Some of the writings I’ll post on this blog are geared more toward my students’ families than toward my students themselves. This is one of them. Read on if you’re interested in why we colored last week.
Last week I heard from a parent who was concerned that we spent the first day of class coloring.
I can appreciate the question. If my two-year-old came home and told me she spent the day coloring, I wouldn’t think much of it. But when a sixteen-year old returns from the first day of school and reports that the most demanding task assigned in that day’s English class involved a box of crayons… well, as a parent I might be slightly curious about what that teacher had in mind.
As with many things in school and life, the assigned task appears more simple than it is. Students were challenged to make a one-page poster showing a “big idea” about themselves. The poster needed to have three required elements: 1) the student’s name; 2) text, i.e. some use of written language; and 3) at least one image. After creating these posters, students were asked to share them in small groups and summarize important points about their classmates.
There’s a lot going on in this assignment. Probably the most important aspect of this task is the “community building” that goes on between students during a class like this. In a school our size, it’s possible that students know only a few of their classmates. In order to ensure we can have group activities, discussions, and projects, it’s important that students know each other. It also helps me to know the students. Even before students completed their posters, I began learning details about their likes / dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, hopes and fears. Finally, the task was reasonably challenging for many learners because it required them to combine text and images — to use both the “left” and “right” sides of the brain to complete a task, and thus creating the opportunity for a stronger and longer-lasting learning experience.
Could this have been done without crayons? Of course. But every year when I announce that we’re going to be coloring in class, you should see their eyes light up. It’s so different from their expectations coming into class that the medium of coloring does an important job of establishing a pleasant, creative classroom atmosphere. We put down crayons at some point in our lives and move on to other things: markers, colored pencils, calculators. Maybe we shouldn’t. Pick up a crayon sometime and see what happens to you.
Anyone who’s made it through my class will tell you that this is not a “Crayola Curriculum.” We focus on reading, writing, speaking, and listening. But sometimes a crayon, like a computer, can be a useful tool toward that goal. Half an hour of coloring can go a long way in helping our students succeed.
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