|
Lisa Alter
|
Science
|
|
Mary-Alice Howley
|
Reading & Writing Enrichment
|
|
Linda MacNaughton
|
/Study Skills Enrichment
|
|
Yel Brayton
|
Theater & Creative Dramatics
|
All eighth graders are presented with an Oceanography unit each year. Last year, Ms. Alter, Ms. Howley, Ms. MacNaughton and I worked collaboratively in order to offer support to students on their Oceanography report projects. This year, thanks to the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute—to Luis Recalde, our seminar coordinator, and our fellow participants; most especially to Lisa Alter for dreaming up the idea for this interdisciplinary project, and with much gratitude to Dr. Turekian, our esteemed professor and seminar leader—we were afforded the time and guidance necessary to do some substantive planning for this coming year. Therefore, our units presented in this volume have been designed to offer our students a more interdisciplinary approach to the subject of Oceanography with respect to the global environment, adding emphasis to the research process and expository writing, as well as introducing elements of drama. In so doing, we hope to promote the kind of visceral awareness students will need so that they can wield what they have learned in order to engender critical thought and creativity. While the following curriculum units are distinct from one another in their discipline-specific approach to the topic of the world’s oceans and the global environment, the culminating activity of an eighth grade town meeting addressing the preservation of Long Island Sound will be shared by all. Because Long Island Sound is “real” to students, any information that they cull in the course of researching, study, and creative dramatics can more easily be reflected back to their oceanography unit curriculum, hence, reinforcing their scholarly pursuits. What follows below is our production schedule for this event.