Technology

Dramaturgical Devices

Listening

Viewing

Reading Writing

Art

Speaking

Thinking / Learning

Thinking / Learning

Our main questions. These questions contain the information that will drive the lesson.

General Class DiscussionWhat is an island?

Why is an island unique?Where are islands?

What lives on an island?Etc.

TechnologySince it is not possible to visit islands, have your students use “computer lab

time” to investigate them. It might help to give them a chain to start their

search. Possibilities might be: Bahamas, Solomon,

Philippines, etc.Ex. Have students find out what the

weather is like in the Bahamas.

Drama

In most examples, an island usually has human inhabitants that live there. The people that live on islands develop unique cultures, each

having their own values and methods of expression.

Using musical samples from various cultures, create interpretive dances that go along with

the music.

ViewingIt is important to establish islands as a realistic

world concept by allowing students to explore the location of islands on a map or globe.

As a concrete way to explore them, have students pick an island(s) and chart how far away they are

from the United States or write down what countries are nearby. Have students reveal and

compare their choices to each other.

Reading

As individual or peer groups, have the students read The Little Island by Golden MacDonald

and Leonard Weisgard.This text can be used to ask higher level thinking questions, in simple terminology,

about geography. For example:In the story, the little island says that it is not

alone, but connected to the world. What does it mean?

Speaking

The number of islands available to explore are countless, so in peer groups, have each group research a particular island or chain of islands

to discover:A)Where the island(s) is.

B)The general climate of that island.C)What kinds of animals and plants live there.Have each peer group use this information to

deliver a report to the class about their chosen island.

ListeningFor General Class Discussion, the teacher

may start reading The Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann Wyss, while the

students follow along. While a chapter book, reading it collectively allows

scaffolding into a more complex genre of literature with exposure to new

vocabulary opportunities.

Art

Allowing the students an opportunity to express their concept of an island is a good way to

assess their understanding of it. Have your students draw their very own island,

complete with whatever landform features, animals, and plants they want to put on it.

Use this to gauge how successful the learning has been by examining the features of a student’s

drawing(s) in conjunction with those established for an island, with ample room for creative

interpretation.

WritingFrom web-sites and books, students have seen

the various aspects of an island. Using knowledge gained from the Speaking activity, have the students, individually, write about their chosen island from the perspective of

one species of animal that lives on that island. Ex. The Japanese Panda, the

Australian Koala, the Komodo Dragon (of the same island), etc.