Save Our Elephants!

POSTER
A sign posted in a public place as an advertisement.


One suggested activity for the endangered animals unit is the creation of posters. In this case, it is for posters regarding "saving our elephants".

We as a class at that point had discussed the natural and human causes of extinction:

Natural causes

• weather change
• change in the types of plants and animals in a habitat
• natural disasters
• other environmental changes

Human causes

• overhunting
• destruction of habitats (i.e. cutting trees)
• pollution
• introduction of new species to habitats

Then we discussed the definition of the word "endangered" -- a plant or an animal is endangered when fewer of its kind survive each year. The textbook nicely links that concept to the state of elephants in Thailand.

"Many animals, including elephans and wild pigs, are hunted for their tusks. In Thailand, many Asian elephants are removed from their natural habitats and kept as pets."

A poster is an effective means of instruction because it follows the design process quite similarly:

1. A problem is introduced. In this case, the problem is how to create awareness of the situation with Thailand's elephants.
2. Research is done through textbook work.
3. Criteria is created for what the posters will have and look like.
4. Rough sketches of the posters are created, reviewed, and finalized.
5. Evaluation is done.

Though not much was done with the resulting posters -- the bulletin boards were filled with student work already -- the results were amazing and quite creative.

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"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."

- Albert Einstein