This year in fourth grade

I had a huge range of characters in my fourth grade classes this year- some amazing artists, some chatterboxes, and some kids who just didn't like art. I tried to persuade them that art was awesome and even if you don't think you can make art, you can! We go into more in-depth projects in 4th grade, and it seems like some of them drag on forever. So my 4th graders didn't complete as many projects as my lower grades. We did elements and principles of art, a huge unit on Medieval art, American art and landscapes, and finally figurative art. There's a lot I want to change for next year, but here's what we learned about this year:

We learned about the elements of art (line, shape, color, value, pattern/texture, and space):

 We learned about op art and geometric forms, but alas I have NO pictures of our awesome paper sculptures...
We learned about Medieval art and craft, the guild system, and the patronage of the church and did projects including manuscripts and armor:

 gargoyles:

 and stained glass:

 We learned about American artist Jasper Johns and focused on stte symbols and emphasis:

 We learned about the Impressionist art movement and pointilism to create landscapes:

 We learned about proportion in figures and how to create movement in an artwork:

We also made figure sculptures which I also failed to photograph....
I'm considering switching up how I do things in my upper grades to involve more choice to hopefully engage the range of interests. Maybe using choice boards- like do 2 out of these 3 options to show you know the material. I also want to build in more feedback and reflection into my assessment of the upper grades. It may involve using sketchbooks with 4th grade as well as 5th. Or building in more routines... I have to think some more.....