I spy in Fast Motion!
Agustina Roth Bagatolli
CCIAL/Argentina
- Approximate Duration:
10 minutes - Ecological Theme:
Biodiversity
The participants will introduce themselves through the guessing game “I spy” while observing everything that is in the landscape. They will say its name first, followed by a characteristic such as color, but also others such as size, shape, texture, and so on.
- They will play “I spy,” but first they must inspect the location. They have 1 minute to make a general “visual pan” of the space.
- Take “fast-motion mental photos” while running or walking around the area, trying to observe everything in the natural environment. Store in your memory as much as you can. (Garcia, 2011)
- Get in a circle and sit down. Present yourselves through the “I spy ”. You must choose something from what you see and describe it using some characteristic such as color, size, shape, texture, whether it is still or moving, and so on. Try to be creative and fun, not to always say the color (which is the most used feature).
- Say something like this:
-My name is “Sofía” and I spy
-What do you see?
-A little thing
-What little thing is it?
-This thing is… (green, big, round, flies, moves up and down, walks, etc.)
Before you go out to do the visual panning and start playing, take 1 minute to practice the dialogue with your partners. Repeat it a couple of times to memorize it and say it fluently.
- Choose a natural setting ahead of time. (It is not required to have specific characteristics. It could be a park, a forest, a square, the beach, a field, a house patio, etc.).
- The guessing game “I spy ”, is usually played with the description of colors. In this case, you will have to motivate the participants to use other characteristics that serve as description (for this they perform the “visual panning” before playing). You may need to explain what a visual pan is and give an example first, or mention some variables when explaining and demonstrating. (In photography, a visual pan is the turning of the camera on its axis from one side to the other, that is, following a moving subject or object with the camera. In this case, the concept could be applied to the movement made by the head along with the eyes when observing the landscape and traversing it with the sight).
- Variants of the game “I spy in fast motion” according to the age of the participants: (Rodriguez Neila, 2010b)
- If they are young children they can focus on specific elements. (Passible and identifiable elements such as grass, stones, trees, insects, animals, among others). For example: “I am Pedro and I spy something very big and tall”. The group will have to guess that it is a tree. “I am Camila and I see an animal that has a lot of hair and moves its tail.” In this case, it is a dog.
- Think of a natural element that begins with the same letter as your name. For example: Felicia-firefly, Steve-stone, Gloria-grasshopper.
- Think of a natural element with which you think you have some similarity (behavior or personality). Then, introduce yourself by saying the name and what is in common with the chosen element. For example: “My name is Ana. I see something that is like me: it goes from one place to another.” In this case the group will have to guess that it is an ant.
Roth, A. (2021c). I spy in fast motion! (Theme 1, activity 1). In Collection of activities to explore nature . International Christian Camps, Latin America.
The activity of this stage is almost a game, simple and motivating. Create interest and anticipation for what is to come. This stage is recreational and invites them to participate, “to dip their feet” in God’s creation.
