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2
1
I: Defining Giraffes and
Giraffe Behavior
Giraffe Behavior
I: Defining Giraffes and
"All humanity is divided into three classes:
those that are immovable,
those that are movable,
and those that move."
-Ancient Proverb
.........................
6-9 Index
Standing Tall
Section I: Defining Giraffes and Giraffe Behavior
Overall Goals:
To enable students to apply basic Giraffe concepts.
To enable students to identify examples of Giraffe behavior.
Lesson 1: Who are Giraffes?
Teaching Guide
27
Grades 6-9
Objective: Students will apply basic Giraffe terminology and identify
patterns of Giraffe behavior in specific stories.
Skills: analysis, application, classification, comparing and contrasting, debate,
Section I
discussion, evaluation, generalization, observation
Index
Subjects: Art, Language Arts, Music, Social Studies
Enrichment Activities
28
Teachers' Guide to "It's Up to Us"
29-36
Who are Giraffes? summary
37
Lesson 2: Profiles in Caring
39
Objective: Students will identify Giraffe behavior and contrast it
with other kinds of behavior.
Skills: analysis, application, comparing and contrasting, description, debate,
discussion, evaluation, reading, small group work, synthesis, writing
Subjects: Art, Drama, Language Arts, Music, Social Studies
Enrichment Activities
40
Profiles in Caringstories
41-47
Giraffe Profile activity sheet
48
Lesson 3: Why the Giraffe Symbol?
49
Objective: Students will understand the meaning
of the animal giraffe as a symbol.
Skills: analysis, classification, evaluation, inference,
interpretation, research, synthesis, writing
Subjects: Art, Language Arts, Music, Science, Social Studies
Enrichment Activities
so
What is a giraffe? activity sheet
5I
The Animal Giraffe description
52-53
What is a Giraffe? activity sheet
55
The Human Giraffe description
56
giraffe/Giraffe Characteristics
57
Section I Reflection Questions
59
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Section I Just for Fun Activity
60
Page 25
Who are Giraffes?
Standing Tall
Objective: Students will apply basic Giraffe terminology and identify patterns of
Giraffe behavior in specific stories.
Method: Students watch and analyze video on Giraffes.
Skills: analysis, application, classification, comparing and contrasting,
description, discussion, evaluation, generalization, observation
Teaching Guide
Duration: 25-minute video, 15-20 minute discussion
Grades 6-9
Group size: entire class
Materials: "It's Up to Us" video and Teacher's Guide to "It's Up to Us"
(pp. 29-36), Who are Giraffes? (p. 37), Heroes, Risktaking and the Common Good
Section I
(p. 20), What is the Giraffe Project? (Resource Section, R3)
Lesson 1
Procedure
Tell students that they are going to meet some more Giraffes who have been
F
doing things to help others. Then show the video, "It's Up to Us."
Discuss the stories from the video, using the Teacher's Guide to "It's Up to
Us" background sheet and Who are Giraffes? for reference. Review, as needed,
Lesson 4, Heroes, Risktaking and the Common Good, from the Introductory Sec-
tion. Then make three columns on the board, one for heroes, one for risktaking,
one for the common good, and fill them in with examples from the video stories.
After this introduction, you may want to show the video again the next day,
stopping the video after each story and eliciting discussion, so that by the end,
students have begun to recognize Giraffe behavior, as well as different kinds of
risktaking and actions for the common good.
Use What is the Giraffe Project? and other Project materials from the Resource
Section as desired to let students know about the organization that honors these
Giraffes.
Giraffe Journal Job: Copy from the blackboard the examples of
risktaking, common good and heroes that the class has come up with after seeing
the video. Get a copy from your teacher of the background information about
the Giraffe Project and Giraffes.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 27
Section I
Who are Giraffes?
Lesson 1
Enrichment Activities
E
Have students use alternative ways of describing the three main Giraffe
concepts of heroes, risktaking and the common good: writing a poem or song;
drawing a picture; creating a collage or illustration.
Ask students to collect pictures of people displaying Giraffe-like behavior.
When they have collected them, have students create a large giraffe outline on a
bulletin board or as a stand-up figure and make a collage of the images on it.
Have students come up with their own solutions to the problems that they
saw in the video, as they did in the Introductory Section with the What's Your
Ending? stories.
Page 28
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Teacher's Guide to "It's Up to Us"
Standing Tall
Background Information
Because we know your students will have many questions about the Giraffes
portrayed in the video, we are including more background on each of the stories.
Teaching Guide
Save the Trees
Grades 6-9
Save the Trees is a citizens' group that saved the last remaining old-growth forest
on Whidbey Island, which is in Puget Sound, north of Seattle, Washington. Gi-
Section I
raffe commendations were sent not only to I2 leaders of the organization but also
Lesson 1
to Jack Noel, a local logger. Noel was looking for work and saw that a 240-acre
forest on Whidbey was on a state list for cutting. When he walked the land, he
saw that the cedar, spruce and fir there were centuries old; some had trunks so
big seven people wouldn't be able to reach around them. As far as he knew, this
was the only ancient forest remaining on Whidbey. He couldn't believe that such
a unique forest was scheduled to be cut. "When I first walked through the forest
here I was amazed. I had never seen anything like it in the area," Noel said.
Though he needed work, Noel was convinced that this forest should never be cut.
Noel approached a friend, Sue Ellen White-Hansen, for help in saving the
forest. The two phoned various state agencies, calling attention to the unique-
ness of the land and asking for help in saving it. No one was interested. The state
lands commissioner turned a deaf ear; he didn't think that the state should have
to abide by its own environmental rules that protected sensitive lands and en-
dangered species.
Noel and White-Hansen had more luck with the South Whidbey commu-
nity. Most South Whidbey residents had been unaware of the treasure in their
midst, but when they saw it, people felt protective. When they heard that a log-
ging company had arrived at the forest, many of them came immediately. Car-
penters, doctors, homemakers, loggers, shopkeepers, and retired people risked
injury standing in front of trees to protect them from chainsaws, and lying down
in the path of bulldozers and log-skidding machines. As one person who was
there said, "Cutting down a tree is a very final thing. We had to do what was nec-
essary to keep that from happening. The obvious risks-and we thought about
them-were secondary to the need to achieve the goal."
The actions of the Whidbey residents touched off a storm of publicity across
the state. Noel filed a suit to prevent cutting the forest. Residents formed Save
the Trees and joined the suit. After heated testimony, a restraining order stopped
the logging until the lawsuit could be settled. Meanwhile Save the Trees also
launched a political campaign to elect a new lands commissioner who was more
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
sensitive to community and environmental needs. In 1980 the new lands
Page 29
Section I
commissioner was elected and took office. Immediately communication between
Lesson 1
the state and the South Whidbey community improved.
In a landmark court case, the judge ruled that state agencies were not exempt
from the State Environmental Practices Act, and were subject to environmental
review and public input. This ruling changed the way state forest lands have
been managed in Washington ever since.
The members of Save the Trees had started with an emergency act of civil
disobedience. They followed with legal remedies and use of the political process.
They had to raise money to pay the legal bills. It was a long battle, but they not
only saved Whidbey's ancient forest, they changed the way environmental trea-
sures were treated all across the state. On a special tee shirt Save the Trees made,
there is a drawing of a majestic spruce and the words, "The trees still stand."
Page 30
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Petra Mastenbroek
Standing Tall
Petra Mastenbroek founded FOCUS, Friends Offering Care, Understanding and
Support, a Seattle group that did just that for kids in trouble with drugs and
alcohol.
When she was 14, Petra attended a meeting of students and parents on sub-
stance abuse. Petra was astonished that the parents present didn't know there was
Teaching Guide
a serious problem at Ballard High School, and refused to believe it when they
Grades 6-9
were told. Somebody had to do something. Petra knew a lot about addiction.
Her own family had been destroyed by alcoholism; she was living with foster
parents. She'd done drugs herself and she knew about the drug traffic at Ballard
Section I
-where the buys were made, and how many kids were stoned in class.
Lesson 1
A handful of fellow students responded to her call to get a no-drugs cam-
paign going. Not all of them stayed the course. It was too hard to deal with the
wisecracks and insults coming at them. Petra says it hurt to lose members, but
she just kept on. The group organized car washes and bake sales and dances to
raise the money they needed to get themselves trained by professional drug
counselors. They started a hot line kids could call to talk about drug and alcohol
problems. They gave encouragement to kids who spoke to them secretly at
school. They gave talks at junior highs and grammar schools-where they found
9- and 10-year-old drug users.
Petra's sense of purpose sustained her through the difficulties of being differ-
ent, of not being one of the crowd. When the Giraffe Project arranged for Petra
to be commended by President Reagan at the White House, Petra got a lot of
publicity and a lot more interest from students. FOCUS took off. She worked with
FOCUS throughout high school and, when she graduated, left a vital, well-orga-
nized program behind. Petra went on to Whitman College in Walla Walla,
Washington.
