This past month, Fruit Street Elementary School and Bangor High School embarked on an exciting journey known as the Monster Project. Inspired by a video shared by Nancy Watson, the Bangor High School Librarian, this initiative aimed to connect students across grade levels through creativity and imagination.
A diverse group of 20 enthusiastic second- and third-grade students participated in the before-school program at Fruit Street Elementary. They engaged in research by reading various monster books, discussing the monsters’ physical characteristics, textures, and personalities. When the drawing phase began, students explored how their designs would translate into 3D sculptures, considering factors like thick legs for stability and balanced wings. They created two different monster drawings, experimenting with shapes, features, and colors.
After a group critique, each student selected their favorite design to finalize, producing detailed front and back drawings. Once their artwork was complete, they named their monsters and described their habitats, which were then sent to the high school for further development.
At Bangor High School, students from Ms. Eva Wagner's Ceramics II class brought the monsters to life by creating stunning 3D sculptures based on the elementary students' drawings. Simultaneously, students from Mrs. Andrea Martin's Monsters, Myths, and Mayhem Junior English Level 1 class crafted imaginative stories featuring the Fruit Street students' monsters as main characters, adding an exciting narrative element to the project.
Each Fruit Street student also created a story about their monster and made a 3D version using Model Magic clay. Their stories and clay sculptures were shared with the high school students who worked on their monsters.
As we celebrate this collaboration, we look forward to more innovative projects that unite students from different grade levels, fostering a love for learning and creativity at both Fruit Street Elementary and Bangor High School. Thank you to everyone involved in making this project a success!
