SURFLIGHT TO-GO PRESENTS Maggie McGee Goes Green! STUDY GUIDE & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
Contact Us: Surflight Theatre / PO Box 1155 / Engleside & Beach Avenues / Beach Haven, NJ 08008 Phone: (609) 492-9477 / www.surflight.org John Anker Bow Director of Education MAGGIE McGEE GOES GREEN! Synopsis Maggie McGee and her friends are working on a big class project for Earth Day: What does it mean to Go Green? All of the vibrant characters from Maggie McGee and the Good Character Bandwagon return to the stage once again this time to educate young audiences about environmental responsibility. Maggie and her friends learn about littering, biodegradability, water conservation and energy efficiency. Maggie s new friend Evan teaches us how to reduce, reuse and recycle at the grocery store, at home and at school. In science class, Mr. Clark teaches everybody about the food chain, fossil fuels, clean energy and the dangers of global climate change. But Going Green isn t just about one of these topics, it s about all of them! Maggie McGee Goes Green! provides audiences with helpful hints for how to become more eco-friendly and strives to develop a new mindset about our planet that being environmentally responsible is part of good character and good character benefits the whole world! Through unique songs, enlightening discussions and a steadfast character education sensibility, Maggie McGee Goes Green! delivers a fun and informative theatrical experience that tackles some of today s most relevant global topics. ABOUT THE PROGRAM Surflight To-Go s series of Maggie McGee shows combine character education lessons with live stage performance. Maggie McGee Goes Green! seeks to educate young audiences about the green movement and establish an awareness of our daily impact on the environment. The creation of this show also marks a renewed commitment by Surflight Theatre to move toward more sustainable operations at our home base in Beach Haven, NJ. CORE CURRICULUM STANDARDS This program addresses the following NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards: 1.1 The Creative Process 1.4 Aesthetic Responses & Critique Methodologies 2.1 Wellness 2.2 Integrated Skills 2.4 Human Relationships 5.1 Science Practices 5.2 Physical Science 5.3 Life Science 6.1 U.S. History (6.1.B - Environment) 6.3 Citizenship 2
VOCABULARY WORDS ACID RAIN AIR POLLUTION ATMOSPHERE BIOMASS ENERGY CARBON DIOXIDE CARNIVORE CONSERVATION DECOMPOSITION DEFORESTATION ECOLOGY ENDANGERED SPECIES ENERGY ENERGY EFFICIENCY ENVIRONMENT EROSION EXTINCTION FOOD CHAIN FOOD WEB FOSSIL FUELS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY GLOBAL WARMING GREENHOUSE GASES HABITAT HERBIVORE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION LANDFILL NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES NUCLEAR ENERGY OMNIVORE ORGANIC MATTER ORGANISM PLASTIC PHANTOM ENERGY PHOTOSYNTHESIS RECYCLING RENEWABLE RESOURCES SMOG SOLAR ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY URANIUM WIND ENERGY ARTIST INFORMATION Surflight Theatre has been producing shows for nearly 60 years, and has a children s theatre that has been running continuously since 1956. Surflight To-Go (STG), our touring educational theatre troupe, has been offering assemblies and workshops since 2004. Our productions combine the wonder of live theatre with areas of study mandated by NJ Core Curriculum Standards. STG reinforces academic lessons or conveys character education concepts (teamwork, diversity, tolerance, responsibility) for teachers to incorporate within the framework of current classroom curriculum. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES www.maggiemcgeegoesgreen.blogspot.com Armed as always with her friendly smile and awesome attitude, Maggie has begun a new quest to help her friends continue their ride down the road to responsibility. Get on board the green bandwagon today by following Maggie s blog! This website includes additional information about environmental topics presented in blog format by Maggie McGee herself! The subjects presented in this performance can be explored further by visiting this site! Get advice from Maggie about how your class can reduce, reuse and recycle Help Maggie answer questions about pollution and the environment Get cool ideas for green science projects Leave Maggie a message to tell her how YOU are doing YOUR part to protect our planet! www.maggiemcgeegoesgreen.blogspot.com 3
