Source: Nature: "Unforgettable Elephants"
Funding for the VITAL/Ready to Teach collection was secured through the United States Department of Education under the Ready to Teach Program.
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In this video segment from Nature, witness the joy an elephant family experiences when a new baby elephant is born. This birth was a celebration within elephant society. The newborn baby, Ebony, seemed to regard photographer and documentary filmmaker Martyn Colbeck as part of the family. When she got into scrapes, the family was there to help. One day when Ebony was stolen by another elephant family, her family was devastated; but quickly, Ebony’s mother, Echo, and the other members of the family retrieved her. Colbeck has filmed wildlife for over two decades. Echo’s family of elephants captured his heart.
Download and ShareThe following Frame, Focus and Follow-up suggestions are best suited for middle school students using this video in an English language arts or science lesson. Be sure to modify the questions to meet your students' instructional needs.
What is Frame, Focus and Follow-up?
Frame (ELA) As readers and viewers, we evaluate and analyze texts. One way we do this is by determining what the author’s purpose is or what message the author is trying to reveal. When an author is trying to persuade us, he or she uses certain techniques to accomplish that purpose. What techniques would you use if you were trying to persuade someone to do something or think a certain way?
Focus (ELA) In this segment, what do you think Colbeck is trying to persuade the viewer to believe? What techniques does he use to persuade the viewer?
Follow Up (ELA) What was Colbeck’s message? What persuasive techniques did he use? For example, what language did he choose to use and what images did he choose to show? Discuss the persuasive techniques a writer might use in a written text.
Frame (SCI) Do you think animal families have certain social relationships with each other? For example, do they experience sorrow when a family member is sick or dies?
Focus (SCI) In this segment, what things indicate elephant families experience certain social relationships and feelings for each other?
Follow Up (SCI) Discuss other species of animals. Do you think there are social relationships among them? Do you think one species of animals can communicate with another? In other words, is the animal world connected somehow through communication or social interactions?
MARTYN COLBECK: After 21 and a half months of pregnancy, Echo finally went into labor. I was just in time to see the whole family gather close around her. Luckily a gap opened in the forest of legs. They were streaming from the glands on the sides of their heads, which is a sign of emotion. I’d never seen anything like it. It would have been so easy for Echo to hide somewhere I couldn’t follow. In fact she had chosen to give birth out in the open with nothing to obscure my view. Echo showed a great deal of trust in allowing me to share this powerful moment. It was a celebration of elephant society and it was amazing to be part of.
Echo’s new calf, Ebony, turned out to be a real character. She was very cute and a joy to film. She even regarded me as one of the family. Every day she would greet me like a relative. She was always getting into scrapes - but once it was life-threatening. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Ebony was stolen by another family. Echo was driven off by the other family’s matriarch, leaving Ebony captive behind the strangers’ legs. The kidnapping took me completely by surprise.The perpetrators were making a point about their place in the elephant hierarchy. What happened next was remarkable. Echo gathered all the other big females in her family. Together they ploughed into the kidnappers to recover Ebony. It showed forethought and teamwork. Echo led Ebony away, flanked by members of her family. After another four years it was once again time to say goodbye. Ebony’s birth and kidnap had shown me a new side of elephants. They demonstrated tenderness and co-operation as well as aggression. These animals were turning out to be far more complicated than I had ever imagined.
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