My Talent Show Project

When I was told I was going to be participating in a talent show at the end of my art class this semester I was terrified. I had no idea what I was talented at other than writing, something I wasn't about to share because I can't read my own writing out loud to anybody; I get too self-conscious. Therefore, for about half of the semester I did a lot of soul searching to try and find something that I could do to show my classmates I was talented.

I don't know how I came up with the idea to make a miniaturized model of a library in the turret of a house, other than the fact that I've always kind of wanted one, but once I got that thought in my head I was a goner.

I knew it was going to be difficult, really difficult and incredibly time consuming. I had months though, so I started off slow, getting my bearings and laying out the structure. Two and a half months, two emptied gallon containers of white vinegar, a slew of cardboard boxes, I couldn't even tell you how many sticks of hot glue, and about eighty hand cramps later I have this, a still unfinished library:

"The Greatest Arsenal"

Every piece of it that isn't hot glue or duck tape is recycled. The books are handmade, two tiny pieces of cardboard glued together and painted, and the outside has individual cardboard "bricks" that are going to get a coat of mortar between them.

The piece is titled "The Greatest Arsenal" because of a Doctor Who quote:
      "You want weapons? We're in a library! Books! The best weapons in the world!"
                - The Tenth Doctor, "Tooth And Claw"

Books are the best weapons in the world, so it stands to reason that a library would be the greatest arsenal.

The roof is currently missing, as are the lights to actually read the titles and the ladder to reach the books and the reading loft. They will be added and this post will be updated as soon as it's finished.

I'm a very detail-oriented person, as well as a perfectionist, both of which make doing something like this a lot easier and a lot harder at the same time. I'm patient enough to actually complete this huge time-waster, but now that it's almost finished all I see are the tiny mistakes. I tried to make everything as close to on scale as I could, but I know that this type of room wouldn't actually be practical in a real home.

In the end though, I really, really love how it's turning out, and I feel like it was the perfect culminating project for this semester.

I don't really know exactly how I'd use this skill in my classroom, other than to show students that all it really takes is one tiny step at a time to make something huge and incredible. Also, I know that I can bring the attention to detail and the passion I have for this project into my teaching and I think that's going to mean a lot for me.

For examples of amazing art using recycled items that kids can create in the classroom, visit Education.com.

Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!

For the last week of class, drama ruled the day. The good kind of course. Our last project was to, in groups, find a children's book and act it out. Because it is one of my favorite children's books, and the book that first helped me realize I could be more than the quiet girl who doesn't say much, my group chose to act out Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!

I became increasingly nervous when April decided that I, as the Pigeon, needed a costume, but I decided to trust myself and my classmates.

Honestly, I would be lying if I didn't say it was one of the best experiences I've had in college. It wasn't about my great acting chops (because I have none), but more about my willingness to let go of my anxiety and just do it. Well, that and the fact that I got to yell at my classmates while my face was completely hidden by a sheet, which was incredibly fun.

I definitely think that I will be able to translate this experience into my teaching because of how much I didn't want to do it at first. Standing up in front of people is not easy for me, much less playing the part of a crazy character like the Pigeon. However, I felt safe and comfortable with my classmates and my professor, so I let myself do it anyway.

That is something I will always strive for in my own classroom. Also, I know that I personally feel a lot better about acting silly in front of people if I see someone else do it first. Therefore I will always be willing to make a fool out of myself (in certain ways that are actually meaningful for my students) in my classroom.

I never really had anyone teach me it was okay to be scared and brave at the same time; it took me years to realize they aren't mutually exclusive emotions. If I can help students realize that earlier than I did, I will absolutely act embarrassingly ridiculous every once in a while.

This is me as the Pigeon. I didn't get permission from my group members to post their faces online which is why it's this picture and not the better one with all four of us.

WebEnglishTeacher has a lot more activities for Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!

Geography: Teaching The Seasons

Teaching the seasons to six year olds can be challenging, but making it fun for them will make it a lot easier on me as their teacher. For my geography lesson I wanted to get the students asking themselves how to tell the seasons apart, so I started by reading books that detailed the characteristics of each season:

After reading these books, the students would discuss the differences between the seasons and the identifying characteristics of each one. Then they would take paper and crayons outside.

Under supervision and in pairs, because let's face it they're six and dangerous on their own, they would look around the school grounds for evidence of which season it was. When they found something they thought fit the season, they would draw it on their papers to present and turn in later.

This isn't a very complicated lesson, even though going outside with Kindergarteners is quite complex, but it does demonstrate to the students how the seasons are different and how we identify which season it is.

Teachers.net has a great lesson plan on this topic that incorporates technology and would be a great follow-up to this lesson.

