Learning to Give, Curriculum Division of The LEAGUE
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Purpose:
Students make a life-size picture of themselves. They verbally compare their attributes that make them unique. Display the self-portraits hand-in-hand at a local children’s hospital, if possible. Add captions or a list of dictated comments about what the children know about friendship, showing respect or caring about others in their community.
Duration:
Two Thirty-Minute Class Periods
Objectives:
The learner will:
- compare the likenesses and differences between him/herself and others.
- represent him/herself artistically on a full-body cut out.
- dictate a sentence or phrase about friendship, respect or caring.
- recognize the value of sharing his/her artwork with another community of children.
Service Experience:
The service learning project will entail the teacher contacting a local children’s hospital (or daycare or adult-care facility) and displaying the completed full-body cutouts in a hallway or gathering room. The students will dictate comments to be hung on or next to their artwork. The comments may be about friendship, respect or community (topic chosen by the teacher). The students may visit the facility or discuss the value of sharing their artwork with the residents.
The full-body cutouts will be displayed hand to hand in a symbol of unity and friendship.
Materials:
- Large sheets of paper
- One large black marker
- Scissors
- Crayons or markers, including multicultural colors
- A full length mirror
- Digital camera, optional
- Fabric, yarn, buttons, old wallpaper books and other art supplies (optional)
Instructional Procedure(s):
Anticipatory Set (Day One):
Refer to the story from Lesson One: Ants Have Feelings, Too! Teacher will say "Oh my gosh! The ant thinks we are really big. Let’s see how big we really are! We are going to trace our bodies and then decorate them to look just like us."
Discuss the children’s physical attributes such as hair color and style, eye color and clothing. Ask the children if there is any way to use art to communicate what they act like and like to do? Encourage the students to compare themselves to each other, noting similarities and differences: they all have hair and eyes but in different colors, they may have similar interests or different interests, etc. Lead the students to recognize that they are alike and different in many ways. Tell the students that the finished artwork will be displayed at a local children’s hospital (or wherever you have arranged). Ask the students what the children there will think of the display when they see it displayed with the full-size paper children holding hands. What is the value of displaying artwork there? Note: as the children work independently today, the teacher/teacher assistant will trace with marker each child’s body outline on paper. Make sure the child’s name is printed on the outline, such as on the foot. Anticipatory Set (Day Two):
Remind the students that yesterday they traced their bodies. Tell them "Today we’re going to color our faces, hair and clothes. We’re going to do our best work because we’re going to take them to a special place. Don’t forget to look in the mirror to see how beautiful you look today."
Teacher/teacher assistant will assist the students as they complete their full body portraits. Students may add art that is symbolic of who they are (e.g. a dinosaur or paintbrush on a T-shirt). Tell the students that in addition to showing the children at the hospital (or facility where the pictures are to be displayed) what we look like, we want to teach them what we learned about showing respect for others (Lesson One: Ants Have Feelings, Too!). Discuss the meaning of the word respect. Ask the students how they show respect for each other in the classroom, on the playground and in the community. Discuss how to respond to others who look different, have different needs and have different interests. Ask each student (one-on-one as they are working on their art) how they show friendship or respect to others. Write down the students’ comments. Choose a format for displaying the students’ thoughts about respect, friendship and/or community. Each outline may have a caption, or list the students’ comments on one poster displayed next to the outlines. Ask the learners to share what effect they think their display will have on the audience.
Optional Field Trip:
Teacher note: Prior arrangements should be made with the local children’s hospital, women’s shelter, daycare or adult-care facility for the children to visit and see their displayed artwork. Arrange for the students to have a tour, meet some children and listen to a story together.
Assessment:
- The teacher will observe student participation in discussions of similarities, differences and respect for each other.
- Students’ dictated sentences should reflect an understanding of the concept.
School/Home Connection:
- Invite families to help on the day that students color their body outlines. As an alternative, send the outlines home to be colored at home.
- If you choose to have the students visit the site where the artwork is displayed, ask family members to help with the fieldtrip. A family letter is provided on Attachment One.
Extension:
Read a book—Friends by Rob Lewis—about a rabbit who is reluctant to make friends with rabbits who have different interests than his own. He learns to respect their strengths and joins them in their games. At the end, the friends all join together and have a great time together.
Bibliographical References:
- Hoose, Phillip and Hannah. Hey, Little Ant. California: Tricycle Press, 1998. ISBN: 1883672546
- Lewis, Rob. Friends. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1999. ISBN: 0805066918
Lesson Developed and Piloted by:
Kathy BaconGrand Rapids Public Schools
Ken-O-Sha Early Childhood Campus
Grand Rapids, MI 49508
Lea Ebels
Grand Rapids Public Schools
Ken-O-Sha Early Childhood Campus
Grand Rapids, MI 49508
Tammy Johnson
Grand Rapids Public Schools
Ken-O-Sha Early Childhood Campus
Grand Rapids, MI 49508
Handouts:
Handout 1Print Handout 1
Family Letter
Dear Families,
As part of our Learning to Give program, our class will be learning about how we are similar and different, and specifically how to respect each other for those attributes. As a part of this project, your student will be involved in an academic service-learning project. Academic service-learning will allow your child to provide a service to a local nonprofit organization while at the same time learning academic content in our classroom. Our project will involve making full-body self portraits on large paper to take to the children’s hospital to decorate their facility. You are invited to accompany our class to the hospital. This trip will take place on ____________.
Please return this form by ___________________.
Parent’s Name: ________________________
Child’s Name: ________________________
I will accompany the class on this trip.
Yes_____________
No_____________
I give my permission for my child to go on the trip to the hospital.
Parent/guardian signature __________________________
Thank you,
Unit Contents:
Overview:"Antsy" for Others Summary
Lessons:
- 1.
- Ants Have Feelings, Too!
- 2.
- Anty-Bodies
- 3.
- Ant-Like Antics
All rights reserved. Permission is granted to freely use this information for nonprofit (noncommercial), educational purposes only. Copyright must be acknowledged on all copies.
Comments
(The positive aspect of using this lesson was) comparing differences and similarities between each other and making an "image of ourselves" - student perspectives.