The CE1 and CM students – many of whom had excelled at keeping their artwork and stories under wraps for weeks – were thrilled to show off their work to the parents who gathered last Friday for the exhibit of their original creations in collaboration with the prolific author of youth and adult illustrated books Nicolas Poupon. CE1 students under Mélanie Vincent and CM students under Cédric Hervé capped their months-long project with a personal author visit, exhibition, and book signing in the multipurpose room.
The classes had used Skype to discuss their ideas and evolving artwork with Poupon, and watched the conversations together on the classroom Smartboard, which allowed everyone to learn together while getting individual feedback from the professional. It was the next best thing to having him in their classroom the whole time.
Their work was inspired by his illustrated children’s book Fleur de Géant, released this past February. Students crafted their own storylines using his ideas as a starting point, while Poupon and Mélanie walked them through the basics of comic strip storytelling and drawing. “The students were full of ideas,” Poupon said, “and my job was to help them channel their ideas into a story that people could understand.”
Parents at Friday morning’s event were very pleased with the outcome of all the children’s hard work. “This project was perfect,” said Maarit Laurinen. “It combined writing, reading, visual arts, video arts, conference calls, everything – and it was fun! The students probably didn’t even realize they were learning so much while they were having fun.”
Poupon has worked with students several times before in France and said the AIS students were quick to learn and some of the most imaginative he has taught, partly due to the favorable cultural environment of the community and to Mélanie’s motivating attitude and the length of time she dedicated to the project, he said.
“The whole project was just amazing,” remarked parent Valentina Ortiz.
Students who bought a copy of Fleur de Géant were treated to a special personalized drawing by the author on the frontispiece, and a dedicated copy is available in the AIS library. Their own work will be bound in a book as well. Poupon is expected to return for a similar experiment during the December International Book Fair at AIS.
