Making Connections with Each Other to Synergize

This photograph by Flickr User Olivier Bruchez shows the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Island) and Ellis Island.  View the photo at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruchez/103704739/ 

Today, we reflected on the fact that so much of our reading of The Arrival was deepened because of the dialogue that was happening between each other.  When people work together effectively, each individual’s contribution adds up to something that is greater than the sum of all the parts.

WHAT!??

When people work together,  1 plus 1 can equal 3 (or 4, or 5, or 1000, or more).  The the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. 

This is called “synergy”.

To introduce today’s main activity, I asked you to think of songs in which 2 or more artists that normally do not work together collaborated on a project or song that exhibited synergy.  You had to reflect on why you thought the collaboration was especially good.

I went on to explain that the next big activity was going to be a collaborative art project where the subject matter would be the Statue of Liberty.  We had briefly touched on the fact during the virtual tour of Ellis Island that, 1965, Ellis Island was deemed as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.

I asked you to pair up and explore a webpage full of facts about the Statue of Liberty located at http://www.endex.com/gf/buildings/liberty/libertyfacts.htm.

Next, I had you switch partners and explore more information about the Statue of Liberty (http://www.endex.com/gf/buildings/liberty/liberty.html), including a conscious reading of the images of the statue contained in the various linked webpages.  I reminded you to look at a variety of artistic versions of the statue and talk about what concepts or emotions the artists might be trying to convey.

Tomorrow, I will have you pair up with yet another classmate, who will be your artistic collaborator in an art project where you will strive to synergize in the creation of a shared vision of the Statue of Liberty that conveys some type of intended message.

Homework:

1. Read the last section of The Arrival (Section VI).
2. Re-Visit the illustration you wrote a letter about at the beginning of our explorations of The Arrival (Blog Post:  We’ve Arrived!)
3. Now that you have a wealth of connections and new experiences about the book and the topic of immigration, write a new letter (to the same person or to someone else) about the same illustration and bring it to the next class.

–Silver Lisa