Representing with fabric.

In a Grade 1 and 2 classroom, the students are often able to write their responses. However, I find that the inquiry work that the children do over months on integrated subjects of the curriculum allow them to represent their understanding in a variety of ways. When studying the sun, the air and water in connection with community (local for Grade 1 and in another country for Grade 2), the children were able to demonstrate their knowledge using fabrics. This followed lessons on horizon lines, perspective, and texture. They also had unhurried time to experiment with fabrics and wool in the art studio. When they asked to represent their knowledge using fabric, I wasn’t surprised that they could do it, however, I was surprised at the aesthetics of their finished works.

A community in Africa, in need of rain. (Grade 2 student)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A local community using the sun’s energy. (Grade 1 student)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clothing and homes in a community in Africa. (Grade 2 student)

Inviting collaboration.

In a Grade 1 and 2 classroom, children are more selective about where they sit and what they do. I have noticed this difference coming from a Kindergarten classroom, where many children just talk to whoever happens to be sitting beside them. To encourage collaboration as well as support our theme of inquiry regarding hope, textiles, and communities around the globe – I brought in a make-shift loom. The children had shown an interest in weaving after seeing a demonstration at a museum during a class trip. This loom is set in the centre of the classroom, not a corner. It is placed on a table with two chairs intentionally placed on either side as an invitation.

It is interesting to observe the unlikely partnerships that have collaborated together at the loom. Without instruction, they have slowed down to collaborate and weave using one shared piece of fabric.

Using found materials.

Keeping an eco-approach to our learning helps direct our art activities in the classroom. I have steered away from construction paper and pipe cleaners in the last few years and moved towards a collection of found materials. The book, Beautiful Stuff: Learning with Found Materials by Cathy Weisman Topal and Lella Gandini is a great starting point if you want to learn more about integrating found materials into your program. If you are looking for something more, Lella recommended the following book to me at a conference earlier this year, Children, Art, Artists: The Expressive Languages of Children, the Artistic Language of Alberto Burri by Reggio Children.

The art projects pictured here, integrated learning in language and visual art. Instead of making picture frames, the children created stands using recycled thread spools. A controlled palette was provided with an assortment of buttons, shells, and pearls. The children created individual pieces that were then used as gifts for their families.

Creating areas for inquiry.

In a grade one and two classroom you usually see desks and bookshelves, with possibly a cozy reading area. I think moving from Kindergarten to Grade 1 must be such a shock for the youngsters. They had freedom to move around their classroom and explore so many materials with their hands-on learning. By setting up some additional “areas” or centres in this Grade 1 and 2 class, I am hoping to provide the children with an environment that keeps them comfortable and engaged, allowing for movement and exploration. One of the first centres I added, was an atelier. Amazing to see the children flock there when they are given some free time to explore. Right now the boys are using ribbon and doilies to make kites. Through observation, I have noticed them returning to this idea for the past week. It will tie in well with the curriculum for Grade 2 Science – air/wind. Another centre that is quite popular is the math centre. There are two chairs set across from one another to encourage conversation. The children have worked together to create patterns using two abacuses. They also use the shapes to create patterns and pictures. There is a listening centre in the reading corner, but I have noticed that the children prefer social groupings at active centres when they are given the choice.

 

A Reggio Approach in Grades One and Two.

Here I am with a new challenge. Adapting to a new space (a smaller room), a new age group (6 to 8 year olds), and a content-driven curriculum, while attempting a Reggio approach. My first step, of course, was to set up the environment and make changes to the layout. I painted where there was an array of bright colours and made centres for collaboration around the room with grouped tables or desks in the centre of the room. Smaller carpets, tables, and shelves make inviting spaces and create areas for research and exploration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extending ideas and experiences.

While planning provocations in the science centre that develop inquiry skills, oral language, writing and representations, I am also using literature to encourage ideas and experiences in a variety of learning centres. This allows the children to express their understandings in different ways as explained in the Reggio principle of “one hundred languages.”

