Every tour contains a lesson, and these two were no exception. First graders at the end of the school year are always a lot of fun.
I began the first tour in the Silk Road Room (for the setting–quiet and comfortable), where I read the book “The Truth About Dragons by Julie Leung. Before reading, though, I asked the Ss what they knew about dragons. All Ss were forthcoming with sharing their knowledge (which was much), most of which was pretty common descriptors (fire breathing, wings, reptile-like, etc). The arc of the story includes a section on a bog (Wetlands) and a forest (Forest), as well as an appearance by a seven-tailed fox (Kitsune).
After reading, I explained that we would explore these areas and hunt for dragons. I gave the Ss two dragon figures to carry with them as a reference (thank you, Kathy Wales), a cape (handkerchiefs tied around the neck; thank you, chaperones), and a clipboard to keep a running total of dragons found (thank you, students, for sharing the task).
On our expedition, we discovered and discussed various items in the galleries: the deer, the ponds, the cranes, the Kirin, the Kitsune, and the Singha (about which we had a lively argument about whether or not it was a dragon, with the consensus that it might be (made a “maybe” column on our tally sheet). We talked at some length about the Kirin and its attributes as a hybrid creature.
With few dragons to be found in Gold Mountain, I told the Ss that there were at least 7 dragons in the room; they looked and looked. I then asked them to find a spot in front of the golden mirrors, face the mirror, and act like a dragon, looking as ferocious as possible. Even the chaparones participated in this one! So there were 9 more dragons added to the list. The coins were not forthcoming, but after examining the toad/frog, we discussed the three legs, the bulging eyes, and the necklace of gold coins around its neck.
In the Neighborhood, we found several dragons and also had a few maybes (after some lively debate). At the Feng Huang, the Ss were quite impressed with the various components of the creature, but all agreed that it was not a dragon, and other than “claws,” it did not have many attributes that were dragon-like.
On to the Restaurant, where there were a multitude of dragons to be found. Eventually, they found in excess of 60 dragons total (they counted all the plates, bowls, and other dinnerware that featured dragons). We then talked about Daruma and goal setting, wrote their goals, and drew faces on their origami Daruma.
Finally, our journey came to an end at the Guardian Room, where they quietly reflected on the last dragon and its companions.
It was evident from the very beginning that the second tour would not be as successful as the first. After introductions, we went to the Silk Road room for discussion and the story, but they had very little knowledge of dragons, and were not really interested in the story. I truncated the story, just giving them the basic gist and sharing pictures of dragons. I gave them a brief outline of our journey, the dragon figure, a clipboard (to the one volunteer), and what they were to look for. We then went to the Wetlands to look for dragons.
About half of the Ss were very engaged, and the other half were more or less wandering. For some of the objects, I gave an overview or a story, but found very little engagement. They continued to search for dragons. We followed the same path and basically the same activities, with a bit of tweaking for the Ss.
At about the mid-way point, some of the group were tiring and not participating very much. One S was taken outside by a chaperone (possibly the parent).
In the Restaurant, we continued our search for dragons; curiously, they did not locate the less obvious ones (the plates, etc.). We talked about the Daruma (but did not do the activity, the Kitsune, and a few other objects. We went into the Guardian room and enjoyed a quiet few minutes.
We finished with a hunt for dragons in the garden with a few Ss who were still interested.
BTW: this group found considerably fewer dragons than the first group.
Some observations:
The chaperones in the first group were engaged; those in the second group were not.
The Ss were from two separate classrooms.
The first group was well prepared: they had seen the video (recognized some of the objects) and engaged with the materials before coming. The second group most likely did not.
Lonnie informed us after the tour that the second group had a substitute teacher on the trip, which may have accounted for some of the behavior.
The museum had many visitors during our tours. One family group with children mingled with our group, which had me counting heads to make sure we didn’t lose or gain anyone.
I found this overall activity a good way to get Ss engaged in the objects through close looking. Also, when there was a question of whether an object was a dragon, the Ss had to state why they held that position.
This was a dual-immersion school (Spanish), which may have accounted for some Ss’ communication skills. The first group had more advanced English skills than the second. I attempted to be mindful of my presentation to accommodate all Ss.
Overall, this tour was great fun!
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