619.677.0751 Artful Learning @ Home with CoTA
To follow is an expanding collection of resources designed to support student learning in a remote setting. The majority of activities and projects are intended to be explored at home with minimal materials, and range from independent work to family-wide inclusion. As with all of our work, please feel free to adapt and adjust the activities to meet your students’ needs.
Wellness Activities
The following art-based activities have been created to encourage mindfulness and enhance mental wellness. Use these activities individually, with family, or with friends and classmates digitally.
Straw Painting Wellness Activity
Create a personalized quest for wellness using a straw, thick paper and paint to create an intricate labryinth.
Movement Echo
Movement Echo is a dance game, where players take turns teaching and learning cool moves.
Eco de Movimiento
Eco de Movimiento es un juego de baile, en el que los jugadores se turnan para enseñar y aprender movimientos geniales.
Rompe ese Esteriotipo: Un Ejercicio en Empatía
El siguiente proyecto fué diseñado para complementar la Unidad de Empatía y Pensaminto Crítico, ¡Rompe ese Estereotipo! de Sanford Harmony.
Who Are We? An Exercise in Diversity and Inclusion
Create a self-portrait that highlights what is most important for others to know about you.
¡Revienta Esa Burbuja de Pensamiento!
Un ejercicio que explora cómo pensamos.
Identifying and Illustrating Emotions
Create a triptych illustration to learn about the internal and external physical cues of different emotions.
Thinking Outside the Box
Students create a portrait that tells the story of a person or character who is often misunderstood.
Pop That Stereotype: An Exercise in Empathy Superperson Monologue
Students become a superperson, popping stereotypes with a monologue. They can then share out with household members or through classroom distance learning.
¡Détente, Piensalo, y Cálmate!
Un ejercicio en resolución de problemas.
Feeling Shoes
Students identify other people’s feelings and perspectives through imagined play.
Reconociendo Similitudes y Diferencias Entre Las Personas
Un Ejercicio de Pensamiento.
Understanding Stereotypes About People
Create a collage about physical attributes and personal characteristics to understand stereotypes.
Power of Positivity
Create a comic to demonstrate how positive thinking can impact a person’s feelings and actions.
Poder de Positividad
Un Ejercicio que explora cómo pensamos.
TEACH AN ALIEN ABOUT HUMAN EMOTIONS
Pretend you’re an alien detective who has been sent to Earth to investigate human emotions!
Cloud, Rain, Sun, Snow
Look How Emotions Come and Go!
Dance through different forms of weather and emotions!
POP THAT THOUGHT BUBBLE!
Create collage illustrations to show the impact positive and negative thoughts have on our feelings and actions.
STOP, THINK, AND COOL OFF!
Create a mini book to remind yourself of relaxation strategies you can use to calm yourself down when you are stressed out over something.
I Can Transform With…
Transform with dance into raindrops, a baby gorilla, feather strokes and different emotions.
RECOGNIZING SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES AMONGST PEOPLE
Create a collage illustration and a poem that reveals your similarities with others and what makes you unique.
Forget, Mirror Mirror on the Wall, You Have Mirror Neurons in your Brain!
Create a dance with a partner mirroring gestures and emotions.
Detectives de Sentimentos
Un Ejercicio de Empatía y Pensamiento Crítico.
Feelings Detective
The following project was designed to compliment the Empathy and Critical Thinking Unit, Feelings Detective, at Sanford Harmony.
Pop That Stereotype
The following project was designed to compliment the Empathy and Critical Thinking Unit, Pop that Stereotype, at Sanford Harmony.
Recognizing a Situation, Identifying Feelings, Resolution
The following project was designed to compliment the Empathy and Critical Thinking Unit, Pop that Stereotype, at Sanford Harmony.
Identifying and Illustrating Emotions
The following project was designed to compliment the Empathy and Critical Thinking Unit, Recognizing Feelings 2.1, at Sanford Harmony.
Identifying and Solving Problems
The following project was designed to compliment the Empathy and Critical Thinking Unit, Problem Solving 4.2, at Sandford Harmony.
Digital Projects
The following activities and projects have been adapted for online facilitation.
Where We Come From, Digital Posters
Students research their ancestry and create cultural posters.
Tracing History, New Traditions
Students explore connections to the present and the past through the creation of a living historical document.
