Education and Inspiration through the ancient art of storytelling!
For every one of the 600 birds that Audubon painted, he wrote a short essay about the life and habits of the species based on his own observations. Read aloud excerpts from Audubon's Bird Biographies. I would recommend excerpts from "The Passenger Pigeon", "The White Headed Eagle", or "The Black Vulture or Carrion Crow". In all three essays it is easy to see that the facts were collected first hand from extensive hours of field observation. Discuss with your students the principals of field ecology and the scientific method embedded in these essays. Invite your students to choose a bird that lives in their neighborhood, a species that they see often. They can take field notes on its behavior and use this information to write a biography of their favorite bird.
Study the historical context of Audubon's Episodes portraying his life and times. I would recommend reading "The Prairie", "The Squatters of the Mississippi", or "The Runaway". All three stories raise controversial ideas using a style of writing that is a blend of personal narrative and persuasive essay. What were the prevalent attitudes of his time period in regards to the issue each essay explores? Does Audubon agree or disagree with the majority of his peers? DO you agree or disagree with Audubon's opinions? Ask students to support their answers with points from the essay. Have a classroom debate about a modern issues like the environment, recycling, or habitat preservation. Emulating Audubon, invite students to write a personal narrative that is at its core a persuasive essay; write a story that illuminates an important point.
Audubon made his living from the sale of his art as a subscription series. He sold subscriptions by giving entertaining and informative performances for Lyceums, scientific organizations, in America and Europe. Form a lyceum! With each student becoming an expert on one bird, mammal, or some larger aspect of nature, students could take turns telling the stories they have written as part of these assignments. One student could focus on the plants in the various paintings while another looks at the bigger picture of wetlands, or rivers, shorebirds, or waterfowl. For more information on storytelling and public speaking visit www.foxtalesint.com and click on the fox.
In the tradition of Audubon, if you enjoy my stories, please support my work as an artist by purchasing Books and CDs. Organize a school wide book sale and you can receive a bulk discount or keep the profits as a fundraiser for your favorite environmental organization. Print the order form and cover letter to parents from my web page, collect the envelopes and mail them in. I will gladly autograph all copies.
Further ideas from lesson plans include the following:
Borrow mounted birds from a duck hunting parent or a local museum. (Lakeview Museum in Peoria, IL has display cases available for loan. Call 309-686-7000). Use these mounted birds as models for drawing and painting life-size pictures in the tradition of John James Audubon. Study several of Audubon's paintings before you begin. Discuss the scientific accuracy of the backgrounds, the habitats, and the details of each leaf, flower, and branch. Make a grid as a backdrop. Use a grid on your art paper. Experiment with color using watercolors or colored pencil. Visit the web site for the USFWS Junior Duck Stamp Contest and enter the students' work in the competition. You will find links at this web site to last year's winners and lesson plans for teaching this interdisciplinary art project.
Learn about Booking a Show.
