Are your students disinterested and tired of the traditional ways of learning characterization? Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Well, look no further! I present to you a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, […]
Teaching split grade classes is not an easy feat. Read this list of strategies for teachers to consider when teaching split grade classes.
In 6th grade, we talked about how colors can evoke emotions. For example, red can mean love or anger. The students took self portraits with ...
Inspired by pinterest... I took photos of the children a few days before starting the lesson. Use a white background when taking the profile photo. Use photo shop to create the silhouette or other photo editing software. I had the silhouettes printed on large 11x17 paper at my office. The day we started the lesson we talked about the elements of art, line, shape, form, value, space and some principles such as pattern and rhythm with the use of a power point. To finish the class, I had students trace them on the light table on 12x18 paper. Students also practiced creating patterns based on some examples on a worksheet I created for practicing the zentangle designs. I assessed the students designs and discussed some more options, ideas and things to stay away from on day two. I also equipped each table with some step by step zentangle pages I got from various sources on the internet including pinterest. These helped a lot! Students outlined their pencil silhouette with black sharpie. We then started dividing the background into large sweeping sections. Students then began creating Zentangles in the sections using ultra fine point sharpies and regular sharpies to fill in areas with black. After a few days of working, we decided the final step would be to fill in the silhouettes with black. I did experiment with adding watercolor in a wash and tie-dyed fashion to the background. That looked cool too. We didn't do that to our final project due to time needs for our short time together. The final results were great! I made suggestions for students to add details to areas, add more contrast by adding blacked out areas and finally to spend a little time sharpening and cleaning up various lines. The turned out GREAT!
My rule #1 in a series about bringing out the best behavior in middle school students, Helpful tips for managing adolescents effectively.
Can you believe we only have 8 days of school left? Where did this year go? Looking back on all of the projects that we completed, I am very pleased with the quality and quantity of work that my students produced. I truly believe that I have the most talented, wonderfully amazing students in the world! While looking back over all of the projects, I was shocked and a little upset with myself that we didn't do printmaking this year. While in college, I LOVED printmaking. I even did an independent study in it and my entire senior art exhibition was printmaking. We did printmaking in 7th grade last year but I wanted to kick it up a notch this year and make it a bit more challenging. I decided to try reduction printmaking! For this project, I took a picture of the students and used paint.net to posterize the photos into 3 colors (black, grey and white). Students shaded on the back and transferred all of their white areas onto the linoleum. We use easy carve linoleum at school and it's so easy for the kids. We haven't had any slips (or bad cuts) this year! Students used the gauge to carve away all of the areas of their print that would be left white. Since we were printing on white paper, we didn't need to print this part. All that would be left would be the grey and black areas. They chose a color and mixed it with some white to make a tint. Then students pulled a proof. A proof is a practice print so they can see what it would look like. If they were happy with their proof, they could pull 10 or more quality prints. The students discussed what made a quality print and here is their list... enough ink, no white spots linoleum carved away where it was meant to be carved away (no stray marks) Ink has an orange peel texture No finger prints No smudges (where the paper slipped on the plate) After they printed 10 or more quality prints, they had to carve away all of the grey area, leaving only the black areas to print. They then mixed a shade of ink and printed on top of their first prints. Here is the final result
Our first project this year has been a very progressive, multi step, multi media project that has really evolved as we created! Our first project when we got back from hurricane Harvery was to release some stress with scribbling to music.... Students spread out on the floor and scribbled to the sound of fast and slow music by “The Piano Guys” they love these songs because they recognize them from the radio but it’s all instrumental. The students were instructed to use large arm motions that cross over the body. Any motion that crosses from the right side of the body to the left or vise versa uses both hemispheres of the brain since each side controls one side of the body. It is very relaxing and the kids LOVED it!!!!!! The next class kids painted over thier scribbles with water colors, tempera paint, and India ink. They explored the way different paint resists or does not resist the crayon. You can follow me on instagram for more photos "Natty241" And my facebook page "Mrs. Waggenspack's Art Room" They were allowed to use their hands at the end. We try to use all 5 senses for a while brain experience. We talked about abstract art, Kinetic art, And the experience of art. It is a process and not just a product that we create in art. After each experience we gathered on the floor and talked about how they felt in one word. Students said, “Free, alive, happy, exhilarating, dancing, creative, like a real artist, quiet, excited, open,angry, peaceful,etc” When the paintings were finished the students tore them up into strips! They