School 33 Reggio Emilia Atelierista Blog: Monday, September 30, 2013

116, second grade bilingual class- I took a very small group of students who have been struggling with their self-portrait drawings. I wanted to model the proportions again and offer a critique session with the small group. One boy was very upset with his inability to understand the technique and when the students and I suggested he draw more lightly (to make erasing easier) he broke down and started crying. The boy next to him spoke to him, offering encouragement. We referenced Austin from the Austin's Butterfly video and the crying child admitted that Austin didn't cry and give up- he listened to his friends and kept trying. By the end of the class, he'd had a breakthrough and his portrait was beautifully proportioned and he was giddy with excitement. I love that he learned the valuable art skills that will help with his lessons in school, but also that the students used critique and positive conversation to work through a problem, supportively and cooperatively. These are skills students will find valuable in all aspects of their lives, not just in their education.

108, first grade monolingual- I had a really interesting investigation with this group. I had five students and a bunch of milkweed, thistles and cattails.

S1- I think we're going to draw this on our paper
S5- But it's too big! It's a big, big flower!
Where did you get this flower?
S2- Do you know if that turns into corn?
S1- Yeah, I think so.
S3- It's a plant
S2- What is this?
Teacher- You can touch them, but watch out for this part.
S5- Don't touch that one- it has spikes!
S2- This is fuzzy
S4- It doesn't hurt if you touch it lightly
S2- This feels like a fuzzy spider.
S3- Look at the part that flies out.
S2 And pull on the fuzzy part that blows away.
S5- Those are seeds! They're seeds! They are connected to each other! They're flying! They are like parachutes!
S1- I have these in my cousins backyard, we play with them sometimes.

The students blow the seeds around and study what happens. The area around us begins to look like it's snowing with the little "parachute seeds". One floats over to the group at the light table and they begin to play with it, too.

Light table- It looks all hairy! You can see the seeds!

The group I have begins to draw observational drawings.

S5- This looks like corn on the cob.
S1- I want to hold the thistle. It doesn't hurt if you hold it at the bottom.
S2- I squeezed it and it didn't hurt.
T- Why do you think it has those points?
S2- It grows that way.
T- True, but why would it grow points?
S2- To hurt someone who touches it.
S5- It has those so it won't get broken by someone.
S4- This piece is ticklish.
S4- Why are these pieces are fluffy?
S2- It helps them fly
S5- They are light to help them fly, too.
T- If they were heavy, what would happen?
S4- They would hurt you if they hit you!
S2- They couldn't fly then
S5- This looks like a chrysalis and these are like little caterpillars inside.
S4- A chrysalis?
S5- The seeds are inside like little butterflies. Be careful! The seeds have a little home- don't take them out!
S4 pulls them out anyway and they all ooh and ahh at the handful of seeds.
S5- Now the butterflies aren't in the chrysalis- they are all over the place.

"The butterflies are in the chrysalis."

Drawings of the plants:

This child added a caption to his drawing, after learning about captions last week in ELA class.
It said, "Made in the art studio."

This child also wrote a caption. It was, "I wish I could take a seed home to plant it."

112, bilingual self-contained first grade. We continued to use shells as we explore the materials in the art studio. Today, I gave each student clay and let them play with the clay. They made shells out of the clay. The two students who usually finish early painted the shells at the easels. One boy was frustrated when he made his lines too thick, so I showed him how to etch lines into the paint with the back of his brush and it was very exciting. His composition is really a beautiful piece on its own.