Day 5; Cindy's fill-in

As Marie was working with small groups, I rotated amongst the remainder of the class assisting them with the paper copy of the world map of continents. We had decided to keep the colors of the continents uniform, following the colors on the continent map I had posted on the wall. Europe is not a clearly delineated continent, so I had to give the students suggestions as to how to separate Europe (or generally give it a defining border). Raye suggested to the students that there is a body of water they could use as a starting point and estimate from there. The students ran with that suggestion! After the continents were given an identifying color, the students trimmed the map ( a replica of the print) and glued it into their sketchbooks.

The students were then given a copy of their Problem/Solution story to glue into their sketchbooks. They shared their stories with each other, Raye, and myself; and enjoyed listening to other students' stories. They also began sketching for themselves a version of the painting (The Furtraders) that more closely reflected their story. Raye gave a mini-lesson on drawing a boat, one that was 3-dimensional, and a few of the children were able to see the dimensions and re-create it! Those that couldn't quite understand how to draw in 3 dimensions sketched a boat ion 2 dimensions, which turned out just as unique. We can see some beginning artists from this simple activity!

As students were moving at their own pace for this lesson, they were allowed to take one of the Van Gogh books and read more about his life and experiences. I continued to rotate around the room, to add to relevant conversations the students were having, occasionally redirect (though the students stay remarkably on task for these lessons), and to admire sketches.

We were also interupted by an impromptu assembly that took away another 15-20 minutes from the lesson. That announcement did allow Marie to finish the printmaking with the final group.