Drama workshop in English for all children and youngsters from all European countries who want to learn English in a creative way. Giraffes has a special focus on children and youngsters who suffer from dyslexia, attention disorders, hyperactivity or other specific learning disorders due to autistic traits.
Giraffes provides Drama activities in English as a foreign language. Giraffes is a workshop for everyone who wants to have fun experiencing drama, deepening his/her knowledge of the English language making an expressive and transmissive use of it. Special support will be offered to children and youngster who suffer from specific learning disorders. Children with specific learning disorders learn more easily through activities which combine sound, image and action. Moreover, they can memorise long auditive-segments very well. Drama activities are suitable for them. Drama requires a personal and sensorial involvement, which activates resources and abilities latent in the individuals . Drama is an inclusive activity par excellence.
To us with their height, their long legs and necks giraffes symbolise the boys and the girls with specific learning disorders such as dyslexia or ADHS/ADS, people usually endowed with an intelligence well above the average, creativity and intuition, capable of looking over the crowns of the trees, towards new horizons, but who find it difficult to cope with the daily school situations with which other children have no difficulty at all.
People with specific learning disorders -dyslexics as well as people with hyperactivity disorders or some kind of autistic spectrum sisorder -are usually endowed with an intelligence well above the average, creativity, imagination and intuition. Still not all people with specific learning disorders can achieve high level of education. This opportunity still depends for these children on the personal, cultural and financial resources of their families. Learning English or any other foreign language from school books is not easy for people with specific learning disorders. It’s not only about learning new orthographic rules, it is more about acquiring new vocabulary and linguistic structures through skills which for these children represent more a barrier than a tool. One of the keys to a European or even more Global aware Citizenship is the ability to communicate and to get information through other languages, among them English is a very imp
Giraffes supports meetings between groups of students from different European countries based on activities such as exploring the territory, contact with its flora and fauna, games and sports in the nature. The language used will be switched according to a pre-organized schedule between mother and foreign language. Led by teachers and assistants the boys and girls will alternate in the role of expert and learner of the language. Geo- Giraffes coordinates the extra curricular activities for the students, while the partner schools organise their integration in the school life.
Accomodation and meals will be provided at the Visit Centre of Gradina in Doberdo’ del Lago and at the Visit Centre of the Regional Natural Reserve Foce dell´Isonzo- Isola della Cona.
Natural Reserve of the lakes Doberdò and Pietrarossa – “Gradina” Visitor Centre- The protected area involves three municipalities of the Province of Gorizia: Doberdò del Lago (Doberdob), Monfalcone and Ronchi dei Legionari; its characteristic element is the presence of two large karstic depressions (polje) each with a lake and separated one from another by a range of limestone hills. The presence of the lakes contrasts stongly with the arid environments surrounding them and has allowed the development of ecosystems that are usually absent in the Karst and gives the protect area a high degree of biodiversity. Following the footpaths in the area offers the possibility to observe the transition from arid habitats such as the meadows of the landa carsica and the limestone pavements through to those of the wetlands that surround the lake. On the hill above the lake of Doberdò is the Gradina Visitor Centre in the museum of which the visitor can, through an interactive display, take in the historical and ecological aspects of the reserve and the surrounding Karst. The visitor centre together with the Paludario are managed by the ROGOS Cooperative that also organizes educational activities with schools, excursions, scientific divulgation and art exhibitions.
The “Foce of Isonzo” Regional Nature Reserve was established in 1996. It extends over a surface of 2,338 hectares, out of which almost half is situated in marine areas, and develops on a territory included in the municipalities of Staranzano, Grado, San Canzian d’Isonzo and Fiumicello. The environment of the mouth of the Isonzo River has been almost renaturalized in the ‘90s when the agricultural use of the the territory has been abandoned, the Natural Reserve has been established and the hunting has been forbidden. The huge variety of the different humid environments allows the large amount of birds species present in this habitat. More than 300 species has been observed. Within the Reserve, part of the meadow habitats are groomed through the pasture of Camargue horses, a species which is particularly adapted to this environment. Furthermore the Reserve promotes the development of educational and informative activities for scientific research to increase the naturalistic culture.
It is our care to keep the costs for the participants as low as possible
(limiting them to a minimum expense contribution) thanks to
the support of partners and sponsors and the obtaining of institutional
funding for the project.