Assessing in the moment
Explore a story about art as an expression of identity.
Talia was busy drawing a rainbow with many colours when she turned to Ruta, her kaiako, and said, “O le nuanua lea.” ("This is my rainbow.")
After completing most of the bands of the colourful rainbow, Talia explained to Ruta that each colour was a member of her family. Talia made two small marks beside her rainbow, one longer than the other. She laughed and said, “This is Nickson. He is little, and this is Talia, I’m big.”
When Talia announced that this was her family and that each colour represented a member of her family, Ruta gained some insight into the complexity of Talia’s thinking and the ways she makes meaning about her whānau. Ruta believes she could have easily hijacked Talia’s learning by commenting about the colours she had used. Instead, she waited and observed carefully for longer. This positioned her to build on and extend Talia’s thinking about her whānau and her identity.
About this resource
Learning about a child’s world through listening to them talk about their art.