Getting organized....and some fake glasses with mustaches...

The past couple of days have been pretty productive!  

My "To Do" list is becoming shorter and shorter by the hour....which is not  bad :)

The emphasis this year, from 1st to 6th grade, is to engage the students in thoughtful, reflective and interpretive observation, while making connections to bigger ideas and  greater concepts.  

WOW!

That doesn't sound like fun.....and pretty intense.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBBOMLURSGA

I was thinking about the little guys in first grade for which this year would be their first experience in an art room and working within a structured art curriculum.  (I note that this art curriculum is something I came up with to provide these 1st graders a linear approach to learning in the art room.)  So, in thinking about observing, I thought of a very classic movie, that has inspired many of days off.  Not only do these characters explore the great  

Art Institute of Chicago, but they look.....and they look...and they look.

How am I going to get these 1st grade students to look.  I mean really look and engage their senses to achieve a deeper understanding of paintings, sculptures and drawings.  How am I going to get them to find those tiny details that emphasize how special an art work really is.

My solution: fake glasses with mustaches.

 Within structure, steps, process and projects, we sometimes need to take step back and think of our audiences.  Sometimes our audiences need to pretend glasses have magical powers that allow them to see just a little clearer and find those tiny details.

This all sounds like child's play but underneath the eyebrow and the mustache lies the art literacy tools needed to help students 'look' at an art work.  

I coordinated the colors to a piece of the wheel.  Students spin the arrow and respond to the coordinating prompt :)  For all students to participate, at the beginning of each class have each student draw a color out a "hat".  Wherever the arrow lands, those students need to respond.  

There are many different ways to use these cards, these are a few ideas that just came to mind while wearing fake glasses with a mustache.

One of my favorite artist, Cy Twombly, makes you look.

 See you back in the SMocKroom !