As part of our Artist in Residence programme we have been very lucky to have photographer Darren James working with the children. Darren has a strong interest in humanitarian aid and development, healthcare, cultural identity, climate change, education, environment, hard waste management and sustainability with a focus on Pacific island nations and South East Asia. He has shared his photographs with the Year One neighbourhood and together we have been exploring the stories behind his photographs.
Last week Darren spoke to the children about his work as a photograph and left five photographs in our neighbourhood for us to respond to.
We used the Thinking Routine ‘I see, I think, I wonder’. This thinking routine gives students the opportunity to construct their own learning and understanding about a concept through the conversations that naturally develop as this routine is carried out. We used a series of photographs from artist in residence photographer, Darren James, for this routine.
Here are the children’s responses:-
Little Boy in the Hospital
I see the dad is on the side and he has got cut off the photo.
I wonder if the boy who is crying has had an operation or just a blood test. Anna
I see a band aid on the boys hand.
I don’t think the boy likes needles because he is crying.
The boy’s mum look like she is proud of him having a needle. Coco
I see there is a blurry person in the background who is actually another doctor. Flynn & Maggie
I wonder why the little boy has had a needle.
I’m wondering if the story is about a little boy who has an illness and needs to have a blood test or a needle in his hand that will make him better. Claudia I
I wonder if the boy was going to have a blood test because he was going to give blood to someone else. Freyja
I wonder why (the little boy’s) t-shirt is off. Loup
I can see there is a bright blue curtain moving in the background. I think it is a bit windy. Lucinda
I think the guy on the side is the dad. He looks like he is sitting on the side of the bed. Rose
Can I add on to Rose’s? I think the person who is sitting on the side of the bed is talking to the doctor because he is not facing the bed. Anna
He looks a bit stern. Oscar
I think he looks sad because his little boy got a needle, maybe. Elodie.
He looks a bot stressed. Emma
Because the little boy had a needle and he is thinking “my poor little boy.” Coco
It looks they are at the doctors because in the background there is a doctor. They are wearing a doctor’s uniform. Coco & Mia
I think it looks like they are in Uluru and it looks like the people on the bed and the doctor in the background are aboriginal. Maggie
Children on Cars
It looks like they are having fun because they are playing on the cars. Aisha
This is building onto Aisha’s. They might also be examining the cars because the cars are old and there might be things living inside them. Huey
I think the cars had an accident. I see the kids jumping on the cars. Hattie
I see there is a tropical background. It looks like they are in Fiji because Fiji has a lot of tropical trees. Flynn
I think it’s a car dump because there are lots of rusty, crushed cars. Ravi & Mia & Freya & Huey
Another way they could hurt themselves is they could cut themselves on the rust of the cars. Oscar
I’m wondering if they will hurt themselves because the cars look very high up and there might be glass on the ground from the car windows and they have bare feet and they could get glass in their feet. Claudia S
I think the girl is about to jump onto another car.
Farm
I see…
- People at a farm
- Green patch of grass in the farm
- They love the animals
- They are patting the goats
- Goats in the background
- A new baby goat
- mud
I think…
- They are being nice to the animals
- The girl is the farm
- They love the animals so much
- The person is feeding the animals
- The goat was just born
I wonder..
- Why are there lots of trees behind them?
- If they are in the country
- What are they doing?
- If they are gathered around the goat because they are just born
School
I see…
- A Minnie Mouse backpack
- A school
- Teaching under a shelter
- Children sitting on the ground
- A wooden roof and mesh, and wall
- A drink bottle
I think…
- It’s not like the schools we know
- The teacher is reading a book
- The kids uniforms look very nice
- It’s mid-day
- Most of the children have brown skin
- There’s a glass table
- There’s a little fence
- The kids are tired
I wonder…
- If their country is poor or rich?
- What else is in that building?
- What type of wood is it made out of?
- Why is there a table and no chairs?
- Why is the teacher strict?
- Why is there so much wood there?
Boys on the beach
I see…
- An island in the background floating
- Happy boys
- Boats behind them
- A boy holding stick in his hand
- A bow and arrow
- Seaweed and the ocean
- The boys are at the beach
- The boys are all having fun
I think…
- The boys are pretending they are hunters
- They might be going fishing
- They ae aboriginal people
- The boys don’t want to leave the beach
- The boys are going to go on the boats behind them and fish
- There is only kids on the island
- There maybe more islands behind them
I wonder…
- How did they get there ?
- What are they going to do next?
- What country the beach is at?
- Where do they live?
- What are the boys dining?
- What’s on the island?
- Where their mum and dad’s are?
- What the bow and arrows are made of?
- What temperature the water is?
For our session next Darren has asked the children to take a photograph of something in nature they are curious about and upload it onto Seesaw. We brainstormed some ideas with the children. Among their suggestions were photos of an insects, leaves, clouds, trees, or water. Darren suggested using mum or dad’s phone to take their photograph.
A activity post has been set up on Seesaw for photographs to be posted.