[ AUNI AND HER INVENTIONS ]
Aperte o PLAY +
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Here you will find: ► Illustrations ► Story (text, audio, video) ► Lesson plan
"DING DONG!"
— Anyone home?
Auni is at home, drawing in her notebook, when she hears the doorbell. Auni’s mom shouts from the kitchen:
— Coming! That must be our delivery! Ask the man to wait.”
Auni sees that huge box, bigger than the men that are outside, and gets excited!
— Sir! Sir! What have you got in that box? I know! I know! A dinosaur? A telescope? It’s a rocket!
— Calm down, darling! Nothing of the kind! Open the door for the men to come in, please!
She is super excited and won’t stop talking:
—We’re going to the moon! My dream! A supersonic rocket only for me … I’ll bring Luana and Gabriel with me. Only kids are allowed; no adults!”
— Where can we put this, madam?
— In my bedroom!!! cries Auni.
— Stop right there, girl. It’ll stay in the kitchen, sir.
Auni is a bit confused. Why on earth is her mother going to put a rocket in the middle of the kitchen?
The men carry the huge box inside and start opening it.
Watching closely every single movement they made, the girl couldn’t believe what she saw…
— But but … it’s a fridge!? she says, sounding frustrated.
— Yes, darling! Isn’t it beautiful? It’ll be perfect in our kitchen!
— I’d rather have a rocket, she replies in a real huff.
The delivery men are about to leave when they ask if the clients would like to keep the box.
— No! replies the mother.
— YES!!! screams her daughter.
— Mom, can I keep the box, please? Please, mom! Pleeeeeease!!!
— Alright! You can leave the box, please.
— Great!!! I’ll take it into my bedroom, OK? I’ll set up my workshop there!
— Go, darling. I’m going to tidy up our fridge. But watch your step!
Auni didn’t even hear her mother’s last words. She dragged the box, which was twice her size, so big was it, into her bedroom – that is, her workshop.
She sorted out all the materials she had: scissors, glue, gouache, magazines, paintbrushes, felt pens, crayons, scraps that she kept to play with, and then she started building.
And she cuts. And she pastes. And she turns it upside down. And she makes a hole. And she fixes rips…
— It looks incredible!
Auni then gets her cellphone and texts the following message to her friends:
JOIN ME IN THE INAUGURATION OF THE FIRST SPACE STATION IN THE BOROUGH OF PASSARINHOS. FREE ENTRY.
Ten minutes later the doorbell starts ringing like crazy. Auni’s mother goes and opens the door, simply clueless. In her doorway were twenty children, wanting to visit some space station!
— It was Auni that invited us, Auntie!
— The launching is taking place in a few minutes. Nobody wants to miss it!
Still stunned, she opens the door, and the kids run towards Auni’s bedroom. Feeling curious, she follows them to try to find out what they are scheming now. What a surprise!
— Welcome to Jessica Watkins Space Station! Today we’ll go on our first voyage to space and I’ll be the captain of this expedition. Board the rocket and buckle up for we’re taking off soon!
The children in the neighborhood gave shrieks of delight. Auni’s mother watched the scene, feeling deeply moved.
— This girl is hopeless!
— In a thousand ways, I’ll find my own way! replied the captain of the expedition.
— I want to conquer the universe!
— You will, darling. I’m sure you will! Auni’s mother hugged her lovingly and let the kids play in the space station.
How about you? Are you just going to sit and watch or are you joining us in our voyage?
[ LESSON PLAN AND RESOURCES ]
[ LESSON PLAN AND RESOURCES ]
PEDAGOGICAL AIM
PEDAGOGICAL AIM
TO TAKE CARE OF ONESELF
To develop personal interests and a sense of purpose
Socioemotional skills
I can develop personal interests and a sense of purpose because:
I take care of my self-esteem, understand myself as powerful, and realize that my life is a possible and relevant existence.
I recognize my strengths and limitations with a well-founded sense of confidence.
I recognize and value historical and sociocultural elements that constitute the identity of people of black origin.
I value the importance of black presence in the world [different levels of power, different places] as something natural.
I am open and curious about the wisdom and scientific, historical, and mathematical artifacts of African origin.
I have real references about Africa and about black people.
I use planning and organizational skills and take initiatives for the anti-racist cause.
I use stress management strategies when necessary.
I recognize that my mind and body are connected to ancestry.
Maker skills
Create models and conduct tests; experiment with cardboard to see what works;
Be proactive and creative in seeking information, advice, and instructions regarding cardboard constructions.
The environment
The school as an environment that gives visibility to the power and inventiveness of the black.
1) ACTIVATE TO ENGAGE:
Leave some cardboard boxes in a designated area of the room. If the children are curious, let them explore and ask some thought-provoking questions like:
Why do you think these boxes are here?
What makes you say that?
Looking carefully: Allow them to explore and play freely with the boxes for a while. What do you think they will create? Encourage them to closely examine the boxes and look for different types of features or components. Let them look/listen/touch and see if they can find something new.
You can ask questions like:
Are these boxes large or small?
Are all their sides equal?
What do you think is inside them?
Can the boxes be stacked? Can they be opened?
What is the shape of the boxes?
Is it possible to give another shape to this box?
After the children have explored them, put the boxes together again.
LET’S SIT DOWN BECAUSE HERE COMES A STORY!
