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Anne Leflot

French Literature teacher, Theory of Knowledge teacher, French department coordinator
Washington International School
High School (16 to 18 years old), Adults
Teacher/Educator
Language Arts And English, World Languages, Other : Theory of Knowledge

I am  French literature teacher and Theory of Knowledge at Washington International School in Washington, DC, where I also coordinate the French department. As a French native, I have been teaching literature in both public and private schools in France and the United States. In my daily practice at WIS, I use Project Zero ideas to develop my students’ global competence and cultural understanding through the use of Thinking Routines, museum exploration and making. 

Anne Leflot's collections

 

Poetry and war

<p><strong>Description:</strong></p> <p>The goal of this collection is to focus on the ways artists like Shimomura denounce the impact of World War 2 on individuals. The collection is integrated in a unit called Paroles. It is the name of the collection of poems by Jacques Prévert written in 1946 that partly deals with the topic of war. Prévert is famous for taking strong political positions in his poems, using a simple, sometime surrealist and often sarcastic writing [ressources 6 and 7].</p> <p>In integrating the study of  <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/resources/view/27850"><em>Diary: December 12, 1941</em></a> that addresses the Japanese-American Incarceration, students have the opportunity to both understand the uniqueness of Shimomura's style and the global magnitude of his topic by reflecting on the similarities and differences between his work of art. and Prévert's poems.</p> <p>In this collection, students use the thinking routine "Think, Feel, Care" to uncover Shimomura's work of art. It also encourages a comparative study of the ways the two artists approach this global issue and how their work is shaped by culture and by their context of production. This analysis lead them to a broader discussion on how art can be used as a powerful way to give a voice to the unknowns and educate people. </p> <p><strong>Step 1: Sketch the painting</strong>  [ressource 1]- it helps student pay close attention to details, specifically to the superman shape on the background, but also the woman's body language and the architecture of the room - Do not show the caption yet.</p> <p><strong>Step 2: Think, Feel, Care [ressource 2] in small group</strong></p> <ul><li>First, name the person involved in the painting (the American superhero, the Japanese woman, the painter, the public, the American authority).</li><li>Then, analyze the painting using the 3 steps of the routine "Think, feel, care": </li></ul><p>"This routine encourages students to consider the different and diverse perspectives held by the various people who interact within a particular system" (in this painting, the students can identify several systems, from the system of the house to the system of power gender or immigration). My advice is to let them explore one of the system they identify. The additional information provided in step 3 will help them broaden their understanding afterward. </p> <p>"The goal of this routine is to help students understand that the variety of people who participate in a system think, feel, and care differently about things based on their positions in the system. This routine fosters perspective taking, raises questions, and surfaces areas for further inquiry." (Agency by Design, Project Zero)</p> <ul><li>Debrief with the whole group</li><li>Take notes individually on the questions and puzzles that remain</li></ul><p><strong>Step 3: Provide additional information on the context of the painting - use </strong>the caption and the entry of the diary [resource 3], , Shimomura and his grandmother [resource 4]) and Pearl Harbor [resource 5].”</p> <ul><li>Let the students take notes individually</li><li>In small group, answer these questions: what was the artist's intent? What is the artist's impact? In what ways do the symbols used in the painting contribute to influence the public's perspective? What are the similarities and differences between Prévert and Shimomura's approach to World War II?</li><li>Debrief as a whole group</li></ul><p><strong>Step 4: Imagine what poem Prévert could have written to raise awareness about Japanese Incarceration.</strong></p> <p>This activity is an opportunity for the students to reactivate prior knowledge about Prévert's writing style while  rephrasing Shimomura's intent. </p> <p>Tips: Using ressources 6 and 7, the students can use the Thinking routine "Connect, Extend, Challenge" before they write their poem. This activity will allow them to reflect on the differences of style of the two artists. </p> <p><strong>Extension:</strong></p> <p>After the analysis of <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/resources/view/27850"><em>Diary: December 12, 1941</em></a>, invite the students, in small groups of 3, to find another work of art of their choice in the Learning Lab that denounces the consequences of war on individuals. </p> <p>Use the Visible thinking routine "Layers" to help them justify their choice and connect it with Shimomura and Prévert's work.</p> <p>Use the Global thinking routine "The 3 Y's" to help them understand the global impact of the work of art they have chosen.</p> <p>Each group present the work of art to another group.</p> <p><strong>Alternative</strong>: </p> <p>The students write a poem on the work of art of their choice mimicking Prévert's style, instead of writing a poem on <em><a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/resources/view/27850">Diary: December 12, 1941</a></em></p>
Anne Leflot
13
 

