Tag Archives: Royal Oak Michigan

Activity/Lesson: Wire Sculpture Activity

Submitted by: Linda Irwin~ Middle School Social Studies Teacher

School:                St. Mary School, Royal Oak, Michigan

To get to know my students and to do a quick assessment of writing, I utilize this lesson on the first day of Religion class. (Note: This lesson could be utilized for any class.)

1. I give each student a piece of floral wire. (NOTE: Wire ends can be sharp, so be careful.)
2. I ask students to think about their lives.
3. Using wire, students create a design that represents them and their lives.  (e.g. a musical note~if your musical, a tornado~if you feel at times your life is spinning too fast, a flower~if you feel you are growing and changing etc.)
4. I remind students that there are no wrong designs, that we are all unique.
5. Once students have created designs, they write/type a five-seven sentence summary, describing why this given design represents them.

I have found this lesson and the student-created designs insightful and have learned a lot about each student through this process.  This is a great lesson that builds self-awareness and trust.

                                                                                     ~Linda Irwin