passports, wigs and fabulous fish....week 4

 

 Week Highlight.... Teacher-ish

One of my young first grade students decided to use me as inspiration for a little drawing....  

the likeness is uncanning!

  

We are delving into pretty exciting lessons!  It's really great to see my students excited and really engaged in what they are doing :-) 

 

First Grade:  test-ish

Part of being a first grader in art is knowing steps, the routine of the art room and figuring out 'what's next'.  These little ladies and gentlemen had their first 'test', demonstrating the knowledge and skills they have adsorbed in the past 4 weeks.  Following the book from last week, they drew 'ish'- drawings that kinda look like something (ice cream-ish, teacher-ish, etc) Also, this quick activity showed me a little more of their skill, ability to follow a sequence and fine motor skills. 

 

initialing the pendant

   First and Second Bilingual: Jewelry Design

The second stage to our "Community Necklace" unit is using some paint and markers to gussy up our designs. 

 

Second Grade: Me with a wig

I can not believe how awesome my second grade students are doing on their self-portraits!  This week we slowly finished our facial features and added a 'wig'.  Obviously, we were bald and need something quick! The students' observation skills have improved so much that these wonderful 'wigs' make their pencil drawings come to life.  

outlining the 'wig'

Third Grade: Passport to France

putting together the passport

Finding France

You know what's great?  When you know, you got'em.  When you spend an entire art class not making anything, but rather looking, discussing and taking notes.  You got'em.  We arrived in Paris, France this week and came across some wonderful sites: Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame de Pari; and even met a with a friend from the past, Jean Petit and even met some new ones: Yianna and Helios.  Imagination can take you just about anywhere...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fourth Grade:  Matisse Struck Again

bold patterns

Seriously, this man is out of control!  My private investigators are having a hard time capturing this art culprit.  But we are getting close.  This week we practiced our observation skills with a memory activity.  After spending an art class studying and analyzing the details of The Red Room, the students had to provide a quick sketch from memory.  We discovered that we were not paying close enough attention to the details of the work to recreate it.  Hence, Matisse is still on the loose and has broken into the students' homes and redesigned one of their rooms.  The students had to document what the crazy patterns looked like.  These sketches will be the foundation for their paintings :) 

                                                               

exploring materials

Fifth Grade: Limited Available Resources

The primary focus of this week was to try to understand how prehistoric peoples used limited resources to create amazing drawings in a cave.  I gave them a limited pool of resources, comprised of soft charcoal, ink, white charcoal, medium charcoal and charcoal pencils.  The students had to explore these materials, what results they achieved with each material and note their properties as a team of anthropologists.

Sixth Grade:  Label Me
First I have to give credit to my wonderful colleague, Sarah, for introducing me to the art of Heidi Cody a few years ago.  Her art is fun, original and really engages students because of its relatable subject.  In their first exploration of identity, each student brought in letters for their names, found in everyday products.  In class, they practiced sketching each letter.  Precision and attention to detail is key in this lesson.

sketching letters

 










 MILE:  Fabulous Fish
Our school's MILE program focuses on the needs of students with special needs.  After 12 years, I have seen these wonderful students grow up and really become more and more independent.  Their art curriculum is primarily based on motor skills and simple tactile functions.  These students surprise me everyday.

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scales of the fish made from pony beads,

sequin and some squishy shapes

Check back for continuations of these projects 

and the start of new ones.  

First grade will be starting their art adventure with Anna, 
Second grade will be making their self portraits come to life
Third grade will be wearing berets in preparation to meet Paul Cezanne
Fourth grade will be sketching their 'crime scene'
Fifth grade will be unearthing prehistoric Palatine
Sixth grade will be working on their final name labels
MILE will be making themselves into scarecrows......

Leave me comments, give me suggestions or just hang out in the 

SMocKroom

xoxo, SMocK you