I have written previously about the wonderful online courses
run by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) through Coursera and this week I got to
put into practice some of the great lesson activities from their recent
offering. Their Arts and Activity course focuses on implementing practical
activities that get students to focus, reflect and create based on different
art works. The course is based around practical activities that are used by the
MoMA staff on a daily basis and it is nicely supplemented by readings on the
theory of education and museums.
This week I have been focusing on writing descriptions with
my ESL class. To begin the week I was reading about gaming and making learning more
active. As such, I decided to take a normally boring activity of describing a
scene or picture and turn it into a game. I got the students and we walked down
to the shopping centre and I put a pair of students on each level. Each pair
had to take 5 pictures of shops on their mobile phones and write a detailed
description of one shop. Once we got back to the classroom, the pairs wrote out
their description and then took turns trying to guess what the other pairs had
described. I was impressed by the way that the groups tried to write more
cryptic clues and the ways that they used smell, touch and colour to create a
vivid picture of their chosen shop. I then finished the lesson by reflecting on
the use of language and wrote some key vocabulary on the board.
Today, I decided to do the picture postcard activity from
this week’s lecture. I started by putting up an image of Winter Moonlit Night
(Wintermondnacht) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/ernst-ludwig-kirchner-winter-moonlit-night-wintermondnacht-1919-in-fall-1918)
and playing some relaxing background music from YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_orGF2zM5o).
I then got everyone to stand and did a guided imaginative tour of the painting.
I asked the students to use each of their senses to imagine what it would be
like to be in the scene and to visualise what they are seeing, hearing, and
touching. I then got them to sit down and draw a small section of the work. I reiterated
that I was not worried about the quality of the drawing but instead wanted them
to observe the work closely while drawing. I then got them to write a letter to
a friend or member of their family about their trip to this mountain.
One of the key parts of the success of the activity was the
use of the music. It was relaxing and set a wonderful quite mood for the
classroom. Moreover, it fitted perfectly with the work – more accident than
good management – thus creating a harmony of visual and aural setting. Also, I actively
participated in the process by vocalizing what I imagined during the initial
stages then drawing and writing along with the students. While I did more
around the class to see that everyone was on task, my earnest involvement
encouraged the rest of them to stay on task.
After everyone had finished their letters, I got pairs to
swap letters and give each other 2 pieces of positive feedback on the writing.
We had an odd number so once again I involved myself and read a student’s
letter. This was working so well I didn’t want to interrupt but I wanted to get
some of the good ideas I was hearing into the public so I then asked if people
would like to share what they liked about their partner’s letter. Each pair was
able to share an emotion of way of writing that thy enjoyed and one of the
students suggested everyone read their letter out aloud to the class. Since
everyone was comfortable with this we started to read the letters aloud, with
the music still going in the background.
This was where things got special. I was blown away by how
touching and heartfelt the letters I heard being read. While many wrote to a parent
about their trip, one wrote to an ex-boyfriend and another wrote a
Murakami-esque piece to a long lost girlfriend he imagined as awaiting him atop
the mountain. It was half way through this process that I noticed one of my
students crying. It seems that the emotion of sharing the experience of being
on an adventure but missing home and family at the same time had really touched
her and brought back some sad memories. Moreover, the atmosphere in the class
allowed her to feel that she could express these emotions and no one was
judgemental or made fun of her crying.
By the time we had finished the room had a sad poignancy
about it but everyone felt comfortable at the same time. We discussed the
challenge of being away from home, as most of the young people in my class are
experiencing, and the mixed emotions that come with this. They also asked me
about the picture and if they could do this with other pieces of art.
Interestingly, one of the students commented that doing the drawing helped him
look closely at the work and the visualisation helped him to develop his
writing.
Overall, this was one of those lessons that make me love my
job. The people in that room today felt a special bond as they shared being on
a scary but exciting journey. Some of us cried and all of us felt a little
homesick but we all left feeling good about class. Thank you MoMA!
