1. To build within the classroom a core of interest in natural history which the classroom teacher may use to facilitate the teaching of regular courses of study. 2. To demonstrate to the classroom teacher, school administrators and parents the need and value of this type of program. 3. To help supply the current need for training in this area of knowledge among teachers until school systems can train and/or employ personnel of their own to do the work. It is worth emphasizing that this is not an extra-curricular activity or frill, but, rather, where the classroom teacher is alert to the opportunities, it provides a new focal point around which to organize many other class topics; it can thus help spark up the classroom's entire program. THE Audubon School Program is given at the fifth and sixth grade levels for very specific reasons. Dr. Glenn O. Blough, national authority on science education, helps explain why in an article in the publication THE EDUCATIONAL TREND: "Pupils in the middle grades are able and willing to stay with an interesting idea longer and, consequently, to go greater lengths to learn about such science topics. They can work independently on experiments that will explain, explore outside the classroom to find evidence that will illustrate, and read widely to discover information which they then organize to solve problems." "These pupils are able to assume greater responsibility in care of equipment, in formulating and executing plans, in evaluating results. At this level, too, there is a great need for success, that sense of accomplishment, among pupils who may not yet have found themselves in a reading program, or in some of the areas demanding word skills, but who are at home with atoms, space travel, or the outdoors. There is great enthusiasm for trying things out, sharing discoveries, and for asking how and why things happen. If not properly cultivated, these precious characteristics unfortunately too often seem to evaporate after the ages 9 to 12." TOPICS Classroom presentations are drawn from the following list of topics. Others will be prepared to satisfy local needs. THE EARTH The Three Kingdoms The Sun's Family Our Changing Landscape Rocks, Minerals and Fossils Soils are Alive Water, Life Blood of the Earth PLANT LIFE Tree Farming Our Evergreen Trees The Travels of Seeds ANIMAL LIFE Mammals Have Fur How to Know the Birds Birds in Winter Snakes Alive! New England Reptiles The Amphibian Tribe Animal Facts and Figures Introducing Insects Predators Food Chains COMMUNITIES Narragansett Bay Ponds and Streams Sea Shore Life As a non-profit educational organization the Audubon Society of Rhode Island undertakes to provide this school program at less than cost-absorbing the deficity from funds supplied for this purpose by grants, contributions, and membership fees. The cost of the course to the school system is $300 per classroom for a maximum of 18 hours of instruction. This time is usually divided so that the Audubon teacher visits the class about once every two weeks during the school year. The lessons given are selected on the basis of interest to the student, the contribution they make to the pupil's general background in science, and their utilitarian value to the classroom teacher. The last two hours are combined into an optional field trip to a nearby wildlife sanctuary. The immediate purposes of the visit to the classroom by the Audubon Society's teacher are to stimulate interest in the subject discussed, to introduce the subject in a clear and scientific light, and to leave with the class a nucleus of fundamental information which the teacher may use as a basis for further activity in this and other subjects. In communities where the school budget cannot meet the extra financial investment, some of the cost have been temporarily borne by groups such as Garden Clubs, Granges, Kiwanis and Lions Clubs, Parent-Teacher groups, and others. This program has been enthusiastically received in many Rhode Island communities and is making significant contributions to the curriculum in those schools which have enjoyed its advantages. Student interest in science is increased and classroom teachers are finding it of high value in their regular work. Where a regular science curriculum has been adopted by the school system, the Audubon Course will provide that discussion of local natural resources so necessary to a full understanding of textbook materials. And no approach to science is more effective than that which includes contact with the living things and the processes active in our own familiar environment. Consult us NOW to provide your community with the services of the Audubon School Course in Natural Science and Conservation for the coming school year. |