Farewell to Faubion: 4th Grade

Faubion's building, which opened in 1950, will be getting demolished this summer for a complete rebuild. While the new school is being constructed, all Faubion staff, students, & even furniture will be temporarily placed at Tubman School. To help the students with the transition and to reflect on their positive experiences at Faubion, all K-5 students worked on school tribute art projects for the final weeks of the year.

4th graders wrote essays about what Faubion means to them and what their most memorable experiences at school were. I used these essays as a jumping off point for their first Faubion tribute project: school pride shrinky dink keychains! Students designed keychains representing their favorite people or activities at Faubion. Some drew the playground or gym, some drew their friends or teachers, and some used symbols to represent their favorite field trip or subject area.

The 4th graders also created one giant Faubion banner, with each student completing one small piece. The rectangular pieces were arranged vertically and horizontally to create a woven, quilt-like appearance. This collaborative tribute artwork is on display in the Faubion Writing Gallery, and will be displayed again at Tubman next school year!

Pinwheels for Peace

A while back, all students at Faubion did an art project based around the theme of "peace". 4th grade created these colorful & unique pinwheels with symbols & imagery of what "peace" means specifically to them. Some pinwheels had clear expressions of activities & actions that make the student feel peaceful, while others were more abstract, with calming color schemes & patterns. After being displayed as a giant peace sign, these Pinwheels for Peace were attached to dowels before being sent home :]

 

  

4th grade totem pole animals!

WOW!!! I am absolutely astounded by how 4th grade's totem pole collages turned out! Whenever I teach this lesson, most students pick simpler "safe" animals, like a lion or puppy, but not Irvington's artists! These students took creative risks & it certainly paid off :] Snakes, pigs, sharks, giraffes, & peacocks are not normally seen in that stylized, totem pole fashion, but they look spectacular!

So how did we make them? We looked at many pictures of totem poles & discussed the reasons & process for making them. Aesthetically, students pointed out that the totem animals normally have basic color schemes, symmetrical balance, & are made of geometric shapes. We also talked about how animals can represent certain personality traits & then we wondered which animals would represent each of us. After deciding, the 4th graders practiced drawing a stylized version of their animal on paper, & then got started on the collage. You can see these amazing totem poles on display in the Irvington cafeteria!

 

totem pole sneak peek!

Here's a sneak peek of 4th grade's totem pole display! I'll update more about this project next week :]