The Artist & the Artifact: The Things We Make Reflect Who We Are & Where We're From 4

Our current PYP unit, The Artist & the Artifact, follows three lines of inquiry, or three areas that we'll be exploring over the next five weeks. In the first week, the aim is to pique student interest, provide a context for deeper investigation, and provoke questions.

As a provocation for the first line of inquiry -- the things we make reflect who we are and where we're from -- students listened to the Dies Irae from the Mozart Requiem Mass (light listening on a Friday) and were asked to observe and share the imagery provoked by the piece. Here's a sampling of their ideas:

“It has a sort of an edge, like a sacrifice or something, like a person running toward something that will kill him, like a hero sacrifice, and he is saying, ‘I really need to’, I just think of it as a hero sacrifice.” Nora

“It seems like somebody’s running as fast as they can because, running from somebody who’s murdering someone, with a hatchet, or something that could kill.” Alyssa

“I think this was happening in a time when there was a war.” Mehad

“I first saw somebody running away from somebody else. And then once it got more into the music it felt like there was a war, there were several people running away from several people, and as they were running, some were falling and tripping, and getting hurt.” Jacob

“I see two rivals preparing for an epic battle with each other.” Shiva

“It reminds me of Asian movies, because in a way it’s so dramatic. It’s like ta-da!” Da-Lan

“I think of Tom & Jerry. It sounds kind of like a chase.” Oliver

“I also think a man is running, like someplace, and he’s thinking of something, and then in his mind he has to go to that place and do something.” Gabby

“It seems like he’s heading a pack of people. He’s running in a big green field from his worst nightmares, and worst enemies, and people are just falling off, like it’s a narrow cliff, like they’re just falling off, ‘no, don’t!’ Ellie

“It sounds like it’s coming from, he’s running away from what’s happening behind him, and he doesn’t really want to be there. And somebody’s chasing him, or trying to get to him, he doesn’t know why, it’s kind of like the persons chasing is scary.” Anna

“When I was playing this game, it has this exact kind of music, which was like, the game was about a haunted mansion, and a guy trying to get out with like a whole bunch of ghosts trying to get him. At one point he was running away from all of the ghosts that were all trying to get him, like a angry mob.” Abby

“I also saw Tom & Jerry. I saw Tom chasing Jerry with a stapler, and then all of a sudden he gets Jerry’s tail, and he picks him up and sticks an olive on his head.” Mae

“At the beginning of the song, it sounded sort of like this guy, he was a thief, but not a murderer or anything, he was being chased, because he was really fast, then at the end he was running away from somebody, then there was a cliff, and he fell off, and it was misty, too.” Margo

Researching With Chrome Books

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Our current PYP unit, The Artist & the Artifact, focuses on the cultures of indigenous peoples around the world. Having completed an introduction to the three lines of inquiry, students have begun researching their chosen indigenous groups using the ISM Chrome Books, which allow them to search the web and save key sites to their Google Docs accounts.

Exploring Soft Pastel Chalk in SEM

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

My SEM class this cycle connects a particular medium -- soft pastel chalk -- with the art of Marc Chagall and Georgia O'Keefe. What a nice way to close a busy school week, in smocks and chalk.

Pick-Up After School

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Following Thursday afternoon's assembly, students migrated directly to pick-up. With camera in hand, it seemed a nice opportunity to capture the moment.

Assembly Performances

Our 5ers performed for the 3-5 assembly on Thursday. Three groups from 5A performed skits demonstrating attributes of the IB Learner Profile, and the grade level en mass performed a Spanish song. Note the media below.

Mid-Winter

Mid-winter sunrise, taken at about 7:00 am from ISM on January 20th.

The Artist & the Artifact: The Cultures of Indigenous Peoples Are Shaped By Their Geography & Ecology

Our current PYP unit, The Artist & the Artifact, follows three lines of inquiry, or three areas that we'll be exploring over the next five weeks. In the first week, the aim is to pique student interest, provide a context for deeper investigation, and provoke questions.

As a provocation for the second line of inquiry -- the cultures of indigenous people are shaped by their geography and ecology -- students viewed the 1920 documentary Nanook of the North. Here are a few students responses to the guiding question:

How is Inuit culture shaped by the geography and ecology of northern Canada?

. . . because they use everything they have and get. If they catch a fish or a seal, they use everything that a fish could bring. They use everything they have, even bones.” Guili

“If you were to compare our culture to their culture they would be completely different. They hunt what they eat, and we go to the store and buy our food. They eat deer, fox, seal, walrus, and fish. We eat macaroni, rice, beans, cotton candy, and fruit. What we wear is cloth, what they wear is animal skins.” Cambell & Ashley

“They live in a rocky, snowy, and chilly land. If you put them here, they might feel really warm. They would be very confused, because they hunt, there are no plants, and no electricity. We live in houses. They use whatever they have around them.” Cynthia

“They can’t rely on machines to help them do their work. Every morning wives chew their husbands sealskin boots because sealskin gets very hard and stiff. If babies need a bath, their mother would get a rag, spit into it, and rub it on the baby.” Chase

“Instead of using bait for fishing, they use harpoons. Their transportation is really simple. They walk, kayak (made from hide), and dog sled. They use polar bear fur, bear hide, and walrus skin. Their foods are not what they want to eat, but they eat fish and seal.” Vivian

“They eat walruses and seal because that is the only food that they have. They also eat fish because that is the food around them.” Danielle & Elaina

“A tribe in the Amazon rainforest wouldn’t be hunting arctic fox. The Eskimos of northern Canada couldn’t plant crops, because it’s too cold. They would have to hunt for things around them, like fox, seals, and walruses. I wouldn’t last a day.” Jacob

“Where I live we have Safeway, Walmart, Target, and all of those other stores. The Inuit only have animals, and they really have to work to get clothes and food.” Cindy

“The eat raw meat, and hunt most un-hunted animals in most parts of the world. It is amazing how they manage to build an igloo so fast. And the way they hunt seals through those little breathing holes in the ice. That is pretty unique.” Stefan

The Artist & the Artifact: The Things We Make Reflect Who We Are & Where We're From 3

Our current PYP unit, The Artist & the Artifact, follows three lines of inquiry, or three areas that we'll be exploring over the next five weeks. In the first week, the aim is to pique student interest, provide a context for deeper investigation, and provoke questions.

As a provocation for the first line of inquiry -- the things we make reflect who we are and where we're from -- students viewed five paintings by Marc Chagall, then, based upon their observations, drew inferences about the artist's personality, inspirations, and motivations. Here's a sampling of their ideas:

“He likes shapes, not blob shapes, but more like definite shapes, circles or squares, not really cubism, but something like that.” Mae

“He’s probably a man of kindness. It looks like everything’s kind in the pictures.”

“I think he’s an animal person, because you can see lots of animals.” Sebastian

I think he’s a person who would rather be outdoors with plants and animals, though he’s actually surrounded by buildings.” Abby

“I think he’s into drawing strange things. It looks like he’s either in a relationship, or he could be divorced, because there’s angels flying by.” Anna

“He could be in a relationship, or the sadness of a lost relationship. He’s into great detail and color.” Margo

“I think he’s divorced, or a single man, because I see lots of love drawings, of marriage and stuff like that. It’s very romantic, most of them. So I think he thinking of that kind of life, or memories of that kind of life.” Alyssa

So he may have been like a colorful dude, or something. Some of them might have been his dream, because there’s upside down people. He might think his two neighbors are crazy or something.” Da-Lan