As part of a seven-week class combining art and Spanish language learning, second and third graders gathered Saturday to record videos for parents to see during an open house. During the class in the School of Education, the last one of the series, students used Spanish to describe the clay monsters they created in a previous class.
Principal investigator Martha Nyikos said the program is unusual in its combination of art and language learning.
“It’s not one over the other,” she said. “It’s the commingling of two different content areas to allow more enhanced understanding of both.”
During filming, Nyikos said students described their monsters and asked one another about their artwork in Spanish.
Nyikos said this builds conversation skills rather than teaching students to mimic instructors like in a typical classroom setting.
One child held a purple fish with pink and turquoise feathers for hair while another carried a blue sparkly orb with two blue feathered wings.
When Nyikos approached to ask questions about their monsters, the group of children were busy putting erasers on one another’s heads.
As Nyikos crouched down, they plopped an eraser onto her head. The group erupted into laughter.
Beside Nyikos, a girl held up a blue orb with white pipe cleaner tentacles and explained it to the child beside her using English interspersed with a few words in Spanish.
Nyikos said exchanges between students help them build language skills.
She also encourages them to explain how to create and describe monsters to their parents.
“The children and parents can learn from one another,” she said.
Program manager Thereza Bastos said she gives instructions mostly in Spanish and uses gestures as hints — a method Nyikos referred to as modeling.
“Modeling also serves as a comprehension check because you can see if students understand when they start doing what they’re instructed to,” she said.
Nyikos said she would also explain this method to local teachers invited to the open house. While the open house is mostly for parents, she said it is also an opportunity to show teachers how art and language complement one another in the classroom.
“Both are very creative and allow personal expression,” she said. “With language and art, you give everything personal meaning, just like the children are when they explain their creations and communicate to one another.”
The lesson plan also shows children how to express themselves through both art and language, as well as how to use language in the creative process, Nyikos said.
Meanwhile, instructor Trini Valdes was helping students prepare for filming their monster movies.
“Today is your red carpet day,” Bastos said as she ushered the children onto a long sheet of red paper.
Nyikos stood in front of them with a camera and a tripod, introducing it as her own three-legged monster.
“It only has one eye that record videos,” a student said back, pointing at the camera and jumping up and down on the red carpet.
But first, he had to write his name and that of his monster, Crazy Cool Guy.
“Write your name under artist’s name,” Bastos said.
“But I’m not an artist,” he said.
“Well in this class, you are.”
