Cultivating Change: A Cross-Age Arts, Literacy, and Sustainability Project

Kinkead JSE Feb 2018 Cultivating Change Arts Issue PDF Introduction This essay describes a cross-age project between a fourth grade class and university students in which the two groups of students worked together on a dramatic performance of Paul Fleischman’s Seedfolks(1997, 2014).Cross-age projects tend to focus on tutoring, particularly in reading skills with more advanced students helping younger students (e.g., Labbo and Teale; O’Bryne; Pavona). The Utah State University Honors Program initiated in spring 2016 a special Think Tank curriculum focused on sustainability. Over the course of the semester, the university students curated an exhibition at the campus art museum that focused on “Growing West: Art, Agriculture, and the Land” and also created digital exhibits on sustainability themes of food waste, alternative markets, urban farms, and food sheds. Curtis, who wants to impress his girlfriend Lateesha, who loves tomato sandwiches; Philippe, the taxi driver, who thinks that by growing baby lettuces to sell to restaurants, he can save funds for his daughter Ginny’s college tuition; Gonzalo’s Uncle Juan, who has been a lost soul since emigrating from Guatemala until he discovers the garden.