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ARIZONA

JO FALLS - "Through the Looking Glass"
Click on the loupe for the Tohono Chul Slideshow tour!



GAIL PAULIN - "Tucson Teachers Report!"
EMILIE JOYCE - "Summer Programs with Loupes"

JO FALLS,
Director of Public Programs/Education Curator
Tohono Chul Park
Tucson, AZ
 

Almost three two years ago a local teacher introduced us to The Private Eye®. Intrigued, we found ways to adapt the program and make it our own by experimenting with a variety of projects and activities during our annual summer “desert discovery” classes. Tohono Chul Park Docents focused on observation skills and on linking what children were seeing to information about the remarkable adaptability of desert plants and animals. Last summer, we took our program on the road and offered it as enrichment programming tied to the county libraries’ summer reading program.

But our greatest success has been with a remarkable, recently completed yearlong partnership with the Flowing Wells Schools.The fifth largest district in metropolitan Tucson, Flowing Wells serves just over 6,000 students in grades K through 12. Our collaboration involved one of the District’s six elementary schools -- Homer Davis Elementary. Selected primarily because of an ongoing advisory relationship we have with the school and its teachers, Homer Davis was the perfect choice. The school plays host to its own habitat garden for butterflies and hummingbirds, and has been rated an A+ school by the state of Arizona. It is also the recent recipient of the national Blue Ribbon School award.

Funded by the Joseph Stanley Leeds Foundation and the Heritage Fund of the Arizona Department of Game and Fish, the “Through the Looking Glass” project involved the participation of one classroom from each grade level – K through 6th and special education for the course of the 2000-2001 school year. Using grant funds, each teacher was provided with his/her own copy of The Private Eye® book, along with a carry tote filled with natural history specimens for hands-on use. Each student was provided with his/her own jeweler’s loupes, 3-ring notebook for organizing/storing their work, and assorted drawing materials (paper, colored pencils, watercolors, etc.).

At Tohono Chul Park, the Education Staff met with the Docent Education Committee to discuss strategies and plan a course of action. Activities surrounding the Private Eye® curriculum were assessed and those appropriate to the project were selected, along with several new lesson plans.

Team Docents were recruited (21 in all) and training/planning meetings were set to make the final selection of activities and provide practice in classroom facilitation. Two to three Tohono Chul Park Docents were assigned to each of the seven classrooms to act as facilitators and exploratory guides. Over the summer Docents began collecting specimens for the classroom kits and supplies and equipment were ordered.

In early August a weekend “get-acquainted” session was scheduled for Team Teachers and Docents to meet and prepare a series of lesson plans for the first semester of school. Together, the teams devised classroom visitation schedules. Docents began visiting classrooms on a regular basis, at least twice a month, during the school year. They provided instruction in the use of the loupe, direction in basic drawing techniques and the impetus for critical thinking explorations of the items under scrutiny – everything from cactus spines and mineral specimens to pronghorn skulls and pill bugs.

 “Before this program, nature was boring, but they made it fun!
It would be nice to teach other people about the world they live in."
                                                       -Homer Davis Elementary student

 

CALIFORNIA

TRACY WIERMAN - "Tales from a Private Eye-itinerant"
SUZANNE BRILEY - "Sheraton Hotels"
LAUREL SALVATORE - "First Poems"
TERRY FISCHER - "A Five Year Approach"
SHELLY FERNALD - "The Private Eye and Descriptive Language"
LYNDA RAQUEL - "Loupes Make Learning and Teaching Fun"
C. L. MOSS - "Likin' Lichens With A Little Help From The Private Eye Loupes"
DENISE GIDEON - "Loupe-Look Journals"

TRACI WIERMAN
Math and Gifted Specialist K-8
Redding School District
Redding, CA

As an itinerant teacher I spend much of my time on the road and look like a bag lady as I wander from classroom to classroom on the campuses at which I work. My bag is a canvas tote with red straps and one pocket on which the words "I Love Math" are tattooed. The contents of the bag include a copy of Nathan Levy's "Stories with Holes", my calendar, some pens and pencils, a bottle of drinking water, my reflective journal, "The World in a Box", 2 sets of loupes, and my Private Eye guide - everything this transient needs to carry out the daunting task of motivating and challenging the students in my charge. I am currently working to help 7 schools keep 150+ Gifted and Talented (GT) 3rd - 8th graders enthused and interested in learning what we have decided is important to teach them. There are many facets to the GT program I coordinate; one is of particular significance for this venue, and involves the 60+ GT kids on the only 6th - 8th grade campus in the district.