(Although Petra is described in the video as the youngest Giraffe at the time the
video was made, Teddy Andrews and Melanie Essary, who were both commended at
age 8, hold the record, as of 1992.)
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 31
Section I
Hazel Wolf
Lesson 1
Born in 1898, Hazel Wolf has been sticking her neck out for at least 80 years. In
1912, concerned that her school had no sports for girls, Wolf organized two girls'
basketball teams. Over the years she has organized people to work for civil liber-
ties, for health and housing programs, for equal rights, for peace issues and for
the environment. For more than 25 years she has been the secretary of the Seattle
Audubon Society, and has organized more Audubon chapters than anyone else in
the country. She is considered the mother of the conservation movement in the
Pacific Northwest for having the longest record of continuous environmental
organizing.
Wolf is known for her ability to pull people together. She looks for common-
alities, not differences. As she says, "You get people involved when you start
where they are, and appeal to their interests. First you find out how their inter-
ests are related to the problem. You ask, 'Who wants to breathe dirty air?' Then
you all join together and work to clean up the air." When Wolf won a prestigious
environmental award in 1977, she discovered she had been nominated not only
by conservationists, but also by state bureaucrats and timber industry vice-presi-
dents who respected her and enjoyed her company, even though she often op-
posed their actions.
Wolf, who was born in Canada of an American mother, was threatened with
deportation from the US during the McCarthy period. Her activities in the labor
movement and in civil rights did not please the McCarthyites. Asked by immi-
gration officials if she believed in revolution, Wolf replied, "Let's start with 1776.
I go for that one." Despite 17 years of efforts to deport her, Wolf never curbed
her activism. Charges were eventually dropped in 1966 and she was allowed to
become a US citizen, one who many people feel is invaluable to the quality of life
in the Pacific Northwest.
Page 32
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Patch Adams
Standing Tall
Patch Adams, aka Hunter D. Adams, MD, provided free medical care at his clinic/
home in Virginia for I2 years. At Dr. Patch's "Gesundheit Institute" there were no
charges for care, not even from insurance companies. Dr. Patch and another Ge-
sundheit doctor worked nighttime shifts in the emergency rooms of local hospi-
tals and used the money they earned to pay the cost of Gesundheit. Adams be-
Teaching Guide
lieves that good health should not depend on the state of a person's wallet.
Grades 6-9
"Healing should be a loving human interchange, not a financial transaction," he
says. Gesundheit carried no malpractice insurance, because Adams felt such in-
surance made doctors and patients adversaries. "Doctors shouldn't see their pa-
Section I
tients as potential complainants in a lawsuit," he said. He wants doctors to do
Lesson 1
their best because they care, not because they might be sued. He says malpractice
insurance also makes medical care much more expensive and makes patients
think their getting well is entirely up to the doctor. According to Dr. Patch, "The
huge majority of illnesses have a life-style component-ultimately the health of
each of us is our own responsibility."
Between 1971, when Adams founded the medical clinic, and 1983, when he
closed it to begin building a free hospital, the Gesundheit Institute cared for
15,000 patients. Since 1983 Adams has been raising money for his dream hospital
by touring the country with his Medicine Show, performing at medical schools,
hospitals and for the general public. The new Gesundheit "healing community"
will include a hospital, craft and exercise rooms, housing and extensive gardens
on 310 acres in West Virginia. All medical treatment will be free.
"Traditionally a physician in general practice follows patients throughout
their lives, but without touching on the quality of the person's life-their loves,
concerns and fears-we ignore a gigantic area of resource and disease," says Dr.
Patch. "By the time I graduated from medical school I knew I wanted first to be a
loving physician, and an allopathic [traditional] physician second."
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 33
Section I
George Hankins
Lesson 1
Out on patrol one day, police officer George Hankins (6'6", 240 lbs., former US
Army Boxing Champion) ran into two street gangs about to fight. Bats, chains
and fists were ready to fly. Hankins jumped out of the patrol car and forced his
way to the leaders of the gangs. "You think you know how to fight?" he shouted.
"You want to see fighting, I'll show you fighting!" He told his partner to keep an
eye on the gangs. He jogged to the precinct a few blocks away and came back with
three sets of boxing gloves. With his right hand behind his back, he took on the
two leaders, one after the other. Both went down fast and hard. And while they lay
there stunned, he told them and all the gang members to come around to the sta-
tion the next day, after his shift, and he'd teach them how to fight. "I don't know
what got into me," George says, "but I'd broken up so many stupid rumbles-I'd
seen so many kids hurt and beaten-suddenly I had to do something."
Fellow officer George Pearson learned about the offer and volunteered to
help. But the other officers stationed at the Fort Apache precinct house didn't re-
ceive the idea that well. Most thought it was all wrong and gave the "Two
Georges" maximum flak about it. Teach those kids to fight better? That was go-
ing to make the situation worse in the South Bronx. The two Georges were
betting it wouldn't.
So they went to work. They used their own savings and borrowed on their
police pensions to buy gloves and other equipment. They found some space in a
local public school and started teaching Marquess of Queensbury boxing rules to
the gangs.
Today the Fort Apache Youth Center is a going concern, operating out of an
old building the two Georges bought. Hundreds of kids have walked through its
old battered doors. They come not only for boxing, but also for after-school
tutoring, weekend dances, art and sewing classes, field trips and hot meals for
kids whose parents are working.
Hankins left the police force to become the center's director. Pearson retired
after 28 years, and has since left the center. "When we started, it was rough,"
Pearson said. "Lots of times we thought, who needs it? Why go through the
hassles and worries? But it's been worth it. Most of these kids, when they come in
here, they think they're nothing. They're ready to throw it all away and go down
the drain. But we don't buy that. We show them they do have possibilities. That
they can get somewhere, if they work for it. We teach them skills, rules, how to
be responsible."
Some of the boxers go on to compete for the Golden Gloves. Most of the
other kids have other plans. Georges Hankins gives them choices, confidence
and self-esteem. He's changing lives-and changing the South Bronx.
Page 34
1992 The Giraffe Project
Olga Bloom
Standing Tall
When retired concert violinist Olga Bloom of New York City began turning an
old coffee barge into a floating concert hall, she knew nothing about renovation
or about the fundraising that would be needed. But she told the Giraffe Project,
"It was like the reverse of Mephisto. I sold my soul to God, and then everything I
needed came just when I needed it."
Teaching Guide
Bloom and her husband had always talked about making a place where fel-
Grades 6-9
low musicians would have total creative freedom. When they retired, they mort-
gaged their home to buy the old barge. But when her husband died suddenly, the
dream could have died with him. Instead of pulling the covers over her head,
Section I
Bloom rented out the house, moved onto the barge and began renovating it with
Lesson 1
her own hands. She spent the next two years turning it into a peerless hall for
chamber music.
According to Bloom, the initial reaction to her project was astonishment.
"Everyone at the time thought I was absolutely demented." But when the
longshore workers and seamen on the Brooklyn waterfront saw the tiny woman
scraping paint and sawing lumber, they rallied to help her out. As Bloom says,
"If you go out there and work, someone will surely come along to help you."
A big difficulty came in dealing with city bureaucrats about licenses and a le-
gal place to berth the barge, because the city had no regulations that covered
such a thing. The bureaucrats took such a long time to figure out which laws
applied that when they finally looked up, Olga had been at her berth at the
Fulton Ferry Landing so long that Bargemusic Ltd. was an institution in the
neighborhood.
Chamber musicians love performing in the intimate and accoustically per-
fect hall. Audiences love the low ticket price; the twice-weekly, year-round con-
certs; and the beautiful setting. The neighbors love Bloom and the renaissance
that Bargemusic has sparked in the area. And the barge has become a popular
spot to rent for weddings and bar mitzvahs, helping Bloom pay the operation's
bills.
She still takes no salary for her round-the-clock work, living on just her So-
cial Security check. An outrageously happy and energetic woman, she told us
with a grin, "I think virtue is the most exciting way to go. Unquestionably."
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 35
Section I
Bill Wassmuth
Lesson 1
"Father Bill" Wassmuth was the parish priest of St. Pius X Church in Coeur
d'Alene, Idaho when he headed the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Re-
lations, a citizens' group dedicated to encouraging tolerance and cultural diver-
sity. Several white supremacist groups had recently located in his area, and their
vociferous calls for an all-white America frightened and embarrassed the people
of Kootenai County. He joked that he was elected chairman because, as a Catho-
lic priest, he didn't have a wife and kids to protect, and because all the church
buildings were brick and so weren't easy to blow up. But a pipe bomb went off in
the rectory, just 20 feet from where Wassmuth sat talking on the phone. The at-
tack on him and his courageous response unified the community against racism.
700 people attended a human-rights rally soon afterward. Three more bombings
jolted the town before four white-supremacists were arrested and charged with
the attempted assassinations of Wassmuth, federal judges, FBI agents and local
law enforcement officers.
Wassmuth spent 1987 lobbying for the passage of five civil-rights laws that
have made Idaho one of the most progressive states in the nation on civil rights.
