2015-16 in review-5th grade

My Blue Art Room has had quite a hiatus! When last I blogged here I was just starting my 3rd year of teaching and beginning a new position of middle school art teacher. Now, here I am finishing my 4th year of teaching and 2nd in middle school. I'd like to get back into the habit of reflection and sharing here. Technology changes and social media changes, and I've spent much more time interacting with other art teachers on Facebook than doing the long, slow practice of writing about my work.

So, here we go.

The end of the school year is when I pass out the portfolio of work back to students and ask them what was their best piece and worst piece. It gives me an idea of which projects are worth doing again or not. My school's art curriculum is structured strongly around art history, and I try to connect with contemporary art and artists whenever possible. I've also tried to develop lessons for my middle schoolers that will have a significant level of choice and individual expression. 

5th grade

• My museum: Our 5th graders were lucky to have the chance to visit the Barnes Foundation at the beginning of the school year. To prepare them for their trip we learned about Barnes'symmetrical ensembles, the job of a curator, and the different genre of art. They arranged their own museum galleries using printouts of some of the images from the Barnes collection, and drawing a 1 pt perspective room with museum details like lighting, signs, visitors, and guards. When complete, they critiqued them by deciding which museum they would most want to visit and why.
  
• Masterpiece Mashup: Delving in further into the collections at the Barnes, my students talked about what art they liked best, and selected 2 images from postcards from the Barnes to mashup into their own unique masterpiece. Although.. it appears that this one was sparked by arms and armor and a George Segal from the PMA-my postcard collection must have been a little mixed up. hen complete, the students decided how to display their masterpieces in a Barnsian ensemble. (ps-I hate oil pastel.)
  
• Hex signs: Taking one last inspiration from the Barnes, we explored hex signs. When Barnes couldn't import art from abroad during WWII he turned to local handicrafts for his collection. Since our state standards require us to introduce PA art and artists, this hex sign project was perfect. These symbols are found all over Southeastern Pennsylvania on the barns of PA Dutch farmers. My students were eager to share their experiences seeing them on trips out into Lancaster county. We were also able to learn radial design, geometric shapes, and color symbolism.

• Self-portrait monoprints: This is one of my favorite projects in 5th grade, because printmaking is so much fun. We combined monoprinting (markers on plexiglass laid over photo printouts, traced, and printed)and texture rubbings for the backgrounds) We talk about emotional color and mood. Some students enjoy utilizing more than one of their prints to express different sides of their personality.
  
• Still-life relief prints: our printmaking adventure continued with foam relief prints. I let students choose to draw their own object or use a magazine image for inspiration. They carved their foam and printed. Those who were ambitious carved for a reduction print or cut out part of the foam for a puzzle block color effect. I liked how the process allowed for differentiation. It was simple enough for my lower students with levels of progressive difficulty for my higher students. Some chose to alter their prints by coloring them with colored pencils as well.
  
• National Parks landscape stamp design: I've done similar versions of this project before. Sometimes it's famous landmarks, or state symbols. In honor of the anniversary of the National Park system this year, I assigned each student a different National Park to research. We went to the computer lab and researched images of the landscape, the animals, and the plant life to use in a stamp design. This was an opportunity to connect with science and ecology, as well as with social studies and geography. One class did this project as a watercolor pencil painting, and another did it as a photoshop collage. The digital versions were much more successful and related with the concept of design.
• Face jugs: I found an excellent video on PBS History detectives on Edgemont, SC pottery to introduce my students to the tradition of face jugs. I also shared a video read-along of the story of Dave the Potter. Our face jug project even tied back into the Barnes collection and his African Masks. (I love it when I can tie together all sorts of connections in a project!!!) I taught my students to make a pinch-pot base and coiled body for a simple pot, then scoring, slipping, smoothing clay to attach the features. This is the first time in K-8 our students get to work with real clay, since there is no kiln in our elementary building. When complete we used our jugs for a cereal or OJ breakfast and talked about what forms are better for which purpose.
  
• Narrative Collage: For a literacy connection, my students learned about storytelling in art. We looked to Pieter Breughel for inspiration, then created a magazine collage with a setting, character, and action.Once complete, students chose to write a story to accompany their picture or to draw a before or after picture to show sequence, cause and effect, or problem/solution. My students really struggled with the collage aspect. I think next year I should try it as a cartooning unit instead,
  
• Art History Zine: I don't get to see my 5th graders during PSSA testing due to rescheduling, so while they were with my sub I assigned each student an artist throughout at history to research. They had to find an image, 3 biographical facts, and a quote. I tried to select a range of women and men of a variety of cultures fora diverse selection. Students then drew a comic book-like bio page using their research for reference. Once I got them back I photocopied each student's page, and had them choose up to 5 pages they would like to use to make a small zine. They origami-folded each pamphlet and glued them together into a book with covers. They made a title page and book review on the covers, as a final touch. I also sent home permission slips to see if my students could have their work donated to our local zine library- the Soapbox. I created one big 20 page zine using the images they drew to donate. I liked how this project involved research, cartooning, book arts, and public art ideas.
  
