I’m a touch sad that my placement is coming to an end for 2018, but the grade 2’s and I had a lot of fun wrapping up this semester with a couple identity appreciating and community building activities.
I had decided to loosely link my last two lessons to fit within the theme of identity. We explored this theme through the subjects of poetry (ELA) and arts ed. To start, I guided the students through a lesson of using their names to create an acrostic style poem. We began by reading a few pages from Poetree by Caroline Pignat, which tells stories of the seasons through an acrostic style of writing, and then we created one together as an example using my name. I provided the students with a template to make their own using their names. There was a true spectrum of results, ranging from students using one word to represent a letter of their name, to students using the letters of their names to connect sentences and tell a story. I let them know that they would begin with a rough draft, and next week we would create the final copy that would be connected to an art project. I’m fully aware that art- especially realism- is not everyone’s forte, especially in grade two. I challenged myself with the task of find an art idea that could be tied to identity, but didn’t emphasise making it look as realistic as possible. That’s when I came across this.
The next week I chose to begin arts ed without using any words. As the kids came in from recess, I had a photo gallery of Pablo Picasso on the board. Instantly the students were intrigued and full of wonders, as no one had seen art like this before. It was a great prompt for the lesson, and instantly had the students engaged and ready to go. I believe arts ed should incorporate history and culture, and this was a great opportunity to introduce the kiddos to one of the most world renowned artist to ever exist. After a class discussion, we got to work. I lead the students through a step by step process of creating their own Picasso inspired self-portrait-style masterpieces. I was a little nervous that some would be overwhelmed because the design did look a little tricky, but I was confident in my student’s abilities in following directions and their creative edges’. The final products were so great. I was really proud of the kiddos and their interpretation of abstract Picasso style portraits. I put them up in the classroom and the hallway bulletin boards to show them off.
My last week with the kids we didn’t focus on a formal lesson so much as solidifying the relationships that we had made, and ensuring they would be excited for my return in March. My teaching partner and I decided to create something together with the class that emphasised community and the connection we had made. We wanted it to be hung up in the classroom as a reminder to the kids that we would be thinking of them and we’d be back. Our vision came together beautifully.
The day ended in lots of hugs and “I’ll miss you’s”. I felt like we have established a healthy bond that I look forward to building on in the new year. In the meantime, I’m eager to continue my journey in the role of student, and expand my knowledge base in the areas that will help me be better for those that are a part of my journey.
Keilyn Howie 