pellets purchased from
a biological supply company. They reconstruct the skeletons of
mice, rats, moles, shrews, birds, and any other animals that the
owl has eaten.
Module Eight
-
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
: Moving deeper into the realm of the unknown, the class uses
information they have already learned about analyzing bones as they
study a mystery animal named the Elmendorf Beast (mange coyote).
The mangy, blue-gray, coyote-like fanged animal that resembles a
dog, a giant rat, and a kangaroo has been spotted in Elmendorf,
Texas; Connecticut; and now in our hometown of Lufkin. It has
created quite a stir on the news, and the students are highly
motivated to learn, "What is it?" A guest scientist working on the
local case of the Elmendorf Beast visits the class to present
the latest findings from the study of the animal's DNA and bone
structure. The class assimilates and accommodates information,
makes predictions, and draws conclusions.
Module Nine
-
Species
: The heart of the project is the small-group animal research.
Students are divided into work groups to do in-depth research on
the bones of their chosen animal group: birds, fish, mammals,
reptiles, amphibians, rodents, marsupials, whales/dolphins, and
seals. The members work cooperatively among themselves with their
high school science mentors. They use a seven-step method of
research that includes naming a topic, goal-setting, researching
several resources and recording facts without copying from the
source and giving credits in a mini-bibliography, organizing
information, evaluating their goals, making a creative product as
well as writing the paper, and presenting the research to an
audience.
Module Ten
-
The Producers
: After all the groups have completed their research, they make a
grand product, a clay animation video in the style of
Gumby
. After observing some clay animation cartoons, each research group
plans its own clay cartoon through the use of storyboarding (pencil
and paper drawings that project how their scene will unfold). Next
they sculpt nonhardening clay into the skeletons of their animals.
They use foil as the base for some of the animals. They photograph
the skeletons using digital cameras and then add the outer body
coverings and again take digital pictures at timed intervals.
They make the clay characters move a fraction of an inch for each
frame. Scientifically correct backdrop environments are made from
shoeboxes for each animal group. The children write a documentary
script for each scene and record it along with dubbed-in animals
sounds for special effects. All the photos and sound clips are
saved in categorized computer folders. The clay animation software
is used to actually put the whole movie together and make the clay
animals move. The end product is a movie -
Dem Bones, a Tale From the Inside Out
- that shows the animals moving as they develop from a
skeleton into a full-blown animal with features
intact.
Module Eleven
-
Fame
: When the movie is complete, the students, their families, and
guests gather for one glitzy night of celebration, the premier
showing of
Dem Bones
and the Academy Awards. The students may dress up like movie
stars in Mom's old prom gown or Dad's oversized jacket and tie.
Even the teachers dress in eveningwear. A red carpet is rolled out
as the junior scientists-turned-movie producers arrive. Cameras
flash as the paparazzi go wild. The end product of the science
project is shown on the big screen. Each student receives an award
in one of many categories, from Best Scientific Documentation to
Set Design to Best Realistic Representation of an Animal From the
Inside Out.
Evaluation Tool
Students are evaluated through written science journals in which
they record scientific findings, raise questions, and express
thoughts and feelings about the project. A participation grade is
given. The written research project and the final product (the clay
animation movie) are graded using the following rubric:
- Research goals sets and met on a planning sheet (10)
points,
- Research findings and conclusions presented in written form
(20) points,
- Organization of research (10) points,
- Product originality (20) points,
- Neatness of product (10) points,
- At least three references sited for the research (one can be
Internet) (10) points, and
- Ability to work cooperatively in a group throughout all the
modules (20) points.
The overall assessment is not tangible, but the success of the
project can be observed by the energy level, enthusiasm, and
passion of the students!
What Makes the Lesson Effective
This high-energy lesson is incredibly successful because it goes
way beyond teaching the child all the way to inspiring the child.
This lesson is unique in that it completely saturates the child's
senses every step of the way. It allows the student to "see it, say
it, hear it, and most importantly … do it." It satisfies the
child's brain because it is so novel.
Bruce Perry, MD, PhD, teaches that a child's brain will seek
novelty when in the familiar safe environment of his or her
classroom. Only four to eight minutes of factual lecture material
can be absorbed before the child seeks out other stimuli. The way
to engage the child is to satisfy this novelty-seeking property of
the brain. The project is full of high-end learning activities that
take into consideration individual learning styles and integrate
many academic subjects across the curriculum. The element of
cooperative learning with older science buddies from the high
school also adds to the motivation of the students.
Another unique feature of this project is that the students take
on the role of the teacher and actually share with others what they
have learned through their research. The diverse modules provide
many opportunities for children to be creative as they present
their findings. This project also allows students to take some
responsibility for their own learning and allows them to soar to
unbelievable heights. Real-world learning like this excites young
learners and inspires them to continue the learning process on
their own.