They call them 'teachable moments.' I lived for them, and at one time, I had a captive audience: my students . . . and my two daughters who also didn't have a choice to escape. They still don't.
It's at this point, you might want to just wander away unless you want to be bored with my ramblings about today's 'lesson.'
Most lesson plans require an objective that speaks to what the students will learn. That's not the case today. My objective is to create a diversion from whatever it is that's making me crazier these days.
So, for the next hour or so I'm going to immerse myself in developing a lesson plan about coyotes, of all things. If you're one of those parents whose child is virtually learning or needs a topic for some assignment, this post will follow the framework of Howard Gardner's Eight Multiple Intelligences.
Let's get started with all eight intelligences:
VERBAL-LINGUISTIC: How do you pronounce coyote?
1) kai-yo-DEE
2) kai-yo-TEE
3) kai-yoht
4) other
MUSICAL-RHYTHMICAL: How many of you have heard the song, "O, Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie?" Probably most of you are now singing . . . 'O bury me not on the lone prairie. Where the coyotes howl, and the wind blows free. In a narrow grave, just six by three. O bury me not on the lone prairie.' (Please note how you pronounced coyotes when you sang that verse.) If you have now involved your child/student, it is worth the time to listen to this and maybe introduce them to a new genre of music: Country Classic Western
Enter. Stage Right: The coyote that spent a fortune on 'Acme' products trying to feast on a skinny roadrunner could be one of the reasons so many people add that extra syllable at the end.
Wile E. Coyote. How did you pronounce that? Have you changed your mind on how to pronounce coyote yet?
Wil-EE Kai-oh-TEE or Wil-EE Kai-yoht
VISUAL-SPATIAL:
Always have your camera ready because you never know when a coyote is about to capture a 'roadrunner.'
Once again, the roadrunner escapes.
How close was I to our resident neighborhood Canis latrans?
This mammal?
This omnivore?
Is a coyote nocturnal?
Is a coyote diurnal?
Is a coyote crepuscular?
See. You can be sneaky and add vocabulary words like this.
LOGICAL-MATHEMATICAL:
How far do coyotes roam ?
Mean distances traveled at night are approximately 8.24 kilometers.
Mean distances traveled during the day are approximately 6.51 kilometers.
Convert the above kilometers into miles.
What is the definition of the term 'mean' in the sentences above.
What does the word 'approximately' mean?
INTERPERSONAL:
If you were going to interview a coyote, what questions would you ask it?
INTRAPERSONAL:
Do you keep a journal?
You should !
BODILY-KINESTHETIC:
The Coyote's Dance by Austin Gilkeson
Dance of the Coyote by Bill Hotchkiss
Coyote Dance by Francesca Mason Boring
Inquisitive minds will 'Google' at least one of the above to see what the book/poem is about.
NATURALIST:
The following video has nothing to see, but lots to listen to.
As you will see hear, the coyotes were not intimidated by Stella and Peek-a-Boo's barking.
There you have it.
I hope something here might have inspired you to learn more about coyotes, regardless of how you pronounce it.
At any rate, I had fun putting together this 'lesson plan.'
