Saturday, October 25, 2014
Blog Topic #9: Teacher's Choice Proposal
My focus class is a class of 22 third graders. Most of them are of average ability. They are a pretty good group of kids although there are several boys who have some learning issues. They are average Stage 1 viewers, although I've had some pretty perceptive insights as well--beyond Stage 1. The four images (actually I chose 5 because I couldn't decide!), I've chosen I think would be fun to "figure out" for nine year olds. I think they all have plenty of room for interpretation, yet are familiar enough for the kids to understand.
Image #1: Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
Image #2: Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte, by Georges Seurat
Image #3:Happy Birthday Miss Jones, by Norman Rockwell
Image #4: The Runaway, by Norman Rockwell
Image #5: Taking in the Laundry, by Grandma Moses
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi Cindy,
ReplyDeleteAs you and Ginia were mentioning, I think Rockwell paintings are a great choice because of the narratives that they do tell. With my kids who are also average stage one viewers, I see them trying to create a narrative the most. While I think "Happy Birthday..." is a great choice to talk about the interaction of text and image, I think that the students could be more intrigued and have even more permission to wonder in "The Runaway." The narrative might seem fairly obvious at first, but there is still a lot to wonder about...is he really running away? Time period? Do they know each other? Where is he?
Good luck!
Great image selection! Very age appropriate and brimming with narratives. I'm particularly attracted to The Runaway because of an article in the Smithsonian Magazine a few years back. Here is the link in case you didn't see it! http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/norman-rockwells-neighborhood-148343599/?no-ist When I read it, I thought it would be fun with older students to do a VTS compare and contrast of the photograph Rockwell used and the finished painting. After VTSing, we would discuss what changes Rockwell made and why they thought he made them; what impact the changes might have had on the meaning of the completed work. And we just did "Happy Birthday, Miss Jones" last week with Grades 2 & 3. They really enjoyed it. It was interesting how many thought the setting was contemporary, but of a lower income school because of the absence of a SmartBoard!! Wow!! What a sign of the times!! GREAT choices! Can't wait to know which you choose and how it goes!
ReplyDelete