• My Philadelphia Story: My students were invited to participate in a public art project that will be installed at the Philadelphia International Airport. I visited the studios of Matthew Alden Price and Won Kyoung Lee to learn more about it. Then had my students draw pictures and bring objects to donate that reflected their experience of the city of Philadelphia. The Phillies, The Eagles, the Mummers, softball, skateboarding, bike life, and dance are the things my students love the best about their city.
• My favorite genre: to conclude our study of various genre of art and techniques this year,I challenged my students to select what type of picture they preferred (portrait, still life, landscape, narrative, abstract, or public) and the 2D medium they preferred (pencil, marker, paint, pastel) to create a final personal work of art. This one started as a still-life of a duck decoy, but then he added the pond and reflection around it. I was so proud of my students and their engagement in this final project. Many reported this as being their favorite project because they really felt like artists making decisions.
  

I'm pleased with how the 5th grade curriculum has developed. I understand the big picture and purpose of how the projects to together and use an essential question to drive the learning. I believe we will continue to work with these themes next year. I would like to do more observational drawing practice with next year's 5th graders to bridge the awkward middle school belief in drawing ability. They don't THINK they know how to draw. They need more opportunities to try. I've shared 10 of the 13 projects we did together in 5th grade this year. Two years ago I lamented how little work we'd accomplished in one year. In comparison, this year 5th grade art was a brilliant success!

More portraits!

 I'm not sure where I found this lesson idea-- somewhere in Pinterest-land probably,but I thought it was a great literacy integrated project. Kids did a 4-square organizer to plan out the cover of their favorite book (title/author, characters/setting, 2 sentence summary, impressions of the book). We talked about how the information they wrote about the characters, setting, and plot should put pictures in their head and help them come up with an illustration for the cover.

 We learned about the parts of a book, and noticed where designers put all the information that makes us want to read the book. After completing the covers,we broke out the construction paper and made collaged self-portrait. What a messy, crazy room it was with paper everywhere!!! It seemed a bit wasteful, but the kids did a great job making interesting hair,slightly in relief. The books were added on,sticking out from the page. Although most of the faces were covered by the books, you can peek down between the layers to see their expressions.

 It was very interesting to see what books were chosen, and how that reflected the reading levels of my 2nd graders. Lots and lots of Dr. Seuss books were chosen, a few Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Magic Treehouse chapter books showed up, and then there were a few kids who stole my heart by selecting Alice in Wonderland and Voyage of the Dawn Treader from the Chronicles of Narnia.

 At their age,I might have chosen Little House on the Prairie as my favorite book series. Of course, I was the early reader and perpetual bookworm always lost in another world of an author's creation.  I hope my students caught some of my enthusiasm for reading through this project- I think kids need to see that adults love reading. Reading gets bogged down in academics and testing. I tricked them into doing a book report with this project, but for the most part the kids seemed engaged in the stories they were showing me.

For the few kids who seemed lost for an idea, I reminded them that there are ALL KINDS of books- including comic books, instruction manuals, fact books, dictionaries, etc. And I have several projects that show Minecraft and Lego building guides.There's even one or two book covers with the words "written and illustrated by" on them because a child wanted to write their own book! 

I greatly admire authors- theirs is a greater art than mine. I make pictures a viewer can explore, but an author paints a whole world of characters and story making us create the images in our own heads actively. This is a great feat....
Keep reading everybody!!

Tired of snow yet?

 Maybe never. At least my Kinders aren't yet. We tried drawing self-portraits starting with a directed drawing, then adding color and pattern, and finally printing with a q-tip on top to make a flurry or a blizzard.
After 2 years of no snow days, we're getting our fill this year. Another storm may be on the way...

 I'm not sure what's going on in the one above- happy? sad? I think it's exasperated. More snow!!!??? Yay? I don't think we're ever going to get all these projects done. We should just go hibernate and come out when the crocus pops up.

Can you feel the emotion?

 How are you feeling today? I'm feeling pretty proud of my 3rd graders. Right before Winter break we were able to finish our "Emotional Self portraits". I just got around to photographing and sharing these on Artsonia, where you can read their artist statements as well.

 Most of my students did happy faces, but there were a lot of surprised ones too (it's fun to draw surprise), and a few did bored or tired. Whatever emotion they were trying to show, they had to show through facial expression and through their choice of background color.