were so upset at first. When they saw the next step they were so excited. The students glued the strips on a late paper for the collage. This took three 50 minute classes. Then students traced the eyes and nose of the animal they wanted and outlines the eyes, nose, and beaks with India ink. ( pictures at the bottom of blog) this is the resin I use. I paint it on with a brush. This resin must be mixed one to one ratio and it is toxic so you must wear a mask. Do NOT let the children use it. You have to do it for them if you want the ultra shiney eyes effect! Wear a mask and use gloves! You can sprinkle glitter in it too for extra FUN!!! Then they glued the eyes and nose on the collage. The next step was to embellish the face and add details. We used India ink and fan brushes to make fur and feathers. When the entire face was finished I added resin to the eyes to make them shine These are how the eyes and noses look before they cut them out. We used the fan brush for making fur. These are the travers they could use for eyes, noses and beaks
I need to get some class samples done for a Mola class I am leading next month: You can follow along while I create the horse: Molas consist of layers... Authentic Molas use the reverse appliqué method... In this 3 hour class we will use the fusible appliqué method This technique involves filling all the available space The horse shape is filled in... now to fill in the background area I am working with pre-fused fabrics and placing them on black felt I decided to use up the scrap fabrics all over the table for the background fill All the leftover snippets filled in the background nicely Giddyup I also had time to get this monkey mola done Mola Class Samples: I had fellow instructors over for Mola play days. I will post about that soon! I left the Thread Shed tonight and walked over to the house... The flowers in front of the house are putting on a show tonight as the sun sets... Calla Lilies at sunset... Magic happens when they are backlit from the setting sun CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
April 16, 2012 This session I will be teaching my fifth grade class. Unfortunately my sixth graders left and will be moving onto the middle school next year:( I will miss them greatly. What a good bunch of kids! April 15, 2012 Silkscreening T-shirts with a Social or Environmental Message! Miss Flegal and I cashed in on these stretcher bars we came upon and combined them with white organza fabric to make silkscreens! Students brought in their own t-shirts and used elmer's glue to create a resist. The exciting component about this project was the glow-in-the-dark printing ink I was able to find to make their shirts really special! March 21, 2012 Sixth grade silhouettes complete! Our art program has been getting so many positive comments about the front entrance of our building and these vibrant mosaic silhouettes. Using marbled paper that the students made and thinking about color choice that coincided with their action or movement was very important. Lastly, we incorporated a literacy element inspired by Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see? March 9, 2012 My sixth graders are back and we are working on life sized art projects combining two types of art we just looked at and learned a lot about-- silhouettes and mosaics. These were inspired by an installation art piece we did last year as an entire building. I cannot believe how cool these are looking! Our media for this project has included cardboard, black latex paint, various colors of construction paper, shaving cream and tempera paint for marbling, scissors and glue stick. The poses for the silhouettes were derived from the children themselves and interests they have both in and outside of school as well an energy or emotion they are trying to evoke. When all is said and done we are incorporating an element of Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear book. I can't wait to post more when they are finalized next week! December 2, 2011 This six week session I will be instructing my fifth grade class and will return to teaching fifth grade again in February. Stay tuned... November 11. 2011 Self Portraits in Chuck Close Style Students in sixth grade are integrating math skills by measuring and creating a grid for an exact self portrait drawing. This is the method that artist Chuck Close uses to create his portraits. After spending extensive time learning about his life-- he is my FAVORITE artist, we are now in the beginning stages of creation. So far, so good! November 4, 2011 Oh what a busy Friday! Students were busy glazing ocarinas as well as using acrylic paints to put finishing touches on their cubism Picasso sculptures. It was a great way to end a busy week and we will look forward to working in new art media next time. October 26, 2011 Pablo Picasso Sculptures in progress... Students are using some unconventional tools for their current sculptural project-- wood scraps, glue, wire and pantyhose. Yes, you heard me right. If your child has recently come home talking about using pantyhose as part of his art project, he is not lying to you. Here is what we have started in the past few days. October 19, 2011 Ocarinas We are trying our hand at constructing ocarinas out of clay. Students did extensive research online and here is what we have learned so far. The ocarina (/ɒkəˈriːnə/) is an ancient flute-like wind instrument.[1] Variations do exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is often ceramic, but other materials may also be used, such as plastic, wood, glass, clay, and metal. The ocarina belongs to a very old family of instruments, believed to date back to over 12,000 years.[2] Ocarina-type instruments have been of particular importance in Chinese and Mesoamerican cultures. For the Chinese, the instrument played an important role in their long history of song and dance. The ocarina has similar features to the Xun (塤), another important Chinese instrument (but is different in that Ocarina uses an internal duct, whereas Xun is blown across the outer edge.)