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Resources
Plenty of imagination!
Where
Skinny Woods, Tall
Trees, hedgerows, Hawkhill
Wood, Innocent Walkway.
Why
Often environmental activities are very fact-oriented. This activity is
a break from that, to stimulate the children’s creative talents and
provide them with their own personal link to a particular place. Can be
used as a warm-up activity for creating stories.
How
Before a solitary exercise, such as Sound Maps, tell everyone that
when they come back, they should bring one thing from the place where
they were (they don’t need to know what this thing is called). When
they come back, ask them to get into pairs and each tell an ‘untruth’ about their
object to the other person. Give an example of what you mean, such as
‘This [blade of grass] is a raft for ants, for when they go whitewater
rafting on the Niddrie Burn, which they do every second Saturday.’ Or
‘This [holly leaf] is the fossilised remains of a pin cushion that the
Skinny People of Skinny Woods used to keep their pins in.’ … Do
encourage them to let rip with their imaginations! But be sure to announce
an ‘arms embargo’ at the beginning—no guns or ammo allowed—because I’m not convinced that these are the most imaginative
ideas!
Once everyone has told their partners, ask them to
tell three other people what their object is, each time adding something
new to tell about what it’s used for or who uses it, etc. Then bring
the final pairings together in a circle, and ask each person to tell the
group what their partner’s object is / what it’s used for /
who used it, etc. You might find that some objects are related, have a
similar use, or are used by the same creatures! This could lead on to
making up a story incorporating everyone's objects. The objects could
then be used as the basis for pictures and sculptures to illustrate the
story, on a story trail.
OR they could be made into a collective sculpture / picture or
(individually) taken back to where they were found to be made into
completely unrelated sculptures or pictures there. Then, you can put on a guided tour and visit
each work of art! |
