Drawing "LIFE" - The Final Class

Friday was the last June class of the ACCESS program at More Than Words. I wanted to do something different, something that would engage the students actively and also provide them the opportunity to express themselves and share their perspectives. I decided to have them draw. I had no idea if it would work but figured I'd give it a try.

After what had become my opening gambit each morning - asking "Did you sleep last night?" and students telling me they went to sleep at 2 or 3 or 5:30am, I divided the classes into groups of 3 and gave each group a poster-size sheet of heavy paper, a packet of colored markers, and the topic sheet: DRAWING YOUR LIFE. Their task was to draw pictorial representations of each of the four terms.

I went around to each group and made certain they understood the directions and the four terms. Then I let them go. 

Things started slowly at first as the students talked about what to draw.  I saw a few students using their cell phones and thought, "Well, this was a dumb idea. They're already bored and not interested and we have a whole hour together." 

 

A little while later I was relieved to discover that they were using their cell phones to find pictures online that they wanted to copy for their posters.

While my students come from different high schools in the area (some live 10-15 miles outside of Jendouba and must use public transportation to get to the More Than Words offices), they have been together for weekend ACCESS classes since January and know each other very well. 

 

They seemed to really enjoy this assignment.

It was a joy to watch them talk, and argue, and laugh as they put their ideas together and created their LIFE posters.

In some groups one person drew and the other two offered "suggestions" as to the particular way what was being drawn could be improved.

In other groups all three tried to draw on their poster at the same time.

About 10 minutes before the end of class I called a halt to the drawing and had each group explain what they had drawn and why their pictures represented the four important terms. Their explanations were thoughtful and in some cases surprising.

I have really enjoyed being with these students this week. I think if we had one more week together I would know all their names and be able to reasonably approximate correct pronunciations. 

Two of my students have invited me to a youth Poetry Reading this coming week.  It's going to held at a local coffee/tea cafe on Thursday night at 11pm; or maybe it's on Wednesday night at 9pm. No, it's definitely on Thursday night at 10pm.  See you there!