This activity guide, developed for grades K to 5, accompanies a puppet show about manatees presented by the Virginia Marine Science Museum. The guide contains background information about the Chesapeake Bay estuary and a brief description of Chessie, a real life Florida manatee who became famous because of his summer trips up the East Coast. Additional short articles introduce some myths about manatees, present real data about dolphin counts, and describe how human activity affects the Chesapeake Bay. Each article is followed by a series of classroom activities for a range of grade levels. For example, after reading about the manatee myths, younger students are invited to draw pictures of manatees and practice writing the words manatee or Chessie.
Older students can research the manatee and counter the myths with factual information.
ENC does NOT distribute this resource. This curricula accompanies a puppet show presented by Young Audiences. The puppets used are life size and based on a form of Japanese puppetry. Contact the Virginia Marine Science Museum for more information and performance times.