 We were using the Biggie Tempera cakes for the first time. I had them mix colors right on the paper or on the lids to the trays. Last year I had jars of tempera in boxes on the tables and the kids used popscicle sticks to dole out paint onto a palette and mix. But distribution was such a hassle, and many kids spent more time mixing colors than actually painting. Or they wouldn't ever mix enough. I think the Biggie Tempera was much easier to distribute and use, although the mixing issue was still a slight problem, and many kids were too impatient to let things dry before painting next to an area, and they had colors bleed. It shared issues normally seen in watercolor painting. Overall, the portraits look slightly sloppy, but perhaps I'm just putting adult aesthetics inappropriately on viewing kid paintings... The ones I'm sharing here now are the best from each class. I do have some very careful painters. I wonder how the 4th graders would compare...

 These 2, above and below, I find the most expressive and imaginative. The glasses on the one above make it look so much like the child who painted it- it's oddly the most realistic of the group despite the rough painting. And the one below was a feat of creativity, for unhappy with the way he painted his eyes, he decided to paint a scuba mask on the face and turned it into a diver afraid of an oncoming shark!!

 The half-closed eyes and purply colors make this one soooooo sleepy:

 This one had a funny story about feeling sneaky because he was spying on his sister:

 And apparently this individual has anger issues (I'm not kidding, he actually wrote that in his artist statement!):

 I'm fascinated with their honesty in 3rd grade. They share their thoughts and feeling uninhibitedly. I'm glad they feel art class is a safe place for that and that our projects give them an opportunity for self-expression.

 Last year I had third grade do conversations portraits showing themselves talking with a friend, but this year the kids seemed more invested in just painting their own large self-portrait.

 This Philly's hat and Call ofDuty shirt give me an idea for next year... clothes and accessories make a big difference in showing who you are and what you are interested in. We'll have to try emphasizing that next time.

I wish I could post all of them, but really I already did on Artsonia. Go check out the rest, and feel free to leave a comment for my students!

5th grader Abstract Me

 You know those projects you think are going to be really quick and easy? And then they're not. Well, it's partly my own fault because I've been trying to build sketchbook work and extra skills into my 5th grade lessons. Only problem with that is then projects take forever. This looks pretty simple, but students did measuring and compass use practice before drawing their compositions.

 They did a written brainstorm to develop text to put into their artwork and practiced some different letter styles.

 They did a color wheel exercise and chose analogous color harmonies for their paintings.

 And of course, there was the drawing, sharpie outlining, and painting.

 Kids were very invested, despite the lengthy process, because these explored their favorite subject matter- themselves! It was also low-risk art skills-wise as using ruler and compass helped them make bold abstract compositions, and using analogous colors minimized muddy painting.

 I highly recommend this kind of art project for middle school and up. Most of my 5th grade curriculum centers on self-expression in some form or other. As pre-teens, they are trying to figure themselves out and developing their personalities. Art can be a great catalyst for helping them emerge as adolescents, and it is crucial that their fragile egos are supported.

 This kind of project also reveals a great deal about students. They discover they have things in common, and it gives insight into their interests. These can then be mined for future projects.

 I find it curious how some went more curvilinear and other more geometric. Some are bold, others are quiet.

Now if I can only get them to stop being so chatty and get some work done!

Welcome Back!

I'm a bit belated with back-to-school room setup pictures, but better late than never. I headed back to my room around August 20th to start setting up. Then we had a whole week of professional development at the end of August. Kids started back to school on the Tuesday after labor day, but we only had 2 half days and then 2 off for Jewish holidays. I didn't get to see students on those first half days. So FINALLY this week my blue art room was filled with little creative bodies and minds.

 Our class sizes went up slightly this year. Instead of 21-23 per class there's now 22-25. It doesn't seem like much except that my room is so small, it's hard to fit any more. Last year my tables were arranged to fit a maximum of 23. Now I have a regular set up for 24, and have to pull a table out to fit one more kid on an end to fit 25. All my tool set ups are sorted for 23, so I had to get additional white boards, scissors, etc. Above you can see a sampling of Kindergarten self-portraits. I offered no exemplar, and just instructions that their picture had to have their name and a drawing of yourself. We also sang "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" as a reminder to draw ALL of our body parts. The pictures at left reveal more advanced Kinders who already know to use shapes and realistic color as well as a ground plane in a drawing. The two center ones show stick figures and the start of shape figures, but with little color choice. The majority of the Kinders are at this stage. The two at right are my low level Kinders who are still in the tadpole figure stage with arms and legs coming out of the head, and another who did not make a figure at all, but is still in scribble and bangdot stage. It's so revealing! I have a girl who just turned 6 today and many who I'm sure just turned 5 in August.

The rest of my kids are doing a letter design collaborative project that will spell out an "ART IS.." quote. I gathered tons of them and printed them out as posters for my bulletin board. Each kid will make a block or bubble letter with contrasting warm and cool colors, and I will assemble them when they are done to hang in the hallways. After this each class 1st-5th will move onto another text-based design. It's a great way to ease them into making art. They know their letters- they don't realize they are drawing when they design letter artworks. And they have a chance to get used to various materials before they have to make something remotely representational.

