So Much More Than Content
2/26/2021
All too often in education, we focus on content and understanding. We test for knowledge and zero in on process over product. Presentation is often glossed over. Yet in the working world, we know that employers would never accept sloppy or unpolished work. Presentation is a form of communication - it must be organized, interesting, eye-catching. It can’t be too much or too little - it has to be just right. Seventh and Eighth graders researched topics of their choice from 20th Century US History and created museum exhibits to present their understanding. The most challenging thing for them to do was to narrow their topic to one Big Idea and then tell that “story” sensically and cleanly. Then, students were asked to “present” their Big Idea in an intriguing way, using visual images and graphics to help them tell their story. They studied displays at the Anchorage Museum, and researched exhibit techniques to help them form their own ideas. It was harder to put together this cohesive exhibit than students initially thought. Fonts needed to be readable and big enough, pictures labeled and credited, graphics designed, spaces filled creatively and purposefully, and the organization had to make sense. Redo, Reprint, Add color, Check for typos, make the image bigger, Fill the space, Etc. While the project was about events in 20th Century US History, students also honed skills in research, citing references, presentation, perseverance, nonverbal communication, and a host of others. As a result the 7th and 8th graders were quite proud of all the work they had done. And when the 5th and 6th grades came to the museum, these younger students were wide-eyed impressed that each exhibit was completed by just one person. Well done! Due to Covid, parents were unable to visit the museum. Students decided to present their projects via video...which will be ready by the end of Spring Break! An Image Is Worth a Thousand Words
2/5/2021
Humans rely on sight to interpret the world around them. Often, much of the interpretation happens in a split second, subconsciously occurring as a feeling or emotion, and it may not be fully processed. It is a skill to be able to recognize the intentional composition and meaning many artists present in their pieces. Practicing this skill requires students to think critically, converse, ask questions, and acquire background information. Such was one of the reasons for our recent trip to the Anchorage museum. Applying this learned intentional art will be the focus of the next few weeks in the 7/8 classroom as we turn our classroom into a 20th Century US History museum exhibition. As students begin to plan the exhibits they are creating in the classroom, they were tasked to seek out ideas that they could incorporate from professionally arranged displays on a variety of topics. After the visit - students were asked to reflect. Here are a few of their reflections: Ella is researching Child Labor in the US (1930s) The display that gave me an idea for my own exhibit had an array of tools. Ms. Mariner had mentioned maybe making some models. This exhibit made me think that I could do this with different machines or tools that people in the mills used. One of the machines they used was a Cotton Gin so maybe I could make a model of that. Another exhibit that inspired me was the video because it's a visual of what that person is talking about. Also then you can incorporate photos into the video which may help explain what you were talking about. As a result of this display, I plan to make a video about Lewis Hine and facts about him. I will incorporate photos that he took into my video. The most useful thing I learned from our trip to the museum was that there are different ways you can express your knowledge and it can be fun and interactive or just photos with explanations. You should also have explanations of what everything is so people know what you are talking about. Lucas is researching US military aircraft WWII The title of the graphic is “Movement Map”. The type of graphic is a map with a timeline. The purpose of a Movement Map is to show what was happening at different times and where. One critical observation that I made was that sound along with the graphic makes the experience better. This is important because you want people to be drawn into your exhibit. I reached a number of conclusions through my analysis of this graphic. First, this type of graphic would be hard to replicate. Second, I feel that this would be very good at showing a visual representation of how things changed over time. Finally, I think if you made your map interactive the display will be more interesting. Noah is researching the Space Race circa 1950 - 60 My favorite display at the museum was the room where you sat in the middle and listened to all of the voices and sounds of Alaskan history. This display was my favorite because the room was dark and it made you feel like you were in the time or place that the sounds or voices were describing. Another reason I feel this way is because there were exhibits on the other side of the wall in that room that talked about certain events in Alaska and other places, one of the events in the exhibit was the cold war. For my U.S. history project I am doing an event that took place during the Cold War, so that helped me and gave me some ideas for my project. Most importantly, I think when you can listen to an exhibit it seems a lot more realistic and easier to picture yourself in the story being told. For these reasons, I believe that the sound room was the best exhibit we saw while at the museum. And while you ponder these eloquent reflections, here are some other photos of Middle School Life over the last two weeks: |
Sarah Mariner
Ms. Mariner earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science from Colorado State University, and was awarded a teaching certificate through the University of Alaska, Southeast. Her varied background includes being an environmental education field instructor in Massachusetts, Colorado, and Baja, Mexico. She also served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. Archives
April 2021
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