The nature of Japanese Ceramic

<p><strong>Description:</strong><br /></p> <p>This collection, based of the exhibition "Imperfectly Beautiful: Inventing Japanese Ceramic Style" is integrated in a unit on Francis Ponge’s collection of poems called <em>The nature of things, </em>1942, France. In his poems, Ponge has a unique way of focusing on everyday life objects and symbols that he describes in very tiny details. The goal is to explore how Ponge’s perception of objects and symbols can be used as an entry point for an exploration of key components of other cultures. This collection is an opportunity for the students to understand how micro perspectives can lead to global and intercultural understanding.<br /></p> <p>The collection represents tea pots used for the Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu). Through slow looking techniques, students explore them and write poems using the thinking routine "Creative Comparison".</p> <p><strong>Step 1: choose one of the tea pot and sketch it</strong></p> <p><strong>Step 2: Pair and Share</strong> - Explain your choice. What did you notice? what do you notice in your classmate's choice/object?</p> <p><strong>Step 3: Creative Comparison</strong></p> <p>The thinking routine " Creative comparison" encourages metaphorical thinking – central to the work of any artist and to creative thinking in any discipline. Metaphors provoke our imaginations to create comparisons between dissimilar things, often leading to deeper and richer understanding of each." (PZ)</p> <p><strong>Step 4: Pair and Share </strong>(with someone else) - Explain your choice. What did you notice? what do you notice in your classmate's choice/object?</p> <p><strong>Step 5 : read the description of the exhibition and the caption. Answer the questions:</strong> </p> <ul><li>In what way this new information influences your interpretation? </li><li>What does it confirm? What new ideas do you have? </li><li>What could you do to integrate them in your poem?</li></ul><p><strong>Step 6 : write a poem, using Francis Ponge's approach to objects.</strong></p> <p><strong>Possible extension:</strong></p> <p>Ask the students to reflect on ways to curate their poems, using the thinking routine "Layers".</p> <p>For instance, my students decided to do a a pop-up exhibition. They turned their poems into bilingual bookmarks for the school fair. It was a good opportunity for us to talk about translation.</p> <p><br /></p>
Anne Leflot
36
 

Haiku - connection between Text and Art

<p>Using  Project Zero Design Thinking "Making Moves" [ressource 4], this activity explores multiple haikus from the Edo period in Japan. Through an analysis of these haikus, students will gain an understanding of: the different topics explored in haikus, their structure and, how text and image are intertwined. This will lead the students to create their own illustration of haikus from the Edo period. </p> <p><strong>Step 1: Notice everything</strong><br /></p> <p>Have students silently notice every details on the four works of art [ressources 1-3] and take notes - they don't have access to the captions nor the descriptions.</p>“Notice everything” is a learning move that supports design sensitivity; refer to “Making Moves” [resource 4] for more information.<br /><p><strong>Step 2: Juxtapose</strong></p> <p>Have student compare and contrast the works of art with one another and draw conclusion on recurrent patterns, topics, questions they want to further explore.</p> <p><strong>Step 3: Zoom in on <em>Seated Monk</em> </strong></p> <p>Have the students discover the meaning of the text (Japanese and English version) and its structure 5/7/5. [Ressource 5]</p> <p><strong>Step 4: Envision and Hack </strong></p> <p>- First, have the students illustrate one of the four haikus of their choice and explain their design in a Pair and Share activity. You will find in Ressource 6 (haiku.pdf) four different haikus for this activity. Ressources 7 and 8 are examples of student work.</p> <p>- Then, have the students create their own haiku based on the illustrations of the 2 other works of art (Ressources 2 and 3 - Bats in moonlight and The actors Nakamura Utaemon III as Konobei and Nakamura Matsue III as Shiokumi Kofuji). Once they have finished, have them compare their text with the original haiku.</p> <p><strong>Step 5: I used to think... now I think...</strong></p> <p>To wrap-up the lesson, students go back to their initial thoughts about Haikus, text and image and, reflect on what they have learned. </p>
Anne Leflot
9