Throughout the year, students work on various projects that reflect and support the curriculum, and promote digital literacy. Below are some of the projects that were created during the 2012/2013 school year.
This year, our spring Arts/Technology Project was the study of African American artists. Kindergarten students were introduced to the author and illustrator Faith Ringgold and read her book Tar Beach. The artwork created by the students reflected the colorful borders used in the story and they described places they would fly to if they could, as did the main character in the story.
5th grade students learned about the Gees Bend Quilters, a group of African-American women living in Alabama, whose unique and beautiful quilts celebrate their lives through the use of everyday materials. Students used their work as inspiration to create their own tessellation designs, using the drawing/shape tools in Google Drive.
This year the Oppenheimer Foundation Teacher Grant was awarded to several teachers at Waters for a special project about rivers and the part they play in our lives. Science, ecology, social studies, drama, art and technology teachers worked with sixth grade students to create various learning experiences. Students and teachers also participated in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's special River Celebration. In computer classes, students research rivers and other bodies of water, explored bodies of water using Google Earth, wrote poetry and used Photoshop Elements to layer their poems over images of the rivers they chose. They also created animations in Photoshop about water.
7th grade students used Photoshop Elements to express their thoughts about social issues they face every day as well as more global topics that concern them. The work of two students, Isabella and John were exhibited at the Adobe Youth Voices event last May.
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