Ideas
for using the Giraffe Heroes Program
& Voices of Hope |
All
Giraffe curricula include many ideas for activities for class
and home. Here are a few more, suggested by Patricia Toombs,
Education Director of the Giraffe Heroes Project. For the past
30 years, Patty has been in service to children and their learning,
as a classroom teacher, and as a school principal.
- Create an awareness of the difference between “stars” and “heroes.” Cut
out paper stars and hearts. Let the kids put a name on each
one for “stars” they are familiar with (famous
athletes, entertainers, etc.). Have them write names on each
heart for “heroes” they know. Don’t worry
if at first they can’t think of too many. Encourage them
to start looking in the newspaper, or on the news, or at their
churches, or neighborhoods, families, and schools. As they
bring in the stories of people who “stuck theirs neck
out” for the common good (including kids!), add each
of these names to a heart. Watch the number of hearts grow.
Celebrate the qualities of the individuals named on the hearts.
- Set aside
one day a week/month as a school-wide “Giraffe
Hero Day”. When teachers link Giraffes Heroes
and Giraffe concepts to the topics they’re teaching,
providing a fresh, Giraffe’s eye-view of the materials,
as in “What would a Giraffe Hero do in this situation?
What would he/she think of what happened? Was/is anyone involved
in this situation acting like a Giraffe?” Have students
bring in and share current news stories that describe someone
acting like a Giraffe. Use these stories to deepen the message
that people “sticking their necks out” are all
around us, if we notice.
- Use theatre, drama, or film as a medium to extend
student’s understanding of what it means to be a “Giraffe”. Giraffe
Heroes have been active in many areas, including community
development, community service, crime prevention, promotion
of diversity and human rights, drug and tobacco use prevention,
environmental protection and efforts to end homelessness
and hunger. Using stories of Giraffe Heroes from the curricula,
as well as the stories of local Giraffes kids may have found
on their own, have kids write and then act out skits, plays,
musical expressions or even a short film (I-movie) to bring
more awareness to the issues and areas where Giraffes have
made a difference.
- Create a “character attribute” awareness
program using the Giraffe stories. The goal here
is to awaken awareness to the concept of humanity
in self and in others. Hope, possibility, courage, compassion,
and risk-taking are but a few of the qualities that can be
explored further through reading the stories of Giraffe Heroes.
Help the kids identify individual character qualities/attributes
that Giraffe Heroes have exhibited through their contributions
and choices. By reading about real people exercising these
qualities in the real world, the qualities become more than
just words or phrases. Help kids look for and identify those
same qualities in people they meet in school, at home, and
in the community.
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- Extend students’ skill
development with technology. Have
the kids use the Internet to research and learn more about others
who may also have made contributions to solving the kind of problems
depicted in Giraffe stories. Let kids become “graphic design” or “print
media” experts by encouraging them to create brochures,
posters, advertising documents, even web sites, where they can
depict “hero” information and attributes.
- Use poetry as the powerful medium it is! Using
word webs, mind mapping and other brainstorming/journaling techniques,
have the kids capture their emotional responses to Giraffe stories
by writing poems about these feelings. Consider (voluntary) sharing
of those poems in a writers circle, or an organized “poetry
slam,” or in creating an anthology called “Our Voices.”
- Create word
banks with the Voices of Hope anthology. As
kids read the stories, encourage them to do the vocabulary
development exercises to learn new words. Have them draw those
on 5x8 cards and then display them on a chart, bulletin board,
or the walls. Use the words to play word games. (Hangman, Pictionary,
Scrabble, etc.) How many new words can they learn in a month?
Can they translate those words into other languages?
- Look for Giraffes at home. After reading
Giraffe stories, have the kids look for “Giraffes” within
their own families (present, past, etc.). Invite them to interview
extended family and friends to learn more about “sticking
your neck out” activities within their own family circles.
Suggest ways they can recognize and celebrate these “family
Giraffes.” Help them create an artistic expression of these
family heroes, such as a mural, mobile or book.
- Go fishing for future “journalists” within
the class. Invite kids to create a newspaper specifically
related to their reading and exploration of Giraffe stories.
Have them read the stories, and then, using their own words,
photography skills and art, create a way to tell the stories
of these heroes who have dared to stick their necks out for
the common good. Let them use their own styles of journalism
and their own voices to tell the stories.
- Set up a “possibility” club. Help
encourage “If it is to be, it is up to me” attitudes.
After reading Giraffe stories, discuss with the class the concept
of “possibility.” Encourage the kids to think of
possibilities within their own lives that would mean “sticking
their necks out.” What if they lived their lives that way!
Capture those suggestions and urge students to keep looking for
opportunities to add to their “possibilities” lists.
This may be just the step needed to lead into a service project.
If it does, the service-learning material in the Giraffe Heroes
Program or in the Voices of Hope Teacher’s Guide will
be right there to assist them.
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