week 4: "what a tree can be" by katie and maddie

3-4th grade
week 4


I felt that reading The Lorax as a pop-out book was successful because it grabbed the students attention more so than a 2-D book. Also, many of the students saw the film in 3-D which was a nice compliment to the 3-D book.


If I could re-read the book to the students, I would try to improve by looking at the students more to notice their reactions. I think I only looked at the book while reading.

I think that the discussion went well overall. The biggest class management issue we have is getting students to not have side-conversations while others are speaking. Maybe we can prevent this by creating and going over class rules with the students. Also, maybe side conversations are a sign that the discussion isn't engaging enough, so perhaps we can find ways to grab everyone's attention, not just the students who enjoy volunteering. In this discussion, we were able to talk about the importance of preserving trees, how humans and trees are similar living beings, and how humans benefit from trees.

I was particularly impressed when Beth told the class that humans and trees are similar because we both have feelings. I never thought about trees having emotions before. She explained that trees are happy when they know that they are helping others and providing homes for animals. They are sad when humans mistreat them.





I thought that the yoga tree poses were successful. All the students were engaged, even the boys, which was a relief. Surprisingly, many of the students were already familiar with yoga. Joey was able to tell us that tree pose helps with balance. Another student mentioned that it helps with focus and concentration.



Briana shared with the class that if you focus on something not moving on the ground, it helps with balancing.




It was really nice to have the students do the tree pose near many living trees.





Marisa knew a yoga pose called the "root pose" which tied in with our tree theme! She demonstrated for the class.




After students learned the traditional yoga tree pose, they learned about performance art and got to create there own tree pose. Kaitlyn and Susie collaborated by joining together!

Briana said that her feet and legs were the roots, her torso was the trunk, her arms were the brances, and her fingers were the sticks/stems


The group created a large collaborative tree by joining bodies together. Their outstretched arms and Joey in the middle with arms in the air created uplifting branches.



During snack time, I introduced artists Judy Pfaff (left) and Mary Engel (right) to give examples of mixed media sculpture. I think the students enjoyed seeing pictures of their work and they were able to familiarize themselves with the idea of using a variety of objects and material to create a piece. However, I doubt they left the class remembering the artists name. This wasn't a huge aspect to our lesson, just a way to explain mixed media sculpture.



During the demo, I didn't want to show too many ways of manipulating material, because Katie and I thought the kids would be most imaginative without too many examples. Showing the example Katie and I made helped them to understand the concept of having a tree with unique functions.



I think it was successful having so many supplies to choose from, because the kids were very enthusiastic and eager to use them all. Providing students with a variety of options enables creativity and an endless amount of possibilities.





While the students worked, I really tried to make an effort to walk around to each student and listen to the meaning behind their work. I tried to write down key points to each student. For next time, I need to remember to bring a notepad, because I tried keeping track of everyone on the back of my lesson plan, which became messy and disorganized. I was unsuccessful with reaching to all the students because I was unable to talk with Kaitlyn and Beth before it was time to clean up. I need to work on better time management with that.

STUDENTS WORK FROM THIS LESSON:


Rouwa made a Percy Jackson Tree. She is currently reading The Lightening Thief and based her tree off this book. Whoever visits her tree can punch in a card number to have a hard cover book come out. Percy Jaskson is on top with a lightening bolt.

Rouwa also made a Kitty Tree. This tree helps people take care of their pets (especially kitties). Anyone can ask the royal kitty on top of the tree for anything their pet needs. The kitty will whip people who were naughty all year (especially people who were naughty on Christmas) with its tail. It will also whip bad people who steal money.



Susie:
Susie's tree is an auto-transporter. It can transport people to anyone in the world or galaxy. The tree will land on anyone's head that the person inside wants to see. If someone decides to visit the moon, it will provide that person with an extra comfy space helmet! The shiny string is the control for entertainment because it acts as a guitar string. The beads are the battery pack and by sliding up and down the pipe cleaner, they create enough energy for the auto-transporter tree. The circle sequin is the solar power panel. There is also a solar antenna that can locate any place or person in the world.



Ez- Ez created a tree that grows near ponds and is a natural diving board. Only one person is allowed to be on the board at once. There is a scale that weighs the amount on the scale to make sure only one person is on it. In addition to a diving board, there is also a stick that people can run down, trying to not fall in the water.



Krista- Krista made a circus tree. There is a monkey hanging from the swinging bar. Also, there is a cannon with an explosion!



Ben- Ben created a leprechaun trap tree. It is a test to see if a leprechaun is smart enough to escape and get away. If it gets caught in the trap, then it isn't very smart and a bag catches it. The face on the art piece is a leprechaun.



Joey- Joey's tree is also a superhero! It has all the powers a superhero would have, except it can't fly!


Ian- Ian's tree is a fruit tree. It is meant to be a tree that bores people. He was not willing to explain his tree very much, so it was difficult trying to pull meaning out of him and get him to openly share. What are some ways we can get students who are shy and/or unexpressive to open up more and share their artwork with others without pressuring them or scaring them?



Beth-?

Kaitlyn- ? friendship tree?


Anna- Anna's tree is a swing for people to watch stars on at night. Genevieve- Genevieve created a roller coaster tree!



Noella- Noella created four islands, each with a tree. Each tree has two poles to generate power for the "pearl" in the center of each island. The pearls are what keeps the land floating. In the island entitled "light blue", cranes are in charge of keeping the powerful pearl safe. In the island entitles "turquoise", snakes keep the pearl safe.


Briana- Briana created a "Fluffle Tree". Little birds, called Lu-Lu birds sit in the fluffle tree because it is one of the softest trees in the world. Fluffle trees are also very tiny. She changed the proportion of tree stump and leaves a few times until she thought it was just right. She also did a nice job of marbling two colors of clay together. I wish I got a better picture of that!


Marisa- Marisa's tree is a pet! Her "Tree Bird" has lots of leaves on it. It can be a pet or a tree, but it does not have any roots. It also has a piece for the bird to perch on.



Emily-
Emily's tree is inspired by Dr. Seuss's The Lorax. The large, orange pompom represents the Lorax himself. The yellow pompom is a swan, and the smaller orange pompom is a goldfish. The green clay represents Bar-ba-loot fruit. The clear bead is a pumpkin.


Ending the lesson:


At the end of the lesson, everyone came together at one table to share their trees with the rest of the class. Katie was able to document each student's explanation of their tree, which will be great to have on record! Some students talked very softly, and I am unsure if the other students could really hear them.




STUDIO CENTER DURING CLASS:


It was so helpful having Katie maintain the geode studio center. This was the first class that we taught with a lead teacher. Since I led this week, it was so amazing to have Katie help with transitions, documentation, and especially the side assignment of working on geodes.