Here are just a few of the amazing things that are happening in the art room just as the year is starting off. On the top left are a stack of art journals. My cooperating teacher and I are really working toward instilling the idea that a sketchbook is not just for sketching. We want to the students to really think about what they are including in their art journals. We created are journal challenges for the student to complete every two weeks, and with those challenges the students are practicing using their art journals in a different way. We are challenging them to explore their creative minds and really illustrate what they are thinking about a certain topic. On the top right and the bottom left, are two bulletin board displays that are already up in the hallways ready for viewing from the school community. The 2D and 3D Foundations class were off and running with artist inspired paper collages and paper sculptures. They got to learn about 8 different artists, and then used those artists' artworks, to inspired their own pieces while working in groups. The bottom right hand corner, is reflecting the new birthday art palette wall that went up in the art room. This wall consists of every student who comes into the art rooms' birthday. We are working towards recognizing those birthdays each month in attempts to build another level of relationships with the students. And lastly, on the bottom in the middle, there is a whiteboard that is in the classroom. On this white board is a mini calendar that let's the students know and understand what they are going to be doing for the week, what the daily objective is, and of course the journal challenge due dates. These are just a few of the things that are happening around the school right now and we are just getting started!
Here are a few doodles that I got a kick out of from the Kindergartners portfolio folders for the end of the year. We had all of the students make their folders and then they were allowed to decorate and design them however they would like, as long as they thought about what they were drawing and took their time. These two dinosaur/shark doodles really made me laugh! Kids come up with the craziest things don't they!?
First Grade with Harold and The Purple Crayon! I have always loved this story, simply because of the endless imagination and creativity that can come from something as small as one colored crayon. I really thought this was a great way to end the year because the students are able to use their imagination and all of those ideas they have and incorporate them into a story using only pictures.
We first watched the video and I had them really pay attention to the different things that Harold was drawing in the video. After the video, I asked the students to recall the different things that he had drawn in his purple crayon adventure. We came up with a great list and then I asked them about different places they could go if they were drawing their very own imagination adventure story. We made a list on the board of all the different places they came up with that they could go to in their stories. Once we had that list made, then we decided that we should probably think about what we would see there! Since we couldn't use words (even though some students chose to) we wanted to think about what we would need to add to make sure anyone looking at our drawing could tell what it was or where we were planning on going. We also talked about drawing in how we would get there, if that was walking, driving, flying or even sailing to our destinations! I could really tell that the students were beginning to have some lightbulbs going on in their heads. I would have loved to have the students make a list of the places they were going to go and what they were going to see there before they started drawings. I think this would have allowed them to think through their idea a little more clearly before they began drawing, but they really did a great job anyway! I required them to show where they were going, how they were going to get there, what they would see when they got there and what they were going to do when they got there. Having them include these things really made sure they were spending a little more time on their drawings and not just trying to get through the places they were going. This was such a great end to the years lessons, because it only took up one class period (and could totally take more if needed) and got the kids thinking about using their imaginations again and taking that idea with them into the summer is exactly what I wanted! The learning objectives for this lesson are:
GEORGIA OKEEFFE! Who doesn't love some Georgia O'keeffe inspired artwork? These first graders sure did!
I started this lesson out with having the some images of O'keeffe flowers up on the projector and the lights were off when they walked in the room. I got to explain to them that we were going to be learning about an artist today but first we had to take a look at some of her work! I had the students think for a minute about what they thought they were seeing on the board. Then they got to share their ides with the class, "TORNADO, the inside of our body, a human heart, a hurricane, an upside down lollipop, frozen ice cream, melting ice cream" needless to say, their creativity and imagination was just PRICELESS. After I got to call on a decent amount of students to share their ideas about what they were seeing on the board, then I told them that these were actually images of flowers that O'keeffe had created! We talked about she did not draw the whole flowers but she loved to draw just parts of flowers. The students recognized that they were so special because they were zoomed in, and really big and they touched all four sides of her paper! I printed off black and white outline photos of many different kinds of flowers and had the students use viewfinders to find an interesting spot on their flower that they were going to draw. After they found their interesting spot, they got to sketch their flower out onto 7x7 inch black construction paper. We then talked about all of the cool things you can do with oil pastels, how to blend them together, how to layer them on top of each other etc. Then they were instructed to cover their whole paper and to choose warm or cool colors. They absolutely loved this project and loved seeing what they could do with the oil pastels! The learning objectives for this lesson are:
3rd grade = TONS OF IDEAS.
