Building Identity Portraits in the Middles (4th/5th)
In the Middles, we often talk about our stories, who we are, and where we come from. This year in Human Development, we focused intentionally on identity work and helping students explore words for who they are, who they used to be, and who they want to become. Exploring identity with children is an important step in helping them grow their resilience, adaptability, and self-confidence.
“What makes you so fabulously different from everyone else you meet?”
This question, from author Jacqueline Woodson, helped the Middles launch a multi-week identity exploration that culminated in students creating their own identity self-portraits. We watched and listened to Woodson read her book “On the Day You Begin” and began to explore what makes each of us unique as well as what we have in common.
In the Middles, we define identity as the answers to the question “Who am I”? We began finding those answers through the creation of an identity iceberg. This activity helped students to name their identities that people know by looking at them and their identities that people don’t know unless they get to know them. On the deepest parts of the icebergs, the Middles named pieces of their identity that they might keep hidden from everyone, like secrets, crushes, or health information. We continued our identity work by completing personal and social identity wheels.
The Middles began learning about social identities earlier in Human Development with conversations about gender identity, sexual orientation, and race and ethnicity. Inspired by all of their identity exploration, the Middles culminated their study with writing “I Am From” poems. Lines of these poems were then added to the Middles identity poster as part of their final project.
Sometimes I have ideas of how a project will go and the execution doesn’t match my initial ideas at all. Then there are times when the students take a project I think is great and make it even better. While creating these self-portraits, the Middles took an idea and ran so beautifully with it! The care, detail, hard work, and thoughtfulness that the Middles put into creating their self-portraits is evident in the beauty and personality of each piece. These portraits were inspired by an activity related to a painting, The Muse 3 by Garth Erasumus.
The Process:
First: Students chose which half of their face they wanted to draw and began with a photograph of the other half taped to watercolor paper. I was excited to see how having their face for reference impacted students' confidence and ability to draw a self-portrait.
Next: Students created their skin color. They layered different colors in watercolor pencil, then added water to lightly paint the pencil into watercolor paint. We borrowed special portrait watercolor pencils from The Lumber Primes so that each student could mix their own skin color.
Then: Students were given a blank 13” x 19” piece of cardstock and asked to represent their identities and interests on it. They were encouraged to include ideas from their iceberg and identity wheels as well as “I Am From” poems. They were able to choose any media they’d like to complete their background.
Finally: The finished portraits were cut out and attached to the background to create the identity self-portrait posters.
The Middles worked hard on these projects and are incredibly proud of their work. One student shared that, “this is probably the best thing I have made all year.” Another wrote that she was proud of how realistic her drawing looked. Please enjoy these photos of the process and product I creating the Middles Identity Self-Portraits!
P.S. Through this entire study, I did the work alongside the students. I enjoyed the process of reflecting on my identity and the stories I tell about myself. I created an “I Am From” poem and read it to my family. I encourage you to write one too! I am sharing a picture of my identity portrait because I am proud of the hard work I put into making it. I have always identified as “I can’t draw” and this project pushed me to get curious about that label.