He now lives in Seattle and heads the Northwest Coalition Against Malicious
Harassment, a five-state human-rights umbrella organization that was founded
after the Kootenai County rally.
Page 36
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Who are Giraffes?
Standing Tall
The people you have read about in What's My Ending? and seen in the video, and
others you will be meeting later on are ordinary individuals of all ages and ethnic
backgrounds and from many walks of life. We call them Giraffes because they are
"sticking their necks out" for the common good.
For most of us, when there's trouble, it's easy to look the other way, follow
Teaching Guide
the crowd and hope that a problem will somehow disappear. But Giraffes are ac-
Grades 6-9
tivists, with the guts to face problems and try to solve them. Susan B. Anthony,
George Washington, Mahatma Gandhi, Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther
King, Jr.-all were Giraffes in their time.
Section I
But most Giraffes, like the people in our stories, work in quieter ways. They
Lesson 1
take small steps forward, for the good of others as well as themselves.
Giraffes are not cartoon superheros. They are real people who use their abili-
ties and resources and who take risks to help others.
Most celebrities are not Giraffes. Celebrities are famous, but not necessarily
for being good people. Some, in fact, become famous because of the terrible
things they do. Adolf Hitler, Jack the Ripper and Jesse James are examples of "ce-
lebrity" villains. They most certainly were not Giraffes. Other celebrities are fa-
mous for being talented or good-looking, whether or not they are good people.
Giraffes aren't fools or daredevils. They don't take risks for risk's sake; they
take risks that mean something. Giraffes risk their popularity, their success, their
financial security to help make their world a better place. They work on solu-
tions, rather than merely observe, deny or avoid problems. They lead by ex-
ample.
Giraffes are people who have been honored by the Giraffe Project for being
role models of courage and compassion. The Giraffe Project believes that all of
us can find the courage to act on our desire to make the world a better place.
A Giraffe can be just about anyone-a cop, a teacher, a homemaker, a
plumber, a student, a nurse, a cook, a business person, a bus driver. Or you.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 37
Profiles in Caring
Standing Tall
Objective: Students will identify Giraffe behavior and contrast it with other kinds of
behavior.
Method: Students read, discuss and evaluate Giraffe stories.
Skills: analysis, application, comparing and contrasting, description, debate,
discussion, evaluation, reading, small group work, synthesis, writing
Teaching Guide
Duration: 45-50 minutes
Grades 6-9
Group size: individual, small group, entire class
Materials: Profiles in Caring stories (pp. 41-47), Giraffe Profile (p. 48)
Section I
Procedure
Lesson 2
Give the class Profiles in Caring stories to read individually, or divide students
up into teams, designating one story for each team. Have them fill out a Giraffe
Profile for their story after going through the questions briefly to make sure every-
F
one understands them. (Please note that the Andy Lipkis and Guy Polhemus stories
are longer than the others in order to show the step-by-step process of major projects.
You may wish to use those stories with the entire class first.)
When the teams report back to the rest of the class, make columns on the
blackboard headlined "risk," "action," "common good" and "ostrich behavior."
(Ostriches are the opposite of Giraffes. They stick their heads in the sand and hope that
the problems will go away).
Assign a student for each column to write down the answers from each sec-
tion of the Giraffe Profile sheet given by each team. Analyze each column when all
the teams are finished reporting to see what patterns, if any, emerge in the kinds
of risk taken, types of action, etc.
Giraffe Journal Job: Collect the Profiles in Caringstories and Giraffe
Profiles filled out by the teams. Add to your columns on "risk" and "the common
good" from the previous lesson and start new columns on "action" and "ostrich
behavior," copying down the ideas from the blackboard.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 39
Section I
Profiles in Caring
Lesson 2
Enrichment Activities
E
Review The Real Thing stories from the Introductory Section and the video sto-
ries from this section, using the questions that are in the Giraffe Profile. Have stu-
dents add more ideas to the columns of actions, risks, common good and "os-
trich" behavior on the blackboard.
Have students take the basic problem from one of the Profiles in Caring or
other Giraffe stories, make up an "ostrich" behavior reaction to the situation and
contrast the results and consequences with the Giraffe solution.
Have students find articles describing people exhibiting Giraffe behavior in
newspapers or magazines and fill out Giraffe Profiles on them.
Have students write and perform a play (live, videotaped or audiotaped, as if
for television or for radio), a song, drawing or collage based on one of the stories.
Page 40
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Katie and Andy Lipkis
Profiles in Caring
Maureen Kushner's Kids' Comedy Club
Section I
Profiles in Caring
Lesson 2
Andy Lipkis and TreePeople
Most people don't become Giraffes all at once. Sometimes it's a step-by-step pro-
cess, as you can see from this story about Andy Lipkis.
Andy started out with one small project. That success gave him the experi-
ence and the confidence to extend himself a little further. As he got more in-
volved, he learned enough from his failures and his successes to try even bigger
steps. Each step led to the next in an exciting way. One small action at a time led
Andy from planting a few trees at summer camp to planting millions of trees
around the world.
The summer he was 15, Andy Lipkis went to camp in the mountains outside
Los Angeles. He noticed that many of the trees were dying. The camp naturalist
told Andy that air pollution from the city was killing the trees one by one. In 25
years most of them would be dead, and the hillsides would be brown and barren.
Although there were smog-resistant varieties of trees available, the naturalist said
it would be impossible to replant the entire forest. There were just too many
trees. Andy asked, "Why not try?"
Andy rallied campers to a reforesting project. They dug up a parking lot and
an unused ball field and planted seedlings of smog-resistant trees. Though it was
very hard work in the hot summer sun, the campers felt a tremendous sense of
accomplishment when they had finished.
The work sparked an interest in Andy. He began to study air pollution and
its effects on trees. He learned the many ways trees help the environment by pro-
viding oxygen, reducing smog, preventing water run-off and offering cooling
shade. He thought his hometown of Los Angeles needed the benefits and beauty
of more trees. The experience of planting and caring for the trees might also be
good for the people of the city. After two summers planting trees at camp, Andy
knew that working together brought people together.
When he was 18, Andy asked 20 summer camps to join him in a big replant-
ing. He convinced the state Department of Forestry to donate their leftover tree
seedlings. Andy called his volunteers the California Conservation Corps. The
CCC planted trees in areas damaged by forest fires or mudslides. People read
newspaper stories about the CCC and Andy, whom reporters called "Tree Boy,"
and signed up to help. The popular group, soon nicknamed TreePeople, planted
more than 100,000 trees in their first six years. Andy was ready for the next step.
He and TreePeople made an amazing promise to the people of Los Angeles.
They would plant one million trees before the opening of the 1984 Summer
Olympics in Los Angeles. TreePeople met their goal, planting the last tree four
days before the opening of the Games. Their success inspired people in other cit-
ies and countries to hold their own big tree-planting campaigns.
Page 42
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Today Andy and his wife Kate run TreePeople together. The small staff and
Standing Tall
volunteers of the group still plant lots of trees all over the world. They also teach
environmental lessons in the schools and at their own 45-acre nature center.
Andy Lipkis is amazed that his simple idea grew so much. He says, "You
know, the redwood comes from one of the tiniest seeds. When it first sprouts, its
life is in real question. It's so vulnerable. But, like dreams, you have to put it out
there. The risk adds to the strength."
Teaching Guide
Grades 6-9
Section I
Lesson 2
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 43
Section I
Maureen Kushner:
Lesson 2
Making Learning Fun
Maureen Kushner of New York City has always been an exciting and innovative
teacher. But she really stuck her neck out when she decided to make comedians
out of kids who were failing their elementary school classes. She started The
Kids' Comedy Club in PS 132 despite a lot of flak from administrators and other
teachers who thought it was a crazy idea.
In no time at all the Kids' Comedy Club had 40 members from grades I-6
and a waiting list of 200, making it one of the largest clubs in the school.
Kushner really challenges the Club members. Most of them speak English as
a second language and have had trouble reading, yet she expects all of them to
read at least 20 books of humor during the year. The ones who choose to become
stand-up comedians must give performances; those who are writers, designers,
cartoonists and critics must produce at least three books a year. The kids' vo-
cabularies expand, and they become fluid readers, but their new-found enthusi-
asm for working hard may be Kushner's greatest achievement.
Since the Club only has two meetings a week during regular class time, and
the enthusiastic kids demand more, Kushner puts in a lot of extra time with the
Club before and after school and on weekends. She's dipped into her own pocket
to pay for supplies and to rent a place for the kids to work.
Comedy Club members who were once failing in school have improved their
academic test scores so much that they are now being accepted into New York's
top specialized high schools. Three-quarters of Kushner's comedy kids, all of
whom started at the bottom of their classes, have soared to the top. And that's no
joke.
