Good afternoon all!
Short but busy week here at SIA!
6th Grade Social Studies
This
week we explored art as a communication tool and tied that into our
indigenous resistance studies. We discussed the value, purpose, and
reach of art via listening to a pop song by Taylor Swift (which all of
the students knew the words to) and then hypothesized about how many of
them would know the lyrics if Taylor Swift was a poet and not a pop
singer. This was a great "ah-ha" moment for students as they connected
how reach/audience and purpose of art can be altered via what medium it
is presented in. We then connected this conversation to how sometimes
untold or lesser-known historical narratives are communicated. Film is
one such medium that can be effective at communicating with large
audiences. With this "power and scope of art" discussion in mind, we
wrapped up viewing segments of the film Rabbit Proof Fence that
focuses on one narrative of the Stolen Generation of Australian
Aboriginals. Next week we'll break down the film with writing and begin
our final mini-project of the year, stay tuned!
As an added bonus, Ms. Shelly was able to integrate art
as a communication tool with her lesson on perspective. (Perspective
both as an artistic skill and as how art is viewed culturally and as a
message). Shelly introduced students to Juane Quick-to-See Smith (who
uses art as social commentary about use of Native American names/symbols
in sports), Gorilla Girls (to discuss gender stereotypes in art), and
Banksy (to aid in discussion of reach of art--i.e. museum vs. street
corner). Huge thanks to Ms. Shelly for supporting our current Social
Studies unit in her art class!!!
7th/8th Grade Social Studies
On
Tuesday students were introduced to their characters for our Civil War
Homefront Mixer and wrote first person narratives based on these
characters for Thursday. During the mixer students assumed the role of
their character and met other civilians both from the Union and
Confederacy, hearing about and comparing each others' hardships or gains
from the Civil War. Some of the narratives included single-mother
families living in border states, young teenagers from Gettysburg
preparing for a battle and its aftermath to happen in their town, and a
wealthy industrialist from Chicago who is greatly profiting from selling
goods to the Federal Government among many other characters. The
students performed amazingly at the "mixer" and gave great positive
feedback in their post-activity reflections about how effective it was
in helping them understand how the war really affected more than just
the soldiers. Students also gave some great suggestions on how to
improve the activity in the future--thanks to our awesome and reflective
students!!!
Have a fun and safe weekend!
Best, Matt
