#msquinn

Eisenhower 7th Grade, Visual Art & ELA Ms. Quinn / Mr. Hawkins

7th graders used their study of Virginia Hamilton’s The People Could Fly as a jumping off point to explore the power of myth and magic to depict people’s true selves.  Mr. Hawkins led the students in a discussion of identity where students explored the different identities that people hold in their communities.  Students identified the stark contrast between what people might assume about them based on how they look and who they truly are inside.  Each student chose a mythical creature that provides insight into some aspect of their identity.  Ms. Quinn photographed students posed as their creatures, and then students used the photographs to create self-portrait collages incorporating their choice of medium:  paint, markers and/or oil pastel.

“People might look at me and think I am like a happy little sunflower but really on the inside I am like this little girl scared of the world trying to be strong and protecting the ones she loves.  Me and the kelpie relate because even though we are both pretty we are independent and we want to protect the ones we love.  We might not seem as we look”

“People might look at me and think I am mean, but really on the inside I am kind and sweet to people.  An angel represents the inner me because I am beautiful and peaceful and helpful and lovable.”

“People might look at me and think I am dangerous and dumb.  But really on the inside I am smart, very thoughtful and very silly at times.  A leprechaun represents the inner me because it’s short, silly, entertaining and smart.”

Eisenhower 1st Grade and Writing Ms. Quinn and Mrs. Reine

First graders worked on a semester long project of creating their own fairy tales.  Students read examples of fairy tales, brainstormed what made fairy tales unique, shared stories from their own lives and then added magical details to transform those stories into fairy tales.  They edited their own writing, bound and illustrated their own books, and practiced reading them to each other. 

Through writing and creating their own books, the project was designed to support beginning readers at all different levels in identifying as readers and writers who know that books belong to them.  Students who usually avoided engaging in literacy tasks were deeply engaged in the project.  For a few students, this was the first book they ever read on their own.

Eisenhower 1st Grade and Writing Ms. Quinn and Mrs. Reine

First graders worked on a semester long project of creating their own fairy tales.  Students read examples of fairy tales, brainstormed what made fairy tales unique, shared stories from their own lives and then added magical details to transform those stories into fairy tales.  They edited their own writing, bound and illustrated their own books, and practiced reading them to each other.  

Through writing and creating their own books, the project was designed to support beginning readers at all different levels in identifying as readers and writers who know that books belong to them.  Students who usually avoided engaging in literacy tasks were deeply engaged in the project.  For a few students, this was the first book they ever read on their own.

Eisenhower 1st Grade and Kindergarten, Nature & Visual Art Ms. Quinn

4th graders in Ms. Jack’s ELA class deepened their close reading of The Whipping Boy, historical fiction set in the Middle Ages, with a semester long writing and book arts project.  Each student created a character from the Middle Ages and is telling their story through a diary, weaving in the use of concepts and skills including figurative language, dialogue and peer editing.

7th graders had a unit focused on space exploration including a close reading of “Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed,” a short story by Ray Bradbury.  For this project, students were asked to imagine what life would be like on another planet if they were the ones creating a new civilization. They worked in groups to imagine new worlds, and created flags to represent the values of that world.  We looked at flag inspiration from artist Niki Tsukamoto, listened to a TED talk about good and bad flag design by Roman Mars. and considered the design of different flags such as the Pan-African Flag, the Gay Pride Flag, and Ms. Quinn’s favorite, the flag of Japan.

http://lookoutandwonderland.com/

Eisenhower 7th Grade, Visual Art Elective Ms. Quinn

Eisenhower 1st Grade and Kindergarten, Visual Art Elective Ms. Quinn