Our current IPC unit in Grade 1 is ‘All Dressed Up!’. The unit is entirely about clothes; the different materials and patterns they’re made out of and all the different purposes they serve.
It felt almost natural and obvious, therefore, to have a fashion show as an exit point. I approached Annie, the primary music teacher, back in November and she was also super keen on the idea. Throughout December, I’d mentioned tidbits here and there to my students about having a fashion show for our assembly in January. I asked them all to have a think over Christmas break and to let me know what they’d like to wear by the time we got back so we could start rehearsing. The first week of school came and I ask my students what they’d like to wear and I jotted it all down.
We divided the show into three collections Couture, Culture and Career. Annie also came to me at this time and had the great idea of having the kids sing the chorus to “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga, and I absolutely loved the idea. I then went to my classroom educator, Emily, and we began bouncing ideas off of each other. One of us or both of us ended up having the idea to really go all out by putting each of my students on the cover of Vogue. The next week Emily was kind enough to bring in her own camera and shoot the kids in the outfits they chose be wearing at the fashion show. She did an amazing job with the photos. I then took the photos and made a template to put each of my students on the cover of Vogue; maybe it wasn’t completely necessary, but if anyone knows me, they know that I absolutely adore my class.
I wanted to do something special for them and for their parents and thought this would be a great way for them (and for me) to remember our first assembly at LIS. Over the next few weeks we wrote the script, I made a 1PS fashion logo and posters, and decided that playing Vogue by Madonna as an intro was a no brainer. At the assembly students walked the cat walk while another student told the audience something about the outfit that was being shown. Each student had chance to walk and a to explain an outfit. At the end they all walked the ramp a last time and then sang “Born this Way” to a fully packed assembly hall. The rest is history. My students absolutely smashed it!
Quotes from the Kids
It was good and I felt so excited – Anna
I was a little bit scared but I was also really excited. It turned out good – George
I was a little bit nervous but I had so much fun walking on the catwalk – Lotti
I was SUPER DUPER excited – Jonas
The assembly was really fun. My favourite part was reading my line and doing the catwalk. I felt like a model! – Hannah
I had fun and I felt like a superstar. I liked the part where I got to catwalk and pose for the audience. I was nervous to read my line, but then it went well – Lara
I felt like a cat on the catwalk – Timi
I liked that everyone did a good job, knew their line and didn’t stop. We were really great! – Loveleen
I liked that the audience went crazy for our poses, especially mine – Linden
I felt nice and I was tough and I was brave – Diego
My favorite part was saying the lines. – Michael
I loved everyone that watched me. I liked strutting for the audience. I’m a model! – Christina
Great! Outstanding!- Aaron
I could’ve practiced more my actions to the song. My favourite part was walking down the catwalk in my leopard print dress. I’m bringing it back in 2020! – Mila
I liked the catwalk. The assembly was cool! – Eddie
It was cool. I felt excited. – Jaylen
I’m on the right track baby I was born this way! – Anna
I loved the music and I liked the way stage was special for us to walk on – Abisola
My favorite part was saying my lines! – Sarah
My best part was posing as a model at the end of the catwalk. I felt fabulous and good! – Pelin
I liked posing for everyone! I was a little nervous but I had fun – Maxen