These third graders began creating their paper cities after we checked out some of Dr. Seuss' famous cities from his books, shows and movies. We talked about how they are not necessarily realistic, but we can still tell what they are, and that the building are shapes kind of funky. The students were then able to begin thinking about what kind of city they are going to be creating, and what they will need to include in their city in order for it to make sense! I created a 3D technique example board for the students to reference throughout the class, and gave them a couple demonstrations on the techniques that are a little trickier. I really wanted them to problem solve on their own to figure out how to create the pieces they needed. After they sculpted the cities, we added on some details such as windows, doors, billboard and street signs! These photos don't show that portion of the project as I was taking pictures of all the artwork and lessons on the same day, but the students were then able to think a little more about what they wanted their cities to represent. When they were finished building, I had them each write down a little blurb about their city along with the name they come up with for their city - once they were finished with those, they put them next to their artwork and the students were able to walk around a see different artworks and read the blurbs that their classmates wrote about their cities! The learner objectives for this lesson are as follows:
Oh Kindergarten, what to do with you! At least this is what I thought until I came up with the idea of exploring textures! First we started off this project using the "Magic Texture Bag." This was just a recycled apple store bag that I had, that I covered with the word texture. I put all different kinds of items with various textures inside the bag, and the kindergartners each got a turn to stick their hands in the bag and describe what they felt to the class out loud. We got to make a class list of texture words up on the board while they were doing this so that we could see just how many different texture words we could come up with! Then I set up texture rubbing stations where the students followed the arrows on the tables to tell them which way to move when they were finished with one station. There were four different textures set up, so the students had to make sure they had all four done! We talked about using the side of the crayons to help get the best results of the texture rubbings. After they completed their texture rubbings they were instructed to cut them up into strips - we got to practice cutting in straight lines! then they were able to glue them to another sheet of paper making sure to cover the whole thing! Most students used different colored crayons during their texture rubbing stations, so their collages were a bit more interesting. Once they had their background paper covered, then they could come up and pick out their real textures that they were going to add on. We added this part to our collage to remind us about textures, and that there are textures you can see and textures you can feel! The learning objectives of this lesson are as follows: -The learner will be able to DESCRIBE the texture they are feeling in the bag without looking -The learner will be able to TRANSFER the textures onto their paper using the crayon rubbing technique correctly -The learner will be able to CUT their texture rubbings into strips to use for the final texture collage -The learner will be able to ARRANGE/DESIGN their cut up texture rubbing pieces to show how different colors and textures can be next to each other in a collage for a good composition on their final collage paper. Academic Vocabulary:
This is before they were glazed and fired! The 5th graders were taking their clay knowledge up a notch when we decided to make containers from slabs. This was a different process for them because in all the other grades, their projects began as pinch pots and worked their way up from there, so I wanted to give them a new skill that would challenge them, yet still be successful! The goal was to first create their container using a slab and then create a base to attach to their cylinder. Then we talked about cleaning it up a little, blending those two parts together the best we could and evening out the top to how they wanted it to look. The next part was to figure out one simple shape that they could use to put on their containers. A lot of them picked circles or squares or triangles which worked out perfectly. They were required to have at least two additive pieces on their piece and two subtractive parts on their container. If they had time for more that was great and I encouraged that, but they had to at least have two of each kind of technique that we were learning. I taught them three different subtractive types of techniques that they could choose from as well to give these containers a little variety. In hindsight I really wish I would have started this project with more time because I think in 5th grade, they do benefit from a class period of prepping and planning their artwork. We could have then talked a little more about creative abstract designs and how a lot of times artists start with those simple shapes for their abstract designs. I also was thinking it would be even more meaningful to them if they could do something that is personal to them such as their initial, or a symbol of one of their favorite things - because then they would have been more connected to their artwork! I know I did not have a lot of time for this project but it would have been nice to be able to add those more meaningful things. AFTER THEY WERE GLAZED AND FIRED THEY LOOKED LIKE THIS! The learning objectives for this lesson are:
4th Grade Printmaking!
