Middle School Studio Lesson
Honoring a Classmate Through
Tracey Power
When a student passes
away it is difficult
for the entire school
community. Teachers,
students, and staff all feel a sense of
loss and the need to do something to
mitigate that feeling. My school was
faced with this situation when one
of our fifth-grade students died during summer vacation as a result of
cystic fibrosis. When we returned to
school, I wanted to turn our school’s
grief into a growth experience while
commemorating the life of my former student. Working in Groups
Desiring a different kind of Each class formed groups of up to
memorial, I wanted my students to four students working together on
learn that they could use art to help one stool. The first class was spent
others as well as themselves. I came brainstorming ideas. Each group
up with the idea of came up with a
an auction where Desiring a different kind of design concept
the proceeds a memorial, I wanted my and worked on
earned from stu- students to learn that they it together. The
dent art could be groups began by
a charitable con- could use art to help others sketching out
tribution from our as well as themselves. their ideas fo r
school. By using the top and
their artistic ability, my students legs of the stool. When a con-could contribute to a worthy cause, sensus was made, they drew
the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, as up plans for their stools. In
well as express their feelings about the next class, the groups
the loss of their classmate. sanded their stools to prepare them for painting.
In the next class, students
wiped down the stools and
covered them with a water-based primer. Groups wrote
their names on masking tape an d
attached them to the bottom of their
stools. In the following class, the
groups began painting their stools
with acrylic paint. Some sketch ed
out the basics of their design in
pencil before painting; others just
began painting their backgrounds.
chased furniture for an art project.
I also had to get permission to sell
items in an auction. Once approval
was given, I introduced the stool
painting project to my classes as a
collaborative group effort to earn
money for the charity. All of my
sixth-graders were eager to do their
part to make this project a success.
Because I had over 100 sixth-graders
and only thirty-one stools, the only
option was to have everyone work in
groups.
Art Stools as Canvas
It just so happened that my classroom was having the art stools
replaced, and the old wood ones
were lined up along the wall for
disposal. I saw the opportunity to
use these stools as a canvas. My
students could decoratively paint
the stools and then auction them off
with the proceeds going to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in the name
of their classmate. (Most had been
in school with her since kindergarten.)
First Steps
Before I could begin, I had to get
permission to use district pur-
Completion
From beginning to end, it took
nearly ten, fifty-minute class pe ri -
ods to complete their stools. Som e
groups added detail with metall i c
paint markers or glitter, while others used sand and shells to enhance
their design. Additional items
were attached with a very strong
adhesive. Every stool was signed on
the bottom by the members of the
group, and then I sprayed them with
varnish.
Online Auction
We decided that an online auction of
the stools would be the best option.
Our district’s technology supervisor
created a blog where people could
view and bid on the stools. This
format enabled our project to reach
a wide audience. Each stool was pictured individually and had a place
where people could place either bid
or comment. We also advertised our
auction in the newspaper and with
posters.
