How we Express Ourselves
How We Express Ourselves
"An inquiry into Inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic."
To launch our latest multi-age Unit of Inquiry, involving the children in the Lofties, Sunroom and Peppercorns, we came together to imagine all of the ways that we can inquire into self expression in the lead up to our much loved Anthology Week. Many children are familiar with Anthology, and anticipate a week of story writing and painting as the most often explored ways of sharing their imagination.
The 2022 Anthology is finally going to print, and we hope to have copies for the children to enjoy at school shortly. Below is a gallery from the 2022 Anthology Week to help paint a picture of this tradition for the uninitiated.
This year, we wanted to broaden the opportunities for the children, and to consider that, while the Printed Anthology is a physical artifact, with the canny use of QR codes, we could expand it to include some live action pieces.
As a staff, we sat together and considered the children's ideas, and a few of our own, and came up with 7 inquiry groups covering a range of expressive mediums.
Exquisite Corpse Poetry - Learn to write intriguing poems inspired by Surrealist artists, such as "The gentlemanly manatee prepared the ridiculous cakes" or "Drab trousers melt in a shiny box". Work solo and with others to learn easy techniques to create these strange poems that will stretch your imagination!
Poems and Rhymes -
Poetry writing is cool,
Especially when we're in school.
We'll rap and we'll rhyme
And have a great time
While using the lyricist's tools
Songwriting - Writing a song is like going on a treasure hunt. They are buried deep inside us all. You just have to start digging. Who knows what little musical gems you might find
Zines - A zine (pronounced zeen) is a self-published booklet, often created by physically cutting and gluing text and images. It might also be produced on a computer. Zines can be stories or facts. Create your original and photocopy for distribution.
7 Narrative Forms - There are seven classic narrative plot structures, and like the seven deadly sins, or the seven virtues, once you meet them, you’ll find them everywhere!
Stories through Photography - Who needs to download photos to inspire a story when we can take our own? Use printed or digital photos you take to create a story
We gathered together, and the children then chose which of the groups they would like to join.
Children will now inquire into these forms and explore ways to convey their thinking and their feeling through these. They will then design a short workshop for their peers which will be offered during Anthology Week.
Peer-to-peer teaching is a powerful way to develop motivation and create energy around learning, with benefits in consolidation of the learning, enhancing collaborative skills, perspective taking and deepening understanding. We are so looking forward to seeing what the children devise for each other.
University of Manchester
Parents will have an opportunity to view the work of these inquiry groups when we come together for our Celebration of Learning on Tuesday 29 August.
The Arts, "are not the frills of education but an integral part of it; the part, indeed, which helps the soul to blossom"
Greta Lyttle, Courage, 2010