Context for this Lesson
Topic: Relationships in Nature: Predator/Prey relationships, Symbiotic Relationships
Purpose: To review the vocabulary of mutualism, commensalism and parasitism and embody the different relationships.
Prior Knowledge: The types of symbiotic relationships.
Defender-Predator/Prey
Remind the students that this activity requires some management of personal space—"Can we agree to respect each other’s personal space in this activity?" Ask players to walk silently around the room at their normal pace. Have students practice using soft focus, focusing on someone without letting them know you are looking at them. After a minute or two, ask players to pick one person in the room who they will imagine is their predator. Players should keep walking and not reveal who they have chosen. Then ask players to pick another person in the room to be their personal defender, again keeping it secret who you have chosen.. As they walk, they must now keep their defender between themselves and their predator.
Describe: What did we do in this activity?
Analyze: How many of you think you were a predator? How many of you were defenders?
Relate: Did this activity make you think differently about predators/prey? If yes, why?
Image Work—Circle Sculpt
Describe: What did we do today?
Analyze: Did embodying these symbiotic relationships give you a different perspective of these organisms? If so, why? Were there any discoveries you made when you had to go in role as the different organisms?
Relate: How can using image or role work broaden our understanding of these concepts?