I’ve always enjoyed the Upper Elementary classes. The kids are at a great age for absorbing lots of new information, and their questions reflect their curiosity and willingness to grapple with hard questions. Typically, there is a theme to our library classes, a topic that connects our weekly lesson. For example, last year’s UE library curriculum focused on a “Weekly Wonder.” Each class started with an introduction to a painting, a landmark, a piece of music, or a notable person. We watch a short video, look at pictures, talk about the importance of whatever the topic is. For example, the Beatles were one of our Weekly Wonders last year. So was American Gothic. And so was the architecture of Frank Gehry.
This year is an American history year, and our library classes celebrate “American Achievements” in many fields. So far, we have focused on science, sports, and visual art. Next month: music. The fun (but frustrating) part of planning the UE classes is that we could focus on a different American Achievement each day of the school year and still only scratch the surface. Weekly classes make this a particular challenge, but Mary and I jump in – hoping that a story will spark a new interest or make a connection.
Our sports topics included: Jim Thorpe, Bill Russell, and Serena Williams. After that, we moved on to science and talked about: Rachel Carson, Sylvia Earle, Mae Jemison, Sally Ride, and Carl Sagan. The students were especially intrigued by Carl Sagan’s Golden Record, a recording of music and messages that might be heard by extraterrestrials – like E.T.
We watched a video of Bill Nye (the Science Guy) explaining the Golden Record which resulted in lively conversations about what would be put on a similar device today.
January has been about visual art. We’ve looked at sculptures by Sarah Sze (who has a big exhibit at the Guggenheim opening this spring), Alma Thomas, Katherine Bradford, and Alex Katz.
Alma Thomas was an African-American artist noted for her colorful vibrant paintings – one of which (Resurrection) is the first artwork by an African-American woman to enter the White House’s permanent collection.
I think everyone enjoyed looking at Thomas’s brightly colored paintings during a very grey January. One of the best parts of our “art month” is the chance to collaborate with Annemarie, Inly’s art teacher. During the Alma Thomas week, she worked with the Lower Elementary students to create beautiful mosaics that are now hanging around the library and in the hallways.
Last week, we introduced Katherine Bradford to the Upper Elementary students. Bradford is a New York and Maine-based artist, and she is one of Annemarie’s favorites. Her large paintings of figures, many of them faceless, can be seen in several contemporary art museums, but also at the L Train/First Avenue Station of the New York City Subway. Here are two of Bradford’s public pieces:
In class, Annemarie showed the UE students half a dozen of Katherine Bradford’s artworks and asked them what was “unique.” According to Annemarie, they all said “no faces!” Next, they discussed how she still managed to have her people express a mood – via body language and color choice. Their assignment was to work in groups: one chose a pose that the others would trace (for example: confidence, joy, anger) And then, working collaboratively, they chose a color scheme that they felt matched the mood.
Here are some pics of the work in progress:
And two of the finished projects!
Next week, the last in our art series, we will turn our attention to Alex Katz, the 95-year-old painter of large scale landscapes and portraits. Like Sarah Sze, Katz was the subject of a recent exhibition at the Guggenheim, and like Bradford, Alex Katz also lives in New York and Maine. Katz is one of my favorite artists, and so I’m looking forward to sharing some of his work with the kids next week. Maybe we will begin by looking at these paintings, two of my favorites:
My current reading is:
It was one of those situations where I was putting a book away and saw this on the shelf. I loved Patti Smith’s first book Just Kids which chronicles her early years in New York City and her friendship with Robert Mapplethorpe. And then I bought M Train when it was published eight years ago! My embarrassment that it had been sitting on my shelf untouched in all that time inspired me to pick it up, and I’m happy I did. Much of the book was written in Smith’s favorite cafe, and her reflections about travel, art, and the origins of the continental drift theory are perfectly suited to grey January days.
Random note on a book cover:
Another shelving situation, but this one in the school library. I started to put it away, but instead put it aside to enjoy looking at this week and reading to a class next week. The cover is beautiful – it’s the pastel palette. I want to hang it on the wall.
Happy Reading!
Sommer Reading 