Middle School Studio Lesson
ast-Off
Creations
Mary Coy
Amajor construction project at our school
necessitated the reorganization of nearly
the entire building at the end of the
school year, a time when teachers are
already busy with final exams, grading, and cleaning. To ease the burden for teachers moving to their
new rooms and to provide a bit of fun, a school-wide
garage sale was held. Unneeded items were recycled
and offered to others who might find a new use for
them. Cast-offs were brought to the cafeteria where
they were organized into categories: textbooks, furniture, office supplies, and odds and ends. For two
days, teachers were invited to come down and take
whatever they wanted.
The math department donated one of the interesting items I found: buckets of transparent geometric
shapes, or manipulatives, from a curriculum no
longer taught. Not only could the shapes be used for
tracing, but also for demonstrating color mixing,
balance, and three-dimensional concepts. I gathered
them up and within minutes of bringing them to my
