PRESENTATION SCHEDULE
The Eighth Grade Town Meeting on Long Island Sound is intended to be an all-day affair that will involve the eighth grade class in various ways. Eighth graders will participate as audience members and each student will also have at least one additional role in the production, such as: making a presentation, acting, or participating in some aspect of technical production. Our auditorium will be set up for sound, lighting and screen projection (35mm slides and video). The stage will be set with two speaker’s podiums, movable set pieces to accompany theatrical presentations, and visual aid accouterments for speakers. Offstage (to the left or right of the proscenium) we will have a 4’ X 16’ platform displaying a life-size diorama of a section of the beach and sound. Additionally, wall space and flats will run along the eastern and western walls of the auditorium and will be used to display poster projects, charts, photography, and information—all of which will have been gathered from student research and field trips.
Below is a summary of the presentations we envision for our town meeting. The text used for the following presentations will largely be taken directly from
The Soundbook,
which was published by The Long Island Soundkeeper Fund, Inc., Norwalk, CT. (page numbers respective to topic areas have been indicated.)
PRESENTATION ONE:
Introduction and the Geologic History of Long Island Sound
[5-7 minutes]
This will be a slide presentation with narration by two to four narrators. The slides will be determined by students and should include their drawings and photographs, as well as existing slides culled from various sources—all of which will be reproduced in 35mm slide format by a photo studio. Key points to be represented by slides follow (from
The Soundbook
text, “Long Island Sound . . . Beginning of the Story,” p. 9-11).
PRESENTATION TWO:
Long Island Sound, A Living Time Line
[5-7 minutes]
The narration for the living time line will be taken from “History Along the Sound” from
The Soundbook
(pp. 11-14). There will be five main periods of Long Island Sound history presented: Native Americans, English and Dutch Settlers, Maritime Development, Transportation, and Industrial Development. For each major section of this text, a small group of theater students in period costuming will enter to a specified section of the stage where they will pantomime various activities as their group’s portion of the text is being narrated. At the end of their section of the narration, they will strike a tableau and remain “frozen in time” as subsequent groups enter. At the end of this presentation, we will have a blackout and students will exit the stage.
PRESENTATION THREE:
Sound Ecology, Profile of a Tidal Wetland
[10 minutes]
The background portion of a life-size diorama will appear on a platform—4’ x 16’—off stage, either to the left or right of the proscenium. The narrator will stand in front of the platform and will introduce “The Sound Today” from page 16 of
The Soundbook.
As she or he continues with the narration, stage hands will assemble preset foreground pieces, such as grasses, dunes, animal life, etc. In order to do this, the diorama will be constructed as a puzzle so that foreground pieces can be disassembled and reassembled. After this introduction, slides will again be used to represent various aspects of tidal wetlands.
INTERMISSION: [15 minutes]
Students will be given a 15-minute intermission and will be invited to peruse the exhibits along the eastern and western walls of the auditorium.
PRESENTATION FOUR:
Protecting The Environment
[3 minutes]
This presentation is basically a review of Chapter Nine, “Protecting the Environment” from the Eighth grade Social Studies text,
Exploring American History
(p. 664-667). Speakers will draft this speech to introduce the Town Meeting.
PRESENTATION FIVE:
What is a Town Meeting?
[5 minutes]
An overview of the legislative process is narrated, accompanied by actors in pantomime; followed by instructions for the form of our town meeting. Additionally, all audience participants will have a rubric to critique the issues presented.
PRESENTATION SIX:
The Ecological Viability of Long Island Sound
[3 minutes per presentation followed by 3 minutes for Q&A; average time with breaks—45-60 minutes]
The following topics will be offered by individual student presenters. There are six main areas of presentation, however, more than one presenter may be involved per area. (page numbers that refer to information in
The Soundbook
are indicated.) Presenters should use visual aids, such as large charts, video or slides:
LUNCH BREAK [60 minutes]
This will be an extended lunch period in order for students to organize their notes, discuss the presentations, and make mental notes or actual lists, if they so chose, of their main concerns, comments or questions, which they will have the opportunity to present during the panel discussion that follows.
PRESENTATION SEVEN:
What We Can Do, a panel discussion
[45 minutes]
The panel will consist of the presenters (from “Presentation Six,” science teachers, an administrator, a city official (to be determined) and a resident expert on the Sound. They will be seated on stage. A discussion leader will stand at the podium and will have the responsibility of introducing topics and fielding questions from the audience. A microphone will be set up mid-center aisle in the audience for audience members who wish to address the panel. Topics for discussion (from
The Soundbook
) will include:
How a Home Helps Pollute Long Island Sound
(p. 47);
What you
[and/or others]
can do— in your own backyard
(pp. 46-48);
about household hazardous waste
(pp. 48-49);
about your septic system
(pp. 50-52);
to conserve water
(pp. 52-54);
on your farm
(pp. 54-56);
on your boat
(pp. 56-58);
as a citizen
(pp. 58-60).
FOLLOW UP, NEXT DAY:
Science and Social Studies collaborative assignment
[two to four two-period class sessions]
Social Studies and Science classes will collaborate on an interdisciplinary assignment that will involve Eighth graders in critiquing the introductory presentations, town meeting presentations and panel discussion that they had attended (or been a part of). Students will also be involved in discussions concerning the relevance of the information presented with respect to their individual lives; to their responsibility as members of the Long Island Sound community as well as members of the global community. This will be followed by students brainstorming suggestions for safeguarding the Sound and drafting letters to local and state representatives.