Page 44
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Guy Polhemus:
Standing Tall
Doing the Cans
As writer and actor, Guy Polhemus wasn't a prime candidate to transform the
lives of hundreds of the city's homeless. Yet one year after volunteering at a Man-
hattan soup kitchen, Polhemus was managing an innovative service for the
homeless that he'd created, a service that provided a financial safety net for hun-
dreds of the poor.
Teaching Guide
Grades 6-9
While handing out meal tickets at the soup kitchen, Polhemus talked with
homeless people waiting for their food. He was surprised to discover how many
of them tried to support themselves by collecting cans and bottles for redemp-
Section I
tion. Unfortunately store managers were giving them a hard time, refusing to re-
Lesson 2
deem their containers or limiting them to less than 50 a day. Managers said bev-
erage distributors were too slow collecting the containers and paying the stores
for them, that empties took up too much space, and that the homeless were just
too shabby to have hanging around.
The store managers weren't the only obstacles. If the consumer throws away
a can or bottle instead of redeeming it, the beverage companies get to keep the
nickel deposit. Those nickels add up-to about $60 million a year just in the
New York area! There was certainly no incentive for the beverage companies to
make it easy to redeem containers either.
Polhemus was angry that the homeless were being pushed around like this.
Scavenging for containers was hard, dirty work. People who "do the cans" per-
formed a useful service in clearing litter and in recycling resources. They de-
served their redemption money and a little common courtesy. He channelled his
anger in a useful direction by coming up with a plan for a nonprofit redemption
center that would serve the homeless. Even Polhemus had his doubts about how
long it would last. "Everyone said it was an impossible plan-no money, no va-
cant lot, no building," he remembers.
Nevertheless Polhemus hopped on his bike and began pedaling up and down
the city streets looking for a vacant lot. He found a developer willing to let him
use a midtown lot temporarily, rent-free. He borrowed money for a trailer and
some equipment. On October 14, 1987, We Can, the first redemption center for
the poor and homeless, opened for business.
The homeless and the poor were so desperate for a fair shake that they
flooded the muddy lot with 150,000 cans and bottles in the first ten weeks. At
first many companies dragged their feet, not wanting to give up their deposit
windfalls. Polhemus had to fight like a tiger, but he finally got the beverage dis-
tributors to play fair. We Can was in business.
From the beginning Guy Polhemus treated his redeemers with fairness
and dignity. Polhemus gave redeemers vouchers that could be turned into cash at
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 45
Section I
a nearby check-cashing store. He noticed the satisfaction they felt to get a "pay-
Lesson 2
check" for their labors. In its first two years We Can wrote vouchers for $625,000
to redeemers.
As We Can has grown, homeless people have become employees there, and
We Can helps redeemers get legal and medical services that can help them move
on to more challenging jobs.
We Can has given Polhemus a purpose in life. He reflects, "The minute I
took my focus off of my own problems-'poor me, a privileged, white-bread
jerk'-and focused on reaching out to the needs around me, I discovered a deep
sense of inner peace and conviction."
Page 46
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Muriel Clark:
Standing Tall
New York's Oldest Undercover Agent
At the age of 78, Muriel Clark, of New York City, became New York's oldest un-
dercover agent. Her assignment-to help expose the payoffs that were being de-
manded to get elderly people admitted to nursing homes.
Causes and underdogs were nothing new to Muriel. A retired social worker,
she finds injustice so objectionable that she's spent her retirement years working
Teaching Guide
Grades 6-9
tirelessly with civil rights groups, teaching youths on probation, and working
with the homeless.
She was recruited for the nursing home project by a special prosecutor who
Section I
noted her passionate concern at a community meeting on nursing home abuses.
Lesson 2
She jumped at the chance to help.
"I think I would do anything to help improve conditions there," she said. "I
have strong feelings about nursing homes because the thought of being there
myself fills me with horror."
She became "Muriel Schwartz" whose son, "Sam," was well-off and eager to
place her in a home. Muriel Clark, who has never married and has no children,
learned the fictitious Schwartz family tree and-much harder-Mrs. Schwartz's
medical history. Muriel Clark hasn't been to a doctor in 40 years.
"The Schwartzes," wired with hidden recording equipment, visited four
nursing homes. In two of them they were asked for bribes, and they got the ille-
gal requests on tape. Both nursing home officials were indicted, the first such in-
dictments for a long-known abuse.
The hardest part of the deception for Clark was presenting herself as harm-
less and ill. "I'd say, 'I love to sew, read, take a little walk, watch TV, and do knit-
ting.' I tried to make it seem I was inert."
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 47
Section I
Giraffe Profile
Lesson 2
Name
Date
Name of Giraffe:
(1) How do you think the Giraffe you read about
stuck his/her neck out? (What risks were involved?)
(2) What actions did the Giraffe take to solve the problem?
(3) What was the "common good" in this story?
(4) How might an "ostrich" have acted in this story?
Page 48
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Why the Giraffe Symbol?
Standing Tall
Objective: Students will understand the meaning of the animal giraffe as a symbol.
Method: Students analyze and compare animal giraffe characteristics with
those of human Giraffes.
Skills: analysis, classification, evaluation, inference, interpretation, research,
synthesis, writing
Teaching Guide
Duration: 30-45 minutes
Grades 6-9
Group size: entire class
Materials: What is a giraffe? (p. 51), The Animal Giraffe (pp. 52-53),
What is a Giraffe? (p. 55), The Human Giraffe (p. 56), giraffe/Giraffe
Section I
Characteristics (p. 57)
Lesson 3
Procedure
Show the students a film on giraffes (if available) or have them do encyclope-
F
dia research on the giraffe, either in teams or individually, then fill out the an-
swers to the What is a giraffe? sheet.
Or to make it more of a guessing game, show them only the picture of the gi-
raffe that follows this lesson and have them try to figure out the answers based on
what they already know about the animal. Then have them compare their an-
swers with the facts given in The Animal Giraffe paragraph.
Use What is a Giraffe?, The Human Giraffe and giraffe/Giraffe Characteristics
for large group discussion purposes. Brainstorm with students ways in which the
various characteristics of the animal giraffe can stand for the Giraffes they have
seen on the video and read about in The Real Thing and Profiles in Caring stories.
You may want to use this discussion to teach or review the use and impor-
tance of symbols in poetry, advertisements, political logos, etc. The animal
giraffe's large heart used as a symbol of the human Giraffe's caring for others will
then become more meaningful to students.
Giraffe Journal Job: If your class discusses the What is a giraffe? and
What is a Giraffe? questions, make notes recording that discussion. If the class
writes answers to the questions, collect the papers. Have your teacher give you
a copy of the giraffe/Giraffe Characteristics comparison sheet to keep with this
material.
In the discussion, your materials on The Real Thing and Profiles in Caring
from previous lessons can be helpful to refer to.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 49
Section I
Why the Giraffe Symbol?
Lesson 3
Enrichment Activities
E
Create a poem, song or artwork on the shared characteristics of giraffes and
Giraffes.
Do additional research on animal giraffe characteristics. List information
sources. Make more comparisons with human Giraffes.
Make a list of animal phrases used as describers of human behavior (bird-
brain, chicken, hogwild, weasly, foxy, shrewish, kittenish, etc.).
Page so
©
1992 The Giraffe Project
What is a giraffe?
Standing Tall
Name
Date
Instructions: Look carefully at the picture of the giraffe on this page and then
answer the following questions.
(1) Physical Appearance
Teaching Guide
How tall do you think a giraffe is?
Grades 6-9
How much do you think a giraffe weighs?
What colors and patterns are on a giraffe's coat?
What do you think a giraffe eats?
Section I
How big do you think a giraffe's heart is?
Lesson 3
What do you think is the most unusual physical feature of a giraffe?
What other things do you notice about the physical appearance of a giraffe?
(2) Movement
Do you think a giraffe moves slowly or quickly?
What does a giraffe do with its neck?
What might a giraffe see from its great height compared to what a dog or cat
or even an elephant can see?
How do you think a giraffe runs? (galloping? sprinting? leaping?)
(3) Personality
Does a giraffe seem to be friendly, shy, nasty?
Does a giraffe inspire fear?
Why or why not?
Do you think a giraffe is a loner or a group animal?
(4) Behavior
Do you think a giraffe fights with other
giraffes or is generally peaceful?
Now that you have answered these ques-
tions, turn to The Animal Giraffe and
see how accurate your descriptions were.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page SI
Section I
The Animal Giraffe
Lesson 3
Giraffes live in small groups on African grasslands. Tallest of all the animals, of-
ten reaching 18 feet, its legs are six feet long, with a neck that may be even longer,
and a tongue that measures one and a half feet. Despite the length of the giraffe
neck, there are only seven neck bones in it, the same number as in the necks of
humans and most other mammals.
The giraffe's heart can weigh 25 pounds and be as much as two feet long.
However, even though the giraffe towers over other animals, a large male weighs
only a "skinny" ton, while a male African elephant, the second tallest animal,
may weigh six tons.
