The Surreal Becomes Real at River Dell Middle School

Diana Rieder and Marta Mayer, River Dell Middle School World Languages teachers, wanted to teach Spanish culture in a way that fused Spanish language with art and science to engage their seventh and eigth grade students and get them to look at the world around them in a different way. 

Rieder and Mayer chose Surrealist painter, Salvador Dali, as the artist to introduce to the students. By using books, paintings, film and video, Rieder and Mayer introduced students to the world of surrealism as expressed by Dali. According to Rieder, Dali's work reflected the time in which he lived--a time in which scientific discovery and space exploration were prominantly featured in everyone's imagination and infused by Dali into his work. 

Students were introduced to Dali's influence on American culture, particularly through his collaboration with Walt Disney on Dumbo as well as the movie Destino. As part of the program, students watched segments of the films and learned how each influenced the other.    

With a grant from River Dell Middle School's Parent Teacher Organization, Rieder and Mayer were able to procure original items pertaining to Dali on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg Florida. 

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