[3] In Japan, the traditional ocarina is known as the tsuchibue (kanji: 土笛; literally "earthen flute"). Different expeditions to Mesoamerica, including the one conducted by Cortés, resulted in the introduction of the ocarina to the courts of Europe. Both the Mayans and Aztecs had produced versions of the ocarina, but it was the Aztecs who brought the song and dance to Europe that accompanied the ocarina. The ocarina went on to become popular in European communities as a toy instrument.[4][5] Its earliest use in Europe dates back to the 19th century in Budrio, a town near Bologna, Italy, where Giuseppe Donati transformed the ocarina from a toy, which only played a few notes, into a more comprehensive instrument (known as the first "classical" ocarinas). The word ocarina in the Bolognese dialect means "little goose." The earlier form was known in Europe as a gemshorn, which was made from animal horns of the Gemsbok. The ocarina was featured in the Nintendo video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, attracting a marked increase in interest and a dramatic rise in sales.[6][7] How an ocarina works: 1. Air enters through the windway 2. Air strikes the labium, producing sound 3. Air vibrates throughout the inside of the ocarina Covering and uncovering holes lowers and raises the pitch Source: Wikipedia Here are our ocarinas in progress... Let's hope they make music once they are come out of the kiln! October 17, 2011 After not having my sixth grade class for the first six weeks of this school year they are now occupying my room every morning for 45 minutes for the next six weeks. It is such a joy to have them and experience their growth since I last saw them as fifth graders. We started our time together with a pencil study called The Vanishing Snack. I adapted this from high school art teacher Mrs. Vogel of Field High School. My students as usual have risen to the challenge and are producing wonderful work. At each stage of their four part drawing, they are wrinkling a pop can and drawing it as well as all of its highlights and shadows in its new state. September 7, 2011 Because of our new six week schedule I will not see my sixth graders until October 10th! Stay tuned... June 1, 2011 Tile Triptychs in progress! Students in sixth grade are embarking on a triptych constructed of clay. A triptych is a three paneled piece of art that views as one continuous piece but is constructed in stages. This has been a great opportunity for them to learn about specific properties of clay and how to work with this medium from one class to the next, keeping it moist and workable. The students were expected to include text, an image and possibly a favorite verse that states something about themselves as an individual. April 21, 2011 Plaster Hands and Feet March 13, 2011 In sixth grade we have about three projects going on at once. One is our plaster hands and feet project that we started back in January. Here they are as works in progress.... January 31, 2011 Recently in sixth grade I set my students loose with plaster and these thoughts in mind. Below are the results so far. Once again, their minds, their thought processes and their creative journeys amaze me. I will keep blogging as their projects move along... Take a moment and think about all of the uses of your hands in the course of a day, the course of a hour or even a minute. For example list every way you can think of that you used your hands just this morning… -to brush your teeth -to eat your breakfast What do you think your hands can say about a person? Can they have polished nails? Wear certain rings? Does their appearance tell you a story? For example having wrinkles… Let’s think about some of those features. Next think about phrases that have the word hand in it… “hands of time” “helping hands” “clap your hands” “give me a hand” “lend a hand” “in good hands”… If you could compare your hand to another object of similar form what would that be? A growing tree branching out? Sunday, January 16, 2011 Don Drumm Inspired Endangered Animals Students in sixth grade studied the metal art works of local artisan Don Drumm and then decided to make a statement with their art. After doing some research about the current Endangered Species list they created these metal embossed pieces about animals of diminishing numbers. Next, by adding a statement, they could give the animal a voice to be heard. Won’t you do your part in raising awareness for some of these unknown creatures? Below is our display of the completed sixth grade Chuck Close inspired portraits. Chuck Close Self Portraits in Progress November 29, 2010 We are wrapping up our Chuck Close portraits and the end results are amazing. Not only are students manipulating charcoal very well to create various tones but they have mastered a likeness of their own face! Chuck Close Self Portraits November 15, 2010 Wow! It has been awhile since I have updated my sixth section of the blog. Students have been hard at work and are tackling difficult projects and techniques. Most recently we have begun working in Chuck Close grid style. You can see his work at http://www.chuckclose.coe.uh.edu/. He is my favorite artist. Using a grid, students have integrated math skills into their drawing by focusing on exact measurements for precision. Here are a few of their starts... Vanishing Snack Drawings October 14, 2010 Students in sixth grade are training their eyes to see close details through these altered still life drawings. They are working on drawing a pop can and then slowly crushing it until it becomes very minimal. At each stage they have to look closely at how their object has been changed and then try and draw it. Charcoal has aided them in learning about the value scale. They are beginning to see that with shadows some parts can be extremely dark and extremely light.
