Inventive Movements (K-2nd Grades)

This week during the movement part of our class we explored things a little differently!  We looked at the book Here Is the Tropical Rain Forest by Madeleine Dunphy and I asked the students to invent their own movements to go with the book.  The children became rain, a frog, a jaguar, an eagle, and many more things!  It was interesting to see the movements and sounds that they paired with each idea from the book.  After we finished, I asked the class how they liked creating their own movements.  Everyone enjoyed it, and many students incorporated the yoga poses I've taught them into the movements they invented.  I told them that I'd give them the chance to do this again during another class sometime!

After listening to the story and matching words and movement, I asked the students to think about the message of the book.  A second grader raised his hand and said, "I think that everything in the rainforest is connected."  Many other children agreed that all the plant life and animals introduced to us in the book were all part of the same habitat and dependent upon one another.

During the art portion of the class we discussed the ideas of foreground, middle ground, and background by looking at another painting by Henri Rousseau.  The students were quick to understand that the things in the foreground are closest to us, while the things in the background are farthest away.  We continued to use these ideas as we constructed our own artworks.

Using the pictures and books I provided the students began adding plants and animals to their rainforest artworks.  It is exciting to see how unique each work is to witness each child approaching the act of creating!  Here are some photos of the artists at work: