MIDDLE SCHOOL
Lia F., Once Upon a Time, grade eight.
Lisa Banker
Who doesn’t love a parade? Parades are celebratory, festive, and colorful, and the floats display an endless variety of themes. The pageantry of a parade is exhilarating and makes everyone feel good. What better way to showcase student artwork than by parading it through the halls of your school?
Although parades are typically very grand, our parade would need to be significantly scaled down. Introducing STEAM into my art room, I challenged my middle-school students to create their own miniature versions of a parade float.
Video Resources
We watched several videos to learn about parades. We looked at an American Celebration on Parade video (see Resources), an organization that houses retired parade floats, and took a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We even watched a woman build a bee-themed float from mostly recycled or inexpensive materials.
Brainstorming the Floats
Students could choose to work independently or in groups of two or three. I stressed that their structures should be built from mostly recycled materials and be neat, sturdy, and colorful. Their work had to clearly illustrate a theme and look interesting from all sides. I told students that a remote-controlled robotics vehicle would tow the parade, and that their float needed to be lightweight enough to allow it to move smoothly.
What better way to showcase student artwork than by parading it through the halls of your school?
Students brainstormed ideas and created several sketches of their vision. Next, they added a list of materials that could be used to bring their ideas to life. In most cases, the base for their float would be built from cardboard. Other materials available were tag board, armature wire, air-dry modeling clay, pompoms, pipe cleaners, ribbons, beads, and lots of scraps and discards. I also provided LED lights and toy motors that could be used to make parts of their float spin.
Construction
After planning their designs, students got to work building their vehicles. Measuring and engineering skills were required to ensure their float would be even, structurally sound, and balanced. It was quite impressive to watch the creativity and innovation that resulted. There were animal themes, mythology, video games, holidays, food themes, fashion themes, and more.
Margarita A. and Sofia B., Lake Shine, grade six.
To get the floats moving, students added wheels. Some students glued cheap toy cars to the bottom of their floats, while others used axles and toy wheels. Glitter, sequins, and touch-up paint were applied and any last-minute details completed. The final step was to create a loop on the front and back of the float to allow it to be tethered to other floats and to the remote-controlled vehicle that would pull the entire parade.
Bernice L., Sweets, grade eight.
Amelia M., Inclusive Cake, grade seven.
Fiona Z. and Olivia Z., Panda Parade Float, grade seven.
Oni P. and Akemi H., Gingerbread House, grade seven.
Performance
The day of the parade was very exciting. It was scheduled as part of our annual Family STEAM Night. Students were so proud of their work and elated to watch the culmination of the project. The artists cheered for each other as each float passed by. Visitors marveled at the artistry and individuality of each vehicle. It was a wonderful evening, and our miniature parade was a huge success!
NATIONAL STANDARD
Creating: Conceiving and developing new artistic ideas and work.
Lisa Banker is an art teacher at David A. Boody School in Brooklyn, New York. slbanker@comcast.net