I thought I would take the occasional Monday, perhaps on a bi-weekly basis, to share some unique classroom moments that involve the Maker Movement.
This movement is related to DIY (Do-It-Yourself), STEM/STEAM (science, technology, engineering, math; add an "A" for art!), and maker spaces. It encourages people to experiment with different processes while developing creativity, critical thinking skills, and building teamwork. In the English language classroom, it becomes a catalyst for boosting self-confidence, collaboration, and reinforcing target language.
The maker activity that I am sharing today resulted from a particularly challenging semester. I had a group of especially rowdy teens mixed together with a few adults who needed different kinds of attention. The topic of the unit was art, and having an art background myself, I was distressed that I couldn't get the students excited about it. And since they didn't want to talk about art, they couldn't be bothered with the grammar!
After a weekend of thinking out loud to my poor engineer husband, and conspiring with some artist friends in the United States, I came back with a plan! Using the work of the street artist JR for context, I reviewed the grammar. Then I had students search on their phones for an example of street art (from anywhere) that they liked, and share it with a partner, describing what they liked about it. They also had to use the grammar to make a few statements about the piece. I could feel the mood of the room changing. Even those who were not at all into art were able to find something that caught their eye, and talk about it.
Next, and as the offical start to the maker activity, I showed them a short video (which has unfortunately since been taken offline) about the circles painted by the abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky. We talked about different symbolic meanings of circles, and about how Kandinsky was influenced by music to paint his famous Color Study, Squares with Concentric Circles.
Once again, they used the grammar (determiners) to complete a quote by Kandinsky himself:
“In each picture is a whole lifetime imprisoned, a whole lifetime of fears, doubts, hopes, and joys...To harmonize the whole is the task of art.”
This movement is related to DIY (Do-It-Yourself), STEM/STEAM (science, technology, engineering, math; add an "A" for art!), and maker spaces. It encourages people to experiment with different processes while developing creativity, critical thinking skills, and building teamwork. In the English language classroom, it becomes a catalyst for boosting self-confidence, collaboration, and reinforcing target language.
The maker activity that I am sharing today resulted from a particularly challenging semester. I had a group of especially rowdy teens mixed together with a few adults who needed different kinds of attention. The topic of the unit was art, and having an art background myself, I was distressed that I couldn't get the students excited about it. And since they didn't want to talk about art, they couldn't be bothered with the grammar!
After a weekend of thinking out loud to my poor engineer husband, and conspiring with some artist friends in the United States, I came back with a plan! Using the work of the street artist JR for context, I reviewed the grammar. Then I had students search on their phones for an example of street art (from anywhere) that they liked, and share it with a partner, describing what they liked about it. They also had to use the grammar to make a few statements about the piece. I could feel the mood of the room changing. Even those who were not at all into art were able to find something that caught their eye, and talk about it.
Next, and as the offical start to the maker activity, I showed them a short video (which has unfortunately since been taken offline) about the circles painted by the abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky. We talked about different symbolic meanings of circles, and about how Kandinsky was influenced by music to paint his famous Color Study, Squares with Concentric Circles.
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| Circles in a Circle by Wassily Kandinsky [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
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| Several Circles by Wassily Kandinsky [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
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| Color Study, Squares in Concentric Circles by Wassily Kandinsky [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
Once again, they used the grammar (determiners) to complete a quote by Kandinsky himself:
“In each picture is a whole lifetime imprisoned, a whole lifetime of fears, doubts, hopes, and joys...To harmonize the whole is the task of art.”
After this,
I brought the students to the library, where I had set up some paper squares, markers, paint
brushes, gouache paints, and, my favorite water-soluable wax crayons. Taking
inspiration from Kandinsky, they were encouraged
to do a color study, exploring how different colors and brushstrokes worked
together, creating patterns of concentric circles.
Something magic happened as the sun slowly set over the roar of rush hour traffic below and this group painted, some of them for the first time in years. I'm not sure how it happened, but all the struggles with behavior and motivation that I had previously had with this group seemed to disappear with each brushstroke. Each day following that class, I noticed more motivation and cooperation, in general a completely different atmosphere than before.
I have since used modified versions of this activity (cutting the street art search and extensive grammar review) in other groups. With the video (there are others besides the one I used), a brief discussion, and some time to paint, it can be done in 30 minutes or less.
This is one of many moments that art and the maker movement have transformed a class and brought about unique opportunities for language practice. I'll be sharing more, every other week, on Mondays. I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences with art and/or the Maker Movement.
So, what did I do with all those painted squares? That's another story that will be the topic of my next Maker Monday post!
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