Landscape Gallery Walk Project
At Well’s Bang Na Campus, the third and fourth grade students have been inquiring into a unit about past civilizations and how they used their land. The trans-disciplinary theme for this unit was “How We Organize Ourselves”. The students created paper mache projects to express their understanding of one or more types of land forms.
The Process of the Project
The students were supported in creating these projects by the art teacher, Ms. Carla, and their homeroom teachers, Mr. Jordan and Ms. Viki. Ms. Carla allowed the students to experiment with various textures of paper mixtures prior to building the structures in the homeroom setting. “I learned that we have to work really hard. I had to make a lot of paper mache and it was challenging” thought Jayvinn who is in grade four.
When asked about the process of this project, Seungmin from grade four explained his groups focus: “We made a mountain and river out of paper mache. We also made a tent to show where people could live. It was representing Alberta, Canada” he said.
The Student’s Experiences and Learning
The students had the freedom to work with others or alone. In most cases, the students learned a great deal about leadership and teamwork alongside their inquiry into land forms. “I learned that rather than working with your best friends and talking too much, next time we will try to work with different people” Said June. His friend Hank agreed with him about this topic. “We had to be cooperative to make this project a success,” said Kanade in grade four. Our teachers advised the students and facilitated the students in their groups, but often allowed them to experience set-backs and frustration within the context of their groups, too. In fact, this provided opportunities to discuss the learner profile and collaboration skills with the students. “This project helped me learn how to work with other people,” reflected Annie, grade 4.
The Big Finale!
To commence this project, the students invited parents, students, and teachers to visit their land form gallery. The students offered popcorn to entice these members of the community to visit. “I like that a lot of people came to see our gallery walk” thought Sam, grade three. “I liked how the visitors came to ask questions during our gallery walk”, Edward, grade three.
“The best part about this project was creating something together,” said the students from grades three and four.