I began the year by teaching one period per week in a 6th grade QUEST class (our district's version of character education), a 7th grade language arts class and an 8th grade science class as a "push-in" approach to meeting the GT kids' needs. The goal was to have an opportunity to work with the GT students in their non-GT classrooms so that I could mentor the teachers using the methods I have found successful in challenging and motivating all kids. I chose "The Private Eye" curriculum as the vehicle for this delivery because it has all of the components necessary to make my goal achievable, and fortunately it fit in the bag! Using "The World in a Box," the Private Eye curriculum has connected the world of language, wonder and metaphor to the worlds of personal and social growth (6th grade QUEST), mystery novels (7th grade language arts) and astronomy (8th grade science) and provided an approach in which all students could experience the thrill of success. I have guided teachers and their students through many interesting in-class "field trips" that have strengthened the academic component they and their daily teachers have been working so hard to master.

I recall one of the 7th grade lessons that was particularly exhilarating for the students, the substitute teacher and me. We had been working with the idea that close and meticulous observation is vital to the solving of mysteries. On this particular day my bag and I arrived in the classroom and found the quote "How you see the problem is the problem" on the whiteboard. After discussing the meaning of this quote and its applicability to the world of mystery, one young man said, "Perception is reality." Both ideas are integral to any investigator; without the ability to see things from another point of view a detective can not begin to envision the possibilities that lie in the world of the mystery. Needless to say, I promptly wrote his zinger of an insight on the board next to the quote the teacher had left for us to ponder. His statement was the perfect segue into the lesson I had planned. I had no way to know that the route we would take to get to this particular lesson would be so powerful or appropriate (what I had planned was much more mundane). We then did a loupe-look on an item from "The World in a Box" and wrote "'x' is to _____ as 'y' is to me" statements (from p. 197 in the guide) with an additional "because ..." statement tacked on to the end. All students were successful in viewing a natural item from the item's perspective, as well as their own. Here's a student example:

THE WING IS TO THE CADDIS FLY AS READING IS TO ME,
BECAUSE THEY BOTH TAKE US TO NEW AND EXCITING PLACES.

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SUZANNE BRILEY
Training Manager, Sheraton Hotels
San Francisco, CA

This is the second time I've ordered from you.
I have used some of your written material in creativity classes for our managers but have not yet incorporated the loupes into training - It's coming up. I will let you know how it goes.This set [of loupes] is for an organization I'm involved with called San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners (SLUG). We do a lot of work in schools and with underserved youth, using the garden as a classroom and as a form of therapy/communication. I'm going to give this set to S.L.U.G. to be used by their volunteers. Some of the staff members have seen your book and were excited about the ideas.

One of our projects is to put worm bins, for composting of organic wastes, in the classrooms. We've had problems with teachers following up on care for the worm bins - I think if they looked at your book they could find a lot of ways to include the composting project into their curriculum - and then the worm bin would be more successfully maintained. Funding for S.L.U.G. comes from SF Recycling and Solid Waste Management, so we are looking for lots of ways to encourage people to compost as well as do more conventional recycling. Thanks for a great resource!

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LAUREL SALVATORE
Homeschooler
Greenville, CA

We are a homeschool family, having fun using The Private Eye Guide. I think I'm having as much fun, if not more, than my children. We have used the loupes to help us closely observe objects over the past several weeks.

The First Snowfall

The snow is dancing
As it comes down
It is like falling fog
The fog is in the valley
And the snow is sliding down
I want to go down itElena Salvatore, age 7The First SnowfallThe snow is painting the barn roofs
It is cold and white
It looks like powdered sugar
Shooting stars in the Earth's atmosphere The flakes are big like ashes from a volcano It looks like confetti falling from the sky Are the angels having a party?

