Studio Art: Unit 1, What is Art?

Over the summer, I did manage to do a little revamping to my Studio Art units.  Last year I had them categorized as the following:

Unit 1: What is art?

Unit 2: 2-D Art

Unit 3: 3-D Art

Unit 4: Ceramics

Unit 5: Zentangles

This year, I have shortened the units in order to break up the information a little more.  I have also rearranged a few of my projects.  This is what my unit order will look like this year:

Unit 1: What is art?

Unit 2: 2-D Art: Drawing

Unit 3: 2-D Art: Painting

Unit 4: 2-D Art: Printmaking

Unit 5: 3-D Art: Sculpture

Unit 6: 3-D Art: Ceramics

This post is basically a quick recap of what we have accomplished for the first unit in the first two full weeks of school.  Much of my original unit is still the same...I use the Art Talk text book (ugh!) to do the first half of the note packet, which is about why artists create art (to be functional, for express oneself, for religious purposes, etc.) and where artists find inspiration from (the person paying them, their culture, world events, past artists, art media and styles, etc.).  Once this was accomplished, I assigned a sketchbook assignment for the weekend.  A fellow art teacher in my county suggested this book at one of our last staff developments.  It has some awesome ideas!  

Unfortunately, this was assigned after two days of school...a time period when a lot of students didn't have their sketchbooks yet (even though it was on their supply list...sigh).  Quite a few were completed on lined paper or computer paper and have already been lost. :(  Here are two though...sorry for the bad pictures!

Mine is the unfinished one on top. :(  The weekend I gave this assignment, my mom's dog was hit by a car and I wasn't thinking...I ran out to the road to scoop her up and she bit me.  I was out of commission from being able to really do any drawing or typing for about a week until it started to heal up.

For the last week and a half, the students have been working on infographics...one for the elements and one for the principles.  I am really trying hard to use sketchbooks EVERY DAY in Studio Art.  Last year I dwindled off on assignments in them and it was virtually pointless to ask students to use them.  (Stay tuned for future posts about how I am using sketchbooks every day!)  If you've been following me for a while, you'll remember the elements of art infographic I had students do last year.  They did these on a separate piece of drawing paper and eventually lost them of threw them out.

This year, I required the students to build them right into their sketchbooks so that they would always have them!  I also required them to make one for the principles of art.  Last year my students did not know these and when we tried to do critiques, it was very difficult to talk about the art.  Here are a few examples, including my own!

My examples of the two infographics.

The second sketch assignment I had students do was a non-representational line design.  This was assigned after their introduction to the elements and principles infographic project.  Again, this is a repeat assignment from last year.  Students were asked to use only one color and line to create an interesting design.  Some students strayed outside the project parameters and used more than one color, but in all honesty, their designs ended up being more successful than some of the single colored ones, so I didn't dock them on the rubric.  This sketch assignment then opened the door for the final project of the unit...zentangled master's paintings!

 I use a standard rubric for sketch assignments that is worth 16 points.  Students are assessed on following assignment criteria, using the elements and principles, creativity/originality, and craftsmanship.  I try to write a comment on all rubrics before passing them back...another one of those things I can check off my Marzano checklist!

The zentangled paintings is something I did last year at the end of the year, sort of as a wrap up.  I decided that this project was an awesome way to reiterate the elements and principles so I moved it!  I expect that it will take the students about a week and perhaps a few days to complete these drawings, making unit 1 a total of about three weeks.  We started off the zentangles by making one 3 1/2" tile during a single class.  I always find it amazing that the students who rush everything else complain when you tell them that this should take less than 20 minutes!

Check back again this weekend and I'll share how I'm using sketchbooks to perform bell ringers EVERY DAY!  Also, if I have time, I'll delve into some Common Core unit plan writing that my district is enforcing this year to replace our lesson plans.  It's a good thing, and a pain in the butt thing all at the same time...  Give me another week and I will be able to start sharing some finished elementary projects too!

Studio Art: Unit 1 (Common Core and Marzano Incorporation)

My previous post gave you a preview of a project for my Studio students.  Here I am going to share a bit more how I am going to work to incorporate some Common Core into this unit, as well as more details of what I hope to accomplish with this unit.

Now, I know some of you may think that this project I want them to do is a little elementary, and to an extent I agree, but let me explain why I am starting off a little "easy".  I have not had this group of students since 6th grade, which was my 1st year of teaching.  When I taught them, I did not really touch on the elements and principles very much.  Only recently, as I have gotten a good grasp on how the school year goes, have I really focused my elementary curriculum on incorporating those important art ideas.  I also know that the previous high school teacher may have slightly touched on these elements and principles in 7th grade, but the retention rate of this information is very low from 7th grade to 9th grade, particularly since interest in the art department in high school students has dropped the last few years and students don't receive art in 8th grade.  I also know that the previous teacher did not do much for writing/Common Core type assignments with the students, so I want to break them in easy...I'm hoping by starting out with a simple project for what is often viewed as "boring" subject matter will get me some positive results.  Ideally, as the next few years move on, the incoming 9th graders will hopefully be retaining more of the elements and principles from their years in the elementary room and I won't have to spend an entire unit on the topic, but we'll see how the next few years go!

