Scratching the Surface
I'm sure that many educators have done scratch art with a group of children. Whether you use commercially prepared scratch paper or create your own, it is a fun activity. The procedure usually involves children scratching the black covering off a piece of prepared paper. Hidden underneath the black are different colors that are revealed when the black is removed. I love to use this analogy with teachers about discovering the colors that lie underneath the surface of a child. Sometimes it takes a bit of work and creativity to discover those colors, but it is always worth the effort. As with scratch art paper, underneath the black there is a rainbow of colors. Those colors allow the artist to create an amazing picture as the colors pop out of the darkness. Many children come to our classrooms with a layer of dark. It is up to the educator to do more than just scratch the surface, but find the hidden colors and beauty beneath.Labels: scratch art
posted by John Funk @ Permalink6:11 AM
7 Comments:
I think that if your are going to "scratch to find out what is below the surface", that it is important to make sure you scratch in more than one place. If I make only one quick attempt and find blue underneath I may falsely believe that the entire underlying paper is blue. If I am willing to scratch and scratch again, to make swirls, and lines, and zigzags, then I may find even the smallest streaks of other colors which may total change my perspective of what lies beneath. I may find something more beautiful than I could even have imagined if I only saw that blue. - S. Hansen FCS 5170
This seems like an excellent activity for younger children; it is simple to do and involves an element of surprise. The analogy mentioned is something that is essential when working with kids, however I feel some teachers as mentioned in the previous comment, may "scratch" in just one area and make an immediate judgement about a child. I believe it is absolutely crucial to attempt to really know what lies underneath, so that a teacher can truly understand the group of students he or she is working with.
S Dilawar 1010
I have actually used scratch paper at the childcare center where I work and the children love it! They enjoy seeing the beautiful colors they can unveil and the work of art they can create in so little time. In fact, I enjoy scratch art so much that I occasionally do scratch art pictures in my down time while watching tv or listening to music. This kind of activity is a fun one to use with kids and it brings out the kid in all of us, which is important to remember, that we are all just big kids and we need to take time to do fun and entertaining projects even as adults. Being able to do and enjoy the projects that we as educators will make our students do is an excellent way to understand our students better and share in their learning.
-R.Swain FCS 5170
I think that is a great analogy show the importance of not judging people. I would love to know how you make your own scratch paper. K. Clayton FCS 5170
I like that the notion of "scratching the surface" is being used for adults-- particularly adults who work regularly with children. Like some of the black paper that requires the most scratching, children who take longer to warm up, get to know, or to begin to understand, often take more time and effort. Also like the black paper that require more time, the picture, that is to say the outcome and the adult's understanding of the child, is often more complex and detailed.
I like this activity for more than what can be learned from it for adults. It is a great way to help children learn how to be more understanding and accepting of people who are different from them. Sometimes you have to scratch a little longer, dig a little deeper, to really know someone. I particularly like this idea for younger school aged children because of the "magic" factor of something knew appearing when you just do a little work.
-Laci N. 4330
Comes preloaded with a bunch of complete programs,can see what’s possible with this package. This also introduces the concept of code reuseability to kids since they can take a program that already exists and bend it to their needs or wants.
Regards,
Online Education
Nice bblog
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