Designing My Dream House

Designing an image

Works in progress

Today we moved from designing and arranging with colored papers to make a design to making an image. I wondered out loud " Do you have a dream house? Why is it your dream house?"

A few students shared "My dream house is in India where all my friends are."

"I have a dream house on top of a mountain so I can see the ocean."

"My dream house has a garage for my race cars."

I asked extending the conversation"What would your dream house look like in India?"

"It would look like a palace. It would be very big for everyone to visit me."

"What would your dream house on the mountain look like?"

"There would be lots of stairs going up and down the mountain and a secret elevator."

"What else would you need for your dream house besides a garage".

"I need antennas and burglar alarms. A secret tunnel and a tower."

I asked "What color would you start with? What shape would you cut first?

" I need pink. The color of my palace is pink. I need some big pieces of paper."

" I'm going to use black, to make stairs going up and down the mountain."

"My house is going to be tall. Like a spy house. I need yellow."

I make sure to set out larger pieces of paper so that a sequence of order could be established right at the beginning. I explain after our conversation that sometimes artists work in an order from big to small, from mass to detail. And I ask them please cut your big shapes first then add your smaller shapes second. Arrange for awhile before you glue, so that you can change your mind if you want to. I also explain we have this lesson and next week's lesson to finish so if you are not done today that is ok, we still have next week to finish.

They are very excited and many side conversations erupt about dream houses and what they'll do. I circulate to see and ask pointed questions like, is your house a three story house? What kind of windows does it have? Are the windows rectangles or are they curved at the top? Does your house have a roof, it is straight or shaped like a triangle? Are there bushes or trees nearby? How shall you cut their shapes? How big are you planning to make your house? Is it going to be wide or skinny?

I see all manner of shape and color arrangements and strong personal engagements. I can tell they are making it their own. At the end of the lesson, I ask students to turn and talk to each other and share what they plan to add next week to finish their dream houses.

Here is a list of some of their plans:

Put curtains in the windows.

My door needs a door knob.

Antennas on the roof.

A rainbow in the sky.

A chimney and a garden.

More windows.

Clouds and a sun.

A mailbox and a fence.

#imagination

I have a range of students who are pre-representational, moving toward representation or who are representational and even though I have at this point introduced the aim of making a picture, I also suggest to those