Donors Choose Grant Awarded to Mr. David Paris @ Middle School 88

Doronrs Choose is an organization that helps donors decide to fund in within a teacher’s classroom project. Mr. David Paris, literacy teacher at M.S. 88 was granted a Donors Choose award to hire a guest teaching artist in order to boost the learning for his acrobatic salsa kids team. From Nov. 2007- Jan. 2008, Mr. David Paris hired Zoe Klein to teach trapeze and aerial acrobatics to the Acrobatic Sasa Kids team. The M.S.88 Acrobatic Salsa Kids Team has been a steady enthusiastic group of 30 boys and girls ages 11-14, eager to learn more about circus skills. The Donors Choose award made this possible!

Zoë proposed a 10-session curriculum of 2 hours each. In this program Zoë worked with small groups at time on abdominal, and torso conditioning, the techniques and beginning skills for trapeze and aerial fabric. M.S. 88 already had tumbling mats and crash mats made possible with funding by C.E.R.C., based in Columbia University. With the mats and aerial equipment necessary to teach safely, students were able to advance in quality of learning.

By the end of 10 sessions, Zoë’s guest artist residency coincided with M.S.88’s Independent Project Week where C.E.R.C. funded every teacher’s specialized subject of their choice, related to the health sciences, during an one week intensive. This concentrated time resulted in the development of a 10 minute group performance. Students choreographed the show under the direction of Zoë Klein & David Paris, containing any combination of what students learned from their aerial fabric, trapeze and partner acrobatics skill building with Zoë.

A student narrator read out loud as the performers used their acrobatic images to tell the story about Global Warming. As they each took turns on the trapeze, this depicted the carbon cycle, and using partner acrobatics, they showed the leading causes of Global Warming. Climbing the fabric they demonstrated how the sun plays a role in heating Earth. By concluding with partner acrobatics, the students offered the audience how they can do their part to help protect the environment from Global Warming and the Greenhouse Affect.

The residency encouraged student creativity while increasing physical stamina and flexibility. Students gained an understanding in the physics and forces of swinging movement and inversions, as well as to how body weight works with and against gravity. As a result, everyone had tons of fun being physically challenged in an emotionally supportive and safe environment.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Learning the Monkey Lifestyle: Trapeze !

Here is one group of students. Students learned how to come up with their own style and name their own invented poses! Zoë is taking the photos while Mr. Paris is spotting them from below.

Acrobatics Too!

Students also learned how to work with each other developing understandings of skills such as counterbalance, trust, weight sharing, and always excellent spotting!