New The War That Saved My Life Art- ists’ Books · 2020. 10. 10. · The War That Saved My Life Art-ists’ Books OVERVIEW Using a variety of illustration techniques, students create

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LESSON PLAN

The War That Saved My Life Art-ists’ BooksOVERVIEWUsing a variety of illustration techniques, students create richly textured artists’ books as they perform a close reading of The War That Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Through in-depth analytical class discussions and independent construction, students learn to: investigate and assess characters, themes, symbols, foreshadowing, and metaphor; consider the relationship between environmental influences and identity; understand the role of historical fiction; and investigate such complex themes as disability and body image, war and displacement, sexuality and prejudice, and the healing effects of love and empathy.

ARTIST/TEACHER TEAMReneé Weissenburger/Lisa Cohen

GRADE/SCHOOL4th-5th Grade, El Camino Creek Elementary School, Encinitas Union School District

DEMONSTRATION OF LEARNINGArtists’ books

MATERIALSBlank notebooks (to alter), paper (plain and decorative), markers, fabric, ribbons, twine, brads, moss, silk flowers, tiny rocks, beads, paint, jewels, wallpaper swatches, glue, glue gun, and scissors (really, anything the teacher and students can find)

VOCABULARYArtists’ books, collage, mixed-media collage, WWII, evacuation, displacement, victory garden, skeptical, body image, identity, em-pathy, resilience, grit, and transformation


LEARNING OBJECTIVESAcademic• Students learn to perform close readings, gather textual information, interpret, and assess The War That Saved My Life. They also learn to assess the difference between essential details and interesting details in a careful reading.

Arts• Students experiment with a variety of art-making techniques including collage, continuous line drawing, mixed-media, water-color painting, foldouts, and book making.

Social development/critical thinking• Students consider the importance of creativity, critical thinking (specifically investigation and questioning), empathy, and how prior knowledge and personal experience affect the unique relationship each reader has with a book.

LEARNING EXPERIENCESIntroduction to Artists’ Books Goal: Introduce students to the concept, and vast variation and possibilities of artists’ books and have students begin gluing in background paper in their CoTA journals to ready it for content. View and discuss a PowerPoint presentation of slides by both professional artists and students. Pass around samples of handmade books. Students are asked: Are books flat or 3D? How do this decision and the materials selected affect our under-standing of the book? What colors and symbols are used? How do artists’ books convey ideas by combining text and image? Select and glue background papers. Assessment: Do students understand the difference between 2D and 3D? Do students understand how different materi-als can represent parts of a book? Are students able to describe why they selected the paper they did for their backgrounds?

Pages 1–2: Identity and Environmental Influences (text) and The World through Ada’s Eyes (illustrations) Goal: Consider how environment and experience (different characters, places, and events) contribute to Ada’s transfor-mative sense of self. The students create a foldout that demonstrates how Ada’s identity is constructed in four places: at Mam’s apartment in London; at Susan’s home in the country; at the stables; and outside with Jamie. On the opposite page, students create an ac-cordion booklet that shows all the things that Ada sees as she progresses through the book. Students may choose to do this as continuous line drawings, as cartoon characters, or as realistic sketching—whatever makes sense to them. Assessment: The teacher and artist circulate and ask questions about accuracy and choices. For Identity Environmental Influences: Do students understand how the abuse at Mam’s house contributes to Ada’s sense of worthlessness? Do students un-


derstand what it means to be “not good enough to be saved”? Do students understand why Ada is terrified of losing Jamie? Do students understand why she is skeptical of Susan’s kindness and warmth? Do students understand how her time at the stables and riding Butter change her? For The World through Ada’s Eyes: Do students understand what surprised Ada about life outside the apartment? What do students think about the fact that she did not know what grass was? Do students understand what emotions Ada must have experienced out in the world? Do students understand how they can show her feelings in their pictures?

Pages 3–4: Themes Goal: Identify and decipher themes from the novel. Students collectively identify and decipher a list of themes from the story (for example: disability and body image, nature vs. the city abuse, isolation, fear, overcoming obstacles, bravery, shame, transformation, prejudice, war, grit, family, and the healing power of love. Independently, they select one theme to investigate closely and illustrate in a foldout, bound by twine and a brad. Assessment: The entire class discusses themes and interpretations. The teacher and artist circulate and ask questions about accuracy and choices. Are students able to explain why, out of all the themes discussed, they selected this one? Are stu-dents able to explain how it is important to our understanding of the story? Do students’ illustrations match their written assess-ment of the theme? Are students able to determine if there is anything else they can add?

