An interactive story to illustrate water pollution and its impacts
I came across this fantastic idea while working as an environmental educator in Belize, (see references below). I went on to share it with educators and students I worked with in the Philippines and Fiji Islands as I love how it actively engages students in telling the story and provides a strong visual impression of the problem. I have since updated it with Causes and Consequences cards and photographs to make the instructions clearer.
clean water
polluted water
The story involves a fish travelling from its home through connected ecosystems and encountering different sources of water pollution in each. Substances like soil and soy sauce are added to the water to represent the pollutants and students consider the effect on the fish. At the end they discuss whether the fish will survive and whether it would be safe to eat it, making the link to how pollution also effects humans. A great follow up activity is asking the students to the to remove the pollutants from the water. Other ideas could be exploring how to prevent pollution at source or creating a story map.
If you would like a free download of the lesson plan including instructions, cards and editable scripts go to one of the Teachers Telling Tales online stores:
screenshots of some of the files included in the free pack
References
This activity is adapted from ‘Fishy Tales’ lesson in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Systems (MBRS) Project guide for primary schools. They cite their source as: Utah Lesson Plans, adapted from Chilton-Stringham, P., Wolanin, J., (1995). Water, Stones, and Fossil Bones. “Fred the Fish.”
Vocabulary
To dive deeper into the vocabulary linked to water pollution, take a look at an example of a quiz on Quizlet
In the post ‘Fairy Tales on Trial’ we explored the objections against fairy tales and the benefits of reading them. The conclusion is that fairy tales have a place on our shelves, but are best balanced with contemporary twisted tales. In this way we develop children’s critical thinking, challenge stereotypes, and stimulate their imagination. We can enjoy classic story themes in new settings and from different perspectives, often with lots of humour.
There are countless fantastic books available in this genre, here are a few favourites to take a look at.
Clicking on the pictures will take you directly to Amazon where you can check out the books. Teachers Telling Tales are not affiliates and recommend supporting local, independent book stores where possible.
Chris Riddell creates beautiful, detailed illustrations and I recommend following him on Facebook if you like this style. Little Green Raincape is on her way to Rapunzel’s party, deep in the wild woods. The way is long and dark, but Green is a smart girl. Smart enough to turn down apples offered by kindly old ladies, smart enough to turn down travel advice from helpful wolves, and above all, smart enough to solve a wealth of classic fairy tale problems – not least mend a lovelorn beast’s broken heart.
Also illustrated by Chris Riddell and written by Neil Gaiman, a fantastic author and authority on fairy tales. You can watch them in conversation and read an excerpt from this new book on Good Reads. “You may think you know this story. There’s a young queen, about to be married. There are some good, brave, hardy dwarfs; a castle, shrouded in thorns; and a princess, cursed by a witch, so rumor has it, to sleep forever. But no one is waiting for a noble prince to appear on his trusty steed here. This fairy tale is spun with a thread of dark magic, which twists and turns and glints and shines. A queen might just prove herself a hero, if a princess needs rescuing. . . .”
For children who feel they are too old for fairy tales or the usual tales are just ‘too sweet’, Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes are sure to provide an antidote! Try not to giggle when reading about Little Red Riding Hood :
“The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers. She whips a pistol from her knickers. She aims it at the creature’s head, And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead.”
“Little fish, little fish, let me come in.” “Not by the skin of my finny fin fin!” “Then I’ll munch, and I’ll crunch, and I’ll smash your house in!”
“Once upon a bad hair day, A prince rode up Rapunzel’s way” As the prince rides past Rapunzel’s tower he hears the sound of a damsel in distress – Rapunzel’s beautiful hair has lost its shine! The prince, convinced she is in need of his help, sets out to save her in the traditional way but this is no ordinary princess! She throws down everything except her curly locks – including a surprise that makes all his dreams come true.
Have you ever heard the story of Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs? Yes, you heard right – DINOSAURS. Once upon a time, there were three hungry dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur and … a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway. Of course. One day, purely on a whim, they decided to tidy up their house nice and neat, make their beds up all cosy and comfortable, prepare delicious hot chocolate pudding of varying temperatures, place their chairs just so, and go … SOMEWHERE ELSE. Let’s be clear, they were definitely NOT setting up a trap for some succulent, poorly supervised little girl called Goldilocks who may wander by … ahem.
This is the deep dark wood. Everyone knows it’s no place to go for a stroll. There are monsters and trolls and giants everywhere, not to mention the Big Bad Wolf! Wait a minute! What’s that sweet little girl doing in the deep dark wood? Doesn’t she know it’s DANGEROUS here? The Big Bad Wolf will gobble her up for his lunch! But this deep dark wood is full of twists and turns, and all is not quite what it seems. The Big Bad Wolf is about to get a big, bad surprise…
In this reverse story, one bear goes for a walk and finds himself lost in the city. So he lets himself into an unlocked apartment for a little nap.
“I’m far too young for marriage, but I’ll be your chief mechanic!”
Have you read any of these? What other books would you recommend?
“At night his bedroom shone like the Milky Way, the jars on his shelves dancing and spinning with trapped, silvery, exotic, beautiful, fancy words.” from Eren by Simon P. Clark. Illustration uses jars image by ThreeMilesPerHour from Pixabay
Sometimes the stories that resonate or stay with you somehow find you. This has often happened to me through book clubs, or friends passing on their favourite reads when I have been ambushed by stories I wouldn’t have chosen myself.
Yarns and tales and the telling, they’re all about unravelling the truths that life hides … It’s about you, and the story and where the two things meet.
from Eren by Simon P. Clark
Eren by Simon P. Clark was given to me by a friend and although aimed at young readers (age 10+), it captured my attention and kept me thinking about it long after the final page. Eren is about the origins and power of storytelling and it contains many wonderful quotes about stories, “Why do we tell stories? We tell stories because we know no other ways to fly.” It also features short tales. The one that I found myself rereading over and again was about a man who collected words, locking the ones he liked in special jars so that no-one could ever use them again. The tale never reaches its conclusion due to an interruption just as the word collector is on the cusp of attaining the ‘Greatest Word’ leaving the reader wondering what it could be.
It is a book that appeals to readers who like dark, eerie and mysterious stories. It’s great for a class book to be read daily, or to use the mini story and keep in the classroom library for individual reading.
Wonderful Words
‘Constellation’, ‘peahen’ and ‘gobbled’ are three of the words collected in the short tale; as a reader you can’t help but think what would your words be. What makes a word worthy? Is it the sound of the word or the meaning. Does it sum up a concept or evoke a strong feeling? These are really interesting ideas to explore with students. Here are some ideas for turning young writers into word collectors.
Ideas
Curate a collection of wonderful words.
A ‘jar’ for each student to put their words in. This is a good use for those plastic food and drink containers that collect in cupboards! Foil packaging (such as crisp packets) can be used to write words with a permanent marker, or use glitter glue for sparkle. Displayed in a dark corner with fairy lights this will look really special. Whenever a new word is found it can be added to the jar which then become a resource at creative writing time.
Sensory jar creations. Add oil, water, glitter, cubes or Lego with letters on to build the words inside the jar. See links below for some great ideas and instructions.
If your students (or you!) enjoyed reading Eren, you’ll be pleased to know there is a short story project online by Simon P.Clark in collaboration with photographer Brandon Rechten, ‘Twelve Stories. Twelve Photographs. One Question. Who – or what is Eren? http://www.erentales.com/
