| When | Monday 11:15 - 12:15 |
| Teacher Name | Mary Kate Adami-Sampson |
| Target Age Range | 10 - Adult |
| General Grade Level | Upper Elementary, Middle School, Lower High School, Upper High School |
| Ability Level | Introductory, Advanced Beginner, Intermediate |
| Skill Requirements/Prerequisites | Participants do NOT need to be Michaelangelo, to have any formal knowledge of how to draw, or to have any drawing skills at all. Loupe drawing is a learned skill, and we'll all come to it at our own level. Participants must commit to trying their best, to forgiving themselves if they make a "mistake," and to giving positive feedback to their peers. We can certainly all use work on that! Participants must be able to participate in a short, focused classroom discussion, to concentrate on their own work, and not be a distraction to other members of the group. Those who can't meet these requirements will be asked to leave for that day. BUT - you can sit or lie on the floor to draw if you'd rather not use the table. Participants must be willing to let ideas flow, and not to negatively judge the ideas of other participants. The wildest analogies are sometimes the most insightful. Ideas that are edited too soon become stale. Participants should be able to write words and short phrases without help in class. Spelling doesn't matter a bit - what matters is that the student can read her own writing later. The instructor will not be scribing for participants, although she can occasionally lend a helping hand. We won't do any extended, individual writing in class, and most written assignments for home will be optional. Participants must be respectful of the instructor and the other members of the study group. |
| Book Title | I'm using The Private Eye to prepare, but families don't need to purchase a copy. |
| ISBN | 0 - 9605434 - 1 - 4 |
| Family Provided Materials | Additional specimens to work with, colored pencils if desired. |
| Instructor Provided Materials | Hardbound, spiral notebooks with good quality paper for drawing, jeweler's loupes, pencils, and specimens to examine and draw. I'm planning for two loupes per participant, for they can be nested for 10X magnification. The loupes, notebooks and pencils will be cheaper if I purchase them in bulk for the kids. I'm estimating the cost of the loupes, notebooks and pencils at under $20 per child. I'll shop to keep the price lower if possible, and refund you. I expect to collect specimens myself, not to spend any money on them. Students will also gather specimens. |
| Study Group Style | Seminar, Activity |
| Description | The Private Eye is a program of looking, drawing, and thinking by analogy. It provides a guide to developing an interdisciplinary mind, hands-on thinking skills, creativity and scientific literacy. (Won't that sound good on your report to your school district?) Using a jeweler's loupe, (a small, 5X magnification tool), students will examine objects closely, make enlarged drawings of the objects, and ask questions about what they see. "What does it remind me of?" "What else does it look like?" "If it reminds me of that, might it function in the same way?" We'll use some of the most important skills used in science and the arts: looking closely, thinking by analogy, changing scale, and theorizing. The written analogies will become the "bones for poems," or the beginnings of short stories or naturalist essays. We'll do some group writing in class, and provide ideas for expanding our notes to writing at home. Is it a science study group? An art study group? A writing study group? Yes to all of these. Most of all, the Private Eye is fun. (Note to parents: I'd like another adult in the room if the group is full. I'm working on it.) |