Page 5–6: Butter and the Possibility of Freedom Goal: Understand how Butter, the horse, serves as a powerful symbol in the book. Students collectively brainstorm on all the things that Butter might signify in Ada’s transformation. Freedom, com-passion, connection, flight, a larger world, and friendship are among the most prevalent. Independently, students create a mixed-media collage to depict a key moment in Ada’s relationship with Butter. Assessment: There is a class-wide discussion of symbols and interpretations. The teacher and artist circulate and ask questions about individual choices. Did students choose to depict Ada riding Butter, walking beside Butter, hugging Butter, or looking at Butter in the barn? Are students able to explain why they chose that moment and what it tells us about Ada’s feelings for all that Butter might represent?

Pages 7–8: Venn Diagram Goal: Identify and compare the senses Ada experiences in London and in the country. Students create a Venn diagram to compare the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches at Mam’s apartment in London and in the country (at Susan’s and the barn). In Mam’s house, students may identify things such as blood, the bathroom bucket, burnt toast, staleness, loud yelling, and cold floors. In the country, they may identify fresh air, soft grass, the smell of warm food, the feel of Butter’s mane, the sound of planes, or quiet afternoons. Commonalities may include the softness of Jamie’s hand


or seasonal changes. Students use watercolor paint outside the diagram to demonstrate their interpretation of the difference. Assessment: The teacher and artist circulate and ask questions about individual choices. Which senses were students able to find? Are students able to cite textual evidence? How do students think Ada feels about the difference? Do students understand how these descriptions help the reader understand her story? What colors did students choose? Are students able to explain what they represent?

Page 9–10: The Holiday: In Which Traditions, Connection, and Fear Collide Goal: Understand the complex uncertainty that underscores a seemingly nice holiday. Students create a pop-up tree (to illustrate how overwhelmed Ada is at her first Christmas) and packages the reader can open to illustrate the symbolic value of the gifts (for example, “Alice in Wonderland” and “Peter Pan”—both stories about displaced children, the velvet dress that terrifies and infuriates Ada, or the scarf that Ada knits Susan in an uneasy preface to love). Student may also choose to signify the young soldiers from the airbase who know they may soon be shipped out, or the stockings with an orange and a coin. Assessment: The teacher and artist circulate and ask questions about individual choices. Are students able to explain why they chose each item? Are students able to explain what the items mean and why they are important? Are students able to explain why some of these items contribute to Ada’s full-blown panic attack? Are students able to explain how the presence of the soldiers mirrors Ada’s own uncertain fate?

Page 11–12: Map Goal: Understand where the action of the story occurs. In order to better understand the events of the novel, students map out key locations and offer context about children living through WWII. They understand just how close the fighting is (right across the Strait of Dover), why (and from where) chil-dren from cities were evacuated, and the distance between London and Dover. Labels and contextual information will be written out alongside the map. Assessment: The teacher and artist circulate and ask questions about individual choices. Have students realized before how close the battles were to England? Are students able to explain why is it important to know where these things occurred? Are students able to explain which creative choices they made in their depiction?

Page 13–14: Dunkirk Goal: Understand the Dunkirk evacuation, both as it pertains to history and as it transforms Ada. Students create a mixed-media collage illustrating Ada’s involvement and assistance with the soldiers evacuated from Dunkirk. To avoid overly graphic scenes (without sugarcoating the horror), students create a backdrop of crinkled tin foil. They may paint it in any dark or distressing colors they wish. Students will also consider which symbolic items they want to use. Ob-


jects may include combat boots, helmets, blood-soaked bandages, cots, uniforms, the water bucket Ada must continuously refill, or the pub that becomes a makeshift hospital. Students may opt to depict characters such as Ada and Susan working or soldiers crying. Our one rule is that the scene must be depicted solemnly (for this reason, we do not recommend amputated body parts, etc.). Finally, the accompanying text should demonstrate that this scene is the pivotal moment in Ada’s transformation, “There was a before Dunkirk version of me and an after Dunkirk version. The after Dunkirk was stronger, less afraid. It had been awful, but I hadn’t quit. I had persisted. In battle I had won.” (p. 258) Assessment: There is table talk after which the teacher and artist circulate and ask questions about individual choices. Are students able to explain their symbols? Are students able to explain how their page spread demonstrates the importance of the chapter? Are students able to explain if it feels different than the others they’ve created? Are students able to explain why the experience with the Dunkirk evacuees is so crucial to Ada’s growth?