I like to start with a simple text that has a good message for oral discussion, such as Ish by Peter H. Reynolds. We may read and reread the book together. At the atelier, I will place an arrangement of flowers with a select group of materials. The children are then encouraged to experiment with the materials at their own pace. Usually, an activity like this may attract about two-thirds of the children in the class. Some children continue to focus their energies in the building centre or the dramatic centre and will not be interested in the art studio. So, three times a year (or once each term) I will encourage all of the children to complete the same activity, and this may involve more support for some than others who have already been independently experimenting in the art studio.

Although all the children are completing the same activity, it is extended to include a Gallery Walk where the children can showcase their work and discuss it with parents and other classrooms that are able to attend. Again this appeals to some of the children more than others, so it may be brief for the children who are more comfortable back in the classroom at the learning centres. Their works of art are then framed and sent home with the children as a Mother’s Day gift or a holiday gift. Instead of sending art home daily or weekly, it is often displayed in our in-class Art Gallery or stored in their portfolios for the end of the year. When the children take home a special piece that is framed and treated as “art” – they are so proud of their work and are usually able to discuss the book or story that inspired the work.

One of the tables set and ready for the Gallery Walk.

This child included the detail of the textured container.

This 4 year old, who prefers building over drawing, shows good use of space and composition.

Although this child drew 4 separate containers (there was only one), he used colour and detail to make the flowers distinct from one another.

These are only a small sample of the morning and afternoon Kindergarten classes’ work (45 in total) that started with the reading of Ish and ended as a beautiful Mother’s Day gift to take home and enjoy. I made an observation of each work for my own record before sending them home, and was able to use my observations as individualized comments for each of their report cards.

This is not an example of a Reggio project per se, but a way of integrating literacy, learning skills, and exploration with a variety of expectations in the curriculum, using a Reggio influence. I have done similar projects such as non-fiction books, 3-D sculptures and a gallery walk of animal homes. If you have planned a task that you want all the children to complete, it is important to keep it as open as possible to allow their unique representations to emerge. Give the students blank paper in smaller sizes, rather than a photo-copied page that the children only colour in. Provide a limited set of materials for collage or 3-D representations, but let the children use their imaginations with the materials that you have presented them with – you will be pleasantly surprised with the results! Ask them to explain their representation and either video tape them (with a culminating movie presentation) or record their words and attach to their work. By taking our time and extending the learning it ultimately becomes more meaningful to the child.

Provocations for September.

As summer winds down, this is the time that I would start planning provocations for the first week of Kindergarten. In the science area, I would provide a focal point of interest for the children. The best ideas are usually ones from nature: shells, rocks, leaves, or even a fish.

One year, I brought in a container with 3 snails. It was such a wonderful way to engage the children in that first week or two of school. As they gathered around the inquiry table, they would share their observations and joy, as they had no expectations on them but to enjoy watching the snails. Then I would add paper pads and pencils, asking the children to draw what they see. Once a child completed a drawing, it would be displayed in the same area. This encourages other reticent drawers to do the same and it also encourages conversation as the children encounter new representations. The children are encouraged to draw what they see and all representations are displayed. They are drawing to learn about the snails – not learning to draw. In time, I would also add play dough to the inquiry centre for those children who would like to create 3-D representations. Then, I would often watch the children and record their comments and conversations. These could be displayed to demonstrate their thinking and also to read aloud to the class as a whole to encourage more discussion or encourage research for their questions.

This year, I will be teaching a grade one and two class. I am getting a new classroom, much smaller than the last. It is my plan to set up an atelier and an inquiry centre. However, with a more structured curriculum I will not be using provocations in the same way. My plan is to provide the students with a plain, blank journal. And with this journal, we will visit a nearby ravine on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to observe the same outdoor and real world space as it changes throughout the school year. Using our journals as an inquiry tool, I hope that the children will learn to use their drawings as means for learning. The visits to the ravine will begin in September as a free exploration. Then, we will focus on connecting the curriculum to the real world, such as making observations based on our senses, observing energy of the sun and the wind, or observing the effects of liquids and solids in the ravine through the winter. The journals will only be a part of our inquiry/science lessons, but I am hoping that it will also provide a purpose to integrate other parts of the curriculum, such as language, math, and art in a meaningful way for the children.