Timber Ridge Students Collaborate to Learn, Create

During the month of February, fourth grade students at Timber Ridge Elementary, like many of their peers around the district, have been learning about influential Black Americans throughout American history.

Timber Ridge fourth grade teachers Leslie Mitchell, Amy Williams, Lisa Johnston, Morgan Mann, and Kayla George created a timeline to help students ground their learning into a place in time, since so many contributions have happened over the span of hundreds of years.

One of the things the fourth grade team wanted to emphasize was the importance of each African-American’s contribution to our culture and society. To do this, all fourth graders took part in collaborative art projects, creating mosaics of well-known Black figures and civil justice quotes.

“Each student was given a piece of the ‘puzzle’ to complete,” said Mitchell. “To them it may have appeared as just a pattern/lines/or no particular picture. Some had to follow a code for coloring, others got to color freely. The overall goal was that our collective effort to work together would create something beautiful.”

The results are three unique and beautiful mosaic prints that now adorn the walls of the fourth grade community area at Timber Ridge. It’s a daily reminder for teachers and students that their work, presence, and contributions as individuals very much add to the collective effort.