A giraffe's coat has patch-like markings of tawny to chestnut-brown, with
lighter tawny or white lines that separate the patches. This color pattern helps
protect them by making them hard to see when they stand in the shade of trees.
However, because the pattern is distinct for each giraffe, this also makes it easier
for each giraffe to be recognized as an individual, to stand out in a crowd of other
giraffes.
Giraffes walk by moving both legs on one side and then both legs on the
other side. This movement is called pacing. The giraffe can gallop up to 30 miles
an hour. When it gallops, both hind feet swing out and forward together and
land in front of the front feet. It can travel for hours, maintaining a steady high
speed, and can outdistance its only known enemy, the lion.
To drink, a giraffe doesn't kneel; it spreads its forelegs far apart, bending
them slightly, and lowers its head to the water. A giraffe usually sleeps standing
up, but it may lie down. When lying down, it holds its neck upright or rests it on
one of its hips or on a low tree limb.
Giraffes live from 25 to 30 years. A female giraffe (cow) is able to bear her
first baby when she's 4 or 5 years old. She carries her young (one baby at a time;
twins are rare) for 14 or IS months before giving birth. The baby giraffe (calf)
may be as tall as 6 feet, weigh as much as 150 pounds, and is able to stand up
within an hour of its birth.
Giraffes are vegetarians, so they don't hunt and kill other animals. They feed
on leaves, twigs and fruit from trees that grow in scattered groves. Like cattle,
they chew a cud, which is food that has entered the stomach but is returned to
the mouth for a second chewing. Though giraffes can strip an entire acacia tree
bare in minutes, their mouths secrete an enzyme that helps the tree to grow
again.
Giraffes gather at times in small herds. Members of a herd do not stay close
together, but they apparently keep track of one another by peering over the tops
of trees while feeding. They also are able to see for miles and pass an alarm to
shorter creatures when there's danger approaching.
Page 52
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Male giraffes (bulls) fight by butting their heads against the chest or neck of
Standing Tall
their opponents, but rarely injure each other. Females seldom fight, and giraffes
have never been seen to fight each other over food.
Teaching Guide
Grades 6-9
Section I
Lesson 3
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 53
What is a Giraffe?
Standing Tall
Name
Date
Instructions: The stories you have read are of Giraffes, the human variety, people
who stick their necks out for the common good. Can you figure out other rea-
sons why they might be called Giraffes? What else do you think they have in
common with animal giraffes? Look back at the description of the animal giraffe
Teaching Guide
Grades 6-9
to help you answer the questions below.
Physical Appearance
Read the description of the animal giraffe. What other physical characteristics of
Section I
the animal giraffes, besides "sticking their necks out," also describe the human
Lesson 3
Giraffes?
Personality
What personality traits do the human Giraffes in the stories have in common?
What personality traits do you think human
Giraffes have that are like animal giraffes?
When you have an-
swered these ques-
tions, turn this over
and read more about
Giraffes, the human
variety.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 55
Section I
The Human Giraffe
Lesson 3
Like the animal, human Giraffes have large hearts. They care a great deal about
others and about helping others.
Like the animal, they come in an endless variety of distinctive patterns.
They're different colors, ages, interests and personalities.
Human Giraffes sound the alarm if they sense danger, and they fight only if
they have to.
Like the animal, human Giraffes can "see for miles," with the vision of new
ideas to make the world a better place. They stand out above the crowd because
they literally stick their necks out to put their ideas and ideals into action.
All Giraffes take risks. They cannot be "ostriches," who stick their heads in
the sand and hope that the problems will go away. When Giraffes see something
that needs to be done to help others, they do it, no matter what they have to give
up or go through.
A writer in New York City started the Giraffe Project in 1982 to spread the
stories of ordinary people who become heroes by "sticking their necks out" to
help others. She saw the giraffe-farseeing, big-hearted and peaceful and-as an
excellent symbol and that "Giraffe" people could be found anywhere in the
world.
As a journalist, she was tired of writing about things going wrong. She
wanted to write about people who worked to make things right. She also recog-
nized that many problems were not getting solved because people were not
sticking their necks out to put their ideals into action. She thought that telling
the stories of Giraffes would make other people stick their own necks out. She
was sure that inside each of us there's a Giraffe waiting to get out.
Hundreds of people have been named Giraffes, and their stories are inspiring
others to take action as they come to understand the Giraffe motto:
Nobis Est-It's up to us.
Page 56
©
1992 The Giraffe Project
giraffe/Giraffe Characteristics
Standing Tall
Animal giraffes
Human Giraffes
(i) have very large hearts;
(1) are "big-hearted" and care for
others;
Teaching Guide
Grades 6-9
(2) have very long necks that help
(2) "stick their necks out" to protect
them see over the tops of trees and
people and things they care about,
keep track of each other and of
taking risks to do good and standing
Section I
dangers that might be approaching;
tall for what they believe in;
Lesson 3
(3) can travel for hours, maintaining
(3) keep trying until they reach their
a steady, high speed, and can outdis-
goal, overcoming all obstacles;
tance their only known enemy, the
lion;
(4) are not destructive; they do not
(4) make things better in the world
hunt or kill other animals, and the
around them;
enzymes in their mouths help the
trees they graze on leaf out again
quickly;
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 57
Section I: Reflection Questions
Standing Tall
1.
What are the two most interesting or important things you learned in this
section?
2. What activities did you like best? Why?
Teaching Guide
Grades 6-9
3. What activities did you like the least? Why?
Section I
4. What did you learn about people from the stories in this section?
5.
What did you learn about your classmates?
6. What did you learn about yourself?
7. Do you think the giraffe is a good symbol for brave, caring people?
Why or why not? Can you suggest other appropriate symbols?
(They don't have to be animals.)
8. What would be the main differences between the ways human Giraffes and
human "ostriches" behave?
9. Do you think there are more things you would be willing to do for others
now that you've learned about Giraffes?
10. Are there Giraffes you've learned about whom you admire? Giraffes you
dislike? If so, why?
Giraffe Journal Job: Keep track of ideas, if any, that are shared unani-
mously by the class or shared by the majority of the class. At the end of the
discussion, read your findings to the class.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 59
Section I
Just for Fun
Cryptograms
1) This is a two-part puzzle. First you have to crack the code, then unscramble
the letters to come up with a four-word message.
(Hint: We started numbering the alphabet with a one at the letter G).
3 13 I3 IO 14 9 IS 14 I5
2) Crack the code to find a Giraffe quote:
"QWT RTQDNGOU JCXG CNYCAU DGGP QWT UVGRRKPI
UVQPGU."
Letter used in code is two back in alphabet from actual letter, i.e. QWT= OUR.
ANSWER #1
"It's up to us."
ANSWER #2
-Guy Polhemus
"Our problems have always been our stepping stones."
Page бо
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
II: Spotting Giraffes
"Everybody can be great
because anybody can serve."
-Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
II: Spotting Giraffes
......
6-9 Index
Standing Tall
Section II: Spotting Giraffes
Overall Goals:
To enable students to go from defining who Giraffes are to finding them
in their world.
To enable students to recognize their own potential to be Giraffes.
Teaching Guide
Grades 6-9
Lesson 1: Spotting Giraffes Introduction
63
Objective: Students will review concepts and apply what they have learned.
Skills: analysis, application, classification, debate, description, discussion,
Section II
evaluation, reading, research, small group work, writing
Index
Subjects: Language Arts, Social Studies
Enrichment Activities
63
Giraffe Sighting Report
64
Lesson 2: Spotting Giraffes in Real Life & in Fiction
65
Objective: Students will apply what they have learned in a variety of settings.
Skills: analysis, application, debate, description, discussion, evaluation,
reading, research, small group work, writing
Subjects: Art, Drama, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies
Enrichment Activities
66
Spotting Giraffes activity sheets
67-69
Lesson 3: Giraffe Sighting Presentations
71
Objective: Students will give a report on or otherwise verbally describe Giraffes.
Skills: debate, discussion, evaluation, inference, interpretation, listening,
public speaking, reporting
Subjects: Art, Drama, Language Arts, Public Speaking, Social Studies
Enrichment Activities
71
Lesson 4: Interviewing Giraffes
73
Objective: Students will review and expand knowledge of Giraffes and
Giraffe behavior through personal communication.
Skills: analysis, application, classification, description, discussion, interview,
listening, observation, reporting, research, small group work, writing
Subjects: Language Arts, Social Studies
Enrichment Activities
74
Interviewing a Giraffe You Know activity sheet
75-76
Interview Tips
77
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 61
Section II
Lesson 5: Interview Follow-ups
79
Objective: Students will present material orally.
Skills: analysis, discussion, listening, public speaking, reporting,
small group work
Subjects: Art, Drama, Journalism, Language Arts,
Public Speaking, Social Studies
Enrichment Activities
80
Lesson 6: Spotting the Giraffe in You, Part I
8I
Objective: Students will identify an area of great importance to them.
