What Caroline got up to in Weeks 2 and 3 (Part One)

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16133771.post-1129822708551359312005-10-20T15:18:00.000+01:002005-10-20T16:46:30.753+01:00What Caroline got up to in Weeks 2 and 3 (Part One) - posted by Caroline SmallAfter an inspiring first week, the project moved to a new level during the week beginning 19th September as collaborative opportunities began to open up. For me, participating in Tracy and Pauline's dance workshops was invaluable and we explored (with increasing excitement) the common ground in our creative processes and the possibilities for future work with the children. I also participated in some of Terry's truly magical workshops in the woods, wished I was nine years old again, and came away with fresh ideas to feed into my own workshops later in the week. MISS MONK'S Y3 - Focus: The Creatures of Tulgey Wood At the end of the previous workshop we had played around with portmanteau words to make up names for the creatures in the wood. Splitting and then combining the names of real animals resulted in such wonders as Butterbeet, Hippocrocopig and Zebator but I wanted to concentrate on the creatures' movement to create links with the dance workshops. After brainstorming movement words I showed the children how to combine them to create names such as Squiggleflipper and Scuttletwister - using the real life example of the Sidewinder! Between them the children invented over 60 new creatures. Some of my favourites are: Scurrymuncher Wrigglescribbler Spinstopper Snappercrusher Twizzleflapper... I could go on but you get the idea! Tracy and Pauline then bravely took the class into the hall to explore the movement of these new creatures. A very exciting session! The children's movement ideas were highly imaginative and ambitious. By the time I returned for my next session with this class, the children had already written 'scientific definitions' of their imaginary creatures. These will go into a large encyclopedia being created in collaboration with Mrs Tricklebank's class who will write entries about the plants which grow in Tulgey Wood. I wanted the children to write in role - to give the creatures a voice - in a form which might ultimately becaome a chant/song/narration to accompany movment and dance. Through a short visualisation I took them back to the habitats, dens and lairs they'd created in the woods with Terry and asked them to visualise their creature emerging from the den. Some of them were then able to describe their creatures in great detail. We brainstormed vocabulary for parts of the body, useful adjectives and finally looked at similes. The children then wrote 'verses' using a simple pattern I'd created for them: What do you see when you look at me? A body like a shoe lace, A furry brown head, Ten sharp teeth And eleven strong legs. Creep up close and listen to my name - I'm the WRIGGLEMUNCHER! It has to be said that the children's descriptions were much more interesting than mine. MRS TRICKLEBANK'S Y3/4 - Focus: The Plants in Tulgey Wood This class didn't have a session in the woods with Terry so we took them dow there to explore and discover the sculptures, trails and habitats created by other groups. We didn't touch anything or move anything or pick anything up but we did make an enormous collection of WORDS: Words to name the parts of plants - trunk, stalk, thorn, leaf Words to describe the shapes and textures of the woodland - spiky, squelchy, knobbly etc Words to describe the sounds of the woodland - rustling, tramping, crunching etc Words to describe the way the plants move and grow - sway, creep, stretch etc This developed into an extensive Word Bank for the Tulgey Wood. Back in the classroom we split the class into two groups. One group worked with Tracyy and Pauline to create magical plants using movement. The other group worked with me and did drawings of their plants which they then labelled descriptively, focusing on what the plant does, how it moves etc. Then the groups swapped over. Tracy felt that her second group were more successful becasue they already had an image of the plant which they could translate into movement. Most of the plants they invented were pretty mean and dangerous! We want to develop the magical quality of the plants - perhaps as night falls they change their nature. In my next session I wanted to explore the quality of words - their sound and sense - to try an encourage richness in the children's writing. As an experiment I read Keats' To Autumn and asked them just to listen to the sound of the words and tell me how the poem made them feel: "Happy and sad at the same time." "I want to curl up in front of the fire." "Dizzy!" "Like a marshmallow - soft and sweet and sticky...." And many other fantastic responses. Working with the Word Bank we played with the 'texture' of the words orally - partly to get them all to read the word bank and partly to develop vocal confidence/performance skills. Finally I introduced my ideas for the plants' "threats and promises": I will stretch out my prickly finger and tickle your ear. I will stroke you gently with my soft, smooth stems and my tendrils will twine around your feet. I will snatch at your hair and scratch your face with my spiky fingers. Or using the formal 'pattern': My bark will twist and wind and scrape, My leaves will shiver and shuffle and shake, My roots will creep and crackle and crawl Then trip you up and make you fall. The children then wrote their own threats and promises - mostly threats! More to follow!davidnoreply@blogger.com