Art_I Am The World

Fourth grade has been deep into metaphors and meaning with a piece called, "I Am the World". They made lists of things that make up the world: cultures, languages, landforms, bodies of water, animals, plants, weather, communities, etc. Then, they personalized their list by adding their world experiences, interests, and passions. They also wrote an "I Am" poem that prompted great visuals.  Then, they collected imagery that represented their ideas and morphed them together using juxtaposition and other surrealist techniques. They are turning their marker drafts into collages and revising their poems for display later this fall. 

Surrealism is a cultural movement in the 1920s that emphasized the relationship between writing and visual arts. Artists juxtaposed ideas to create new meaning and to represent dreams, the unconscious and illogical worlds. As soon as you think you have figured out the meaning of a work or symbol, you see it another way.  

This project helps the girls consider their own perspective and cultures and prepares them for thinking about other people, places and cultures in the world with awe and wonder. 

 

Social Studies

In social studies, the girls are currently learning to accurately identify the countries that make up the continent of Europe.  They have made their own set of flashcards and used the Geotouch app on their ipads to learn 20 - 40 European countries.  It has been fun as well as educational!

Here are some pictures of the girls practicing together using Geotouch:

UNICEF

Trick or Treat for UNICEF!

During the last week of October and the first week of November, the fourth grade girls are spearheading a drive for UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.  For sixty years, there has been a Halloween tradition of kids helping other kids by raising money for food, medicine, clean drinking water, and education in support of children all over the world.  After Friday's assembly, each Lower School girl received a UNICEF box that she may try to fill in any way possible - raising funds, asking for participation, or donating allowance.  After November 4, the 4th grade girls will count the money and send the donation to UNICEF on behalf of the Bryn Mawr Lower School. This annual Halloween tradition has raised over 175 million dollars since 1950!  Our small donations can add up to make very positive changes in children's lives around the world.  For example, just $30.00 can provide vaccines for 100 children to protect them from contracting measles.  Thank you for your help in making the world a better place!  

For more information, please visit trickortreatforunicef.org.

The Design Process

In the Creation Station, 4th graders have been working through the Design Process to create a small coin purse.  The challenge was to create a small case that could help students carry money or other small items to school.  Students began by learning about the Design Process.
1.  Exploration: research various ideas
2.  Ideation:  imagine different ideas
3.  Cultivation: decide on one idea
4.  Action: create a prototype
5.  Reflection: assess your work and revise as needed
6.  Production:  create a final product
7.  Presentation: share your work with the class

Students have completed the exploration, ideation, and cultivation phases and are in the action phase.

French: Elle achète des croissants à la boulangerie.

The girls are learning about places, actions, foods, and sports. We are discussing playing, eating, drinking, and buying various items/sports at the bakery, school, home, café, and park.

Recently, we put all of the vocabulary together to basically play one giant game of charades. I set up stations with props around the room. For example, a bouquet of flowers represented au parc and girls found a soccer ball and des beignets in that particular location. First, volunteers pantomimed various activities and the class identified in French what was happening and where. Next, the girls split into small groups and rotated from station to station, acting out and describing what they saw in French at each one.

Look at the pictures below and see if you can guess what is happening. (Bonus points for anyone who can say it in French!)