California: Our Past, Our Present, Similarities, and Differences.
Students investigate the daily life, culture, legends, and beliefs of Native people and early explorers of California.
Best Vacation Spot Ever Tour Guide
Students become tour guides of their own mapped out land using map symbols and relative locations of places.
Debating the Women’s Suffrage Movement
Students investigate the arguments, strategies, and tactics of suffragists and anti-suffragists of the Women’s Suffrage Movement leading up to the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
Greatest Hits of the Scientific Revolution
Students investigate the scientists and discoveries of the Scientific Revolution.
Greatest Pharaoh of All Time
Students investigate the accomplishments and challenges of Queen Hatshepsut or Ramses II, design a modern day campaign for #GPOAT, and step into the shoes of the pharaohs.
National Symbols: Geometric Collage
While learning about national symbols, students also meet math standards by creating geometry-based illustrations of some of our most recognized symbols.
I’m Responsible!
Students explore their responsibilities and improvise a story with a partner.
Treasure Hunt Ahoy!
Students create a precious collection of drawings, sculptures and notes which they hide around their home for safekeeping.
American Heroes & Good Citizenship
Students investigate the lives of American heroes, bringing one of them to life in a dramatic presentation that includes a question and answer session.
Civil War Foldable Poster
The Civil War is a HUGE topic! Determine key information and create a foldable poster.
REVOLUTIONARY WOMEN
Students research a woman who played a significant role during the Revolution then act as a reporter interviewing that woman as if she were alive today, creating a “talk show” or news show with a family member.
Engineering and Animal Adaptations An Exploration Into Design
Students design an object or mechanism to open a glass jar that has a metal screw on cap, and is much larger than them.
Seeds, Sunlight, Water and Phosphate Research on Sprouting Seeds
Students develop an experiment where seeds are grown, controlling three variables.
WAVING WITH LIGHT WAVES
Can you see in the dark? Make an evening shadow puppet show for your neighbors and investigate light and shadow.
WATERCOLOR WEATHER REPORT
How do we read the weather report? Create symbols to document in a charts the weather by your observations and compare that to the weather report.
SEED SPREADING SCULPTURE
Create a sculpture that disperses seeds inspired by the way nature spreads seeds.
CHIA MONSTER: MAKE AN EDIBLE TOPIARY
Build your own hydroponic sculpture and watch it grow!
COVID INVENTIONS: MAKE SILLY SERIOUS SCULPTURES
Design a machine or tool that will help you do normal activities, things you want or need to do, while obeying the 6ft separation distance of the Corona Virus.
SONGS FOR THE SEAS
Write a song about coral reefs and ocean acidification.
The Exploration of Consumers, Producers and Decomposers
Students create a mixed media diorama to identify and explore the components of an ecosystem, above and below ground.
Design a Ride
Students create a model of a new ride for an amusement park.
The Pythagorean Filter
In this activity, students apply knowledge of rectangles, squares, and right triangles to create designs based a reference image.
TRANSFORMATIONS
Students create a collage illustration that demonstrates/models the understanding of the different transformations including: translation, rotation and reflection.
INVESTIGATING & CREATING WITH TRIANGLES
Students creatively investigate the properties of triangles.
Students create a collage illustration that demonstrates/models the understanding of the different transformations including: translation, rotation and reflection.
CREATING RECTANGLES & INVESTIGATING PERIMETER & AREA
Students creatively investigate rectangles.
Journaling Prompts
Each of the following set of prompts is a starting point for a week of creative escape.
Week 1 - Visual Arts Prompts by Dia Bassett
Week 2 - Writing Prompts by Tori Rice
Week 3 - Visual and Performing Arts Prompts by Albert Songalia
Week 4 - Dance Prompts by Leo Francisco
Week 5 - Visual Arts Prompts by Carmela Castrejon
Weekly Art Challenges
Weekly opportunities have been designed to engage students in thoughtful art inquiry.
ENGINEERING CHALLENGE
Old Farmer John has an avocado tree on his farm. Over the years the tree has grown really tall; it now reaches 18 feet! Old Farmer John can’t reach the avocados anymore to pick them. They are out of his reach, and he is six feet tall! What can you build to help Old Farmer John safely pick his avocados? No ladders -- that would be too easy!
