3-Dimensional Construction can be a challenge, but students in Brittany’s class showed that they are willing to engage in that challenge. Today was all about constructing the playground equipment that students invented in their previous paintings. Here is a taste of what is going on in the classroom as students problem solve with tactile materials.
Construction materials included a variety of craft supplies and attachment supplies. This student used newspaper inside of a paper-bag, a paper-tube, and a cardboard base to build his “tall-tower.” Tape was the attachment method that he used to secure the tower to the base. Additionally this student directly demonstrates the transfer of his structure from a 2-D painting to a 3-D sculpture.
Tall Tower
Working 3-Dimentionally inspired a natural collaboration between the students in the classroom. One student surprised us by asking if he could ring the classroom bell to ask for assistants to help him in the process of securing and attaching the different parts of his work. This occurred throughout the classroom and ideas spread fluidly. One table demonstrates the extensive use of popsicle sticks. When I interviewed this table the students explained how they were learning from one another, but also making their own ideas.
Some students are already beginning to experiment with creating additional sculptural additions to the play equipment. This student includes a pipe-cleaner creature and explains that “it is climbing the ladder.”
Notice how this student has used an additional support element so that the ladder is propped upright. The tape is used at the connection point to secure the two elements. Structure is one of the most challenging parts of this project, but students are truly delving into solving their own problems that they produce when endeavoring on their individual playground ideas. The piece progresses throughout the course of the lesson. What is a functional/support element at the beginning becomes a design element as the student layers materials on top of the support to make a slide for the creature to go down.
This student speaks about the balance board that he is creating. He demonstrates that his project is made out of several different parts; he has already created a slide out of popsicle sticks. When asked about the connection to his original drawing, he shows a drawing of a slide that has a similar shape and simplicity as that of his construction.
Another student demonstrates his “upside-down-tiki-torch” construction. He shows a piece that he has created out of various materials that all work together to create a whole. In this video, he shows that his piece is stable, yet there is movement in his piece when he moves the sculpture to show how he wants the paper-bag to function. The student exclaims, “it was really fun to make.”
2nd/3rd Grade Art 