Flying Sculptures

This week, we decided to once again expand on our theme, “A Moving Experience” and began to think of objects or animals that can move by flying. Our students listened to a book called Leonardo and the Flying Boy to initiate our conversation about flying objects. 

 

Students then participated in a warm-up performance art activity where we asked them to find a partner, as a pair they thought of something that flies, and then they each came up in front of the class to act out that particular thing. A lot of performances revolved around birds flying. Our favorite performance was when Ellie acted out a rocket ship exploding into space. We then had the students sketch different ideas of different flying objects on cloud paper we hung throughout the room. 

 

Next we started the day’s activity by reading a short story about Alexander Calder titled Sandy’s Circus. After the story we explained to them that we would be making sculptures that fly or move in the air similar to a mobile and much like Alexander Calder’s artwork. We connected Sandy’s Circus to our lesson by talking about how Sandy used objects he found on the street to make his art and then discussed how we would be using our own found objects. We showed them examples of his work and then showed them our example project that we made out of our own found materials, dowel rods, popsicle sticks, wire and tape.  We spent five minutes demonstrating how to loop the wire around a popsicle stick and add tape to it in order to connect them. We gave each student a popsicle stick and piece of wire and had them practice on their own for the next ten minutes.  The remaining part of the class was spent working on their flying sculptures inspired by Alexander Calder, which to our surprise will need to be completed next week.

 

Last, we introduced our students to our new class pet! We first asked students again, “What flies?” For a perfect introduction one student responded by saying that butterflies fly. We introduced the students to the caterpillars and asked them what they know about caterpillars. A couple students went on to tell us how the caterpillars turn into chrysalis and then into butterflies. Everyone was so excited about our new class pets!

 

What We Learned:

1. Summarizing Before Sending Them Off- Although we spend a good deal of time explaining parts of our lesson and including different activities to get them thinking more about it, we realized this week that it might be a better idea if we summarized more when transitioning between activities and sending them off to work.

2. Stop Saying “Okay?” and “Guys”- We both noticed that after we explain something to the class we say “Okay?” We should not be asking the students if it is okay, what if one day they say “NO!?” We also have both gotten in the habit of addressing our class as “guys.” We need to find another way to address the entire class. (Maybe use the word artists?)

3. Snack Time- Usually we set aside a designated time for the students to eat snack together as a group. This week we planned on having the students decide on their own when they wanted snack so they could have more time to work on the activity, however, we noticed even before we could start our activity, students were already telling us they were hungry. We decided to give them snack during our second book. However, because some of the students have trouble putting their straws in their juice boxes, had to get up to throw away their garbage, and were constantly saying they were “still thirsty” or “still hungry,” it caused more disruption during the story until they were finished eating and could focus on the book more.  Also, the fact that we had prepared the snack and placed it right next to our “Story Center,” we think the students were even more distracted and hungry just by seeing it sit there.


What Worked:

1. Lights Off!- Normally when we would like our students to stop their activity and look up at us and listen to the next directions, we say “freeze!” and everyone stops to listen to us.  This week we turned the lights off even before saying “freeze” and the students stopped even more quickly than usual.  

2. Note Taking- This week, we decided to take more notes on what we noticed the students saying and doing as they were working.  We found this to be extremely beneficial to our own learning and teaching experience.

• Emerson has shown us how much thought goes into our students’ creation process  She told Katie “this is my house floating under a harbor and the docks.” 

• Gabe showed us the importance of experimentation. He drew numerous helicopters as he experimented with how to represent a helicopter. His drawings transformed from small circle with lines extending out to a huge aircraft with windows and stairs for the people on the helicopter. 

This is his first interpretation of a helicopter.

Notice the last version of a helicopter drawn in green.

• When Ella was asked what she learned today, she pointed to her drawing and said “This!” She then went on to explain how her drawing was a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. 

 

In conclusion, one of our favorite parts of the day was when we saw Kate acting like the "teacher" by reading to some of her peers. It was so interesting how she not only was making up her own version to the story but her peers were so intrigued by her story.