Skills: analysis, application, classification, description, discussion,
evaluation, interview, listening, writing
Subjects: Art, Language Arts, Music, Social Studies
Enrichment Activities
82
Interviewing Yourselfactivity sheets
83-84
Lesson 7: Spotting the Giraffe in You, Part II
85
Objective: Students will analyze and
evaluate different solutions to problems.
Skills: analysis, application, classification, comparing and contrasting,
description, discussion, evaluation, interview, listening, writing
Subjects: Drama, Journalism, Language Arts, Social Studies
Enrichment Activities
86
What's Your GQ? activity sheets
87-90
Lesson 8: Spotting the Giraffe in You, Part III
9I
Objective: Students will analyze and evaluate personal concerns
in relation to what they have learned about Giraffe behavior.
Skills: analysis, classification, discussion, evaluation, listening, synthesis
Subjects: Drama, Language Arts, Social Studies
Enrichment Activities
91
Section II Reflection Questions
93
Section II Just for Fun Activity
94
Page 62
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Spotting Giraffes Introduction
Standing Tall
Objective: Students will review concepts and apply what they have learned.
Method: Students look for examples of Giraffes and Giraffe behavior.
Skills: analysis, application, classification, debate, description, discussion,
evaluation, reading, research, small group work, writing
Duration: 30-45 minutes to find materials; 30-45 minutes for reports and
Teaching Guide
discussion
Grades 6-9
Group size: small group, entire class
Materials: Giraffe Sighting Report (p. 64), collection of newspapers and
magazines
Section II
Lesson 1
Procedure
Review with students what they learned in Section I on what it means to be a
Giraffe. Then hand out a Giraffe Sighting Report to teams of students and go over
F
each part in case there are any questions. Have ready a collection of newspapers
and magazines, such as Time, Newsweek, Reader's Digest or People. Ask each team
to look through them for an article on someone they think is a Giraffe.
After taking brief notes on the article, and filling out the Giraffe Sighting
Report, have each team present their sighting to the rest of the class. Discuss each
sighting as a class to see if everyone agrees that the person or group chosen is a
Giraffe. This is a good exercise for finding out whether or not the students really
understand the concepts and can apply them.
Giraffe Journal Job: Collect the team Giraffe Sighting Reports. Write
down whether or not the class agrees that the person in each case is a Giraffe and
why that person is or is not a Giraffe.
Spotting Giraffes Introduction
Enrichment Activities
E
Have students individually or in small groups fill out the Giraffe Sighting
Report on one of the Giraffes they read about in The Real Thing or Profiles in
Caring or saw on the video in Section I.
Put up a map of the world and have students place pins in the areas where
they have sighted Giraffes.
Have students start a databank of the Giraffes they have sighted, cataloging
them by area of common good, type of risk, geographic location, or other
category.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 63
Section II
Giraffe Sighting Report
Lesson 1
My Name
Date
I think I've sighted a Giraffe. His/her name is:
Problem(s) this person took on:
Risks this person took:
How I feel this person's actions have served the common good:
Obstacles this person faced:
How this person handled these obstacles:
Outside help this person needed (if any), and how he/she got it:
Page 64
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Spotting Giraffes in Real Life & in Fiction
Standing Tall
Objective: Students will apply what they have learned in a variety of settings.
Method: Students look for Giraffes in literature, history and in current
media.
Skills: analysis, application, debate, description, discussion, evaluation,
reading, research, small group work, writing
Teaching Guide
Duration: 30-45 minutes research; 30-45 minutes planning presentations
Grades 6-9
Materials: Spotting Giraffes in History, the News or Living Next Door
(pp. 67-68, Spotting Giraffes in Books, Movies, Plays and TV (p. 69)
Section II
Procedure
Lesson 2
Divide students into teams of four to eight. Give each team one copy of
Spotting Giraffes in History, the News or Living Next Door and four copies of Spot-
ting Giraffes in Books, Movies, Plays and TV (one for each category). Each activity
F
contains four requests for Giraffes, so each member of the team, depending on
size, will need to be responsible for finding one or two Giraffes. Or the team can
work as a whole, decide together on the Giraffe for each category, answer the
questions as a team, then choose how they will present their sightings to the
class. Another approach is to have eight teams, each responsible for finding
several Giraffes in only one of the categories. One team would find historical
Giraffes, one team would find famous Giraffes still living, another team would
find Giraffes in the local community, etc.
An alternative to reporting would be to make it more like a game of cha-
rades. Each team can say what the general category is (i.e. book, history, etc.),
then act out the particular person's story and see if the rest of the class can guess
correctly. Or if the students in a team don't want to act, they can give the class 20
questions to guess the Giraffe's identity.
You will probably need at least two class periods for this, one for choosing
the Giraffes in each category, and one for working on the presentations that will
follow in Lesson 3.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 65
Section II
Spotting Giraffes in Real Life & in Fiction
Lesson 2
Enrichment Activities
E
Have the class watch a videotape of several evenings' news, then discuss any
Giraffes or ostriches they think they saw.
Have small groups study a weekly TV guide and research how many shows
have a Giraffe-like focus.
Create a Giraffe bulletin board as part of an educational awareness cam-
paign, featuring stories, pictures and illustrations of Giraffes-real and fictional.
Over a period of time, collect enough Giraffe stories and pictures to cover an
18-foot-long roll of paper, making it the height of a giraffe.
As a class, collect all the sightings, decide as a group which are the most
Giraffe-like and put them in a Standing Tall Book that includes pictures, articles,
and illustrations.
Have students create a newspaper using all the sightings, placing the Giraffes
in the appropriate sections-sports, arts and entertainment, current news. In-
clude headlines, editorials, cartoons and special columns dealing with Giraffe-
like behavior. Have them analyze and compare their newspaper with the usual
daily news.
Have students write up sequels to Giraffe stories.
Have students write script outlines for Giraffes for plays or radio shows.
Have students draw covers for books that might be written about Giraffes,
or draw posters for movies or plays about a Giraffe.
Continue to have students search for Giraffes throughout the year, reporting
to class once a week or once a month. The search can be tied into special school
holidays (Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Day) or class themes (recycling, drug
education, multi-cultural studies, etc.). Students can also research people in his-
tory, science and literature (e.g. Native American history, women's history, history
of inventions, fairy tales, myths, legends, the Bible, general fiction), looking for
Giraffes.
Have the class make a Giraffe calendar, with Giraffe heroes illustrating every
month of the year and every major holiday.
Page 66
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Spotting Giraffes in History,
Standing Tall
in The News or Living Next Door
Name
Date
If you could give a Giraffe award to someone in history, who would it be? Why?
Teaching Guide
Grades 6-9
Section II
Lesson 2
If you could give a Giraffe award to someone in today's news, who it would it be?
Why?
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 67
Section II
If you could give a Giraffe award to someone in your community, who would it
Lesson 2
be? Why?
If you could give a Giraffe award to someone in your school, who would it be?
Why?
Page 68
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Spotting Giraffes in Books, Movies, Plays, TV
Standing Tall
Name
Date
Giraffes don't just surface in the news. Great storytellers have always told tales of
Giraffes. Think of a story you've read, a movie or play you've seen or a television
Teaching Guide
show you've watched that featured a Giraffe-like person. Then answer the fol-
Grades 6-9
lowing questions. (Use one copy of this activity sheet for each category.)
Circle one:
book
movie
play
TV
Section II
Lesson 2
Title:
Giraffe-like character:
What problem(s) faced the character?
What actions did the Giraffe take to solve the problem?
What risks did the Giraffe take to solve the problem?
What was the "common good" (who/what was helped?) in this story?
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 69
Giraffe Sighting Presentations
Standing Tall
Objective: Students will give a report on or otherwise verbally describe Giraffes.
Method: Students give oral reports, act out, or use a question-answer format
to present material on Giraffes.
Skills: debate, discussion, evaluation, inference, interpretation, listening,
public speaking, reporting
Teaching Guide
Duration: several class periods of 30-45 minutes each, or many short
Grades 6-9
periods of 10-15 minutes
Group size: small group, entire class
Materials: none
Section II
Lesson 3
Procedure
Have each team present its Giraffe sightings. You may want to have one team
each day, or you may prefer to do one category at a time, with each team contrib-
F
uting its Giraffe in that category. Your scheduling may also depend on how many
teams choose to act out their choices or use the 20 question format.
If there are time constraints, or if you feel that acting out every choice is too
much, you might suggest that each team use the charades or 20 question format
for a couple of their presentations and report the others as one-minute speeches.
Discuss each sighting in terms of the risks involved and the common good
that is served, then see if everyone agrees that the person chosen is a Giraffe.
Giraffe Journal Job: Collect the team Spotting Giraffe reports. Write
down whether or not the class agrees that the person in each case is a Giraffe and
why that person is or is not a Giraffe. Also add to your columns on "actions,"
"risks" and "the common good."
Giraffe Sighting Presentations
Enrichment Activities
E
Have students dress in costume for the literary, historical, movie and TV
Giraffes, and ask the rest of the class to guess who they are.
