W E L C O M E   T O

I Am the Words and Pictures I Create

A Fourth Grade Lesson in Language Arts & Art
Submitted by Lambros Alex Pappas - Boston City Schools

• To develop a format for a community service learning project.
• To make the student aware of the diverse ways people communicate.
• To encourage the student to examine and become aware of different "selves" (physical, environmental, creative, spiritual, and intellectual).

• Students will connect what they read and write with their experiences and the experiences of others.(Language Arts)
• Students will understand the structure of words and demonstrate a strong vocabulary.(Language Arts)
• Students will employ various formats and technologies to complete and enhance work. (Language Arts)
• Students will explore technology and various art media for visual literacy. (Art)
• Students will understand the sense of place (neighborhood, house, etc.) (Social Studies)

• Writing paper, pens, pencils, word processor, printer, scanner
• Art materials such as paper, watercolors, markers, crayons, scissors, film and collage papers, collage and cut-out work, and bookbinding materials.

• The fourth grade students write a two paragraph essay, not less than four sentences per paragraph, on some aspect of his/her family or neighborhood.
• Following the standards in language arts, the student edits the composition by sharing it with his/her peers, parents, older siblings and friends.
• The last rewrite and final product is word processed.
• Taking this composition, the student illustrates it in a chosen medium.
• This illustration is then given to middle schools students who in turn write a two paragraph composition of not less than four sentences per paragraph  based on the illustration.
• This is shared with the author and illustrator and both compositions and discussed and compared to determine the level of communication through the writing and drawing.
• Both compositions and illustrations are bound in several volumes and contributed to the school and community library.

Evaluation is based on a key question format used in the new curriculum frameworks of the Boston Public Schools rating the written work as a 1,2,3,or 4 (4 being the highest). Guidelines developed by the Early Learning Literacy Initiative (ELLI) Project of Ohio State and implemented in New England by Leslie College. The illustrations follow the guidelines set by the National Standards for Arts Education.

Copyright 1999 by the Network for Instructional TV, Inc.
All rights reserved.