Lesson 1: Letting Go Bird- Write and Rip
Duration of Days: 2
Lesson Objective
Students will externalize internal stressors through private writing and physical deconstruction to explore the concept of Catharsis.
How can the physical act of destroying an image or text change its emotional power?
How does moving a thought from the mind to a physical object change its power? Is something "destroyed" actually gone, or just transformed?
Catharsis: The process of releasing strong or repressed emotions. Deconstruction: Taking something apart to reveal its components or change its meaning.
VA:Cr1.2.HS: Shape an artistic investigation of an aspect of present-day life using a contemporary practice of art or design.
Analyzing Tone: Recognizing how a "heavy" or "dark" tone in text can be physically represented through jagged edges and rough textures.
Description: A reflective session of writing and tearing. Purpose: Emotional regulation and material prep. DOK Level 2: Applying a physical action to a mental state.
The "Burning Man" Principle: Rituals of destruction found in many cultures (like Tibetan Sand Mandalas) where art is temporary and its destruction is sacred.
"I have to show the teacher what I wrote." Correction: Emphasize that the writing is for their eyes only; the art starts after the paper is ripped.
For non-writers: Use symbols, scribbles, or "blackout" marks to represent the weights instead of sentences.
Formative: Observation of engagement in the tearing process and a brief "Exit Ticket" naming one emotion they felt during the destruction.
Scrap paper (newsprint, lined, junk mail), permanent markers. Text: The Guest House by Rumi (poem about welcoming emotions).