Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Penguin-Polooza hits Avon, Ohio

Avon students enhanced their Penguin units with a connection to the Columbus Zoo. The students shared their knowledge of Penguins and their habits with Carrie from the Zoo. The lesson met many of Ohio’s curriculum standards of science, geography and math. The students enjoyed the video provided through the system of penguins in the Columbus Zoo habitat.

One of the most exciting parts of the session was the transformation of one of the students to a penguin. The students identified the body parts of a penguin as they were added to the student. The student demonstrated the way the penguins walk as the instructor explained the advantages the have in their environment. Two students then demonstrated the way penguins care for their eggs and how difficult it is for them to move with eggs and babies.

The Avon Schools will be connecting the Columbus Zoo all week with third grade classes as part of the grade level unit. This program is not listed on the Columbus Zoo programming list, but they will schedule classes upon request. The Columbus Zoo is one of many of the great content providers in Ohio.

You can check out the Columbus Zoo and their distance learning offerings online at http://www.colszoo.org/education/as-dist_learn.htm