Exploring Art and Animals: Adaptation, Comics, and Stress
Mr.Medina
Average rating:5.0Number of reviews:(4)
In this hour-long course, students will learn how drawing with purpose can help us decipher captivating adaptations in the wild, and gain insight into their own stress responses.
Class experience
US Grade 5 - 8
Join us for an exciting journey into the world of art, science, and self-reflection in "Exploring Art and Animal Adaptation: Comics, Science, and Stress Relief." In this interactive and engaging class, students will explore the fascinating concepts of abstraction in comics and cartoons while simultaneously discovering the wonders of adaptation in animals. By drawing connections between these two realms, students will gain a deeper understanding of how everything in a drawing and every trait...
This class is taught in English.
Students will recognize the interconnectedness between the intentional elements in a drawing and the useful adaptations found in nature, fostering a holistic understanding of how every detail matters and serves a specific function in art and science.
B.A. in Biology with a specialization in Ecology and Conservation from Boston University, attended courses for evolution and the graphic novel. Past experience teaching variants of this lesson to middle-schoolers in NJ private schools and in MIT's Full STEAM Ahead remote highschooler program.
Students must come prepared with a couple sheets of blank paper, and a writing utensil. Pencil is recommended, but they may use whatever they desire to draw with.
We will be briefly be discussing topics of stress management (meditation/reflection) and symptoms of stress (heavy breathing, sweat, nervousness, etc.) in a scientific manner of why these happen and what we can do to help minimize stress. Additionally, during visual analysis, students will see family-friendly clips from 'Avatar the last Airbender' (https://youtu.be/3BlyEasNRis), 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' (contains animated spider bite scene) (https://youtu.be/3v9Pfg4Ocbg), and 'Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1xAzPlh4i0).
Stress Management: https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-management Comics and Abstraction: Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud, + knowledge from college-level graphic novel courses Adaptation: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1611589113, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/08/07/430149677/eye-shapes-of-the-animal-world-hint-at-differences-in-our-lifestyles, + knowledge from college-level evolutionary adaptation courses (B.A. in Biology from Boston University)
Hello, I'm Mr.Medina, a passionate STEAM (STEM + Art) educator dedicated to fostering holistic learning and social-emotional development. With a genuine love for connecting with students, I thrive on mentoring them in their areas of interest and...
Group Class
$20
per classMeets once
90 min
Completed by 2 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 10-15
3-8 learners per class
