This is the display of artwork from the Project that the sixth graders took to the UN in New York City! The three delegates also played a recording of the musical composition and performed a modified version of the Dabke. They had a great time and learned a lot.
Due to inclement weather, the date of the final presentation has been moved to Monday, March 16th at 3:45 (immediately following dismissal). The Pioneers will present the Dabke dance and song they composed, and the art pieces they created, all of which were inspired by the visual art, music, and dance of Jordan they studied over the course of the five-week project. You can see and listen to the progress of their work on the Projects page (click HERE).
It occurred to me that it's been a while since I posted anything on the blog. It's because I've been posting on the Projects page! So here are some pictures of work we've been doing, but please be sure to check out the Projects page. Last Tuesday, we had our first Pioneer meeting. It was supposed to take place on Friday February 6th but was moved due to the class field trip. I had three items on the agenda: 1) Housekeeping - going over assignments and due dates 2) Defining "Forward-Thinking;" 3) making sure all Pioneers were aware of our ultimate Project Goal. It was interesting to see how many students initially struggled with the concept of "forward-thinking." It's a very abstract concept, so I had to prompt them and give them several examples. But eventually, the kids grasped the concept and came up with the following: "Forward thinking...
This week, the Pioneers explored Dabke in dance class on Tuesday, Radial Symmetry in art on Thursday, and then revisited Dabke again in music at the end of the day on Thursday. In music, we also discussed the traditional instruments of Jordan and watched videos of several of the instruments being played.
New pics and video of the Dabke lesson from dance class!
We kicked off the project (literally) with a Dabke lesson in Dance class today!
The students really seemed to enjoy the lesson, based on their participation, and the feedback forms I have received so far! If you don't see your child in this post, it may be because I have not yet received your permission notification from the Parent Portal page; please complete the form so that I can post more pics and videos!
Next lesson: Art and then Music, on Thursday! ~ jkh ~ Well, it's 12:11am...no, it's 12:12, and I have been working on this website for about three weeks, I think, but the project itself has been in the works for months. The Super Bowl ended three hours ago, and I was disappointed. WHY DID HE THROW THE BALL??! They should have run it in! Anyway, Ms. Terah, Ms. Bobbie, and I are really stretching ourselves as artists to put together this project, and I am very proud of that. So I will put the Super Bowl out of my mind and focus on this wonderful, wonderful learning that is about to begin!
In this country, we really don't focus enough on Middle Eastern arts education (or non-Western arts ed in general). It gets sort of glossed over as a "specialty" or maybe you take it as part of a "World Music" course where they cover the WHOLE WORLD in one semester, or you listen to Middle Eastern music for a week in a Music Appreciation class, maybe if you are lucky enough to have a professor who's comfortable enough to include it. So Terah and I are particularly reaching out of our comfort zones to provide this experience. I am so grateful to Terah for enthusiastically saying "YES!" to this project of mine. Bobbie...well, she's been teaching so wonderfully for so long...I was not surprised in the least when she just started bringing me all sorts of things that she had in mind. And then there's Viji. I love Viji. I feel very fortunate to work with her in the same room each week. She is a very knowledgeable teacher, and I learn from her all the time. Just sitting and listening in the classroom, I learn from her. I am so excited to begin this 5-week adventure. The teachers are Pioneers as much as the students! |
Ms. HarrisI am the creator of this project! It is my hope that my students will feel engaged and excited to participate in it, because it is fun enriching, unique, and multi-faceted (meaning it can be viewed from many angles). Archives
April 2015
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