Welcome to 8 th Grade!

1. Welcome to 8th Grade! Introduction Activity- Arts Integration

2. Supplies Check in front of you. You should have: 1 piece of white printer paper 10 post it slips

3. Necessary Skills-This activity sets the tone for how we work in my class Open mindedness Full participation Positive Attitude Creativity Curiosity Flexibility Confidence Pride in good work Constructive attitude and behavior

4. The Activity! Step one: Listen to the piece of music being played. As you listen, create a drawing that you feel reflects the music , your associations and emotions. Draw freely and don’t worry about those around you. This is your expression of the music. Be creative and relax!

5. Step 2: When I dismiss you, you will walk around the room and look at 10 different drawings made by your fellow students. For each of the 10 drawings you look at, you will write one word on your slip that comes to mind when you see the picture. Words might be adjectives (exciting, joyful, somber), nouns (firework, tree, caterpillar), verbs (jump, fall, explode), or adverbs (happily, quickly, angrily). Make sure you use academic language (no slang) and are polite to your classmates.

6. While you complete step 2: Try to avoid repeating a word more than 2 times on a picture. Look at the words that were put there by other students before placing yours Think of words that are not the most obvious. Instead of “star” you could stay “constellation” or “twinkle” Each picture can have no more than 10 slips. If it looks full, count before you add your word! Fill up another drawing that looks to have fewer words!

7. Step 3: Once you have used all your post-it slips, return to your original seat. Take a look at your drawing and the 10 words you were given by classmates. You will now arrange those words into a poem on a separate piece of paper (I have paper if you need it). You may add words, but you may not remove any of the words given by your classmates. Try to make a poem that reflects your drawing or yourself. There is no set structure for this poem and it does not need to rhyme.

8. Sharing! When you are done, share your poem with your group. Make sure everyone gets a turn. We will also be sharing some of these aloud!

9. Follow-up questions. Answer these questions on the piece of paper used for your poem. What skills did this activity require that you think will be essential skills for 8th grade Lit. and Comp.? How was this exercise challenging for you? What personal skill were you most proud of during this activity? What does it mean to you to be an artist?