The use of sketchbook journals has become a wonderful way to bring color work, visual representation of knowledge and visual spatial constructs into classroom work. The best way to share these with you is to have you see examples of these journals. Examples of sketchbook journals can be found by clicking here.
Eric Jensen, among others, writes about the brain’s love of color and its use in retention, organization and study. We already know that the heart and soul are drawn to beauty and color; hence, we must engage our students with its use. The more the senses are integrated into the experience, the more we learn.
Organizing a space graphically to share knowledge of a subject is an important capacity for all students but in some, is the primary learning style.
The opportunity to create a journal of this type allows students to go beyond the less complex task of rote note copying and on to the higher level thought process of organizing information into specific visual representations through the use of space, form and color.
Typically, journal keeping of this type has been limited to science and “nature” studies.
I am encouraging teachers to take the time to allow students to create a book that is a graphic representation of their studies and something that provides a deeper relationship to the information, as well as a stronger sense of responsibility and ownership in the material.
How to:
Provide each student with a sketchbook type journal or have him or her bring one to class.
These can usually be found easily in an art supply department or store.
Waldorf teachers use something called a “main lesson book” to fulfill this purpose, though it is a much more complicated process than I will use at this time.
Should you find this of interest, please contact us at this site and we can direct you to the most accessible resources in your community.
(If you are a Waldorf teacher using this curriculum as part of your studies, you already are familiar with this process and we would love it if you would share any work from main lesson books with us at this website.) (Click here to share work with us.)
Provide students with colored pencils, crayons, oil pastels and chalks as are appropriate for each page they design or have them bring these to class.
I discourage the use of markers, but this is a personal preference of mine.
I also have allowed students to use watercolor paints when they have requested them.
Given time constraints, choose which of the biographies told, heard, read or seen by the class you will have represented in the journal. The students will be asked to create a simple artistic rendering of the individual and a poem, song, composition, haiku or other piece of writing to accompany the portrait to demonstrate the knowledge they have of this individual. I assign these daily based upon the need for a variety of experiences in writing; I am also concerned with their ability to use notes from class in a creative manner that will provide them with more in-depth understanding of the material.
At times I assign a group to come up with something or partners are asked to create a poem together, sharing notes and ideas to write a representative, collaborative piece of writing. This collaboration and the writing exercises are the primary substances of the assignment.
At other times, I assign individual work, which includes essays based upon the quotes used in the portraits. Essay question suggestions are listed in that section of the website.
There are also times students create a page that is a timeline or series of timelines with different themes. One timeline might show the life in chronological form; another might run along it in a different color that shows the person’s life in terms of relationships he/she had and how they were significant. Another way to illustrate and use color is to map the person’s life, showing their journey both literally and figuratively.
Click here to see examples of these timelines.
All pages in the sketchbook journal are begun with a border that frames the space. For many students who are challenged in this way, drawing the frame with a ruler and then decorating it, creates a visual boundary and allows for much more intentional use of the page. For some students a blank page can be overwhelming; the border seems to provide a much-needed “beginning” to the work, as well.
All of these are ways to create a journal that represents the lives studied in Americans Who Tell the Truth. Rob’s book serves as his journal of the study.
Now we get to create our own!
We hope you will share yours with us by clicking here. If you host a forum or a showing of the portraits, these make wonderful items to share with others, as well as great pieces for portfolios in states requiring those for assessment purposes.
For more information on how to use these to meet requirements in your state, please contact Michele Hemenway and she will gladly assist you in that process. To contact Michele, click here.
