This term I've started my 'Turtle Watch' mantle, one I've completed twice with classes before. This time the children have actually become 'Turtle Detectives', but its the same idea.
This particular mantle has a strong focus on a place: Honu Island (Turtle Island). I spent longer than usual building up the children's investment in the island, and it's been going well.
It started with the physical features. The children were told that we needed a Polynesian island for this term's story. We located the Polynesian islands on a globe and created it together, with the children adding physical features (we talked about what physical features would be there and looked a photographs of them).
The children were told a story. The story went something like this (but with more detail, of course). Some people were shipwrecked in a violent storm hundreds of years ago. They thought they were going to drown. Just as they were losing all hope, a giant turtle (honu) swept them onto its back and carried them to safety on an island.
The children created Honu Beach. They were told how much the first inhabitants revered turtles and wanted to show their love and respect for the turtle that rescued them. They created statues of the honu on the beach to which it had first brought them. My class co-created a representation of this beach using plasticine.
The children were given their commission. The lady went on to explain that no turtles had been seen on the island for over 30 years. The island's inhabitants were devastated about this. She was looking for some people to help her to investigate why turtles were no longer coming to the island, and to try to bring them back.
Which was how the 'Turtle Detectives' came about.
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