Metamorphosis in the Classroom
A new CAW integrated program at PS102 combines science, literacy, and artmaking
From caterpillars to butterflies, tadpoles to frogs, and eggs to birds, animals change in a myriad of ways. That’s what 1st and 2nd-grade students at PS102 explored as they connected art and creativity with Amplify Science’s module, “The Big Outdoors,” a first-grade curriculum unit that integrates scientific inquiry with literacy development by focusing on environmental changes, such as weather, the water cycle, and, in this case, how animals change.
The program provides students with foundational skills grounded in the pillars of early literacy, such as learning letters, simple words, and sentences.
This new partnership with PS 102 is an in-school program that aligns with each grade's ELA curriculum, integrating literacy, personal identity, and social-emotional learning (SEL) through weekly art classes. The objective is for students to explore self-expression and build confidence by engaging with books, such as "I Like Myself" by Karen Beaumont, before creating art projects in response to the text. Previous projects have included self-portraits, three-part storybooks, blackout poetry, and animal portraits made with handmade clay stamps.
Science & Literature Meet Art
Students exercised their illustration and narrative-building skills by creating three-page accordion books, folding, coloring, stamping, and gluing materials to tell a story about their experiences in nature.
Multisensory Artmaking
To enhance the learning experiences, Teaching Artist Alejandra Mandelblum employed various learning modalities—visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic—expanding students' engagement with materials and artistry by encouraging them to use their senses before creating.
During a demonstration of plasticine techniques, Alejandra tells her students, “I want you to roll it in your hands. Then I want you to smell it. Then I want you to break it down a bit. And when it is warm in your hands, then you start sculpting.”
After kneading and sniffing her plasticine, one student declared, "It smells like Princess Bubblegum!"
This multisensory approach recognizes that students absorb and process information in ways that fit their individual styles. When students have the freedom to learn in a non-rigid way, they obtain new skills without realizing it. Alejandra observed how, through various activities, each student learned to collaborate and share their materials. She recalls that one student realized he needed black for the pupils of his sculpture's eyes, and another student offered to give him some of his black, since he didn't need it all.
Transformations
During a unit on symmetry, students examined radial symmetry in nature — looking at the lines, shapes, and patterns in flowers, snowflakes, and fruit. From there, students created mandala designs on coffee filter paper, utilizing various types of lines to construct patterns and geometric shapes. The final, transformative step – adding water to their work – dissolved the intricate details they had carefully constructed. This transformative process allowed students to observe their designs morph into something new altogether, mirroring the caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly.
Teaching Staff
Alejandra Mandelblum
Teaching Artist
CAW Staff
Karen Jolicoeur
Executive Director
Ian Newton
Director of Finance & Administration
Clair Vogel
Development Manager
Scott Lucas
Manager of Marketing & Communications
Kevin Claiborne
Program Manager
Donna Manganello
Senior Program Manager
Riki Sabel
Senior Manager of Teaching & Learning
EJ Meehan
Finance & Administration Coordinator
Emilio Vides-Curnen
Operations Coordinator
Madeline De León
Program Coordinator
Paola Gonzalez
Development & Communications Coordinator
Ivory Nunez-Medrano
Community Artmaking Initiatives Coordinator
Creative Art Works’ programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Creative Art Works’ school-based programs also receive support from the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation. This program was made possible in part by the New York City Department of Youth & Community Development and the Digital Inclusion and Literacy Initiative in partnership with the NYC Council and Council Member Diana Ayala.