Each year, Rooftop is invited to decorate a 16-ft. holiday tree at Davies Symphony Hall. Every year, every student creates a hand-made ornament that is designed to reflect the year's "Art Is . . ." curriculum at Rooftop.
This year’s Trim-A-Tree ornament is inspired by the Disney/Pixar film Wall-E. Each student will design a memory-capsule robot using recycled materials to create an emotionally expressive robot face. Students will also engage in a short writing activity to record a memory to be inserted into their robot for safe-keeping.
Materials Provided:
- DVD of Wall-E clips and stills from the film
- Empty CD cases – to be used as the base of the robot face
- A wide variety of recycled materials to create the face
- Tacky glue, white glue (see notes in step 5)
- Silver foil tape, glue dots (see notes in step 5)
- Sharpies, glitter glue
- Pre-cut neon colored paper for inserting written memory into CD case
Preparation:
- Confirm the classroom has a DVD player or computer that can be used to show the film clips.
- Check with the teacher if they would like to pursue the memory writing activity as a classroom activity, or if they wish the art parents to lead the students in recording their memory. (The writing activity occurs after the robots have been created).
- Distribute 1 CD case per child. Write their name and classroom # on the back in Sharpie pen in an inconspicuous, yet still legible way. Without this info, we will not be able to return the ornament to its creator.
- Spread out the recycled materials across a table so the students can choose their materials.
- Bear in mind this year’s “Art Is . . . Shaping Memory” line of inquiry when prepping for the lesson: “How do artists use a synthesis of words, images, sound and movement to give shape to memory?”
Lesson steps:
1 – SHOW DVD of WALL-E clips. Suggested clips are “A Hero’s Journey” and “The Man & the Machine” (the last two clips on the menu) Total screening time of these two shorts is 5 minutes.
2 – DISCUSS and SHOW STILL IMAGES. Ask the students to share their thoughts on the film. Guide the discussion towards the artists who created the character of Wall-E and the way that they designed WALL-E to show his emotions with his facial expressions. Even though Wall-E barely speaks, we know when he feels lonely, happy, sad, curious, angry and in love!
3 – SHOW PROTOTYPE. Introduce the idea that students can use the geometry of the recycled objects to create an abstraction. Shapes can be put together to give us the sense of a face, and even an expression of a specific emotion. At one point in the movie, WALL-E even does this himself. (Show the image of WALL-E’s self-portrait sculpture made from garbage).
4 - CHOOSE MATERIALS. Send the students in small groups to the recycled materials table to pick the items they would like to use to create their robots. (A good way to manage this would be to suggest each student start with taking about 10 items. They can go back for more later if they need it). Students will likely comment on the fact that the materials are recycled, which is a great tie-in to the environmental themes of the film. Give the kids the chance to make that “discovery” for themselves, but if no one comments, be sure to mention it to them. Please note: The Symphony has strict rules about the ornaments being completely non-flammable. Use only the materials provided in the kits, as it has all be tested for flammability.
5 – EXPERIMENT WITH COMPOSITION. Hold off on distributing the glue for at least 5 minutes. Encourage the students to experiment with arranging the materials in different ways to create different facial expressions. Remind the students that in order for their robot to be able to hold their written memory, they must design their robot so that the CD case will close. (This is also important for flammability issues with the paper inside). Also ask students to consider weight issues when creating their robots – these ornaments will need to hang from tree branches.
6 – GLUE IT UP!! Students will share the tacky glue and white glue (2 students per bottle). The silver foil tape and glue dots are to be used with adult supervision, as these materials are both expensive and tricky to use, but they are very effective means of making difficult-to-adhere things stick! Sharpie pens and glitter glue are provided to add “final touch” accents, should the student wish to do so.
7 – CLEARLY LABEL ALL ORNAMENTS. Double-check that each student’s ornament is labeled with his/her name and the classroom number. We’ll need this information to get the ornaments back to them in January. Return all unused materials to the art room for re-distribution to other classes.
MEMORY-WRITING ACTIVITY:
WHO WILL LEAD? Again, check with teacher to see if they wish the art parents to lead this, or if they’d like it as a classroom activity. The memory writing can occur at anytime once the robots have been made.
DISCUSS. To get the ball rolling, discuss that in the film, Wall-E takes most of the trash and crushes it into blocks and makes big pyramids, but there are little things that he finds that he is curious about and takes them back to his house to store them.
GUIDING QUESTIONS. Why does Wall-E collect certain objects? Why do these objects have significance to him? What objects are important to you? Are they important because you associate them with a special memory?
RECORD THE MEMORY. Take the neon paper and ask the students to write down a cherished memory that they would like their robot to hold for them. Kinders and 1st graders can either draw their memory, or dictate it to an adult. If the kids have more than one memory, they can use multiple sheets of paper. However, the CD case will need to close tightly.
INSERT MEMORY. Open the case and slide in the memory sheet for safe storage!
