“Learning with all senses” Comenius multilateral project INCLUSIVE EDUCATIONAL CENTRE Cluj-Napoca

Discovering the world through fairy tales “The Ugly Duckling” Based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen

What about the project? Duration: October 2008 – May 2009 People involved: Comenius classes: 2nd A Class 7th B Class Partners: Kindergarten 3rd D Class

Why we have chosen this tale? it is offering multiple opportunities to discover the world through all senses it has a very rich thematic; it integrates almost all curriculum arias the students enjoyed very much the story; it deals with feelings and emotions it helps students with special educational needs to deal with their emotional problems it develops empathy, compassion, responsibility, and fairness in everyday interactions

Summary of the story The Ugly Duckling tells the tale of a duckling, abandoned and deserted because he was different. Despite trying to make friends, the ugly duckling is laughed at and rejected by just about everyone he meets. Then one day the ugly duckling comes across a number of beautiful white swans swimming on a lake. It is here that he discovers his real identity, seeing his own reflection in the water. He had grown into a beautiful swan too, and had never been an ugly duckling after all.

,,The Ugly Duckling” Tale

,,The Ugly Duckling,, Tale

Thematic map The Ugly Duckling THE TALE The main moments of the story The moral of the story SEASONS OF THE YEAR changes that occurred in the environment (nature, animals) ANIMALS AND BIRDS different classifications of animals and bird Physical characteristics, habits and habitats of different animals and birds THE BODY growing up changes, feelings, emotions THE DRAMA movement elements, choreographic principles, processes, and structures

The Ugly Duckling Language and communication Educational therapies Play therapy, Self-sufficiency Speech therapy Science and Mathematics Environmental science The human body, Math, Scholar counseling, Cognitive acquisition of representations and concepts Classifying, sorting and ordering the different elements included or related with the story through various criteria Affective understanding personal and other people’s feelings and how to deal with them Effective Character Education: Creates a caring school community. Understanding the ones beside you Being kind, emphatic Psychomotor Illustrating through movements, dance, drama the emotions and feelings ARTS Music, Painting, Dance, Drama Practical abilities

What we intend that our students achieve? Language and communication to increase vocabulary through everyday communication to restate facts and details in the text to clarify and organize ideas. to locate appropriate and significant information from the text, to include problems and solutions. to clarify and enhance oral presentations to appropriate props, including objects, pictures, and charts. to listen, recite and respond to familiar stories

What we intend that our students achieve? Science and mathematics to observe, explore and describe a wide variety of plants and animals and their habitats. to identify and use common organizational structures such as chronological order. to use volume, facial expression and body movement to enhance communication. to repeat aloud patterns and rhythms of text and identify rhyming words. to use music to accompany text in a story. to identify and use variety eco-words (sounds witch imitate animals, birds, natural phenomenon, water )

What we intend that our students achieve? Arts To demonstrate nonlocomotor/axial movements (such as bend, twist, stretch, swing) To demonstrate eight basic locomotor movements (such as walk, run, hop, jump, leap, slide, and skip), traveling forward, backward, sideward, diagonally, and turning To demonstrate the ability to define and maintain personal space To demonstrate movements in straight and curved pathways

What we intend that our students achieve? Drama and music To demonstrate kinesthetic awareness, concentration, and focus in performing movement skills To create a sequence with a beginning, middle, and end, both with and without a rhythmic accompaniment; identify each of these parts of the sequence To improvise, create, and perform dances based on their own ideas and concepts from other sources Improvise to discover and invent movement and to solve movement problems Students demonstrate the following partner skills: copying, leading and following, mirroring

What we intend that our students achieve? Arts To sing independently/ with help, on pitch and in rhythm, with appropriate timbre, diction, and posture, and maintain a steady tempo To sing expressively, with appropriate dynamics, phrasing, and interpretation To sing from memory a repertoire of songs To sing in groups, blending vocal timbres, matching dynamic levels, and responding to the cues of a conductor To demonstrate accuracy in moving to a musical beat and responding to changes in tempo

What we intend that our students achieve? Practical ability and educational therapies to use natural and synthetically materials to reproduce different elements from story/ nature to participate actively to the making of the costumes from the play to participate actively to household activities to get personal autonomy

What we intend that our students achieve? to become aware of the time and some of the changes that occur in on growing up process. to deal with feelings of sadness and happiness. to deal with feelings and emotions, being laughed at and wanting to be the same as everyone else. to identify personal and others feelings and emotions to respect the others and to be kind with everybody to develop caring relationships among students (within and across grade levels), among staff, between students and staff, and between staff and families. to apply values such as compassion, responsibility, and fairness in everyday interactions and discussions as well as through community service.

Integrate activities types Animals and birds - general characteristics, farm animals and birds, wild animals and birds, animal babies; animal and bird habitats; animal and bird sounds animal and bird features. Method and procedures: observations, exploration, description, comparison and giving-back methods

Types of activities The weather, Seasons’ characteristics (Could/hot, The nature etc) Spring babies, The notion of time, The migration Methods and procedures: Observation, examination, explanation, experiment, play, drama, audition, video watching,

Integrate activities types Visiting an agriculture exhibition. Taking care of fish (a whole year) and real ducklings (during one week) The feelings and emotions of Ugly Duckling during the story. What did the Ugly Duckling SEE, HEAR, TASTE, SMELL and feel on his body in different moments of the story Strategies and methods: observations, exploration, descriptions, critical thinking, analyzing, discussion, brainstorming

Visit an agriculture exhibition

Types of activities The eggs are hatching (movement); How did the egg get into the nest? (problem solving); What is happened after? (creativity) See and name the difference (attention) How it looked at the beginning and at the end? (drawing, writing and spelling/ recognizing)

The finalities of the project An excursion to one farm/ animal exposition A huge book with children’s activities A theatre play A CD with pictures, audio and video files

Conclusions Students’ works claimed the use of a large type of materials ( different type of flour, poppy, egg-shell, painting colors, collage) Students were truly involved in all project’s activities. The theatre play “The Ugly Duckling” was a real success The story “The Ugly Duckling” offered a very good support for “learning with all senses” theme

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.