IOWA 4-9 SCIENCE PROJECT

TEACHERS GUIDE for: Trust Walk Gloria Baker
Edited by Reta Lemon
ECOLOGY.46H Grades 4-6

CONCEPT OBJECTIVE:
Through this activity students will use their senses of touch, feel, smell, and security to determine places they have visited, objects they have encountered and an awareness of the value of their sight.

SKILLS OBJECTIVE:
The students will develop their observation by feeling, smelling, and touching, their recording and non-verbal communication skills.

BACKGROUND HINTS:
When choosing an area for the student-student trust experience check that objects which may interfere with personal safety are not part of the area.

Example: Students should not be permitted to use an area where there are projections like broken-off tree limbs, old wire fences, rock piles, or sharp pieces of equipment or machinery.

Example: Students should be directed to go in between swings, around or through jungle gyms, up and down steep inclines, through tall grass areas or very loose sand areas, where they can hear a stream, dogs barking, and children playing.

When grouping students put together those who will not intentional harm or have harm fall to the person they are working with. Boy-boy, girl-girl groups are more successful with some class groups and grade levels.

Blindfold materials can be bandana-sized squares from an old sheet, red or blue bandana handkerchieves, or 8-10 in strips of sheet type material.

MATERIALS:
For each student
1 blindfold
1 button of a variety of sizes
1 piece of yarn 6" long of a variety of textures

EXPLORATION:
ACTIVITY 1:
Direct the students to sit on the ground in a circle or in rows, fold their blindfolds with several thickness, and place over their eyes and upper cheeks so that they cannot see.

Remind them that they will be using their senses other than their eyes to discover what will be placed in their hand, on their shoe or arm and their task is to identify this object after their blindfold has been removed.

Place on each person one of the buttons and one of the pieces of yarn.

Allow a short period of time for each to "observe" the object, then collect all of the buttons in one container and all of the yarn in another.

Direct each student to remove the blindfold, go to the two containers and retrieve their two objects.

Discuss how they could identify the object, soft, hard, smooth, edges, holes, smell, feel, etc. and why they could not identify their object, like another, so smell, no outstanding features etc.

ACTIVITY II:
Direct the students to line up at arms length from another student, replace their blindfolds, check each other to see that the blindfolds are secure, then place the left hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them.

Explain at this time that you will be taking them for a walk, that they can trust you to have your eyes open, they are to listen, feel and touch around themselves, and they are not to talk during this activity.

As you take them for a short walk under an object, around another object, over two or three different types of ground and beside something that has a pronounced odor bend over, get down almost to your knees, turn sharply, and go into sunny and shady places.

After a period of time, stop and remove the blindfolds.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT:
Have each of the students think about what they encountered, felt, sensed and smelled on their trust walk.

Allow some thinking time then collectively list what they heard, felt, sensed, and smelled.

Spend some time discussing places they walked. Their comments should include some of the following:
1. In the shade of the kindergarten room where I could hear the children singing.
2. Around the jungle-gym where there is a lot of sand.
3. Down by the tennis court in the tall grass.
4. Under the willow tree where we had to bend over.
5. First we went past the kitchen, then to the dumpster.
6. It feels strange not to know how high to raise my foot.
7. I felt silly taking a high step when I didn't need to.

APPLICATION:
Take the students outside. Have each look around a given area and create in their mind a trust walk that they would make with a trusting person. In their mind walk they should include places that would challenge all of the senses.

Divide the students into groups of two. One will be blindfolded, the other will be the leader. The leader will take the trust partner through the trust walk that was previously planned.

When the first walk is finished the two partners should discuss together what as senses, felt, smelled etc. The blindfolded person should try to determine the course of the trust walk.

Reverse the roles so that both partners have the opportunity to have the same experiences.

Together, draw a diagram of one of the trust walks to share with other classmates.

EVALUATION:
Teacher observations and student contributions during the concept development stage are valid means of evaluating the student.