Attack of the Humans!
For some reason I catch myself super excited to post about my 6th grade every week. Maybe it's because I haven't taught 6th in a while and it has been fun to try new projects, or maybe it's because I just have such an amazingly creative and funny group of kids... either way, I enjoy bragging about their latest ventures.
This past week I had my 6th grade learning about size relationships while drawing human proportions. They had to draw people in action. Some turned their characters into zombies and other Halloween-inspired creatures, but these drawings are pretty fun even as people. I think I enjoy this lesson because the narratives that the students create are so varied.
First, we examine and practice how we can use geometric shapes to create a human form, then students create 3 people in motion. Who are these people and what are they doing? Are the people interacting? Are they a team? Are they three random strangers? It's fun to see my students' ideas developing.
During part of each week some of my students from every class get pulled out for extra reading and math help, and so I am left with a small group of students. (When this happens it's kind of perfect for trying out "new" projects and working through any kinks), so I decided to try an alternative take on the wire-people project by making wire people and covering them with model magic to create Giacometti-inspired sculptures. We discussed how these creatures are almost alien-like because of the way they are stretched WAY OUT of proportion! The kids really seemed to enjoy these!
The 2D drawings were a great motivator and link to the two projects.
