Disney in the Classroom
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Disney as a Classroom
Finding Nemo
(My thanks to LP reader Beth Moran for the idea for this article.)
Sam and Susie at the tide pools near Monterey Bay Aquarium
Children love the ocean. Take a child to the beach and watch them play for hours exploring tide pools, running in the surf, or playing in the sand. Children also love the creatures that inhabit the ocean. Take them to an aquarium and they will stop and study each exhibit, trying to see and know every creature in it. I believe this love of all things of the sea is part of the reason for the success of Finding Nemo. I also believe the film’s creation of realistic sea environments make the movie an excellent educational tool.
Dory and Marlin
Using Disney films and cartoons for educational purposes is not a new idea. (See my other Disney in the Classroom articles.) But I’ve never considered doing this to inspire elementary school students. Using Finding Nemo (as an educational tool) would probably work best with this age group. One way to do this would be to have your kids watch the movie and write down (or tell you if they’re too young) what sea life and sea environments they see. After they watch the film discuss with them what they learned about these creatures and places in the film. Then have them pick a few creatures and a few environments from the film that they would like to learn more about.
Shedd Aquarium in Chicago
Next pick an aquarium near your home that you can visit. There are a number of outstanding aquariums in the United States. A few examples are The Monterey Bay Aquarium, The National Aquarium in Baltimore, and the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Provided the aquarium you picked has a website, your kids can use it to research where the fish and environments they picked are featured. (The National Aquarium and Monterey Bay Aquarium’s websites direct you to pages so you can "Find Nemo". (http://www.aqua.org/joinaquamail_findingnemo.html and http://www.mbayaq.org/vi/vi_exhibits/vi_ex_update.asp#Splash%20Zone) Kids can draw pictures of what they will look for at the aquarium or write questions they want to ask about the creatures or environments they studied.
A clown fish and a regal blue tang as they will appear at an aquarium