Students can travel across the globe without leaving the classroom. Check out these fun geography lessons for any grade and curriculum.
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
So, yesterday I showed you how I got my angle studies kicked off with my students–how I solidified understanding of “right angle”. We had lots left to accomplish–so I’ll try to share some of the different lessons and activities we did over the next days! Tip 1: If you can get your hands on thin […]
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Read about eleven different ways to meaningfully incorporate art in ELA class. Keep the focus on students' learning, not their artistic abilities.
Drawing exercises worksheets are a valuable tool for both beginners and experienced artists to enhance their skills. These worksheets provide a structured approach to practice different drawing techniques and develop a solid foundation in art. Whether you are an aspiring artist wanting to improve your artistic abilities or an art teacher looking for engaging and educational resources for your students, these drawing exercises worksheets will guide you through various subjects and help you develop your skills in a fun and creative way. Start sharpening your artistic skills today with these effective and easy-to-use worksheets!
In 6th grade, we talked about how colors can evoke emotions. For example, red can mean love or anger. The students took self portraits with ...
Welcome! This blog post explores a project that depicts one cohesive image divided into 7 sections which illustrate the 7 elements of art: line, shape, color, form, value, texture, and space. The elements of art the artists toolbox they can use in an endless amount of ways to create infinite art solutions. This is a
Nōtan (濃淡?) is a Japanese design concept involving the play and placement of light and dark elements as they are placed next to the other in the composition of art and imagery. Positive/Negative Sp…
Fifteen drawing warm ups start art for kids class off right. These drawing starters can all be done using only pencil!
Ready, set, POSE! I use my iPhone to take photos of my students. I usually do this on a day during which they are intently engaged with another lesson, and pull one or two students at a time into t…
My pre-algebra classes just finished their unit on transformations. They loved the graphing and finding something that 8th graders love to d...
Vision boards are a great tool to keep students motivated and determined to meet their goals. They are also great for promoting growth mindset.
This week 4th graders started by viewing slides of some of Dubuffet's work and discussing his progress as an artist throughout his life. I read about another Dubuffet art project a ways back HERE where the teacher posted a cool site with music also written by Dubuffet. We listened to a bit of that, too. The kids had some great comments as to how his music compared with his art!!! VERY interesting and insightful!! We then started to work creating a Dubuffet inspired paper sculpture. I bought some 110# white cardstock for this so that it would be stiff enough to stand without sagging. First, students got 1 piece of 8 1/2" X 5 1/2" piece of cardstock and three pieces cut 8 1/2" X about 2 7/8". They cut the three smaller pieces into organic shapes. They cut slits where appropriate and assembled the 3 pieces to make a "base" that would balance. I had the students do these 3 pieces first for 2 reasons: 1) to make sure they used 3 pieces as a firm base and 2) in case some kids worked slower I wanted to make sure that they at least had a 3-piece sculpture. Once they had learned to assemble those 3 pieces, the larger two pieces that they would do next were pretty easy to add on. Once students figured out their construction, it was time to add lines or design motifs. We did not stick to Dubuffet's color palette, but I did as kids to limit their palette to 2 colors, plus black. The base is piece of 6" X 6" illustration board that was donated to us. Some classes were taking longer to complete the coloring process, so I had them assemble the white pieces so they would understand the process. They then took them apart and took the pieces with them so they could finish them back in their classrooms. Thank you to the great 4th grade teachers who were willing to have the kids complete the work with them. This was my last day with 4th graders for this 4-week cycle, so there was not the option of finishing next week in art class!! With winter break coming up soon, I also showed students how to take apart a cereal box and recycle the cardboard to make a sculpture like this. Here is the one I made during the last vacation at home: I hope some of the kids try it at home!!
