Minting history. (Integrating the curriculum).

Minting history. (Integrating the curriculum). All over North America North America,third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , coins have suddenly become very decorativeand beautifully designed. In both Canada and the United States The United States and Canada share a unique legal relationship. U.S. law looks northward with a mixture of optimism and cooperation, viewing Canada as an integral part of U.S. economic and environmental policy. , coinsare reflecting both history and culture, and proving to be very popularwith collectors. Several students brought their coin collections toschool, and we talked about what was featured on the coins and why. This all connected splendidly with our inquiry unit in which wewere examining conflicts throughout Canada's evolution from colonyto nation. Could I transfer this concept of visually capturing historyto my grade-four classroom? The significant historical moments had already been chosen by thestudents and included the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway Canadian Pacific Railway,transcontinental transportation system in Canada and extending into the United States, privately owned and operated. The construction of a railroad crossing the continent in Canadian territory was one of the conditions on which British ,World War I, the arrival of the earliest explorers, the War of 1812, andso on. The challenge was for students to depict, simply and clearly,something symbolic of their chosen historic period. Several students had already brought in coins that they noticedwere distinctive. It was these coins that we looked at and discussed asa class. We talked about how easy the images were to see and how simplethey appeared in design. Then came the next challenge: each student hadto create a simple yet powerful design, along with adequate space forthe year and country name. This year's class was influenced by the events of September11, 2001, as we examined the role of conflicts in shaping a nation. Somestudents decided to focus their commemorative com��mem��o��ra��tive?adj.Honoring or preserving the memory of another.n.Something that honors or preserves the memory of another.com��mem coins on this event. Wediscussed the current events as news was broadcast, and contrasted andcompared it to the historical events we had already been examining. We spent a period considering various designs. Students came to mewith ideas and rough sketches. We talked about translating their imagesto the coins and focused on the simplicity and clarity of their images.It was necessary to remind them that any writing and dates had to bedone in reverse, since it was a template that they were creating and notthe coin itself. This led to a great deal of activity around the mirrorsin the washroom, where the students had discovered that they could checktheir numbers and words for accuracy. When the designs were complete, the students were ready to beginproduction of their coins. Each student was given a cardboard base,approximately 25cm in diameter, and a small block of plasticine clay(non-hardening modeling clay). On the cardboard, they drew theirhistoric symbols and blocked out their reversed dates and country names.They then took the clay and rolled out long, thin coils that theypressed down firmly over the pencil lines. The thickness of the coilsvaried slightly with the amount of detail in each image. When they had covered all the lines, they each cut a long strip ofcardboard to go around the circumference of the coin. This was coveredwith plasticine clay and securely taped down around the edge of thecoin. This would serve as the barricade that would stop the advancementof the plaster. A small piece of drinking straw was also placed near thetop to create a hole with which the finished coins could be hung fordisplay. The students anxiously brought their templates forward and watchedas I poured in the plaster mixture until each coin was approximately 1.5to 2cm thick. Students nervously waited to see if their barricade wouldhold back the advancing plaster. Some leaked, and plaster flowed outonto the table, but quick-acting, strategic-minded students tookwhatever measures were necessary to stop the tide of leaking plaster.All of the coins were poured, and they sat and dried over the weekend. On Monday morning, the arriving students went straight for theircoins. We all wanted to see what had happened with them. The cardboardand plasticine easily peeled away from the coins, and the results werefabulous. For the final stage, the students decided whether to spraypaint their coin silver or gold, or brush on Verb 1. brush on - apply with a brush; "Brush butter on the roast"coat, surface - put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface; "coat the cake with chocolate" a bronze acrylic. Paintenhanced the images even more, and the results were thrilling to see. The coins were hung up along with the class time line for history,while some were displayed on a table during the school open house.Included with the students' wall-mounted coins were theirhistorical "proclamations," recounting the events of theirtime periods. These were given an aged appearance by dunking Dunking is a form of torture and punishment that was applied to scolds and supposed witches.In a trial by ordeal, supposed witches were immersed into a vat of water or pond, and taken out after some time, and given the ability to confess. If she confessed, she was killed. rice paperinto a heavily diluted mixture of food dye and water. The resultingprojects were outstanding and very eye-catching. This project was a tremendous success and a lot of fun to do. Nextyear we may even add a bit of texture to the plasticine clay imagesbefore pouring. I'm certain many students from this year'sclass will return to see next year's results and share their tipsfor avoiding and handling plaster leaks. MATERIALS * Rigid cardboard (about 8 1/2" x 11") * One small block of plasticine clay per student * 2-3 cups plaster of paris per student * Masking tape * Cut-up straws (approx. 2 inches long) * Small sticks, old pens or pencils (for removing plasticine frommolds) * Silver and gold spray paints and/or bronze acrylic paint * 11" x 17" rice paper (if including proclamations) * Brown dye (if including proclamations) * Paintbrushes paintbrushessee castilleja. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will ... * use different media, techniques and processes to communicateideas, experiences and stories. * experiment with mixed media. * recognize the difference between concave ConcaveProperty that a curve is below a straight line connecting two end points. If the curve falls above the straight line, it is called convex. and convex ConvexCurved, as in the shape of the outside of a circle. Usually referring to the price/required yield relationship for option-free bonds. design. * select strong symbolic images This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details.This article has been tagged since September 2007. representative of a larger event. * understand simplicity of design. Gary Kohl is a fourth-grade teacher at Sunnybrook School inToronto, Ontario, Canada.