Have students create collages for each of the eight categories of Giraffes
(history, today's news, community, school, books, movies, plays, TV) and place on a
bulletin board. Have them leave room in each category for placing pictures or
illustrations of additional Giraffes.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 71
Interviewing Giraffes
Standing Tall
Objective: Students will review and expand knowledge of Giraffes and Giraffe
behavior through personal communication.
Method: Students become reporters and use interview techniques to
research and report on Giraffes.
Skills: analysis, application, classification, description, discussion, interview,
Teaching Guide
listening, observation, reporting, research, writing, small group work
Grades 6-9
Duration: I-2 class periods of 30-40 minutes each; several days during
which assignment is carried out as homework
Group size: individual, small group
Section II
Materials: Interviewing a Giraffe You Know (pp. 75-76), Interview Tips
Lesson 4
(p. 77)
Procedure
F
Give Interviewing a Giraffe You Know sheet to each student. Go over the
questions. Discuss interviewing techniques, using the Interview Tips. Consider
including the use of a tape recorder or video camera as an alternative or in addi-
tion to writing.
Do several practice interviews in class. Pairs of students could volunteer to
role play, one acting as the interviewer and the other pretending to be one of the
Giraffes chosen in Lesson 2 of this section.
This would also be an excellent time to have a reporter from a local paper or
TV/radio station come in and speak to students about interviewing and report-
ing techniques.
Then give interviews as individual or team homework assignments, allowing
several days to a week or more to complete.
You may need to use two or three class periods for this: one to introduce in-
terview techniques and practice, one for a guest reporter, and a separate period
for the teams to decide on the person they will interview, whether the interview
will be written or taped, etc.
Giraffe Journal Job: If you have a reporter come in, take notes on what
he or she says about interviewing and reporting techniques.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 73
Section II
Interviewing Giraffes
Lesson 4
Enrichment Activities
E
Have students watch interview shows on TV and report back on techniques
they noted.
Have students listen to radio talk programs and report back on techniques
used, the kinds of questions asked by the interviewer, whether or not the inter-
viewer remained objective or offered his/her own opinions, and how long the
interviews lasted.
Have students conduct an opinion poll on risktaking, heroes, or other Gi-
raffe-related subjects with fellow students and staff members at school. Ask them
to reflect not only on the differences in opinion they elicit from the same ques-
tions, but also on whether they act differently when interviewing different kinds
of people-for instance, when they interview a friend and peer versus when they
interview an adult. Have them discuss whether or not such differences influence
the way an interview turns out.
Have students interview two Giraffes who work on different sides of an issue
or are working on the same problem in two different ways.
Page 74
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Interviewing a Giraffe You Know
Standing Tall
Interview a family member, friend, or person in your school or community who
you think may be a Giraffe. (You might prefer to use these questions for a "live"
interview, with a tape recorder, then fill out this worksheet later.)
Interviewer
Date
Teaching Guide
Grades 6-9
Name of person interviewed
Why is helping others important to you?
Section II
Lesson 4
Describe a time when you had to stick your neck out to help others.
How did it feel?
What happened as a result?
How do you feel about the results?
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 75
Section II
Lesson 4
What help could you have used?
Were there times when you wanted to back down?
If yes, what changed your mind?
If you ever acted like an ostrich, then how did you feel afterwards?
Miscellaneous notes concerning interview:
Page 76
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Interview Tips
Standing Tall
Special thanks to Sue Haworth, former Langley (Washington) Middle School
journalism teacher and Pat Washburn, formerly of The Herald-Telephone,
Bloomington, Indiana, for the following tips.
Before the interview:
Learn as much as you can about the interviewee before the interview. If
Teaching Guide
they are involved in a particular issue, try to find out some background informa-
Grades 6-9
tion on that issue.
Decide what you want to accomplish in the interview. Plan the questions
that you will ask in order to direct the interview as you want it to go, including
Section II
some "ice breakers." Be sure to cover Who, What, When, Why, Where and How.
Lesson 4
Think about how to word your questions to avoid "yes" and "no" answers.
Ask how the person felt about different events. Ask about what motivates him/
her, why he/she responded to certain events in a particular way. However, avoid
asking questions that are too personal.
To cut the amount of writing during the interview, plan initials and abbre-
viations to use for recurring names, places or ideas, i.e. "GB" for George Bush,
"hm" for homeless, etc.
When you make your appointment tell the interviewee how much time you
would like to have for the interview. Tell the person the purpose of the interview so
he or she can be prepared, too.
Check your equipment. Have pens and pencils and a notepad if you will be
taking notes. If taping, make sure you have enough tape, that the batteries are
fresh, and that you can operate the equipment easily. It's best to take basic notes
even if you are using a tape recorder, because accidents do happen.
At the interview:
Be friendly and courteous. Arrive on time and leave on time. Listen care-
fully and with interest. Avoid interrupting the person. Ask permission to use
your tape recorder.
Take notes. Think as you listen. Be alert to any new questions that may
arise out of a comment or answer. Jot down these followup questions as the per-
son speaks so that you don't forget them.
Keep the interview on track. Remember your purpose. Try to get good
stories or anecdotes that illustrate why the person has acted as she/he has.
Put quotation marks around any exact words of the person being inter-
viewed. Your notes can also include the person's mannerisms, facial gestures (i.e.
"frowned" after a quote) and appearance.
Before you leave, check over your notes for things you're not sure about.
Ask questions to clarify these points.
Thank the person for the interview. It's nice to drop them a short note later,
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
thanking them for their time and trouble.
Page 77
Interview Follow-ups
Standing Tall
Objective: Students will present material orally.
Method: Students report their findings to the class in one of a variety
of ways.
Skills: analysis, discussion, listening, public speaking, reporting,
small group work
Teaching Guide
Duration: several periods of 30-45 minutes each
Grades 6-9
Group size: individuals, small groups, entire class
Materials: none
Section II
Procedure
Lesson 5
As with the other such feedback sessions, you will probably want to take a
number of class periods to complete this part. Because of the "live" nature of this
exercise, follow-up can be done in a number of interesting ways. Students can:
F
Read aloud the interviews in pairs, one playing the interviewer, the other
answering as the interviewee;
Invite the person to school and carry out the interview a second time before
the entire class;
Arrange for a group of those interviewed to come in for a roundtable discus-
sion on risktaking for the common good, their feelings about helping others, and
advice they may have for students on helping others;
If there is a person in the area who has been honored by the Giraffe Project
as a Giraffe, invite him or her to come in and be interviewed or to be part of the
group of people in the round-table discussion. Call the Giraffe Project Education
Department for information on Giraffes available to come to your school.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 79
Section II
Interview Follow-ups
Lesson 5
Enrichment Activities
E
Have students turn the interviews into radio or TV public service announce-
ments or full-length broadcasts, using the school audio or video equipment
(see Every Day Heroes, Reference and Resource Section, RI9 and A Giraffe Class
Radio Show R2I-R22).
Have students write up the interviews and compile them in a special maga-
zine or newsletter, complete with photographs and/or illustrations.
Have students put on an all-school assembly honoring school and/or com-
munity people chosen by the class or featuring a Giraffe who has been honored
by the Giraffe Project.
Page 80
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Spotting the Giraffe in You, Part I
Standing Tall
Objective: Students will be able to identify an area of great importance to them.
Method: Students interview themselves or each other.
Skills: analysis, application, classification, description, discussion,
evaluation, interview, listening, writing
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Teaching Guide
Group size: individual, partners, entire class
Grades 6-9
Materials: Interviewing Yourself activity sheets (pp. 83-84)
Procedure
Section II
Give the Interviewing Yourself activity sheets to the students and have them
Lesson 6
complete the sheets individually or divide up into teams of two to interview each
other.
Then ask for volunteers to share with the rest of class what they've written or
F
found out in the interviews.
Giraffe Journal Job: Keep notes on what the students who volunteer say
to the class. You may want to do the enrichment activity in this lesson that sug-
gests making a chart or graph of the things the class cares about.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 81
Section II
Spotting the Giraffe in You, Part I
Lesson 6
Enrichment Activities
E
Have students create a banner, crest or logo depicting symbols of the ideas
and ideals they value the most.
Have students make up poems, songs, stories, collages or other artwork
around the symbols used in their crest.
Make a chart or graph of the things the class cares about to see how many
share the same dreams and concerns.
Page 82
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Interviewing Yourself
Standing Tall
Name
Date
Is there any cause that you feel so strongly about that you might risk something
you value in order to help?
Teaching Guide
Grades 6-9
Section II
Lesson 6
If you have ever stuck your neck out to help others, describe your experience.
How did it feel?
What happened as a result?
What outside help could you have used?
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 83
Section II
Describe a time when you acted like an ostrich, sticking your head in the sand
Lesson 6
instead of sticking your neck out.
Why did you act like an ostrich in that situation?
How did you feel afterwards?
What outside help could you have used to change the way you acted then?