Maggie McGee Goes Green! DISCUSSION QUESTIONS After watching the play, what do you think it means to go green? Why does Maggie get so upset at the beginning of the play when she sees her friends litter? What are some ways that Maggie is able to conserve water in the bathroom? Name some ways Evan teaches his new classmates to be more eco-friendly. What is Nick s song Magnolia about? Why do Maggie and her friends choose this song for their final project? How is going green related to good character? 4
Write a letter to the actors! Dear Surflight To-Go Cast: Send your letters to: Maggie McGee & Friends C/O Surflight Theatre PO Box 1155 Beach Haven, NJ 08008 5
Draw a picture for the actors! MY FAVORITE PART OF THE SHOW WAS 6
Name Trash Math DIRECTIONS: Solve the following math problems, then discuss some ways we can reduce waste and conserve our resources. 1) An average student throws away 67 pounds of lunchroom waste each year. How many pounds of lunchroom waste will one student throw away between Kindergarten and 12 th grade? 2) Mr. McGee drinks two cups of coffee every morning Monday through Friday. Each time Mr. McGee finishes a coffee, he throws away the foam cup. How many foam cups will Mr. McGee toss in one year? How many will he toss in ten years? 3) Maggie walks to the store every Wednesday and Sunday to buy a gallon of milk for her family. Each time she buys a gallon of milk, the cashier puts it inside a plastic bag. How many plastic bags will Maggie throw away in 8 weeks? 4) Ashley packs a salad for lunch every weekday. Instead of wasting a plastic fork each day to eat her salad, she brings a metal fork from her kitchen and washes it when she returns home. If Ashley goes to school for 200 days, how many plastic forks will not be wasted as a result of her green habit? 5) Trevor and Nick go to soccer practice together every Friday and Saturday. The two boys live next door to each other and the soccer field is 8 miles from their houses. Trevor s uncle drives Trevor and Nick s father drives Nick in two separate cars. How many total miles will the men travel back and forth to soccer practice in 12 weeks? How many miles would they save if Trevor s uncle and Nick s father took turns driving the boys in a car pool? 6) Sarah Beth takes a five-minute shower every morning. Sarah Beth s shower uses 4 gallons of water per minute. How many gallons of water will Sarah Beth use to shower in one week? In one month? 7) Ashley takes a bath every morning. It takes 34 gallons of water to fill Ashley s bathtub. How many gallons of water will Ashley use to bathe in one week? In one month? 7
PLASTIC RECYCLE NUMBERS WHAT DO THEY MEAN? Number 1 Plastics Recycling: Picked up through most curbside recycling programs. Number 2 Plastics Recycling: Picked up through most curbside recycling programs. Number 3 Plastics Recycling: Rarely recycled; accepted by some plastic lumber makers. Number 4 Plastics Recycling: Not often recycled, but check with your local recycling center. Plastic shopping bags can sometimes be returned to stores for recycling. Number 5 Plastics Recycling: Can be recycled through some curbside programs, check with your local recycling center. Number 6 Plastics Recycling: Can be recycled through some curbside programs, check with your local recycling center. Number 7 Plastics Recycling: Traditionally not recycled, though some curbside programs now take them. 8
THE FOOD CHAIN 9
Name ENERGY SOURCES DIRECTIONS: Break up into groups and research one of the following types of energy. List some of pros and cons of using this kind of energy and share with the other groups. SOLAR ENERGY Pros: Solar energy, sometimes also called radiant energy is energy from the sun. Cons: WIND ENERGY Pros: Wind energy, one of the oldest forms of energy, is power generated from the wind. Cons: GEOTHERMAL ENERGY Pros: Geothermal energy comes from heat generated deep in the Earth s core. Cons: 10
FOSSIL FUEL ENERGY Pros: Fossil fuel energy is derived from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. Cons: BIOMASS ENERGY Pros: Biomass energy is created by burning wood, garbage or other kinds of waste. Cons: NUCLEAR ENERGY Pros: Nuclear energy, or uranium energy, is energy created by splitting atoms apart. Cons: HYDROPOWER Pros: Hydropower gets its energy from moving water like ocean waves and waterfalls. Cons: 11