Beyond Civics: Teaching Dragonfly Pond

After attempting the Dragonfly Pond activity in class, I was skeptical about ever actually using it as a teacher. However, when I found out that so many of the third grade standards discuss communities and civics, I begrudgingly took a second look at the idea. That's when I truly saw the genius of it.

As I said before, this activity can go far beyond just learning about what a community is and how to be a productive citizen. A well integrated unit could potentially cover every content area. For my three lessons, I integrated language arts by having them write persuasive letters, slogans, and reflections; I included art by having the students create posters and of course the buildings for the community.

In a longer unit, students could decide where in the world their community was and analyze the soil types that would be found in their community (Science standard 3.2.2), make buildings that are different 3D shapes (Math standard 3.G.1), estimate the length of different roads in their community (Math standards 3.M.2, 3 & DA.2), hold a trade fair where each student has a booth that represents their building in the community (Math standard 3.M.4), and much more.

This activity also fosters collaboration between students, since it is impossible to build the community without compromise and whole group decision making. These are obviously third grade standards, but with a little thought this activity could be used in almost any grade.

My first lesson consisted of a simple discussion of the different types of communities and what establishments would be in each. This was the resulting list:

The students were very excited to use the knowledge they already had about different communities to come up with buildings. They had just finished learning about public services, so those were eagerly included in the list.

After writing persuasive letters to their classmates about which community should be built and a nearly unanimous vote, the class chose to build a city.

My second lesson in this unit incorporated Earth Day and how the students would improve their community so that it would be more ecologically responsible.

The students wrote slogans to encourage others to participate in Earth Day and drew posters to spread the word.

                                                              

My final lesson for this unit was to have the students actually build the city. They were so excited to finally build it they nearly jumped out of their own skin, and once they had their materials it was chaos. The students worked individually for almost an hour on their respective buildings and they came out looking really amazing.

I could not have been prouder of the students' work and how their city turned out. It was an amazing thing for me to see, the students working together to decide where each building should be placed, as well as thinking up ideas as to what they were missing and how their city could be improved.

 Overall, I think the unit was an amazing success. I had the students write reflections about how they thought the city could be improved and if the citizen's would be able to survive if the city were real. They had a little bit of a hard time answering these questions, but I chalk that up more to lack of time than anything else.

To create virtual cities as practice for this lesson or an extension afterwards, MyMiniCity, CityCreator, and MillionaireCity are great resources. As an introduction to the different types of cities, I added Eduplace has a great interactive map for students to play with and learn about what buildings are found in which communities.

Art As Expression

The day their principal had his last chemo treatment, all the students in the school made signs of encouragement and waited on the sidewalk for him to drive past. It was really moving for me to see every single student standing out in the cold without any incentive other than putting a smile on their principal's face.

The student's were really invested in the whole thing too. I wasn't there to see them actually make their signs, but it was obvious that they'd spent a lot of time and effort on them. It was great to see that, even though most of the students didn't know the principal all that well beyond hearing him on the announcements, they used art to express what they were feeling as well as their support.

These are a few of the signs my class made:

School News Network has an interesting article on one teacher's efforts to help students express themselves.

Art Therapy

After watching the students in my class get so stressed over practice ISTEP tests, and just their general work load, I wondered about letting them do art projects simply to calm them down. I wish that I had the opportunity to actually implement this with my students, but even though I didn't, I wanted to do some research on the topic.

Art has always been a fairly soothing activity for me, right up until I decided I hated whatever piece I was working on and simply wanted to finish it so I could move on with my life. I saw the same thing with my students. Every time they were given an assignment that had any artistic element to it, they focused all their attention on it until they were told their time was up. It was incredible to see on their faces what I had been feeling my entire life: the relief of stress by the simple action of forcing everything other than the piece you're working on out of your mind.

Personally, I call it allowing my brain to shut off for a while. I don't even notice it happening; I'll be working on a project, thinking about one thing or the next, and suddenly it will be minutes or hours later and I'll have a finished piece and no recollection of how I spent my time. I get so focused on the movements of my hands as I work whatever medium I'm using into whatever picture I had in mind when I started that my brain just goes blank.

It's an amazing feeling to me to "wake up" after hours of working with a stiff neck and aching back, but also visible progress. I think that's part of why I love art so much, it's something you can gauge visually. The progress you make learning new skills in the classroom tends to be very abstract, something you can't actually see because it's all in your head. Art is different, art is tangible.

Livestrong.com has several ideas for reducing stress in the classroom, including art activities. Stress Relief Choices has an Art Therapy page for adults that has art exercises that could easily be adapted for the classroom to give students a few minutes to just relax.

I am a firm believer that teachers can easily give students free relaxation art time while still covering standards and teaching other subjects. Just because they don't know they're learning doesn't mean you can't find a way to teach them new skills; it just takes a little bit of digging to find the perfect activity.