Guiding Questions for Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Episode 1
Here are some questions and suggested activities to accompany the first episode of the new Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom series on Disney Plus. Questions are organized by subject area and then grade level.
Comment below if these are helpful for homeschooling or distance learning and I’ll make some more!
Mathematics
Pre-K:
Write the symbols for the numbers you hear or counting that number of some collection of objects
Count all of the animals you see
Elementary:
Create equations or word problems with the numbers you hear and different arithmetic functions: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
Count all of the animals you see
Middle school:
Find the greatest common factor or least common multiple of some of the numbers you hear throughout the episode
Write algebraic equations with some of the numbers you hear and solve for the missing numbers
High school:
Calculate how much force (in Newtons) some of the animals weigh
Create and solve some applied algebraic or geometric word problems using the numbers you hear
Some of the numbers you might hear:
34 species in the Harambe Wildlife Reserve
11 Masai giraffes
11 years old (Kenya the giraffe)
4 kids have Kenya for a mother
11 giraffe babies born in 5 years
5.5 tons weight of Mac the elephant
300 pounds of hay per day
5000 pound palm tree
180 miles per hour
English and Language Arts
Pre-K:
What body part words did you hear?
Can you point to or move your body part when you hear the word for it?
Tell a story about your favorite animal from this episode
Elementary:
Notice and categorize the singular and plural nouns (The plural of giraffe might be a little tricky!)
Summarize what happened to one of the animals in this episode in 3-5 complete sentences
Middle school or high school:
Pick a scene. Describe the tone of the script in this scene.
Write a different script for this scene so that it has a different tone (for example: pessimistic, hopeful, sad, humorous)
Identify any literary devices used in this scene or your new script (for example: analogies, metaphors, imagery, foreshadowing, symbolism)
Social Skills (All ages)
Kenya the Giraffe
Kenya has many kids and is called a good mother. What do you think Kenya does that makes her a good mother?
What do good human caregivers do that is the same what a giraffe mother does?
What do good human caregivers do that might be different from what a giraffe mother does?
Mac the Elephant
What qualities does Mac have that make him a good leader?
What qualities or skills do you think good human leaders have?
How do you think you can develop one of those qualities or skills?
Mac and Kianga
How does Kianga show Mac that she likes him?
How do we show other people we like them?
What do we do if someone doesn’t like us back after we’ve shown them that we like them?
Popcorn the Chicken
How would you feel if a close friend or family member had to do a risky surgery?
What would you do to help that person feel better before and after the surgery?
Palm Tree Light for Elephants
It took a long time to make that palm tree light. What’s something you’ve worked really hard on? How did that feel while you were working on it? How did you feel after you finished?
How did the Imagineers work together to make that palm tree light? What qualities or skills do you think they had that helped them work together?
Science, Technology and Engineering
Learners of all ages can be scientists and engineers. Some of the videos linked below might lead to more questions than answers for younger learners.
Kenya the Giraffe
Training animal to perform behaviors
Make some observations - what do you notice and wonder?
How do/did you learn to do some skill (like riding a bike)?
Crash Course Psychology Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG2SwE_6uVM
Try to train someone to expect something every time you do something (like play a sound or perform a certain action)
Mac the Elephant
Thermography: How it works
Make some observations - what do you notice and wonder?
How do you measure if something is hot or cold?
SciShow Video on How Thermal Cameras Work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSozrAIfigE
USA Draeger Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhs1DwQB85c
GAMA 5 Studios Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX0gIWU49iI
Try to figure out how you might make yourself invisible to a thermal camera
Elephants learning English
Make some observations - what do you notice and wonder?
How do/did you learn words?
QHat video on How Babies Learn Language: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IexHdKm3Zpg
Try memorizing some words in another language. Reward yourself for correctly remembering some words and not others. After a week, which words do you remember better?
Popcorn the Chicken
Anesthesia: How it works
Make some observations - what do you notice and wonder?
What kinds of things make you fall asleep or unconscious?
SciShow Episode on new anesthesia research findings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSsYjQeK0qg
SciShow Episode on how anesthesia works at a general level: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43z7NovmlHk
TedEd video on how anesthesia works at general level (some mention of drugs): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_tTymvDWXk
Palm Tree Light for Elephants
All about steel:
Make some observations - what do you notice and wonder about steel from this episode?
What other things do you know of made of steel?
Crash Course on Metals and Ceramics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOK1nMiiTWU
Alliance for American Manufacturing How steel is made video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l7JqonyoKA
Crash Course Kids on Materials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGfLhPslEjQ