These are the posters I will use to teach collographs, scratchboard, watercolor resist, watercolor techniques, and milk jug masks. In a file folder, I have the techniques' full discriptions and ways of using the techniques
Monday, May 2, 2011
Posters
These are the posters I will use to teach collographs, scratchboard, watercolor resist, watercolor techniques, and milk jug masks. In a file folder, I have the techniques' full discriptions and ways of using the techniques
What makes a quality visual arts lesson plan?
Quality art lesson plans teach something. Many times I’ve been in a classroom and teachers are having students do “art” but there isn’t any teaching going on during this time. Usually students are told to just draw a picture or color in the picture already drawn. I found a blog of an art teacher who said this:
“My teaching process will consist of demos on how to use the material and art history relating to the art we discuss. I do not want to teach cookie cutter, cut-and-paste projects. Instead, I will let my students tap into their own inner creativity, with some guidance for the direction they should go in, to produce unique and personal artwork (Coggin, H.)”
As I was looking through my textbook, I remembered one particular example. It was of students dancing to music with marimbas while decorating a sheet of paper with paint on their feet (Clements, R. D. & Wachowiak, F., 2010). I desperately want to do this, not just because it sounds ridiculously fun but because students were completely engaged. Art lessons should do that. They could envelope students in the learning process. To make this even more visual, emphasis could be put on color and students could experiment with color mixing. It is also a great way to talk about abstract art.
When teaching art, teachers should teach techniques. One of my favorite blogs is Teach Kids Art. It’s full of wonderful lessons and all of them teach a technique. One was even virtual glass blowing (Unknown)! By teaching different techniques, students get a better idea of what art is out there. They may find that they are better at some techniques than others and this way everyone finds at least one thing they’re good at.
I also think lessons should focus, at least for a period of time, on the students’ emotions. In the instructions for teaching art to kids I found, step number 2 is to encourage the students to talk about things they like and dislike and how it makes them feel (Ryan, A). Some could argue that this isn’t important but I really think it is. Art is an expression of feelings at many times. If students could see that they can express their feelings through art this could really help them.
There are a lot of things an art lesson should have but I think overall it should just be fun, like all learning.
Clements, R. D., Wachowiak F., (2010) Emphasis Art: Ninth Edition, Boston, MA: Pearson Education, inc.
Coggin, H. (2010) Statement of Teaching Philosophy. Retrieved from http://abeginningartteacher.wordpress.com/statement-of-teaching-philosophy/
Ryan, A. (1999- 2011) How to Teach Art to Kids. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how_5329457_teach-art-kids.html
Unknown. Teach Kids Art. Retrieved from http://teachkidsart.blogspot.com/
“My teaching process will consist of demos on how to use the material and art history relating to the art we discuss. I do not want to teach cookie cutter, cut-and-paste projects. Instead, I will let my students tap into their own inner creativity, with some guidance for the direction they should go in, to produce unique and personal artwork (Coggin, H.)”
As I was looking through my textbook, I remembered one particular example. It was of students dancing to music with marimbas while decorating a sheet of paper with paint on their feet (Clements, R. D. & Wachowiak, F., 2010). I desperately want to do this, not just because it sounds ridiculously fun but because students were completely engaged. Art lessons should do that. They could envelope students in the learning process. To make this even more visual, emphasis could be put on color and students could experiment with color mixing. It is also a great way to talk about abstract art.
When teaching art, teachers should teach techniques. One of my favorite blogs is Teach Kids Art. It’s full of wonderful lessons and all of them teach a technique. One was even virtual glass blowing (Unknown)! By teaching different techniques, students get a better idea of what art is out there. They may find that they are better at some techniques than others and this way everyone finds at least one thing they’re good at.
I also think lessons should focus, at least for a period of time, on the students’ emotions. In the instructions for teaching art to kids I found, step number 2 is to encourage the students to talk about things they like and dislike and how it makes them feel (Ryan, A). Some could argue that this isn’t important but I really think it is. Art is an expression of feelings at many times. If students could see that they can express their feelings through art this could really help them.
There are a lot of things an art lesson should have but I think overall it should just be fun, like all learning.
Clements, R. D., Wachowiak F., (2010) Emphasis Art: Ninth Edition, Boston, MA: Pearson Education, inc.
Coggin, H. (2010) Statement of Teaching Philosophy. Retrieved from http://abeginningartteacher.wordpress.com/statement-of-teaching-philosophy/
Ryan, A. (1999- 2011) How to Teach Art to Kids. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how_5329457_teach-art-kids.html
Unknown. Teach Kids Art. Retrieved from http://teachkidsart.blogspot.com/
Monday, April 25, 2011
Practicum Reflection
For my practicum art lesson, I taught students about geometric and organic shapes. First I taught them the difference and then we found them in pieces of art. Finally, students created a piece of artwork using only geometric shapes.
I was very proud of how this lesson went. When it was all said and done, every student, the lows and highs, were able to tell the difference between geometric and organic shapes. I still had students a couple of days later pointing out shapes to me. I felt like I met my overall objective completely. I also think I was able to guide students based on their level pretty well. Based on their performance, I either had them add more details or add more color. The discussion went pretty good too. I had a lot of art for students to look at and the pieces were all different from each other. Students enjoyed finding the shapes. I ended up having to not do a few of my slides for lack of time.
If I were going to do things differently, I would have wanted to narrow students’ choice of what to draw by integrating it into another subject. Some students had lots of detail and lots of shapes. Others seemed to do as little as possible. I think if I would have limited their choice it could have sped up the process and could have forced students to do more. At the same time though, I liked that this was sole their own.
I really loved teaching this lesson. It made me want to do more. So many times I walk into an art lesson and find that it is just cut and paste. I feel like we’re limiting students’ potential by doing that. This lesson seemed much more valuable to me and enjoyable. I think students actually felt like they were getting better at something and learning something.
Here are some examples of students work:
I was very proud of how this lesson went. When it was all said and done, every student, the lows and highs, were able to tell the difference between geometric and organic shapes. I still had students a couple of days later pointing out shapes to me. I felt like I met my overall objective completely. I also think I was able to guide students based on their level pretty well. Based on their performance, I either had them add more details or add more color. The discussion went pretty good too. I had a lot of art for students to look at and the pieces were all different from each other. Students enjoyed finding the shapes. I ended up having to not do a few of my slides for lack of time.
If I were going to do things differently, I would have wanted to narrow students’ choice of what to draw by integrating it into another subject. Some students had lots of detail and lots of shapes. Others seemed to do as little as possible. I think if I would have limited their choice it could have sped up the process and could have forced students to do more. At the same time though, I liked that this was sole their own.
I really loved teaching this lesson. It made me want to do more. So many times I walk into an art lesson and find that it is just cut and paste. I feel like we’re limiting students’ potential by doing that. This lesson seemed much more valuable to me and enjoyable. I think students actually felt like they were getting better at something and learning something.
Here are some examples of students work:
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Modeling Clay Animal
This is Hogitha. She is princess of Pen state. Her subjects consider her to be just a little piglet. Someday, however, she'll grow to be the queen everyone's dreamed of. Pen state is the messiest place in the world and she plans to keep it that way if not make it even dirtier. It's actually something she takes pride in. The beautiful mounds of mud she can swim in is like a day at the spa for her. It's really a miracle she was clean when she posed for her sculpture. It was also difficult for her to not be eating for that long. Hogitha loves to eat. Mostly she eats slop. She never gets bored of it though because it changes from day to day. Sometimes it's leftover pizza. Other days it's week old Chinese take out. Her favorite is half eaten BBQ chicken though. Something about the previous persons saliva really leaves her mouth watering. At the end of the day, Hogitha is just your average fair tale pig. She dreams of living in a brick house and worries only about the big bad wolf. No wonder her subjects love her so much!
Wire Sculpture
This is my circus lion. He is about to pounce. I made this lion by using only my right hand and my teeth. The reason why I did this was to simulate not having a limb. To be honest it was one of the hardest things I've ever done in school. I was so frustrated with myself and the wire. Everything took much longer than I wanted it to and I ended up not putting some things I had originally planned. Taking that much longer would have made me go crazy. From this exercise I realized that some of my students are going to need more time to complete things and they might still not be able to finish. They might have to simplify things. It also helped me see how some things are going to make my students very frustrated and they might really dislike an assignment just because it's hard. Overall, it was a good experience.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Assessment in Art
At first I was thinking that assessing art would be almost insensitive. To me, art is so personal that to grade it is almost like grading the person. Yet, if I’m going to teach art, I’m going to have to grade it somehow right?
The thing I liked most from the textbook was this passage:
“Don’t apologize for making suggestions to children, initiating projects, and emphasizing art fundamentals. Where promising sequential , imaginative and qualitative art programs exist, the classroom or special art teacher is organizing, coaching, motivating, questioning, demonstrating, evaluating, approving and advising – in other words, TEACHING (R. D. Clements & F. Wachowiak, 2010, p. 52).”
For some reason in my mind I was thinking real artists would let students discover art on their own by almost letting them roam free. This passage really made the structured teacher inside of me breathe a sigh of relief. The idea of students roaming free with markers, paint, crayons and scissors if frightening to me. It’s nice to know that I can be a teacher and an artist at the same time.
Since I determined guidelines were a must, I needed to find out how to assess if students met those guidelines. In Assessment in Art, it talked about many different ways to assess art. My favorite was portfolios. The book described the portfolio as a story, something that showed the growth of the student (D. K. Beattie, p. 15). I think the best way to assess students in any subject is to look at their progress and using a portfolio is one way to do that.
On a website it suggested that a rubric be used in order to grade art. This is because they take out much of the subjectivity (Art Teacher Toolbox). I think it will be important to use rubrics as well as have students complete a portfolio. This way I will be fair and be able to assess their progress. Overall, I think assessment in art will be manageable.
References
Art Teacher Toolbox, Assessment. Retrieved from: http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/links/toolbox/assessment.html
Beattie, D. K. Assessment in Art. Retrieved from: https://online.uen.org/webct/urw/lc129121021.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
Clements, R. D. & Wachociak, F. (2010). Emphasis Art. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Integrating Art Into the Classroom
In the school world, where so much focus is put on reading and math, art seems to be the last thing on a lot of teachers’ minds. Integrating it into the curriculum seems to be the only way to fit it into the day but the questions are why, when we have so much more to do? And how?
The first question is answered in Emphasis Art. In chapter six it discusses three domains that when all in place help students to remember what they learned. The three domains are cognitive (facts), psychomotor (body movement) and affective (emotions) (C. Wachowiak, 2010, p. 69).When art is integrated into a subject, they will be experiencing all three domains. This means they are going to better retain the information! C. Porter, an arts educator, said, “Educators who integrate the arts into their classroom's core curriculum find inspiration for new teaching methods and experience deeper learning from their students” (C. Porter)
Incorporating art into social studies is something quite easy. A lot of the time we can use art in order to understand a person’s culture. The art has a cultural meaning (Art and Visual Culture). Using this, along with other strategies, students will be able to visualize what a past culture was like. It also helps us see how others perceived their own world. This always brings to mind political cartoons. While they are considered art, they tell a lot about the artists own beliefs and what is going on in their world.
Other subtracts also integrate with art, making all types of learning very engaging for students. For math, I am teaching students strategies to figure out multiplication problems. One of the strategies we use is drawing pictures. This visual concept helps them more than anything. I also found many lesson plans where art and language arts are integrated. One example was of the story of the gingerbread man. After reading the story, students were instructed to use paint to make a gingerbread house as well as gingerbread men (Zakowski, 2003)
Integrating art in the classroom is painless and productive. It’s something I hope to do as much as possible.
References
Art and Visual Culture. Retrieved from http://www.students.sbc.edu/lollis04/ArtandVisualCulture9.htm
Porter, C., Bringing Arts Into the Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.neohiofamily.com/articles/index.php?view=viewarticle&id=256
Wachowiak, C., (2010) Emphasis Art. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Zakowski, (2003). Gingerbread Man. Retrieved from http://cfschools.net/schools/ch/heazak/ginger/ginger.html
Friday, January 28, 2011
Why Teach Art?
Why Teach Art?In Emphasis Art, chapter 1, it gives many reasons for why we should teach art. One of the reasons was for personal communication and expression. It reads, “The idea that a person can make an individual statement through art - one that brings meaning and pleasure to self and others and that communicates to others - is a powerful rationale.” (R.D. Clements, F. Wachowiak p. 4) I agree with this statement whole heartedly. I think art really gives students a chance to express themselves in a time when they are told to think and do the same things as everyone else around them. They should read a certain way. They should do math a certain way. But with art, they can do whatever they feel like. They can be themselves and the pressure to be someone else isn’t there. What better reason is there to teach art?
Many people need more than one reason, which is partially why I went looking for more. On a website I found, there is an introduction to the topic. One of the things the author brought up was that students are not only doing art. It was said that they are making choices. (www.whyteachart.com) Their choices in art have consequences and the student has to take responsibility for those consequences. If students can apply this to their lives, we are not just teaching art anymore. We are teaching students to be responsible citizens.
There is a passage in The Arts and the Creation of Mind that talks about flexible purposing. This was a new term for me but the way I understood it was that art teaches you to be able to change directions or goals when something better comes along. In other words it teaches you to be rational. (Eisner p. 77) I’ve worked with struggling students for quite some time now . Some are socially challenged and have a very hard time changing to go with what’s best. I think if these students were able to experiment with art, they would become more adapt to change and handle it a lot better, just one more reason why we should teach art.
I found another article in the Boston Globe. It had one of the best lines I’ve read in my research. “As schools cut time for the arts, they may be losing their ability to produce not just the artistic creators of the future, but innovative leaders who improve the world they inherit.” (E. Winner, L. Hetland) I think that is a very scary thought. Teaching kids to use their creativity and think outside the box is something that could change the world. Why would someone want to remove that?
In a world that is full of depression and anger, there needs to be some light and happiness. I think one way that could really help that become reality is through the arts. I got the idea when I was reading in The Champions of Change: The Impact of Arts on Learning. The author made a comment that the arts can help students feel higher levels of achievement through the arts. (E. B. Fiske) If students feel like they’ve achieved something they are going to have a higher self esteem. I know so many students out there whose lives would change dramatically if they were able to view themselves as successful.
The last article I looked at was about why we should teach art in elementary school. I think C. Rakoczy summed it up very well when she said “Art teaches life skills.” (C. Rakoczy) Art is fun and doesn’t feel like learning to students. Yet, they are learning skills that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. That is why we should teach art.
Clements R. D., Wachowiak F., (2010) Emphasis Art: Ninth Edition, Boston, MA: Pearson Education, inc.
Fiske E. B., The Champions of Change: The Impact of Arts on Learning, p. VIII, Retrieved from https://online.uen.org/webct/urw/lc129121021.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
Eisner E., The Arts and the Creation of Mind, p. 77 Retrieved from https://online.uen.org/webct/urw/lc129121021.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
Rakoczy C., Why Teach Art In Elementary Schools, Your Dictionionary.com. Retrieved from http://answers.yourdictionary.com/answers/jobs-education/why-teach-art-in-elementary-schools.html
Why Teach Art? Retrieved from http://www.whyteachart.com/
Winner E., Hetland L., Art For Our Sake, The Boston Globe. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/09/02/art_for_our_sake/
Many people need more than one reason, which is partially why I went looking for more. On a website I found, there is an introduction to the topic. One of the things the author brought up was that students are not only doing art. It was said that they are making choices. (www.whyteachart.com) Their choices in art have consequences and the student has to take responsibility for those consequences. If students can apply this to their lives, we are not just teaching art anymore. We are teaching students to be responsible citizens.
There is a passage in The Arts and the Creation of Mind that talks about flexible purposing. This was a new term for me but the way I understood it was that art teaches you to be able to change directions or goals when something better comes along. In other words it teaches you to be rational. (Eisner p. 77) I’ve worked with struggling students for quite some time now . Some are socially challenged and have a very hard time changing to go with what’s best. I think if these students were able to experiment with art, they would become more adapt to change and handle it a lot better, just one more reason why we should teach art.
I found another article in the Boston Globe. It had one of the best lines I’ve read in my research. “As schools cut time for the arts, they may be losing their ability to produce not just the artistic creators of the future, but innovative leaders who improve the world they inherit.” (E. Winner, L. Hetland) I think that is a very scary thought. Teaching kids to use their creativity and think outside the box is something that could change the world. Why would someone want to remove that?
In a world that is full of depression and anger, there needs to be some light and happiness. I think one way that could really help that become reality is through the arts. I got the idea when I was reading in The Champions of Change: The Impact of Arts on Learning. The author made a comment that the arts can help students feel higher levels of achievement through the arts. (E. B. Fiske) If students feel like they’ve achieved something they are going to have a higher self esteem. I know so many students out there whose lives would change dramatically if they were able to view themselves as successful.
The last article I looked at was about why we should teach art in elementary school. I think C. Rakoczy summed it up very well when she said “Art teaches life skills.” (C. Rakoczy) Art is fun and doesn’t feel like learning to students. Yet, they are learning skills that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. That is why we should teach art.
Clements R. D., Wachowiak F., (2010) Emphasis Art: Ninth Edition, Boston, MA: Pearson Education, inc.
Fiske E. B., The Champions of Change: The Impact of Arts on Learning, p. VIII, Retrieved from https://online.uen.org/webct/urw/lc129121021.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
Eisner E., The Arts and the Creation of Mind, p. 77 Retrieved from https://online.uen.org/webct/urw/lc129121021.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
Rakoczy C., Why Teach Art In Elementary Schools, Your Dictionionary.com. Retrieved from http://answers.yourdictionary.com/answers/jobs-education/why-teach-art-in-elementary-schools.html
Why Teach Art? Retrieved from http://www.whyteachart.com/
Winner E., Hetland L., Art For Our Sake, The Boston Globe. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/09/02/art_for_our_sake/
Friday, January 21, 2011
What is Art?
What is art? You would think that a three word question would be simple to answer. It’s not. I’ve been pondering the question for a few days now and still haven’t come up with a decided answer. Maybe there really isn’t one though.
I decided to start my search for the answer out with an online dictionary. I just typed in the word “art” and it came up with this: the products of human creativity; the creation of beautiful or significant things. From this definition I determined a couple of things. One, art is an outcome. Art isn’t something that just exists; it has to have been made at some point in time. Two, art is created by man. In Art and Artworks, it has a story about a chimpanzee that creates some paintings. I do believe that art was created but according to the definition “products of human creativity” the artist couldn’t be the chimpanzee. The artist was whoever gave the chimpanzee the paint brushes. The chimpanzee was just a tool that was used. I don’t really think the animal knew what it was doing.
So I’ve come to the conclusion that art must be created and it must be created by man. Then I started wondering if art needed to be displayed in some fashion in order to be considered art. In a YouTube video, there was the example of the urinal put in the art gallery. This was what really got me thinking about display. Location was really the only difference between that one urinal and one in a normal male restroom. I concluded that display must have something to do with what art is. However, what about buildings, architecture? I know that some buildings are a work of art. There are so many structures that can take someones breath away that are created by man, such as the Eifel Tower. But they aren’t on display like the urinal. No, location shouldn’t make something art.
Next, I wanted to know if intent had anything to do with what art is. I was thinking art is planned to an extent. I came across a podcast by a Mr. Nehames. In part of the lecture he said that “the desire to make something special is characteristic of the artistic process.” Something drives the artist to make it but that defines the process, not art itself. Then I remembered that Maele gave her example of the squash she made and that complicated things. What she intended didn’t really happen but her work was still considered art. I started thinking about ancient pottery and pictographs. Maybe to the indigenous people this wasn’t art but now we think it is. No, artist’s intent is not a determining factor because some art is not intended to happen.
Tolstoy said, “…that whereas by words a man transmits his thoughts to another, by means of art he transmits his feelings.” After I read this I started thinking that feelings need to be a part of my definition. I play the piano and love listening to instrumental songs. So many songs that I’ve played have portrayed emotion. Claire de Lune by Debussy is my favorite song in the world because I feel an incredible peace when I hear or play it. To me, Claire de Lune is a masterpiece and Debussy is an artist. I have come to the conclusion that all art does bring feelings but the feeling that is present depends on the person looking or listening.
My definition of art is: a product of man that causes an onlooker to feel or think something. However I think everyone’s definition would be different.
I decided to start my search for the answer out with an online dictionary. I just typed in the word “art” and it came up with this: the products of human creativity; the creation of beautiful or significant things. From this definition I determined a couple of things. One, art is an outcome. Art isn’t something that just exists; it has to have been made at some point in time. Two, art is created by man. In Art and Artworks, it has a story about a chimpanzee that creates some paintings. I do believe that art was created but according to the definition “products of human creativity” the artist couldn’t be the chimpanzee. The artist was whoever gave the chimpanzee the paint brushes. The chimpanzee was just a tool that was used. I don’t really think the animal knew what it was doing.
So I’ve come to the conclusion that art must be created and it must be created by man. Then I started wondering if art needed to be displayed in some fashion in order to be considered art. In a YouTube video, there was the example of the urinal put in the art gallery. This was what really got me thinking about display. Location was really the only difference between that one urinal and one in a normal male restroom. I concluded that display must have something to do with what art is. However, what about buildings, architecture? I know that some buildings are a work of art. There are so many structures that can take someones breath away that are created by man, such as the Eifel Tower. But they aren’t on display like the urinal. No, location shouldn’t make something art.
Next, I wanted to know if intent had anything to do with what art is. I was thinking art is planned to an extent. I came across a podcast by a Mr. Nehames. In part of the lecture he said that “the desire to make something special is characteristic of the artistic process.” Something drives the artist to make it but that defines the process, not art itself. Then I remembered that Maele gave her example of the squash she made and that complicated things. What she intended didn’t really happen but her work was still considered art. I started thinking about ancient pottery and pictographs. Maybe to the indigenous people this wasn’t art but now we think it is. No, artist’s intent is not a determining factor because some art is not intended to happen.
Tolstoy said, “…that whereas by words a man transmits his thoughts to another, by means of art he transmits his feelings.” After I read this I started thinking that feelings need to be a part of my definition. I play the piano and love listening to instrumental songs. So many songs that I’ve played have portrayed emotion. Claire de Lune by Debussy is my favorite song in the world because I feel an incredible peace when I hear or play it. To me, Claire de Lune is a masterpiece and Debussy is an artist. I have come to the conclusion that all art does bring feelings but the feeling that is present depends on the person looking or listening.
My definition of art is: a product of man that causes an onlooker to feel or think something. However I think everyone’s definition would be different.
Art and Artworks. Chapter 1. Retrieved from https://online.uen.org/webct/urw/lc129121021.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
Art. Webster Online Dictionary. http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/art
Debussy. Claire de Lune
Nehames, A. What is Art? Retrieved from Philosophy Talk website: http://www.philosophytalk.org/pastShows/Art.html
Tolstoy, L. What is Art? (Excerpts). (Chapter five). Retrieved from http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/361r14.html
What is art?. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZXOL-HUfWM
Friday, January 14, 2011
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