Week 11 - Random Acts of Art

This week the class went outside to explore “random acts of art” in nature.  I was unable to attend this session as I was at my sisters wedding in Missouri.  I was able to debrief with fellow students upon my return and their experiences were very positive.  It seemed as though it mirrored the soundscape class in its camaraderie and community building.

Adaptations:  From what I understand students go outside and explore ways to create art using found materials in nature.  This is a really wonderful activity to do in a primary classroom.  I actually included something similar to this in my artist unit plan, so I would definitely use this in my own classroom.  I am feeling very drawn to using art as the basis for inquiry, so I think this would be an amazing way to encourage exploration in science and nature, or environmental stewardship. 

Assessment:  It seems students would be assessed based on their ability to simply create something using found objects.  If students are able to connect with nature and create something then that in itself would be the mark of a successful lesson.  I would allow for debrief time in class.  I would also want to document the pieces the students create to allow them to talk about the experience when returning to the classroom.  I would love this to also be a weekly/bi-weekly activity.  I think this would be a very easy thing to do on a regular basis because it require little prep and clean-up, but the rewards/experiences seem like they would be great.

These photos were taken from the PDP Elementary Generalist facebook page.  Again, I was not a part of this class but really appreciate the beautiful work my classmates created!