Math, Literacy and Science Skills Soar with Henley the Eagle as their Class Mascot
Henley the (stuffed) eagle is the class pet Myree Conway’s first grade classroom. He has his very own backpack that contains care instructions, a journal, topical books that get swapped out as the year progresses, an eagle-themed coloring book and other trinkets that the class has made for him. Each weekend, Henley goes home with one of Myree’s first graders. The students write, draw pictures or paste photographs of Henley’s adventures in the journal. When Henley returns to school on Monday, the classroom is abuzz with excitement as students eagerly await to hear about the fun Henley had over the weekend with his host family.
Henley has accompanied students on visits to the optometrist and the barber.He’s even gone on rides at Coney Island—where he got lost and had an adventure all on his own. After Henley got lost, Myree tried to replace Henly, but the children noticed right away that that stuffed Eagle was different. “So, the students got to work on writing letters to Coney Island that included pictures of Henley to see if anyone had found him and, if so, could they return him to their first-grade classroom. And we did get a box from Coney Island with Henley.”
Hosting Henley transforms Myree’s first graders into authors, historians and oral story tellers. Myree observes that, “Sharing their adventures has fueled a passion for literacy and narrative writing.” His adventures also spark curiosity and cultivates an interest in science and the environment. The students wondered, “If Henley is doing all these things, what would a real Eagle do if it left Connecticut and went to Coney Island? How far would that be? How long would it
take and what would he need to stay there for a little bit?” Those questions segued into learning about migration and sparked many other discussions, lessons and activities.
Henley not only helps to engage students in STEAM skills development and learning first-grade curriculum, but he is also a big part of their social-emotional
development. Students have made necklaces and lego fish for him. They read to him with their families. “He’s become like another classmate, a friend to them.” They care for him and that has transferred to concern over conservation. When the first graders learned about items that are harmful to eagles, they decided that they would make posters to help educate people. “They would treat Henley as though her were a person. They would say, ‘Henley doesn’t like led,’ and ‘Henley doesn’t want you to over fish.’”
This stuffed eagle is more than a well-loved mascot. “He is an integral part of the classroom.He has sparked many discussions, many lessons, and many activities.Henley is a vital bridge between school and home offering a sense of security and companionship that travels with our students wherever they go.”
“I just took what we were already doing and threw a little eagle into it.”
The idea for Henley and the eagle theme evolved from student interest. “We were talking about communities and different types of homes,” Myree explained. “We started talking about bird homes and I shared with them a picture of an eagle’s nest. They were fascinated with how big it was and so we went outside and drew a life-size nest (about 7 feet in diameter!) in chalk. They counted how many people could fit in the nest…and from there, they just kept talking about eagles.”
Myree found a live feed of an Eagle’s nest from the Raptor Resource Project in Decorah, Iowa and as the project grew that year and in subsequent years, she found more resources and more ways to work the eagle theme in with existing curriculum. “I took our current curriculum, and I just threw in little bits and pieces related to eagles. For example, we were studying, measurement–inches and feet–and so I collaborated with our art teacher who drew me the seven-feet wingspan of the eagle. The students all took turns laying down, measuring and comparing our own wingspans which we graphed and charted.”
