Columbus is an inner city school. The children's exposure to farming is limited. In First Grade, we answer the big question, "How do plants, animals and people depend on each other?" within 3 large units of study: Farming, Markets and Habitats.
Presently, we are learning about farming and the ecological foundations of crops, crosspollination, farm animals and farm animal products.
Each year we answer questions such as "What was my apple before it was my apple?", and experiment with produce, eggs, milk and grains. We have incubated and candled chicken eggs then raised chickens. We have dyed wool from sheep and knitted. We have created collages of products from pigs, sheep, goats and chickens. This year we are going one step further creating an evolving 3D farm. It represents the cause and effect of farming. So far we have made an apple tree with abstract hexagon shaped apple blossoms and a beehive with boxes and card stock honeycombs. We would love to complete our farm with life size 3D farm animals (sheep, cows, goats, horses, chickens and pigs). They would be made out of recycled cardboard boxes and other recycled materials.
My Project
To do this, we would like to purchase saws, hole punches, clips and hinges from Makedo. The students will be making farm animal sculptures from recycled materials as they research and write about pigs, sheep, goats, horses, chicken and pigs. The 3D farm animals will require the students to think about how farm animals look and move then figure out a way to replicate this using only, clips, hinges and recycled material. It is an open ended project as there are a myriad of ways the students can complete it. As art mimics nature, this project is a wonderful way to explore nature. The shapes, colors and materials the children choose will make each sculpture a unique piece of art. It is a project that uses the multiple intelligences too - visual, mathematical/spatial, interpersonal etc. The children will work in flexible groups (one group for each animal) across the 3 first grade classes. They will choose which animal to research and build.
This is a project that requires higher order thinking skills.
The students will be synthesizing what they have learned and creating something new. It has real world applications in that the students will become informed consumers. They will know the sources of their food, clothing and every day materials and they will be more aware environmentalists as the art project connects art to life. Working in groups will promote collaboration, while providing the children the resources to be creative.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. BRADDOCK and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.