— Joseph Salvatore, age 8

Bear in mind that these are the first poems they have ever written, having some kind of fear of creative writing. They were shocked to find that, as we put together their analogies into an order, that they had actually written a poem!

Hope you enjoy these, as much as we have enjoyed visiting the other work on your web page.

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TERRI FISCHER
Fremont Elementary
Modesto City Schools
Modesto, CA

Many of the students I have this year have been using The Private Eye for the past 5 years. They started in 1st grade with Ms. RoseMary and have been a part of the group rotation that we do at our school. The difference I have seen in this group of 6th graders is the amount of detail they add to their drawings, and the depth they have in their lists of "what it reminds me of...." Students want to use their loupes often, not just during "loupe time." They bring in their own specimens to examine and want to explore their world more closely. Although they have been using the program for 5 years, they are still excited about it, and look forward to loupe time. They have tremendous pride in their drawings, and they should— They look amazing!

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SHELLEY FERNALD
Science Specialist
Birney Elementary
Long Beach, CA

I have been using your Private Eye materials for the last 11 years with my Elementary science students, grades 1-5, including special education students.  I start with my younger students to teach them about how to observe and use "descriptive language" to share about their investigation.  These skills have transferred as the students move on to the upper grades. The details I receive in their lab write-ups are fabulous. I have also used your tools for years with my pre-service science method students.  Your Private Eye materials are one of the best purchases I have ever made.

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LYNDA RAQUEL
Teacher
Lodi Unified School District
Lodi, CA

My name is Lynda Raquel and I teach 5th grade for Lodi Unified School District.  I was recently introduced to your loupes at the CSTA Conference in San Francisco, where I participated in The Private Eye workshop.  I absolutely love these things and bought half a class set and the book that day!  Now I would like to place an order so that I will have a full class set.  When I brought the loupes home from the conference my 5-year-old and 11-year-old were equally impressed and went around the house 'louping' for 2 hours!  I think they are a wonderful addition to the curriculum at any grade level and I feel teachers at my site would be receptive to learning more about them.

[updated field report follows]

I received my order and have had the chance to introduce the loupes to my class.  They love them!  We louped our hands and generated a list of ‘looks like... reminds me of...’   Then each student used his/her list to create a poem about his/her hand.  And that's where we're at now.  What was really exciting was watching some of my EL students realize how easy it was to turn their list into poetry.  The descriptions they came up with included vocabulary that they wouldn't normally use when simply describing their hand.  The analogies they used just naturally led into poetry.  So now they're working on final drafts.  As they finish, I'm handing them back their loupes and they are to ‘loupe again’ and draw an image of what they see (still the hand).  Their drawn images need to relate to their poem.  …  My students are really into this!  I'm so excited to see the end results of our first ‘louping’ project.  …  I get excited about anything that makes learning (and teaching) fun, and these loupes do it for me, and my students!  …  Thank you for such caring service and a wonderful product.  I look forward to ordering from you again!

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"Likin' Lichens with a Little Help from The Private Eye Loupes"                                       K-1 and Middle School
C. L. MOSS
Ecological Educator
Mattole River Watershed, CA

Look at any ordinary, familiar object through a loupe and you suddenly drop into a world of weirdness, magic, and odd beauty. But take something in nature you might walk by everyday without noticing, something that’s already weird, magical and oddly beautiful even to the naked eye (if we ever stopped to look), add the loupe, and your appreciation for the “alien” will go up exponentially!

As an ecological educator in the Mattole watershed, I visit six different schools in three separate school districts, and work with students from K-12. When I stumbled across “The Private Eye” curriculum—one of the most exciting teaching tools I’d ever seen—I couldn’t wait to introduce other teachers and students to “loupe world.” The loupes and questions are a terrific adjunct to any ecological program. But what to start with? So much to look at, so little time!

A teacher at Whitethorn Elementary School solved the problem. As part of a unit on Antarctica, she and her K-1 students had learned that only a few plants are tough enough to survive in that extreme environment ……including lichens. And by the way, she told her students, everywhere you look in our Mattole neighborhood you’ll find tough little lichens growing on trees, roads, and rocks. Well, that was all her students needed to hear. Like wood rats foraging for exotic nesting materials, her students brought all sorts of beautiful specimens into their classroom.  Old man’s beard lichens (usnea), “British soldiers” (cladonia), “lung lichen” (lobaria pulmonaria) and others…...the watershed was a treasure trove of possibilities.

