It's a rare occasion when time and the required curriculum allow for students to explore their own interests and direct their own learning, although I believe this shouldn't be such a rarity. That's one reason I'm so passionate about TED-Ed Clubs, which give students the freedom to explore things that excite them, and then learn presentation skills to share their ideas with the world. In the regular classroom, though, whenever possible, I do try to encourage students to pursue their passions, and to do this in English. That may involve a big project or a simply providing a choice of activity.
Some time ago, I had brought in some clay for a simple STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) challenge, which involved building a simple structure with balls of clay and toothpicks. The student took right to it, completed the challenge, but really wanted to use the clay to build a figure. Time didn't allow for that at the time, and from my experience working with cheap modeling clay, I knew he would probably be frustrated that the figure would fall apart after some time. But I told him that we could make a figure on another day. The unit that had just started studying was about art, and with vocabulary such as sculpture, living statue, etc., it seemed like the target language could easily be connected to some kind of maker activity.
The book we were using had a CLIL (Content & Language Integrated Learning) component that corresponded with that unit. These lessons teach subjects such as history, geography, or science, while working with English as a foreign language. CLIL lessons can be a challenge to teach when, as an English teacher, it is a topic that falls outside our background. But at the same time, at least in this book's components, the student is the one with the responsibility to choose a topic and explore it further, learning about it in English. This particular project involved researching a Renaissance artist, and the student I was teaching decided to research Leonardo da Vinci and make a slide presentation about him. That's when I saw an opportunity to finally build that figure he wanted to make.
TED-Ed has a great lesson about da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and how this iconic work of art used a math problem to help answer a philosophical question.
After watching the video and breaking things down to an eleven-year-old's level (I had never explained how to calculate the circumference of a circle before!), I asked the student where he thought humanity might fall on this "Great Chain of Being." It was fascinating to watch him state and defend his answer.
After he finished his slide presentation, using the Vitruvian Man as inspiration, I told the student that he would have a chance to make the action figure he had been thinking about. I brought in some pipe cleaners, straws, beads, and aluminum foil, and showed him how they could connect to each other. I showed him a few images of simple action figures built by kids using the same materials, and I and gave him the chance to figure out how to make his own. It took some trial and error, and a little guidance on my part, but he made his own figure and was thrilled with it.
I also took this opportunity to review parts of the body. One of my favorite ways to do that (in any level, and with any age) is to draw or project a figure on the board, name a body part, and have the student try to throw a ball at it. When done in teams, students can help each other remember any parts they might have forgotten (like wrist vs. waist, ankle, elbow, forehead, etc!)
I think building action figures like this would be great in English classes learning about parts of the body, and also action verbs, or grammar structures like simple past and past continuous. Students can use the figure to act out a simple sentence, which their partner has to guess. Or they can be used to tell a story. Adding the element of play makes learning so much more powerful! When I taught art classes, I sometimes had students make a figure and then put it in a pose that they would like to draw. The possibilities are endless.
Pipe cleaners, though a simple and powerful building tool, are rare and expensive here in Brazil. I often bring them back when I visit the United States, but I'd be thrilled to know of any alternatives, such as a soft or coated wire that's just as pliable. Another project I've done with art students is to build a figure out of aluminum foil, perhaps with a skeleton of wire, building body mass with more foil, but it won't have the movement that a pipe cleaner or wire figure would. This student ended up using some foil to add a bit of body mass to his figure on top of the moveable parts, and that worked out nicely.
We didn't decorate the head, which is fine, but if I ever do this project with another class, I might search for a larger wooden bead that could be drawn on with permanent marker. Maybe even wooden beads in many shades of brown--I would avoid something like polystyrene balls that might suggest that the default color for humanity is pale white.
Being that this was a private lesson, I was able to adjust the time to allow this student to explore the topic more fully and then make something that was meaningful to him. Even in a large class, though, I think the opportunity to reflect on some important ideas in English, and then build something--big or small, simple or complex, in 20 minutes or in two or more class periods--builds important language and life skills. Creativity and critical thinking--big components of this project--are considered essential 21st Century skills. Alongside these are collaboration and communication, which English teachers like me make happen in the global language of English. Bringing the maker movement to English language learning not only gives students an avenue to explore their own passions and interests and take control of their own learning, but it also, one piece, one conversation at a time, works to build thoughtful, responsible, global citizens.
Some time ago, I had brought in some clay for a simple STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) challenge, which involved building a simple structure with balls of clay and toothpicks. The student took right to it, completed the challenge, but really wanted to use the clay to build a figure. Time didn't allow for that at the time, and from my experience working with cheap modeling clay, I knew he would probably be frustrated that the figure would fall apart after some time. But I told him that we could make a figure on another day. The unit that had just started studying was about art, and with vocabulary such as sculpture, living statue, etc., it seemed like the target language could easily be connected to some kind of maker activity.
The book we were using had a CLIL (Content & Language Integrated Learning) component that corresponded with that unit. These lessons teach subjects such as history, geography, or science, while working with English as a foreign language. CLIL lessons can be a challenge to teach when, as an English teacher, it is a topic that falls outside our background. But at the same time, at least in this book's components, the student is the one with the responsibility to choose a topic and explore it further, learning about it in English. This particular project involved researching a Renaissance artist, and the student I was teaching decided to research Leonardo da Vinci and make a slide presentation about him. That's when I saw an opportunity to finally build that figure he wanted to make.
TED-Ed has a great lesson about da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and how this iconic work of art used a math problem to help answer a philosophical question.
After watching the video and breaking things down to an eleven-year-old's level (I had never explained how to calculate the circumference of a circle before!), I asked the student where he thought humanity might fall on this "Great Chain of Being." It was fascinating to watch him state and defend his answer.
I think building action figures like this would be great in English classes learning about parts of the body, and also action verbs, or grammar structures like simple past and past continuous. Students can use the figure to act out a simple sentence, which their partner has to guess. Or they can be used to tell a story. Adding the element of play makes learning so much more powerful! When I taught art classes, I sometimes had students make a figure and then put it in a pose that they would like to draw. The possibilities are endless.
Pipe cleaners, though a simple and powerful building tool, are rare and expensive here in Brazil. I often bring them back when I visit the United States, but I'd be thrilled to know of any alternatives, such as a soft or coated wire that's just as pliable. Another project I've done with art students is to build a figure out of aluminum foil, perhaps with a skeleton of wire, building body mass with more foil, but it won't have the movement that a pipe cleaner or wire figure would. This student ended up using some foil to add a bit of body mass to his figure on top of the moveable parts, and that worked out nicely.
We didn't decorate the head, which is fine, but if I ever do this project with another class, I might search for a larger wooden bead that could be drawn on with permanent marker. Maybe even wooden beads in many shades of brown--I would avoid something like polystyrene balls that might suggest that the default color for humanity is pale white.
Being that this was a private lesson, I was able to adjust the time to allow this student to explore the topic more fully and then make something that was meaningful to him. Even in a large class, though, I think the opportunity to reflect on some important ideas in English, and then build something--big or small, simple or complex, in 20 minutes or in two or more class periods--builds important language and life skills. Creativity and critical thinking--big components of this project--are considered essential 21st Century skills. Alongside these are collaboration and communication, which English teachers like me make happen in the global language of English. Bringing the maker movement to English language learning not only gives students an avenue to explore their own passions and interests and take control of their own learning, but it also, one piece, one conversation at a time, works to build thoughtful, responsible, global citizens.
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