This week in Ms. Levy’s 5th-grade classroom was unlike any before it, and the students knew it from the moment they entered her classroom on Monday morning, when they saw the table filled with an assortment of items that appeared unfamiliar to them. There was a skull, as that was obvious, but it was hard to determine what it was. The white bone of the skull was large, indicating that it belonged to a larger animal. However, the double-curved bones coming from the top of the skull gave it a somewhat devilish appearance. Other unique items were spread across the table, creating an aura of excitement among the students as they continued to their seats.
This is the scenario of Stacey Levy’s classroom during the first day of her unit on wild sheep. She first heard about the curriculum kit that could be checked out from the Wild Sheep Foundation through Diana Belding and Diana’s daughter, Kristie, who both worked at Stacey’s school and were bighorn enthusiasts. Stacey decided to try the kit and has been using it every school year for the past seven years. She works at an “at-risk” school, which is a school that serves a student population facing significant challenges that make academic success more difficult. As of the 2023-2024 school year, 100% of the student population was considered economically disadvantaged. Due to these circumstances, many of these students and their families lack exposure to experiences outside their immediate local community.
Using the teacher kit for a week with her students helps bring learning to life. It introduces an aspect they wouldn’t otherwise be able to learn about, while also connecting the topic of wild sheep (the state mammal of her state, by the way) to the academic standards. Additionally, it may even help motivate her students to come to school. The kit provides the uniqueness to learn about something outside the “normal” routines. With her school’s chronic absenteeism rate (missing 10% or more) at 30.8%, anything that helps motivate the students to attend school is beneficial.
When it comes time later in the day to learn about the items on the table, Ms. Levy chooses one of the fascinating items and focuses on it. She passes it around to her students as she explains it to them. After building engagement using the ABCs of learning (Activity Before Content), they choose a page or two from the On the Mountain booklet to read and discuss. Each child receives a personal copy, allowing them to highlight key points and aid their learning. Stacey continues in this way for the first two days of the week.
By that Wednesday, she digs into the two-volume curriculum book and selects some specific lessons that target what she wants her students to learn. In addition to learning more about the leftover objects on the table and reading from the booklet, she teaches a few of these lessons each day. The lessons fit into science, English Language Arts, social studies, and math. After using the kit for so many years, she knows exactly the ones to focus on. For her, they involve learning about adaptations like camouflage, food, population, and range locations, and sheep reintroductions. Before the students leave for home on Wednesday, they are treated to a few videos showing sheep captures and relocations, which help them understand what conservation can look like.
Towards the end of the week, she hands two more consumables found in the kit. The “animal wheels” are cardboard wheels where the outer ring is turned and an arrow is aligned with a particular North American mammal on the outside ring. Information is displayed on that mammal. Ms. Levy uses this for about half an hour to get her students to read information outside their school-adopted reading book while also learning new scientific terms like the word “gestation”. The other item she passes out surely brings smiles to the students. Being 5th graders, some are timid and wondering what their peers would think, while others jump right in on the fun and put on the cardboard wild sheep horn atop their head. Once those reserved students see others having fun with horns on their heads, they too join in.
One of Ms. Levy’s favorite lessons is the Ovisopoly Game. Small groups play board games around the classroom. On each player’s turn, a scenario facing wild sheep is presented. The sheep is either impacted in a positive way, and the student moves their game piece forward, or in a negative way, and moves backward. Through this game, students learn about the various issues facing wild sheep today and the conservation efforts underway to help their populations.
Stacey believes that picture books can still hold valuable lessons for intermediate students. Each year, she also uses the book in the kit called Bighorns Don’t Honk. The fun to read rollicking verse and hilarious illustrations always get her students into the book, and eventually they are shouting the repetitive parts alongside the teacher. According to Ms. Levy, “The students just love it!”
Over the years, she has brought this kit into her classroom, and she has observed some patterns that consistently emerge with her students. Stacey says that year after year, “The biggest thrill for my student population is seeing and holding the skull and horns, then feeling the pelt. That tangible hands-on experience is something none of them have ever experienced before, and they do talk about that throughout the year.”
Other teachers who have used the kits, which are sent for free to the school, have seen similar experiences. Jocelyn Brennan from Dana Point, California, exclaimed, “It’s been a total blast! The kids learned so much.” Candice McGarvey from Phenix City, Alabama, sent the kit back with the postage-paid shipping label and reached out with a thank you, saying, “We enjoyed the kit so much!