This is where the loupes and I entered the picture. Penny, the teacher, was the carnival barker whipping up initial curiosity and enthusiasm. I passed out the loupes, drawing paper, and pieces of lichens. The curriculum was off and running! At first, some of the students had a little trouble closing one eye. But by the second or third session with the loupes, every student was loupe-savvy. Their drawings amazed Penny and me. These little kids were sketching, in impressive detail, the little fruiting cups that characterize cladonia, and in their drawings they were doing something else very sophisticated:  they were changing scale, blowing up their tiny specimens to fill the 5 by 7 inch space we had provided for their sketches. The Private Eye helped their language skills, too. These little 5 and 6 year olds had never heard the term “analogy” before, but in no time they were coming up with all sorts of great analogies for what they saw in their lichens: “It looks like a brain that got smooshed,” “it reminds me of an exploded missile,” “it looks like a whirlpool in the river.”

Whitethorn School’s 5th-7th grade teacher also brought me into his classroom to do a lichen unit using The Private Eye.  Again, the students took to analogical description like it was second nature to them, which it basically was. From the time we’re very young, we use analogies and comparisons (without even knowing the terms for what we’re doing) to make sense of what we’re seeing. “That reminds me of…..”  is the way we humans think, whether we’re 6 or 60. We gravitate naturally to patterns and similarities between objects. The older students’ drawings were also full of wonderful detail, and the kids also had fun speculating about what purpose some of the lichens’ structures served.

For me, this is just the beginning of a long-term relationship between The Private Eye, ecological education, and Mattole watershed students and teachers. Lichens are great bioindicators and I can see leapfrogging with the students and their loupes to another fascinating group of bioindicators—the aquatic macroinvertebrates (insects that live in the water) of the Mattole River. For now, the students are likin’ lichens, but with the loupes against their eye sockets, I figure it’s only a question of time before the students will be “buggin’ bugs!

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DENISE GIDEON
Saint Mark’s Episcopal School
Upland, CA

At long last, here are the sample Loupe-Look Journals that my fourth grade Students use as a year long activity.

This is a wonderful activity and students look forward to it each week.  We spend 15 minutes each week looking at a variety of items that are in your kits, that I provide and, eventually, that students bring in.  Each week brings a renewed sense of wonder for the students.

Each month I ask students to select one loupe-look and from that we develop a descriptive paragraph about the item using the analogies that were generated during the initial loupe-look.  I have used your Private Eye text for most of these activities.

I can not thank you enough for this “program.”  It brings an atmosphere of scientific observation into the classroom that has impacted every area of the curriculum.

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COLORADO

CAROLYN BURGER,
3/4th Grade Multi-age Classroom
Lincoln Orchard Mesa Elementary School
Grand Junction, CO

When I first was introduced to The Private Eye program last summer, I had no idea the impact it would have on my teaching and the children's learning in class this year. It began the first week of school when a group of children wrote a play depicting the proper use and care of the jeweler's loupes. Since then they have written wonderful poems, riddles and stories.

The children's work is kept in 3-ring binders (slipped between plastic protector sheets) organized alphabetically. They love to go back and see their own growth and share what they've done with friends and their parents (and anyone else who'll take time to listen)

.I am especially pleased with the way using The Private Eye has transferred over into the children's thinking and writing within other disciplines. Their Math and Writer's journals, research reports, and letters to pen-pals are filled with beautifully descriptive words. Many times when they share their writings in Writer's Workshop groups I hear the words, "Be more specific." and "What else can you say about..." and "I can see... with your words."Recently I applied for and received a small grant through Eisenhower funds. In March I will facilitate an in-service to train teachers in my school within our district. Several of my students will demonstrate the jeweler's loupes. I know how proud I will be when the teachers watch my children's eyes light up and expressions of the sheer joy of learning fill their faces. Then too, others will be as enthralled by the program as I have been.