Theme: Bringing Art
to Life in Schoolyards
Private Eye Seed Sleuths
Looking and Drawing By Analogy
"My middle school students had been fascinated by the incredible
diversity of textures, colors, and patterns revealed when they
explored seemingly dull seeds under magnifiers," reports Seattle,
WA, teacher Sarah Carlson. "After looking at seeds from nasturtiums,
daisies, morning glories, and other plants we had grown or discovered,
we decided to do a more in-depth study with sunflower seeds
— the favorites of our classroom birds."
Cultivating Keen Observers
With an eye toward exploring the relationship between form and
function, Sarah's students used an approach to observing and
thinking by analogy detailed in materials from The Private Eye
Project. Each student began by drawing a circular frame using
a petri dish as a template, then chose a sunflower seed to inspect.
Using "jeweler's loupe" magnifiers, students then got up close
and personal with their seeds. "The simple jeweler's loupe is
better than a hand lens because it cuts out other distractions
so kids can more fully explore previously unseen worlds," explains
Sarah. "I started by reviewing some drawing techniques with
the kids, such as drawing the seed larger-than-life, trying
to fill the frame, and focusing on basic shapes and patterns
of light and dark," she adds.
Alluring Analogies
As students observed their seeds at five and ten times magnification,
Sarah had them identify at least five things their seeds reminded
them of or looked like, then write down the analogies: The
sunflower seed reminds me of a zebra ... a tree branch ... a
butterfly cocoon. Next, students asked, Why does it remind
me of that? "We followed up by discussing whether we can
create theories about the function of what we observe based
on what it reminds us of," explains Sarah. "That is, if it reminds
us of something, it might function in a similar way," she adds.
For instance, If a seed coat resembles a shield, might it
in any way act like a shield for the seed inside? If
it resembles a cocoon, how might it help the seed if it also
acts like a cocoon? The class discussed how they might test
their theories or hypotheses, for instance, by trying to "damage"
seed coats (by freezing, burning, pounding, and so on), then
seeing if seeds would still sprout.
To prepare to explore the mystery of seed germination, students
sandwiched seeds between paper towels in petri dishes, then
moistened them with a sprayer. They stored the dishes out of
the sun and daily opened them to let in air. "As the tiny roots
and shoots emerged in only three days, students were delighted
to see what had seemed 'dead' spring to life," says Sarah. Again,
students were inspired to look closely and think in analogies:
The roots remind me of blood vessels or a map because the roots
are like roads going off from the main road. "These descriptions
provided fertile ground for more discussions about how the structures
of many living and nonliving things have similarities that reflect
their functions," she explains.
As a culminating activity, students created accordion-shaped
books that featured their artistic depictions of seedling stages
along with their edited analogies and descriptions of what their
vigilant inspection revealed. "These and other up-close seed
and plant part investigations really helped students see the
connections between the form and function of living things,
appreciate their diversity and similarities, and develop a more
intimate view of nature," notes Sarah. "What's more, as they
honed their observational skills and ability to focus, they
produced some simply amazing art!" she adds.
Author: Eve Pranis
Next Page
Page 1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8 9
10 11
12
-lo.jpg)
© 2009
National Gardening Association