Spring : Imagine an Island Run by Children : Lesson 4
Space matters when it becomes a place : Build, draw, build, reflect
Space matters when it becomes a place : Build, draw, build, reflect
This is a double class and it is important that it is kept as one long class and not divided, in order to allow the children time to play with construction, to try some unsuccessful things out, to fail a little bit and to copy each other. If the time is cut short, some groups will not have moved past the frustrating stages of failure.
This lesson could take place in a large hall, in an empty classroom or outside if the weather is meant to be good for 3 hours.
This lesson could take place in a large hall, in an empty classroom or outside if the weather is meant to be good for 3 hours.
Introduction: 20mins
- Introduce students to the work of Marjetica Potrc:
Marjetica Potrc is an artist and architect who lives in Berlin. She was born in Slovenia (formerly Yugoslavia) in 1953. Marjetica is interested in making artwork that helps people reflect about their place in the world, where we live and how we live together.
She travels all over the world building things with different communities in different places. The most important part of her work is collaboration, working with other people. Marjetica says: “space matters when it becomes a place.” This means that when people work together or build something together they can feel a sense of belonging that was not there before.
- Ask children to think of a place near your school or where they live that was built by the community. Talk about this place, introduce questions that elaborate on the idea of community and belonging to a place (customs, games, flags, etc. )
Warm Up : 20 mins
The Great Game of Power → see book 1, p. 24
Development: 1hr 45mins
Part 1: Building (45 minutes)
- it is important that the space this activity takes place in is empty apart from the materials used for the class.
– Split children into groups of 4/5
– Ask each group to take a table and four chairs and move them to “the best space in the room” (this is subjective.)
– Place a selection of large building materials at the centre of the room (keep back about half of the materials including pegs/ clips and large pieces of fabric.)
– Ask children to gather their materials from the pile (this can be a free-for-all or they could take turns, this depends on the group), take them to their selected space and build a shelter for themselves. Ask them to decide the parameters and requirements of this space.
– Encourage them to make a sketch/ design plan before they begin (in their notebook), nevertheless, be aware that some children will work better as they think through the materials while building.
– Walk around amongst the groups and distribute the materials that were kept back in an even way. Make sure all groups have some boxes, some pegs and some fabric. – After about 40 minutes they should have assembled something fairly sturdy (they will often progress into building narratives around certain parts of the construction, like defence, specific sleeping/ cooking/ eating spaces.)
– At this point, put out some pastels, rolls of brown paper and scissors. These can be used for signage.
– Take a tour of each shelter, ask children to sit in a circle on the floor while each group presents. Ask if they have come up with a team name, a song, a dance, a name for their shelter, do they have rules? Have they developed any relationships with the surrounding shelters? (If they have bartered/ stolen materials from other groups, this can lead to an interesting conversation.) Break
- Introduce students to the work of Marjetica Potrc:
Marjetica Potrc is an artist and architect who lives in Berlin. She was born in Slovenia (formerly Yugoslavia) in 1953. Marjetica is interested in making artwork that helps people reflect about their place in the world, where we live and how we live together.
She travels all over the world building things with different communities in different places. The most important part of her work is collaboration, working with other people. Marjetica says: “space matters when it becomes a place.” This means that when people work together or build something together they can feel a sense of belonging that was not there before.
- Ask children to think of a place near your school or where they live that was built by the community. Talk about this place, introduce questions that elaborate on the idea of community and belonging to a place (customs, games, flags, etc. )
Warm Up : 20 mins
The Great Game of Power → see book 1, p. 24
Development: 1hr 45mins
Part 1: Building (45 minutes)
- it is important that the space this activity takes place in is empty apart from the materials used for the class.
– Split children into groups of 4/5
– Ask each group to take a table and four chairs and move them to “the best space in the room” (this is subjective.)
– Place a selection of large building materials at the centre of the room (keep back about half of the materials including pegs/ clips and large pieces of fabric.)
– Ask children to gather their materials from the pile (this can be a free-for-all or they could take turns, this depends on the group), take them to their selected space and build a shelter for themselves. Ask them to decide the parameters and requirements of this space.
– Encourage them to make a sketch/ design plan before they begin (in their notebook), nevertheless, be aware that some children will work better as they think through the materials while building.
– Walk around amongst the groups and distribute the materials that were kept back in an even way. Make sure all groups have some boxes, some pegs and some fabric. – After about 40 minutes they should have assembled something fairly sturdy (they will often progress into building narratives around certain parts of the construction, like defence, specific sleeping/ cooking/ eating spaces.)
– At this point, put out some pastels, rolls of brown paper and scissors. These can be used for signage.