 Not too much has changed in my room- except for a few classroom management and instructional aids. I bought a coqui scraper instrument to use as an attention-getter when kids are getting noisy. I told them not to "Wake up the frog!" or they'd lose their stars:

 Lost stars result in silent time. But if they keep their stars they earn a sticker on the chart for the day:

When they reach a color bar their class gets a prize- to be negotiated. I'm exhausted from the first full week on my feet, and from repeating the rules 22 times. I've only had 3 kids whose behavior was truly difficult. Out of 500, that's not too shabby. The distribution of students among the classes feels really good- splitting up some problem relationships. And since I know the kids better this year, I can start the year off so much more easily. Like I know not to put THAT KID next to that OTHER KID, and I know most kids names already.


I'm hoping and praying to have a good year. If the first week is any sign, it will be.

3rd grade conversations

 This project took up most of 3rd quarter for the 3rd grade! We learned about portraiture and self-portraiture. We looked at Georges Rouault's portraiture for color and at Norman Rockwell's "Gossips" painting for the idea of a conversation. Talking is a problem I have with 3rd grade- tattling and noise!!! So this project idea is a little tongue in cheek for me. (If you want to talk so much, show me who you talk to and how you feel!)

 Although I stressed proportion in drawing the facial features, not everybody "got it", especially in contrasting the profile and the full view for their talkers and listeners. They did, however, really get the idea of emotions, and their painting are quite expressive. They made interesting facial expressions, and used expressive colors in the background to emphasize emotion.

We also talked about how to mix tints and shades, and they did a great job mixing facial tones. On our last day before Spring break, students went back and re-outlined the boundaries between colors and used oil pastel to cover up any unfinished areas. This project finally wraps up our study of genre! Next we'll be moving on to our trip around the world with art.

5th grade Value and Unity

 Hallelujah! The 5th graders have completed their grid portraits!! It was a feat, getting through measuring grids on our photos and project papers, and figuring out how to match box for box. Some struggled through the whole thing, but others really focused and persevered to create some impressively realistic portraits. I think 5th grade is the earliest age that can handle this kind of project- I usually see this process used at the middle and high school levels. So considering the developmental challenges of this project, our success rate was quite good.

 They didn't come out quite how I expected, because once they were done shading their faces and erasing all the grid lines, there was a desire to change the background somehow. Some students simply cut out their portrait and glued it down to a colored piece of paper. Others decided to add a background in colored pencil or crayon. While these additions seem juvenile in comparison to their skilled portraits, I think the combination reveals their confused position between childhood and adolescence.

 These background additions also show some more personality, and provided more choice options to how the final piece looked. Speaking of choice, students had lots of options. They could copy the photo, enlarge the photo, distort their image by using a wavy lined grid, or start with a collaged section of their photo to extend and complete it. Whereas the images above are all 9x12, the drawing below is 12x18. Very few students chose the distortion option. Finally I asked them if they would want to have their self-portrait on display or not. I know how self-conscious this age group can be, both about their bodies and their skills, making this a doubly potentially embarrassing project to have on display. Strangely, some of the best portraits were ones I was asked NOT to display. Maybe they don't want to show off either.

 As students completed their portraits at different rates I had another simple project waiting in the wings. A recent visit for a meeting with fellow art teachers at Tyler yielded a stack of waste lithograph prints that the print department was getting rid of. I thought we'd use the grid concept one more time for assembling an image. I cut the prints into 2 inch squares, which disrupted any realism and left only interesting patterns, values, and lines.

 I asked students to select 9 squares and puzzle them together to create a new image- making sure that no two squares that were originally together remained together (we were not trying to reconstruct the old image, but create a new one). Next students paired up to share their collages and brainstorm ways that their pictures could be more unified. I asked them to use black and colored sharpies to connect and unify the squares in order to lose the grid. They had to extend the lines, patterns, and values across the squares to blend them together.

 At the end of class we brought all our collages up (some students made more than one) and they students pointed out which ones felt the most unified or complete as a single image. I was very pleasantly surprised at how much students enjoyed this exercise. Even my students who often seem the most demanding and helpless worked independently and successfully on this project. I believe it was because they had to be choicemakers more than imagemakers for this project. It was an exercise in aesthetics really, with only a little bit of added embellishment.

 My students seem quite comfortable with abstract imagery. Even the Kindergartners and first graders understand the artistic possibilities of line, shape, and color. Realism seems to cause anxiety in the art room. I think this project could also work successfully with magazine collage squares in color instead of the black and white prints.

Next up I think we're going to do some compositional work in 5th grade, cropping a resource image to find a new composition.