May 14, 2010, Newsletter Issue #330: Collage Portfolio

Tip of the Week

1. Collect Materials:

•Poster board
•Scissors
•Glue sticks
•Magazines
•Catalogs
•Small artifacts
•Glue gun

2. Paste stuff from magazines and catalogs onto poster board.
3. Glue objects onto poster board also.

You just created a collage portfolio. What did you learn as you observed the process? Did you or your child:

•Use the whole piece of poster board just as it came from the store?
•Fold it?
•Cut it?
•Use scissors to cut pictures from magazines and catalogs?
•Rip pictures out?
•Paste down whole pictures?
•Cut out specific parts of pictures to paste down?
•Include words or phrases?
•Glue on many 3-dimensional objects?
•Lay out the items in a particular format?
•Arrange things in what appears to be a haphazard way?
•Overlap things?
•Paste things so that they go beyond the edge?
•Cut everything out first, then arrange everything before pasting?
•Paste each item as soon as it was cut?
•Finish in an hour?
•Complete the project over several days?

What did you learn as you observed the finished product? Did you see:

•A particular theme?
•An eclectic mix?
•Connections?
•Contradictions?
•Surprises?
•Humor?
•Someone you recognized?
•Aspects of yourself or your child that you hadn't seen before?

Reflect on your or your child's choices. You probably had a rationale for each item's inclusion in your collage. However, once the final collage is complete, you can view the project as a whole—rather than just the sum of its parts. Your thoughts and interests have been made visible, perhaps in new ways. Even the manner you chose to arrange things may indicate themes and connections that you hadn't perceived before. And, because the task was so open-ended, you might have discovered something about your learning style and how you instinctively approach a task. This is what happens when you create a paper portfolio, too. Your thoughts and thinking processes become clear to both your audience and yourself.

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Sincerely

Sarita Holzmann
President
Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.