At Sea Cliff School, third graders had an interdisciplinary culmination combining lessons in art, music, history and global issues as they ended their extensive study of Brazil.
Families were invited to attend the culmination to hear their children play instruments replicating the sounds in the Amazon rain forest, see drawings of animals and listen to books the children wrote about Brazil.
“The music primarily focused on the rainforest and its different layers,” said Hassett-Bordes, a music teacher in the district. “My students and I talked about how the instrument sounds were meant to mimic the sounds heard in the rain forest. During the culmination, my students played instruments including hand drums and shakiras, and each group played a different rhythm pattern. These patterns were layered together creating one overall sound – just like in a real rainforest!”
As part of the interdisciplinary unit, third graders in art learned to organize their thoughts prior to creating their artwork through participating in discussions, visualizing, sketching, experimenting, and reflecting.
“We analyzed artwork as a form of text,” said Lis Giurlanda, the school’s art teacher. “We discussed a variety of global issues and students were encouraged to use different mediums to research and express their various topics of concern.”
