Kindergarten Triangles

Kindergartners FINALLY got to use their scissors in class! I pre-cut three different colors of squares and demonstrated to the students how to cut a square into TWO triangles. Not all of them get it, but that's why teachers walk around between instructions, right?!

Each student should end up with 6 triangles; however, some mess up and throw pieces away (without the teacher even seeing! Sneaky!!) The students have the freedom to make whatever they would like with their triangles.

Here is my visual demonstration on the chalkboard! I also demonstrated with scissors and a square. Students can draw a line if they choose to. Some students use gluesticks, which is the reason for the second triangle within a triangle.

I reviewed with the students how to glue (3 corners = 3 small dots of glue). Students are told to use their crayons to finish the picture after gluing down their triangles. These turned out very well!

Wow! Look at the creativity!

So many houses!!

This was a very sunshine-y day!

Some students glue their triangles back into squares.

Kindergartners love rainbows!

Another rainbow!

I'm not sure what this is supposed to be, but I LOVE it!

This student threw away half of his triangles, but his end product still turned out nicely (complete with a rainbow, of course!).

Linear Landscapes: 3rd Grade

I made this lesson during my student teaching. Basically, 3rd graders create a landscape using lines only! It sounds simple, but a lot of them have a hard time grasping this concept. I tried to assist by creating an example.

I started the lesson by talking about this piece by Emil Harmin. We talked about the types of lines that are found in the picture. I also asked students about the texture the line-types create i.e. bumpy, flowy, windy, etc.

I showed this photograph:

And this was the "teacher's example" I created to demonstrated how to create a landscape using lines only.

Previously, I did a watercolor wash on top of the landscapes; I decided not to this round, maybe next time.

Students used this landscape photograph to draw from. I told the students they did not have to do the reflection in the water, but they were allowed to if they wanted!

This lesson is a great way to get students thinking about the element of line!

Here are some student examples! I apologize for the quality/shadows on each photograph. I take these photos with my iPhone, it's hard to capture the beautiful art completely!

All About Me: Teacher's Homework!

One of my school's principal requires each staff member/teacher to do one of these "All About Me" papers. The requirements are pretty self-explanatory: fill it with things that pertain to myself! I hope it's not too obvious that I'm the art teacher...

Please note that mermaid-me has a "catfish" that looks eerily similar to my real life furbaby!

I love doing collages! This "assignment" has got my creative juices flowing. I would love to do a collage project with the older classes! Time to ask for students to bring in old magazines!!

Keith Haring Figures: 4th-6th grade

I've been working on a Keith Haring project with grades 4th, 5th, and 6th. The way my classes are, I do not have any class that is completely 5th grade. The 5th graders are combined either with 4th or 6th. At one of my placements, there is a second art teacher who teaches two classes that I never even see. It's complicated to understand at first; don't stress over it!

My reasoning for explaining that first is to explain why there are only two different projects!! Both projects start out the same, but the information is put together differently for the final art project.

The first day, I displayed pictures of Keith Haring's art. I started out with the subway graffiti pictures. The students thought it was very interesting how he made his chalk drawings with other people always there watching. I showed some of his later works and talked a little bit about the Pop Shop and how he enjoyed working with children. Teachers need to take extra caution when choosing examples to display in class!!

I do my best to make art relevant to the students personally. I played a Sesame Street video (there are a lot of choices on YouTube!) that uses a wall Keith Haring painted in a gymnasium. Some students claimed to have seen it before, which is great!

I also found photographs from Google images of celebrities wearing Keith Haring's art on their clothing! The students love these photos. It really makes the artworks "cooler" to them.

 Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, Kelis and Rihanna wear Keith Haring's Art Inspired Clothes

Beyonce wears a Keith Haring necklace in her music video, Move Your Body.

I chose not to show this video in class since Beyonce is a talented, provocative dancer.

However, the video is available on YouTube for those who may choose differently!

Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly) also seems to be a fan of Keith Haring! 

After all the pictures and videos had been shared, I had students practice drawing people in Keith Haring's style. I told them that their behavior was a test for how we would spend the next class: FREEZE DANCING!

Yes, I played 80's music (or really it ended up being a mix of fun, appropriate songs from the 80's, 90's, 2000's and now). I had a table (group of four) go up and dance for the rest of the class. When I paused the music, the students froze and those sitting down picked one of the poses and drew it on their papers. Every one was required to get up and participate! Even if the student did not want to dance, I told them to pick a pose when the music stopped. The students loved this activity.

The next class, I had students pick 2-4 (the number depended on which grade) poses to use for the project. 

This is my example for 4th grade:

Please excuse the left side, my blue marker was kind of dry!

I had the students begin by folding their paper in half. The students were to draw one pose in the middle of each half. On one half they use cool colors, and on the other they use warm colors!! I demonstrated how to trace around the figures using my Elmo. I felt so encouraged when they begged to stay in art class! They love this project! I found this idea here: http://ourartlately.blogspot.com

This is my example for 6th grade:

I instructed students to fold their paper into fourths (I demonstrated this for them as well). I had my students color the sections in with markers, while in my example I glued paper down instead. The students receive one color of paper (cut down to size!) and are to draw one of the figures they selected on it. I really push for them to draw them large because 1. it looks better and 2. it's easier to cut!

Students raised their hand when they had finished the first figure. I checked it and either gave constructive criticism, i.e. draw the legs/arms thicker, or gave out the other three colors. Students cut out the figures and glue them on a section with a different background color. The students trace around the figures with black marker and add motion lines. I was inspired to do this lesson while visiting this blog: http://dalimoustache.blogspot.com

I'm excited because both of these projects will look amazing hanging up in the hall!! The students all seem to remember the artists name! I will post student examples when they are all done!