Nonlinguistic Representations

What?
This six weeks, we are learning about Housing. We are doing this through the eyes of an interior designer. In class, we discussed some of the things interior designers had to take into consideration when designing a house. I then had the students create a collage representing these concepts. On the back of the poster, the students used words to finish the statement "Interior design is..." Students then explained their posters to the class. I then taught the students the Elements and Principles of Design which include line, color, texture and emphasis, and had them put pictures representing these concepts on a folder for the interior design portfolio they will complete.

So what?
I was VERY impressed with the posters. Some of the students thought outside of the box! The folders did not turn out as well as I had hoped because the students felt like they had limitations placed on them due to the fact that they had specific things they had to place on their folders. They did not think outside the box as much.

Now what?
I think next year I am going to discuss with my students the job of an interior designer. I am then going to let them create the collage on their portfolio folders. Inside the folders, I am going to have them take notes and tell how they see these concepts represented in the pictures they chose.