Page 15–16: The Bomb Shelter: New Threats and Old Wounds Goal: Explore the profound psychological trauma Ada experiences in the bomb shelter and compare it with the very real threat that everyone in the village experiences in the bomb threats. Students create a collage of the outside of the house and the inside of the bomb shelter. The bomb shelter can be flipped up to demonstrate that it is hidden. Students may choose to show the quiet in-between attacks or they may wish to show planes in the sky. Inside the bomb shelter, they should illustrate the parallel between the immediate thread of being bombed and Ava’s earlier threat of punishment (being locked in the cupboard beneath the sink). They may choose to draw people in the shelter. They should also include something that demonstrates Susan’s kindness, love, and patience through Ada’s meltdown. Symbolic items may include a blanket or the herbs that calm her down (lavender, rosemary, and sage). If desired, students can glue in real dried herbs. Assessment: After table talk, the teacher and artist circulate and ask questions about individual choices. Are students able to explain how they chose to represent what happens in the bomb shelter? Did students include the planes or set their picture at a moment of quiet? Can students explain their choices?

Page 17–18: Points of View Goal: Understand that the four main characters, Ada, Jamie, Susan, and Mam, all experience the events of the book dif-ferently. Students create little cards for each character. On the outside, they draw the character or a symbol of the character and write their name. On the insider, they write three short lines from different perspectives: first person (I), second person (you), and third person (he or she). For Susan, you may wish to explore her sexual orientation, which is heavily implied, but never overtly


stated. It provides insight as to why Susan is so guarded, why she was shunned by her minister father and the rest of the village, how the death of Becky, the only person she has ever loved, shaped her, and how that loss gives her great compassion, empathy, and eventually love for the children that are thought of as “less than.” Assessment: Class discussion: Are students able to explain how the writer balances the information that is given direct-ly and the information that is inferred? Are students able to explain why they think she wrote it that way? Are students able to explain how each character’s point of view differs? Are students able to explain how this experience shaped each of them? For example, why is Mam so angry? Why is Susan so sad? Why is Ada always on guard? What makes Ada and Jamie so protective of each other?

Creating the Title Page, About the Author, and Cover Goal: Complete context elements of the books. Students select and glue paper for the cover, write a title page, create About the Author page (if desired), and play catch-up. If catch-up is needed, students may do so when the book elements are completed. Assessment: The teacher and artist lead class discussion: What did students learn? Are students able to explain their favorite part of the process? Are students able to determine if they would do anything differently? How did students describe/depict themselves?

Demonstration of Learning Goal: Celebrate all the hard work done while demonstrating everything learned and created. Students host an English tea and exhibition. Students work in groups to create posters that demonstrate different as-pects of their work. For example, Mrs. Cohen’s students decided to set up a table of all the materials used in the creation of their books alongside a station with photo documentation of the process. Other students set up stations to discuss each spread of the book, including artistic strategies, connections from art to text, and historical context. Assessment: There is a discussion with visitors (parents, staff, and other classes). Are students able to describe the pro-cess? Are students able to explain their artistic choices?

ACADEMIC STANDARDS CCSS English Language Arts: RL.5.1, RL.5.2, RL.5.3, RL.5.4, RL.5.5, RL.5.6, RL.5.7VAPA: 5.VA:Cr1.1, 5.VA:Cr1.2, 5.VA:Cr2.1, 4.VA:Cr2.2, 5.VA:Cr3, 5.VA:Pr4, 5.VA:Pr5, 5.VA:Pr6, 5.VA:Cn10, 5.VA:Cn11

CROSS-CURRICULAR STRATEGY APPLICATIONS• Demonstrate knowledge of the novel’s events by creating a large-scale, collaborative timeline in the classroom. Each point can include perspectives, symbols, themes, and historical context.• Write and perform monologues as characters from the novel, highlighting the traits, challenges, and choices of said character. • Explore a different piece of literature, investigating themes, motifs, character, and symbols through the creation of artists’ books.

New The War That Saved My Life Art- ists’ Books · 2020. 10. 10. · The War That Saved My Life Art-ists’ Books OVERVIEW Using a variety of illustration techniques, students create

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