How did it go?
This
lesson was great! I used a Prezi I had made:
After
the Starry Night slide, I showed the students this image:
They
were delighted and wanted to do it again and again. When we got to the part
about his death, I told them that Van Gogh did not become famous until after
his death. The positives they discussed were:
+ After he died, people probably feel bad that they missed out on talking to him.
+ After he died, people probably feel bad that they missed out on talking to him.
+
Maybe it was because people were jealous of him.
+
Since he was mentally ill, it may have been good that he was not famous,
because then no one would bug him and make him feel more uncomfortable or
scared.
+
He could imagine what it was like to be famous and he could imagine it being
better than it really is.
+
He could look down from heaven and see how he really impacted people.
+
His art might have looked different and like everyone else's if he was famous
before he died.
+
He didn't act better than other people.
+
If he was famous, he might not have created so many paintings, because he would
have spent more time with other people.
The
negatives they discussed were:
-
Since no one realized how good he was, they missed out more than he did.
-
He missed out on the feeling artists get when people enjoy their work.
-
It probably made people feel guilty after he died.
-
He didn't get the fame or the money he deserved.
-
He didn't have the money he needed to get the medical help he needed.
-
He was probably lonely.
Interesting:
· He might have
created more paintings if he had gotten the help he needed and lived longer.
· We would
probably know about his thoughts if he were famous, because people would have
interviewed him.
· He might not
have created Starry Night if he were famous, because he may have gone to a
different hospital than St. Remy's.
· If he had sold
more paintings, he would have had more money for art supplies. They wondered
how this could have changed his work.
· Since his life
would have been less lonely, he would probably have fewer paintings and he
would most likely have created very different works. There may have been more
paintings about other people and less about his own life.
After
our lesson, the kids played a review game on the Smart Board. They threw a
koosh ball at a bubble and a review question popped up. If they answered correctly,
they had a chance to try and "pin the ear" on Van Gogh. I was very
pleased by how much they remembered!
What did you
learn?
During
the class before our Van Gogh lesson, I had told my 3rd graders that we would
be playing "Pin the ear on Van Gogh" next time. When they came in,
they were all excited and asking, "are we still pinning the ear on Van
Gogh?" I told them that we would play that at the end as a review, after
we learned about Van Gogh. I explained, that in the presentation certain words
were bolded or had different colors. I told them these were important things
they needed to try and remember in order to answer the questions correctly and
have a chance to pin the ear. The fact that I told my students what was
important to remember, really helped my lesson and helped the students remember
these facts. I should have been doing this all year! It is important to
verbally communicate with students what you are intending them to take away
from your lessons.
What would you
do differently?
Since
they were all looking forward to the review, I rushed through the lesson. I
found myself getting irritated when students were talking about what they saw.
In the past, we have always taken time to talk about the artists work: What do
you see? How do you feel? What do you think this means? etc. My students are
now programmed to answer these questions, but this time I was not encouraging
them to share their insights for time's sake. Even with my inconsideration and
swift introduction, we still did not have enough time to finish the game and
will be completing our review next class. Next time, I will allow the lesson to
be interrupted by my students insights and wants.
Why did it work
or not work?
Like
I said in what I learned, it worked that I frontloaded the students with what
they should focus on. This worked very well! What did not work? During the
presentation, it was the same group of students answering the questions. During
review these students excelled, but the quiet ones needed some help. In the future,
I will work harder on making sure all of my students understand the material. I
would like to write names on popsicle sticks and pull out random students to
answer.
Feel free to "steal" my Prezi, image, and Smart Board review! I couldn't figure out how to add my review, but I can e-mail the Smart Notebook to you if you give me your e-mail. I think it's important we work together to help each other out and save time. :)
Dear Katie-
ReplyDeleteWhat did you learn about your students' perceptions and development based on your implementation of PMI? How did using PMI in this lesson helped reinforce the big ideas of the artist study?
An observation I wanted to share with you is that your PMI notes show that studying Van Gogh affected your students on the social-emotional level. They demonstrated deep empathy and also abstract thinking. How could you cater to this strength in your students in future lessons - highlight how the social-emotional experiences of famous artists relate to their own lives?
Well, I just wrote a really lovely long response and "thank you blogger".... its gone. UGH. SO heres the summarized version!
ReplyDeleteAs Beth points out, these kids are really engaging on multiple levels and thinking holistically. AWESOME.
Did the quiet ones play the game at the end? Were they able to recall the knowledge? Be interesting to have them play first as a check in.
Although the popsicle stick idea is a good way to even the playing field, I find it sometimes really frustrates the enthusiastic kiddos. Ill randomly call on quiet kids as I observe what they are up to in a class discussion, often they are thinking very deeply but hesitant to offer up a response (that ole... is this right or good thing goin on). Its rather like fishing, reel them in a little, then let the line out, reel them in some more, let the line out a little and so on. Over time they get the hang of it and feel more confident. You seem to have a really good connection to your students, I am certain what ever you do will be what works best for all of you :)
Wonderful Lesson!
I was so mesmerized by your lesson that I completely forgot this was an assignment post! I loved this so much! Great interactive bit and loved the frontloading. Thanks for sharing Katie!
ReplyDeleteI will so steal your prezi and could you send me that smart board game adairstokan@gmail.com.
ReplyDeleteI love the comment: Since his life would have been less lonely, he would probably have fewer paintings and he would most likely have created very different works. There may have been more paintings about other people and less about his own life.
So insightful! Do you teach VTS or have you taken Mary Franco's class? You said your students have become programmed to answer questions a particular way. I feel VTS helps students break way from that, I try to phrase questions in all lessons to be more open ended to allow students more freedom in answering. I also paraphrase every students answer so they know I'm listening and they can rehear what they said and rethink about it.