Wild Wednesday - A wacky tool for wonderful creativity and more...

Build Your Wild Self

                                   By the New York Zoos and Aquarium 

If you follow children's movies, you may have heard of
The Incredibles, about a family of super-heroes living in the
suburbs or Spiderman.  There is even a new TV show about a family with super powers.
The connection - Build Your Wild Self is a tool that allows children (of all ages) to build a "wild" picture of themselves adding human and animal body parts. 

While it could be a cute tool that allows children to explore their creativity, I think it could be much more for teachers.  The website definitely meets my "keeping it simple" as it is clear and easy for young children to navigate. 

When I first came across this site, my first thoughts were using it to support a writing prompt and using it to promote speaking and creativity.

• Creative writing linked to why they chose the body parts.
• What would it be like to have arms and legs like a tiger?
• Would they have "super ability" based on their choices?

• This tool could be used with the Interactive White Board as a class activity.
• How are animals different from humans?
• Students narrate "why" they are making body part choices.  This supports ELA standards, would be an engaging exercise.  You could video tape the wild self development and explanation. 

The site allows you to email your wild self to a friend too.  My last thought, go wild and check out the site.  I would love to hear your comments and thoughts on how to use this resource.  Care to share your ideas?
Note-there are links to all the NYC zoos and the aquarium.  These pages offer additional resources you can explore.