I am a huge proponent of helping students make neural networks by teaching information in such a way that my students can form connections. When the workbook called for students to detect relationships and patterns, I thought it would be great to utilize tableau, a theatre concept to learn the cross-curricular concept of sequence. Tableau is the French word for 'picture,' and is a strategy where students create frozen pictures with their bodies to demonstrate knowledge of concepts. I do not explicitly tell students what they should portray, nor do I set them up with various levels. The possibilities for teaching sequence with tableau are endless, including the following: any science cycle, timelines in social studies, PEMDAS and place value in math, story sequence in ELA and many more.
All of the students in the pictures below have signed media releases in the school's office so that pictures and videos may be taken of them in class.
I asked students to show me the sequence of the science cycle of their choice:
These fourth-grade students chose the life cycle of a human: infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
Other fourth-grade students, given the same prompt, chose the life cycle of a butterfly: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly.
I also asked students to show me sequence of place value:
From right to left, these third-grade students portrayed the ones, tens, and hundreds place.
These students will not soon forget the concept of sequence. They saw it on the board and in writing, discussed it, molded their bodies to portray it, and evaluated other peer work. Talk about multiple pathways and neural networks!
Very cool! Thanks for sharing!
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