After allowing the children to explore the boxes, get them together again. Tell them that they are going to listen to a story called Auni and her inventions! Show the children the illustrations of the story which are on the site Aperte o PLAY+. The teacher may choose between telling the class the story or presenting the audiobook with the dubbed version of the story. These are different challenges to the readers: listening to the audiobook without the images, or holding a story-telling session performed by the teacher with illustrations. There is a third option: press play for the story, either in English or in Portuguese, and at the same time present its scenes. Choose the option that will suit your class best!
>> After the story:
Ask the children:
What do you think Auni meant by “I’ll find my own way”?
Listen to their answers. Point to the boxes again and ask if they have new ideas about why those boxes are there. Tell them that Auni left the class a letter with the boxes.
Auni’s invite
Use this letter, written as if it were from Auni, to encourage the children to create their own worlds with the materials available. “How about beginning with the boxes I sent you? Here are some tips for you to start your construction.” To the letter, besides Auni’s invite, attach pictures of three different kinds of constructions with different levels of complexity and a brief explanation of the black contribution to each kind of construction.
HOT TIPS!
1. Space Station (in this case, we can refer to the black presence in astronomy and aerospace engineering);
4. Traffic lights (Garret Morgan)
5. The elevator (linking the story of Alexander Miles to the invention of the automatic closing system);
6. The plow (Egypt);
7. Masks (the Nok people, Nigerian culture).
Image: An example of a space station | Source: CampAustrailia
2) PLAY TO CREATE:
2) PLAY TO CREATE:
Exploring complexity - Show the students the letter written by Auni and read it aloud with them. Show them the illustrations to inspire them and focus on the parts and interactions required by the constructions:
How many boxes are needed?
How many will be used in the foundation?
How many will be used on top?
What shape and size is each of the boxes?
Is it necessary to make any adjustments?
How do the boxes stick to one another?
What other materials will we need to use?
Allow the children to choose which construction they want to make. Gather the materials together and let the children work on their constructions. They may use a tutorial in groups or work collaboratively with the whole class.
3) REFLECT TO SHARE:
3) REFLECT TO SHARE:
Share with the class
Allow the children to show their creations to the rest of the class. Encourage them to explain what they did, step by step, to achieve the desired outcome. You may ask them questions like:
How did you fit this part into that one?
How did you shape this?
What materials did you use here?
Reflect to improve:
Ask: What did you like most? What would you have liked to do differently? How can we improve our work? What do we need to learn?
Find opportunities:
Suggest the following: “How about inspiring other people to create inspiring constructions?” Just like Auni invited the class to work on constructions inspired by black people, encourage the students to pass Auni’s invite on to other people. They may make a video, go from class to class, or, if they can, write a message with tips based on their own experiences.
[TAKING IT FURTHER ON!]
The Gallery Hour - Jessica Watkins
“It's time to blacken the references," as stated by Lélia Gonzales, philosopher, anthropologist, intellectual, and activist in the black and feminist movements. That's why we've created a GALLERY for children, bringing in prominent black figures and references that need to be present in schools. We come from a Eurocentric education, and decolonizing is a complex process. It's important to see and recognize your body, your hair, and your peers; to see successful black individuals; to understand their potential. Whenever you, as an educator, build a project, choose a story, introduce new references, how about reflecting on these questions:
What representations do we present to our children when we tell them a particular story?
Do the stories I tell portray black characters in secondary or supporting roles? Have I ever told a story with black people as protagonists in prominent positive roles in society?
Bearing in mind these questions and the urgent need to enrich children's repertoires and references with black representation, we created Aperte o Play. And the Gallery is one of the actions we developed.
Click >>AQUI<<
to download the Gallery kit.
Inside, you'll find the scenery to set up with the children. The scenery, of course, is the school, the space we want to transform! The kit includes various toy art characters. Each illustrated personality allows the children to play with it, introducing and valuing new representations.
In this round, our featured character is Jessica Watkins.
[ Jessica Watkins ]
An African-American woman who is a source of inspiration for many children, especially girls interested in science and space exploration. With her poster decorating Auni’s room, Watkins is a symbol of perseverance, intelligence, and the fulfillment of great dreams even when facing adversities. Watkins represents not only the breakthroughs in science, but also the importance of black female representation in fields traditionally dominated by white males.
Image: Jessica Watikins with changes | Source : Wikipedia
Print the toy art from our kit and build Jessica Watkins' little doll with the children. They will be collectible toy arts, and each student can have their own. The teacher may also suggest that it be a collective collection.
Present the toy to the class and ask if anyone knows that personality. Encourage conversation by asking if they can imagine what he does in life. What does he work with? Why is he important?
Right after that, present the real story of the character in question, always valuing his contribution to the world.
With this activity, we want to put into practice, in a playful way, what the Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais para Educação das Relações Étnico-Raciais e para o Ensino de História e Cultura AfroBrasileira e Africana (National Curricular Guidelines for Education in Ethnic-Racial Relations and for the Teaching of Afro-Brazilian and African Culture) say:
[...] “to strengthen, among blacks, and awaken, among whites, the sense of black awareness. Among blacks, they can offer knowledge and security to take pride in their African origin; for whites, they can allow them to identify the influences, contributions, participation, and importance of the history and culture of blacks in their way of being, living, and relating to other people, notably blacks.”
(2004, p. 16-17)
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