In 2023, I was picked to be part of a ReMake Learning Moonshot Grant jointly written by IU1 and Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media. This page discusses the third of three projects I undertook as part of this grant. For more detail, please check out the page about my collaboration at West Greene Elementary Center during the 2022-2023 school year first.
In the next 2023-2024 school year, we convened again at IU1’s Wayneburg Fab Lab with teachers from the remaining three Greene County School Districts. I partnered with Kathy Hillsman (5th grade math) and Crystal Pratt (5th grade science) from Carmichaels Area Elementary Center. I had previously worked with both teachers at Carmichaels for a project in 2016, so it was a delight to be working with the fifth grade team again on this project, with whom I’ve been working with every school year since 2023 thanks to a wonderful community partner in the region.
Rebecca Reeb had the brilliant idea to use snowflakes to explore symmetry and as a means to learn how to teach the students to use CorelDRAW. This iteration of the snowflake project was unique in that due to the scheduling of the other projects, we only had one day with the laser cutter at CAEC. Because of this, our laptop-designing day was limited to a single day, and though it was tough, the fifth graders rose to the challenge, and the teachers really stepped up to help provide additional support. Because of this timing, we had an extra day after the snowflakes were laser cut, so we used both the positives and the negatives as stencils. CAEC doesn’t have an art teacher at the elementary level, so the students were excited to use more analogue art materials since their time with them is at such a premium. Additionally, the students:
Created collaged paper snowflakes to learn about symmetry. We learned that a hexagonal water molecule is at the center of every snowflake, with unique branches forming from the angles of the hexagon.
Used CorelDRAW to create quadrants that enabled students’ designs to be flipped and mirrored. Rebecca marvelously scaffolded the complicated design steps into discreet steps, but there was still a bit of a learning curve for the fifth grade students. We spread the designing over multiple days to allow for experimentation and troubleshooting.
Used the mobile Fab Lab laser cutter setup to cut the snowflakes from acrylic and wood.
Added copper wire and beads to create hanging masterpieces that were installed in the school’s front display cases, just in time for the annual school holiday concert.
Used the snowflake positives and negatives as stencils to create works on paper. They used pencil and Sharpie to create outlines from the snowflakes, using both their own and trading with other students to “collect” stencils. The students used metallic oil pastel crayons as well as watercolor paint and salt to add wintery color and texture.