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As I said in my previous post, I will be utilizing this Art Talk textbook for Studio Art.  I'm not extremely happy with how the content is laid out in this book, so I will most definitely not be following it from start to finish throughout the year, but I will be using it where it fits with my curriculum.  I plan to supplement using the Scholastic Art magazine and possibly with printouts from this awesome website that was shared on the Art Teachers Facebook page...This website is called Boundless and it is a free resource to print off excerpts from textbooks!  Now, it appears from what I've read that the art history textbook is definitely for high school.  The particular textbook they have online is actually one of the editions of a textbook I have from college, Gardner's Art Through the Ages.

Goals:  By the end of this unit, students will be able to…

·         Identify the purposes of art.

·         Identify sources and ideas that lead to artistic inspiration.

·         Name the six elements of art

·         Identify the principles of art

·         Explain how subject, composition, and content relate to works of art

·         Identify information presented in a credit line

In using Marzano, it is expected that students will know what their learning objectives/expectations are for each unit and/or project, so I have the learning objectives on the front of the unit note packet.

Chapter 1: Lesson 1: What is Art?

The first section of chapter one in the textbook deals with asking the question, "What is art?"  We will talk about what media constitute as being part of the visual arts, what it means to perceive, and what the purposes of art are.

Chapter 1: Lesson 2: Why Do Artists Create?

This section obviously deals with what inspires artists to create, whether it is for personal or commissioned purposes, influenced by the media, government, war, family, etc.

Chapter 1: Lesson 3:  The Language of Art

The final section of the first unit deals with the language of art...a.k.a. the elements and principles.  This is where the art project I showcased in my previous post will come into play.

This section also talks about the credit line in an artwork (name, title, medium, date, location, etc.).  This will lead to a good segue to teaching students how to properly maintain and display their artworks.  As students start to create 2-D artwork, I plan to teach them how to properly mat their artwork using a mat board cutter.  

Teaching Calendar

For each unit I create, I plan on creating an anticipated teaching calendar within the unit plan.  I still use a hand-written plan book, but having a plan of action for each unit will make it easier to plan around assemblies and such, especially when it's time to go on maternity leave.  I'm hoping that I can have enough of these units planned out in advance so that all I need to do is hand the entire unit over to my substitute and he or she will be able to handle my plans!

As part of Marzano, it's important that students reflect upon what they have learned, thus the bell ringer and exit slip.  I know many teachers probably already do this but it was something I struggled with doing at the elementary level.  I struggled with trying to figure out a quick way to accomplish a written review at the end of every class and have yet to really have something I'm happy with.  Until then, I'm confident the system I have chosen to use with the high school will work, and hopefully I can figure out how to alter it and use it at the elementary level.

The following are homework assignments that will be assigned to students to help learn the vocabulary.  I couldn't find a word search or crossword that included all the vocabulary I wanted, so I found two great websites that you can use for FREE to create your own!  I found this Word Search Generator on A to Z Teacher Stuff.  You type in the words you want to include, give it a title, and choose the shape and size of the word search space.  Click on "Create Puzzle" and it generates the word search!  You can either save the webpage to your computer, print it directly from the page that pops up (and then photo copy) or do like I did, copy and paste it into Microsoft Word to make it a document.

To create the crossword puzzle, I used Discovery Education's Puzzlemaker.  Again, you give it a title, decide the number of squares for the size, and then enter the information.  For this one, it's a little different.  You have to type the answer first (one word, or if you do two words, type them without the space) and then hit the space bar and type in the clue, all on the same line without any commas.  If your clue goes onto the second line, it's fine, you just hit return to go to the next clean line to enter the next word and clue.  Create the puzzle, and it's the same process as the word search to save.

I've seen various versions of a worksheet like this on Pinterest.  Currently, I do not have this worksheet planned into my unit, but I have it as a backup for many situations that could arise.  If I need to have a sub, this can be a sub plan...I may use this as a sketchbook assignment, an extra credit assignment for the first quarter, or as a review assignment for when I'm on maternity leave.

Again, this is the project the students will be completing that deals with the elements.  I have included the rubric here that I will be using to grade them as well.

2nd Grade Printmaking Unit: Introduction to Printmaking

My second graders have just finished up their printmaking unit and I've finally gotten around to photographing, grading and uploading all of their artwork to Artsonia!

To kick off the unit, we did a one day project that involved stamping with Legos (I've seen multiple variations of this on Pinterest...).  I took this opportunity to talk to the students about the Principles of Art.  We've talked about them here and there, one at a time, but I felt like this quick project was a great way to get students to think about the principles all together.  We talked about patterns, having balance (symmetrical and asymmetrical), movement, unity, contrast, rhythm, and emphasis.  Now, a lot of these are a little over some of the 2nd graders heads, but none the less, I think some of them really thought more about their composition.

I showed students these simple visual rubrics I made for the project and we talked about each one.  "Is it interesting to look at?  Why or why not?"

This one would be worth 3 points...

This one would be worth 2 points...

This one would be worth 1 point...

 I posted these on the bulletin board int he front of the classroom and gave the students their instructions.  Keeping in mind the principles of art, they had to create an interesting design using different sized and shaped Legos.  They would only get one color, so that had to use placement of their stamps to create an interesting factor to look at.  I gave each table a small plate of finger paint and a small variety of Legos and let them go to town!

Now, even though we spent about 15 minutes going over what makes a good composition, it seemed as if the combination of using Legos and finger paint made all the other points mute.  The outcome of this project was NOT what I had expected!  I had some students smearing their designs together after they finished with their fingers, some only used one Lego for the entire print, and many tried to make actual, representational pictures instead of non-representational like I asked for.  Next time I think I may have to tweak my instructions a bit!