Animal Cinema

This activity is suitable for preschool and elementary school levels. It is especially important for children who are afraid of animals or whose interaction with living creatures is limited to harming or killing them to internalize the concept of "living." Therefore, when selecting animals, priority should be given to those most commonly seen in nature (such as spiders, insects, and even mosquitoes).

Purpose of the Activity:

 To direct children's interest towards nature

 To contribute to the formation of "Nature" and "Environment" awareness in children

 To increase children's sensitivity towards living and non-living things around them

 To provide children with knowledge about animals and animal diversity

 To help children understand the necessity of diversity in ecology

 To instill in children the instinct to defend the right to life of a living being and to protect its existence

 To make children realize that all animals have a place, a life, and are part of the balance within the environment

 To develop children's sense of empathy

First the Story

Ruka and Tako were watching a documentary on TV with popcorn in their hands. The documentary was so captivating that they couldn't take their eyes off it.

Materials

Activity

At the beginning of the activity, select as many animals as there are students in the class. Write the names of the selected animals on small pieces of paper and fold them for a draw. If the class size is large, some animals can be written twice.

After the draw, each child keeps their chosen animal a secret from their classmates. When they go home, they work with their family to create a costume or mask resembling the animal using recyclable materials. Once the costume or mask is ready, the student researches the animal to learn about its habitat, diet, natural enemies, and behaviors. They watch videos online to understand how the animal moves and hunts. When it's their turn during the activity, the student wears the costume or mask and mimics the animal's behaviors for their classmates to guess which animal it is.

At the end of the activity, the student answers questions about the animal from their classmates. Then, students are divided into groups of four to create a poster about the animal. The posters are displayed on the wall or bulletin board, dedicated to the animal discussed that week.

Attention!

This activity cannot be completed in one lesson or even in one week. It needs to be spread out over a semester or a whole year.

While students are presenting their animals, a food web diagram can be created, showing the relationships between animals with arrows. This will help convey to children how even the "least important" animals are actually crucial in the ecosystem.

Examples should be provided to explain how overproduction or extinction of certain animals can disrupt the ecology.

Short videos of each week's activities can be compiled into a clip and given to the students as a year-end gift.

Evaluation Questions

 Which animal did we imitate today?

 How did you feel while imitating the animals?

 What do these animals need?

 What are the rights of animals?

 What are our responsibilities towards animals?