– Take a tour of each shelter, ask children to sit in a circle on the floor while each group presents. Ask if they have come up with a team name, a song, a dance, a name for their shelter, do they have rules? Have they developed any relationships with the surrounding shelters? (If they have bartered/ stolen materials from other groups, this can lead to an interesting conversation.) Break
Break – 30 mins for lunch/ etc. – (If possible, lunch could be taken inside the shelters.)
Part 2: Drawing (15 mins)
- Invite children to use their notebook and sit and draw their shelter from a number of angles. They should try to draw observationally and include arrows and text to describe something that is unseen (for instance a sleeping area behind a curtain). This can be done with markers, adding texture, colour and notes can give them an opportunity to describe parts of the structure that they cannot render well.
Part 3: Building community and communication (45 mins)
– Bring the group back together to sit in a circle. Ask if these shelters are all on separate islands or if they are all on one island? If they were to make a community what would they need? Suggest infrastructure, roads, bridges, electricity, internet, telephones – what could they make here in this room?
Building a system of communication: A tin can telephone and signals – Give each group a tin can with a hole in the bottom made with a nail and hammer (if children are old enough it might be possible for them to make these themselves.)
– Measure a piece of twine/ string for each group, do this by stretching from one group to another.
– Allow the children to thread the string through the holes in the cans and to tie a knot in the string.
– This tin can telephone works very effectively at a good distance when the string is stretched very taught and is not touching anything (in order for the sound to travel by vibrations.)
– Send a message from one end of the room to the other and send a reply.
– Using the materials they have, they could also make a flag signal system. Bring them together and ask them to think of a list of messages they might need to communicate with one another, write these up on a board, eg. Come visit us for a party, do not disturb, help! I have something to trade.
– Ask them to choose 4 messages and to decide a flag for each of them (eg, red circle = help, blue square = come visit us for a party, yellow triangle = help! Green X = I have something to trade)
– They can return to their shelters and make these flags, then communicate with a combination of flags and tin can telephone
Conclusion: 35 mins
– Take plenty of pictures before these are taken down, these pictures can be printed and handed out for them to collage into their notebooks in the next class.
– The groups should sit together at the end of the class and talk about how they got along together, ask what was difficult about this exercise. How did the group come up against problems? Were they a strong group? Think about the qualities they demonstrated as individuals, were these the qualities of their group? (reintroduce vocabulary about emotions and dealing with emotions properly: did they have a lot of arguments or did they help one another. Were there any unexpected problems (like the shelter falling?)
– Give some time to draw their communication system, making note of the flags they used, what they meant and how the telephone worked
- Invite children to use their notebook and sit and draw their shelter from a number of angles. They should try to draw observationally and include arrows and text to describe something that is unseen (for instance a sleeping area behind a curtain). This can be done with markers, adding texture, colour and notes can give them an opportunity to describe parts of the structure that they cannot render well.
Part 3: Building community and communication (45 mins)
– Bring the group back together to sit in a circle. Ask if these shelters are all on separate islands or if they are all on one island? If they were to make a community what would they need? Suggest infrastructure, roads, bridges, electricity, internet, telephones – what could they make here in this room?
Building a system of communication: A tin can telephone and signals – Give each group a tin can with a hole in the bottom made with a nail and hammer (if children are old enough it might be possible for them to make these themselves.)
– Measure a piece of twine/ string for each group, do this by stretching from one group to another.
– Allow the children to thread the string through the holes in the cans and to tie a knot in the string.
– This tin can telephone works very effectively at a good distance when the string is stretched very taught and is not touching anything (in order for the sound to travel by vibrations.)
– Send a message from one end of the room to the other and send a reply.
– Using the materials they have, they could also make a flag signal system. Bring them together and ask them to think of a list of messages they might need to communicate with one another, write these up on a board, eg. Come visit us for a party, do not disturb, help! I have something to trade.
– Ask them to choose 4 messages and to decide a flag for each of them (eg, red circle = help, blue square = come visit us for a party, yellow triangle = help! Green X = I have something to trade)
– They can return to their shelters and make these flags, then communicate with a combination of flags and tin can telephone
Conclusion: 35 mins
– Take plenty of pictures before these are taken down, these pictures can be printed and handed out for them to collage into their notebooks in the next class.
– The groups should sit together at the end of the class and talk about how they got along together, ask what was difficult about this exercise. How did the group come up against problems? Were they a strong group? Think about the qualities they demonstrated as individuals, were these the qualities of their group? (reintroduce vocabulary about emotions and dealing with emotions properly: did they have a lot of arguments or did they help one another. Were there any unexpected problems (like the shelter falling?)
– Give some time to draw their communication system, making note of the flags they used, what they meant and how the telephone worked
