S'More From The AP
Week Ending October 30, 2015
Student Individuality - by Mrs. Caldarera
Some say it has all been done before…but not by OSE Individuals!
We know every student is an individual and we have to use differentiation in our instruction to accommodate each of these differences? How can we allow students to express their individuality in class lessons?
I have attended many workshops and presentations on the topic of choice-based learning over the years. A statement I hear without fail from teachers in the audience is; “this is all great for upper level classes but I teach elementary students. My students don’t even know who they are yet so how can they make choices or express themselves through their work?” The teachers who make comments and think this way have not met the students at Old Settlers. OSE students have been given the chance to express their individuality so they know who they are and what they like.
Building relationships with the students as a school wide goal was a great way to start out the year encouraging students to express themselves as individuals. Our first art project students were to make a star that represented who they were and what makes them unique. We had to first define the term individual then students could start brainstorming who they were as an individual. To start them thinking about themselves, I asked them a series of questions that they had to consider. Some of these questions included: What are you good at doing? What is your favorite food? Do you have any pets? Where have you been outside of Flower Mound? Where is your favorite place you have been? What is your favorite thing to do? What makes you laugh? What things do you dislike? What is your favorite school subject? What activities are you involved in? What is your favorite book, movie, game, and animal? What do you want to do after you graduate high school? What do you want to be when you grow up? What makes you special? Students had to create a star with their name on it with the answers to some of these questions in either a picture or with words.
This week in art students are completing their artwork for Science and Art Night. Students had to depict what is meaningful and important to them in their lives. They had to write an artist statement, at their own level, about their artwork. The subjects that students delved into and expressed in their art included family, friends, sports, animals, religion, trips they have taken, hobbies, homes, coaches and teachers that inspired them!