Envisioning

Fourth Grade has progressed to the rough draft plan for their story tiles. Last week I shared my frustration that students just weren't 'getting it'. Today I retaught my expectations for the project, namely that one tile should convey the important details of their story - enough so that anyone viewing the tile could either tell or come close to telling their story from the tile. They kept wanting to add speech bubbles or other text and I specifically asked them not to. I reminded them that the art we have viewed throughout this unit has told stories with no text. At first they moaned and groaned and complained about the difficulty, they tried breaking the tile into comic book like sections. Again, I said no, and challenged then to tell the story in one image. Finally something clicked and they GOT IT! Almost everyone has a successful plan. 

I have learned that 'change' to an adult is different than to the average ten year old. Several students have focused on topics I would never have dreamed - divorce of parents, the loss of a family member in a car wreck, the time a best friend almost died. It's some mighty powerful stuff we're dealing with! One girl last week had wanted to show the divorce of her parents, but today reported that her mom didn't want her using that theme for her tile. (I had wondered how parents would feel about the divorce tiles. Frankly I thought it might be a good idea for parent to see just how profoundly their child has been affected by the emotional trauma!) Personally, I can't help but be drawn to the image I have posted. This boy chose 'Change in Skill' as his personal story. That's him seated at the table. Please note the difference displayed between the two drawings. What art teacher wouldn't love that?