Virtual Skype Field Trip to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee!

by zisinlee on 5 April, 2018

For our fourth Unit of Inquiry, ‘Save the Animals’, the Grade 1 classes took a Microsoft Virtual Class trip to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, USA as part of our study on endangered species.

We looked at the following Key Concepts to guide our inquiry:

        Causation: Why are the elephant species threatened and endangered?
        Reflection: How do we know the elephants are at-risk?
        Responsibility: What can we do to help the plight of the elephants?

Due to the time-zone difference, Todd Montgomery stayed up very late to speak with us.

Todd provided the students with information about:

The life histories of the elephants living at The Sanctuary
Daily life at The Sanctuary for elephants
The role that humans play in providing care for them
The difference between elephant species
The role of elephants as Keystone species in their native habitats

This was a great opportunity for the Grade 1 classes to integrate technology and visual arts into their learning.

For that week, the students perused through the Elephant Sanctuary website and YouTube channel via iPads and connected with the Sanctuary elephants via live ELECAM.

Finally, with the help from Ms. Maire, we created a mural of the our favourite elephants at the Sanctuary; this included trees and feed for the elephants!

Thank you once again to Todd and the Elephant Sanctuary for spending the time to teach us about the important work that you do!

For more information please visit:
https://elephants.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/elephantsanctuarytn