The Doorstopper Dr. Damon would like a doorstopper! KG2C teachers took this on, seeing the possibilities this idea has of being a rich learning opportunity for students. In small groups, all students in the class were given a few different proposals and approaches connected to the idea of a doorstopper. A few of these groups were invited to the atelier. This piece of documentation follows the learning journey of one of these small groups. September

Group: Charbel T., Deniel, Celine Sept 18 th Josie: What kind of thing could we use to keep the door open? Charbel: A plug. Deniel: A hard rock for nobody can close it. Celine: Two rocks, or three. We go to see how other doors are kept open. The office door: Charbel: There’s a plug. The nursery playground door: Charbel: I can make something for it. I’ll make something solid. Deniel: This side don’t need something. The door it stay open. There is doorstopper on the other side. Charbel: It’s from the blocks!

Josie: Why do you think they chose this block and not another block with a different shape? Deniel: There are no other blocks that could fit, so they used this one because look, this one it fit here, under. Celine: Yes, maybe a long one it work. We go back to the classroom to collect different blocks to test on the door. Celine: we need all the pieces and the long ones and square, and round. Click here to view Video

Charbel’s drawing: Charbel: “All of them are triangles.” Josie: “Why do you think the triangles worked, but the squares didn’t? Charbel: “Because they’re not enough strong.” Celine’s drawing: Celine: “This not in the beginning is straight. The door is open, then closing and closing. And this is a color block.” Deniel’s drawing: Deniel: “This one is the triangle, and this one is the block. The triangle is in front of the long block.”

Sept 19 th Clay is laid out for the group for them to make a form the same as the doorstopper they saw by the nursery playground the day before. Charbel makes the triangular wedge form: “I made the one that stayed there.” Charbel’s drawing of the door and block doorstopper: Celine draws the shapes of the blocks she remembers: Deniel makes a drawing of the door and three different shaped blocks:

Charbel asks to get the blocks we need to help him make the form he wants to make out of clay. Charbel and Deniel study the forms closely and compare them to their own clay forms. Charbel works with one of the triangle blocks as a model. He uses the rolling pin and clay knives to make the form a close as possible. He notices that his form is thinner than the block. He decides to make a second one and stick the two together.

Text Deniel finds a different way of reproducing the same form out of the clay. He covers the block in clay as if making a mold. He takes the block out from underneath and fills it in. Charbel likes Deniel’s idea of molding the block. He destroys his work and wants to start again following Deniel this time. Charbel: Help me to make it okay? Go get a chair. Sit next to me.” Deniel: “Look Charbel I put this under it. And put this clay, put it over it.” Meanwhile Celine has found a magnifying glass and is looking at her clay. Celine: “Like with that one (the block). After all change. Is hard. Inside? Inside is sugar.” Deniel is curious and takes the magnifying glass from Celine: “It’s like moving!” Charbel: “It’s Egypt. There’s like Egypt inside it.”

Sept 21 st Deniel, Celine and Charbel continue working on the doorstoppers that they started to make out of clay. “We put that (the block). We need close it? We close it. We need open? We put it inside. And he (the hinge), he open and close the door because he is very easy.” Deniel works on his triangular doorstopper, making it smooth and the adding designs. Celine draws the door again with the block holding it open and the hinge at the top:

Charbel is using the wooden block as a model. He compares both forms: “But mine doesn’t have a point.” Josie: “What if we turn the block around like this and see if they are the same.” Charbel: “Okay, I need to peel it.” Charbel begins to peel off clay from his piece with a knife. He compares the two pieces again. “It’s even more bigger. They’re not twins actually. They’re twins but they’re not the same age.” All three pieces finished and left to dry.

One of the first ideas for what might hold a door open was Deniel’s idea of using a hard rock. Different kinds of stones are put out for them to reconsider this idea. They test this other theory: Click here to view Video

Using cardboard, the group work on building the same three dimensional triangular wedge for a doorstopper. They have understood that this form is important and works to keep the door open. Clay and cardboard offer the group different approaches to tackling this three dimensional problem. As with the clay, the three of them find three very different ways of using the material and trying to make this shape. Sept 24 th Click here to view Video