Page 84
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Spotting the Giraffe in You, Part II
Standing Tall
Objective: Students will analyze and evaluate different solutions to problems.
Method: Students fill out questionnaires individually or in teams.
Skills: analysis, application, classification, comparing and contrasting,
description, discussion, evaluation, listening, writing
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Teaching Guide
Group size: individual, entire class
Grades 6-9
Materials: What's Your GQ? (pp. 87-90)
Procedure
Section II
Have students do the What's Your GQ? handout, then ask for volunteers for
Lesson 7
the answers. Consider keeping track on the blackboard of the answers and see
how much consensus or difference of opinion there is within the class. Also keep
track of how many chose to write their own answers as opposed to choosing one
F
already there.
Discuss the merits of the various answers and the perceived patterns in the
answers. Ask students to reflect on the amount of consensus, differences of
opinion and numbers of student-written answers, and what those facts might
indicate about them as a class.
Giraffe Journal Job: Keep track of the answers given to What's Your GQ?
on your own copy of the handout. Check or star those answers where there is
either a great difference of opinion or consensus within the class. Write down
notes on any discussion the teacher has with the class about their answers. See if
students generally agree on answers as a group or if there are many individuals in
the class who prefer to write their own answers. Write down your observations.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 85
Section II
Spotting the Giraffe in You, Part II
Lesson 7
Enrichment Activities
############### E
Have students imagine other situations like those in the GQ test. Have them
give the options, including their personal choices."
Have small groups of students create and perform a scene based on one of
the What's Your GQ? situations, or on one of their own."
Have students create a monthly newsletter with articles that deal with
community, school, class or personal problems and solutions."
Start an On The Spot box in which students, anonymously, can put problems
or concerns. Once a week take out the notes and read them to the class (you may
need to screen some of them, of course). Have students brainstorm possible solu-
tions, suggesting Giraffe-style actions as well as more cautious ones."
*
Send examples to the Giraffe Project Education Office for possible inclusion in
an expanded or new version of What's Your GQ?
Page 86
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
What's Your GQ?
Standing Tall
Anybody can be a Giraffe. That may surprise you when you think of all the times
you've seen people not sticking their necks out-or when you think of the times
when you've been afraid to be apart from the crowd yourself. Nobody's brave
100% of the time. Some people go through their lives without taking any
chances at all-not even for themselves, much less for other people. But all of us
Teaching Guide
have the capacity to stretch beyond our personal comfort and convenience to do
Grades 6-9
something, no matter how small, to help make the world a better place.
Your Giraffe Quotient can give you an idea of how much "Giraffeness" is
already part of your life. There aren't any right or wrong answers, and nobody's
Section II
going to score your test. Just be honest with yourself as you imagine what you
Lesson 7
would do in these situations. If none of the choices is what you'd do, write your
own solution.
1. There's a girl in your class who's different. She doesn't dress "right" and she's
sad and quiet. Your friends make wisecracks about her. You can see she's not a
bad person; she's really pretty nice. Would you:
a. stay with the crowd and make fun of her so you won't lose any friends?
b. convince your friends that you should all be nice to her?
c. make friends with her on your own, no matter what the rest of the
group might say?
d.
2. Your best friend talks about dropping out because of really serious problems
at home. Would you:
a. decide it's too much for you to deal with and wish your friend luck?
b. offer to help your friend find assistance in dealing with the problems
at home?
c. try to talk your friend out of quitting?
d.
3. You just won $200 in a contest. The rules say you have to give half of it away.
Would you:
a. give it to your aunt if she'll promise to take you to Disneyland?
b. contribute it to a good cause?
c. use it to start your own charity?
d.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 87
Section II
4. The people you've been hanging out with decide to do something you think
Lesson 7
is really wrong. Would you:
a. go along with them and hope nobody notices you're not taking part?
b. talk your friends out of doing it?
C. tell them how you feel and stay out of it?
d.
5. You like being around really young or very old people. Would you:
a. not do anything about it because your friends might think it's weird?
b. get your scout troop or service club to "adopt" a day care center or
nursing home?
C. volunteer to help at a nursery or a rest home?
d.
6. It's time for a friend who just got her driver's license to drive home from a
party. You know she's been drinking. Would you:
a. pretend she's OK and hope she makes it home?
b. get some other friends to help you stop her from driving?
C. stop her yourself?
d.
7. A bully your age has swiped a younger student's hat and the child is crying.
Some other students are laughing about it. Would you:
a. leave and hope the child gets his hat back?
b. talk the students out of laughing and into helping get the hat back?
c. get the hat and return it?
d.
8. Your favorite coach announces a new policy of allowing only passing
students to play in competition. You're on a team and you're failing math.
Would you:
a. start a move to dump the coach?
b. get a study program going for all the team members who are failing
subjects?
C. study like mad to get your math grade up?
d.
Page 88
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
9. Some friends are bragging about what they've done sexually. You're not sure
Standing Tall
they're telling the truth, but you feel naïve and inexperienced. Would you:
a. make up a story and brag so you'll feel like part of the crowd?
b. say what you're feeling in case other people there feel as uncomfortable
as you do?
C. stay quiet and insist that these are personal matters?
d.
Teaching Guide
IO. There's an important test coming up and someone you'd like to go out with
Grades 6-9
asks you to "share" the test answers. Would you:
a. say yes and suggest going out Friday?
b. say no and offer to study together for the test?
Section II
c. say no and ask for a date anyway?
Lesson 7
d.
Do you see a pattern in the answers?
How are all the a's similar?
How are all the b's similar?
How are all the c's similar?
Are your answers similar? If so, how?
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 89
Section II
Which answers do you think are the most Giraffe-like?
Lesson 7
Why?
Which answers do you think are the least Giraffe-like?
Why?
Page 90
©
1992 The Giraffe Project
Spotting the Giraffe in You, Part III
Standing Tall
Objective: Students will analyze and evaluate personal concerns in relation to what
they have learned about Giraffe behavior.
Method: Students review the handouts they did at the
beginning of the project and evaluate personally and as a class.
Skills: analysis, classification, discussion, evaluation, listening, synthesis
Teaching Guide
Duration: 45 minutes
Grades 6-9
Group size: individual, entire class
Materials: Gimme Five handouts
Section II
Procedure
Lesson 8
Give back to students the Gimme Five handouts they filled at the beginning
of the program. Have them look them over carefully and do the following:
Star any thing that could involve taking risks and where the results would be
F
for the common good;
Add any thing that they feel is important as a result of working with the
Standing Tall materials.
For the first part of the class discussion, ask students to share one or more of
the five things they wish to accomplish during their lifetime and one of the
things that they wish to see happen in the world. List them on the blackboard in
two columns.
Then on the blackboard compile a list of the ideas that the students wrote
for improving the school and community. Brainstorm for a few minutes to see if
there are any more they wish to add. Also see if any of the ideas are connected,
i.e. if recycling shows up at the school, community, world and lifetime levels.
Tell them that the task of the class will be to choose one of the items on the
board to actually work on in the next set of lessons, Learning to Be a Giraffe.
Giraffe Journal Job: Write down the list of ideas from the blackboard
that the students have shared from their Gimme Five handouts.
Spotting the Giraffe in You, Part III
E
Enrichment Activities
Have small groups of students create and perform a play based on an idea
they think is worth sticking their necks out for. If the class has access to a video
camera, use scenes from the plays to create a TV show featuring ways to make the
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
world a better place.
Page 91
Section II: Reflection Questions
Standing Tall
1) What are the two most interesting or important things you learned
in this section?
2) What activities did you like best? Why?
Teaching Guide
Grades 6-9
3) What activities did you like the least? Why?
Section II
4) What did you learn about people from the stories in this section?
5) What did you learn about your classmates?
6) What did you learn about yourself?
7) Now that you have found more people exhibiting Giraffe behavior, even
people you know, do you feel you could be a Giraffe, too?
8) When interviewing people exhibiting Giraffe behavior, what did you learn
about why people stick their necks out?
IO) Have your Gimme Five answers changed as a result of what you've learned so
far? If so, how have they changed?
Giraffe Journal Job: Keep track of ideas, if any, that are shared unani-
mously by the class or shared by the majority of the class. At the end of the
discussion, read your findings to the class.
© 1992 The Giraffe Project
Page 93
Section II
Just for Fun
HWGDOKSIRGEC
FGNIRACLWOOP
AROGLATBRKUF
CEHINSFAKSLE
THENTIGFCOIH
IGLOUETWELUJ
OJPTFCSHPVZK
NSFQFFLUGETC
THUTRAEHDIJE
SXLSBGOODKSN
GWSKTRYINGNS
NECK
SPOTS
RISK
ACTION
COURAGE
SIGHTINGS
GIRAFFE
GOOD
HERO
HEART
HELPFUL
CARING
TRYING
SOLVE
Spot the 14 "Giraffe" words in the puzzle above. Cross each off the list as you
find it and circle it on the puzzle. Look up, down, backwards and diagonally.
Page 94
© 1992 The Giraffe Project