Dreaming a World
by Azikiwe Chandler
I’ve spent much of the past
several years taking groups of high school and college-age students on
experiential learning expeditions all over the world. One of the first things I
realized early is that the trips run much more smoothly when the group
establishes a harmonious culture of compassion and respect as soon as possible.
The last thing you want to see after a 3-day trek to Machu Picchu is Bobby and
Johnny coming to fisticuffs atop the ancient Peruvian ruins. So one of the very
first conversations we have as a group focuses on answering the questions, “What
kind of group do we want to be? What’s important to us? What will be our
guiding light on this 3-month journey through foreign lands?”
Recognizing the usefulness
of this exercise, I’ve modified it for a new kind of journey I’m about to take (with
a group of kids much younger than my former charges): first year elementary
school teacher.
I Dream a World is an ELA lesson plan that will add a visual arts dynamic to community
building.
If not on the first day of
class, this will definitely be an activity I’ll do with my elementary school students
before the end of the first week of school. The idea is to help the students
set the stage on which our community of learners will feel safe enough to take
the risks which will help them blossom.
As their teacher, my job will
be to facilitate the discussion. I can do so by asking the group to remember
when they felt left out, picked on, or unloved. I would be sure to share a
personal story of my own, while asking the class to do the same…
Focusing the group as I
continue to activate prior knowledge, I’ll ask “Now, what about some of the
best groups of which you were a part? What were they like? What was one of your
happiest moments? What made that moment possible?” Brainstorming and analysis should
lead to words like respect, caring,
teamwork, which I’ll write on the board before asking, “What if our
classroom was filled with such happy moments this year? What would such moments
look like in here?”
And now, the big questions, “What
does your ideal world look like? What’s important to you?” Both tangible and
intangible qualities will be written on the board, and at the end of our
brainstorming session I would issue the challenge, “If I gave you paper and
paint and colored pencils and markers and construction paper and scissors and
magazines and glue, do you think you could create a visual work of art that
could represent your ideal world?”
I would have a few examples
of other artists’ work on hand just in case students need examples to get their
creative juices flowing, but I’m most interested in seeing how each student
uses an assortment of materials to create a work of art communicating their own
dream for a better world, preferably without any other visual influences, if
possible.
Once their works of art are
complete, they’ll be posted around the room, gallery style. We’ll enjoy grape
juice, cheese and crackers as students walk around the room admiring each other’s
work during our “gallery opening.” Keeping in mind that we want to accentuate
the positive, each student will offer an oral interpretation of a work of art
other than their own.
Using this informal
feedback, students will then take time to produce a written artist’s statement
for their own work, which will be posted next to his or her work of art.
The class will then discuss
how to make these dreams reality in small groups before having a class-wide
discussion on how to make these dreams reality, starting with our class.
Those who are proud of their
work will have their art framed and hung on the wall so we’ll be surrounded by
visual reminders of what we’re striving for all year long. Those who are not so
happy with their work will be given more time to work on it, or allowed to
frame another form of artistic expression outlining their ideal world (e.g. an
original poem).
Together, my students and I
will manifest our dream world in our classroom, and beyond.
Standards:
· SC
Art Standard 2: The student will use
composition and the elements and
principles of design to communicate ideas.
· CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2: The student will write
informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and
information clearly.
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