The 4th graders got to experiment with printmaking as well this year, but they got to do some two color reduction animal prints! These were awesome for making some meaningful connections to what animals mean to us, our favorite animals or any experiences the students may have had with animals! STEPS 1. I had them design their animal on sketching paper first - we talked about how to make sure they were simple enough for our process by using geometric shapes. 2. Then I had them tape their sketch paper to a piece of styrofoam. They traced their lines onto the styrofoam, removed the paper and pushed their lines down even more 3. We talked about what they thought would happen when we printed the images to see if they were understanding the concept of the reduction part of this process. Then they chose their first color (white or black) on their choice of three different colored sheets of paper and printed their three first colored prints. 4. They washed off their plates. Then they added (or reduced really) other parts of their styrofoam. I told them to change something in the background and change something on the animal to ensure they notice what they are doing. 5. then they will print with their second color right on top of their first color to reveal their two color reduction print series! The learning objective for this lesson are: -The learner will be able to CHOOSE an animal they have feelings for or experiences with -The learner will be able to successfully TRANSFER their simple animal sketch onto their styrofoam printing plate, without ripping or tearing the paper or styrofoam -The learner will be able to correctly print their first color three times on their choice of paper color -The learner will be able to successfully print the second color three times on top of the first prints in the series Academic Vocabulary: - Printmaking - Reduction - Brayer - Series 2nd Grade Optical Illusions! or in their terms (obstacle illusions!) haha! Too cute!
These second graders got to learn a little bit about optical illusions - what they are, what they look like, how we know they are optical illusions, and how to create their own! The optical illusions I had them create, were ones where the shapes look like they are popping out of the paper! We first used rulers as a straight edge to create the stripes across the paper with pencil! Then they used the tracing shapes I created for them to lay out the composition of their optical illusion. We talked about not lining the shapes up with the lines of their stripes, and leaving themselves space to color in the shapes. We wanted to make sure the shapes were balanced on our paper, and that we spread them out in a way that looked nice. They got to choose which shapes they used and where they put them on their paper. Once they were happy with the placements of the shapes, they traced the shapes over the top of the stripes. Then we talked about our first color, and coloring in only every other stripe. "DODGE THE SHAPES" they said. Yes. Dodge the shapes, we are only coloring the stripes first! Then they colored the stripes with their second color, and then we moved on to the shapes. We got to talk about why coloring our papers this way created the optical illusion and discussed some of those ideas! The kiddos really loved this project, they at first thought it was magic and that there was no way they would be able to do this on their own, but once they started seeing their shapes appear, they were in disbelief! They were so excited to finish these up, that I decided I am going to create an optical illusion extension project for them to keep exploring this avenue of art! The objectives for this lesson were: The learner will be able to neatly trace 4-5 shapes of their choice onto their final optical illusion paper with pencil The learner will be able to correctly use their ruler to create even straight lines (stripes) across their paper. The learner will be able to correctly color their paper doing opposite colors on the stripes and shapes, to create their optical illusion The learner will be able to recall how to color neatly and carefully and use that knowledge to color in their optical illusions as neatly as they can Academic Vocabulary: - Optical Illusions These first graders were able to get some printmaking experience! Our first day we learned about printmaking - what it is, why artists do it - different ways they do it etc. I had buckets filled with found materials at the tables. I showed the students how to roll their paint into thin layers, and taught them the three steps to print. 1. DIP in the paint 2. PRESS on the paper and 3. PRINT, lift the object off the paper to see your print! The students were instructed to print each of the objects one time on their experiment paper so they could get an idea of what they objects would look like! Then I had them create some kind of pattern on that paper as well! The second day of this lesson we were creating our robots! We used the same materials and our experiment sheets to come up with what shapes and objects would work best for different parts of their robots! We based their robots off of humans to give them an idea to roll with but this requirement could for sure be changed for more creativity! The students got to explore and create their robot prints on tin foil to make them look like metal!
These first graders loved the experience of being printmakers, but boy did their art shirts come in handy these couple of days! Objectives: Learner will be able to EXPERIMENT stamping printmaking techniques using found objects onto a piece of paper that will serve as their experimental printmaking paper Learner will be able to CREATE a pattern by stamping the found objects of their choice onto their experiment paper in a pattern Learner will be able to CREATE symmetry while creating the arms and legs of their robot Learner will be able to CREATE a monoprint robot based off the human figure. Vocabulary: - Printmaking - monoprint |
Emma SantiagoI'm student teaching and learning the fantastic trade of being an art educator and loving every minute of it. |