This was a dandy of a little art lesson based on color theory and (*GASP!*) writing. That's right, folks...descriptive writing in the art room. This attention-getter was the first 5-minute lesson I used in my unit on color with my fourth graders. I got all these paint chips at my local Home Depot (I grab a handful every time I go in...I have quite an extensive collection!) "Purple is the color of the flowers I got on my first daddy date". I die. What lessons are YOU doing to bring Common Core into your art classroom?! Please share!
It was about this time last year that I finally put my foot down and told myself that I HAD to put in the time and effort to create a kindergarten based phonics curriculum that was rigorous, engaging, and FUN! When I set out starting on what is now, KinderPhonics, I had no idea of just how […]
Moonshine has been thoroughly enjoying the Norse myths, and it really shows in her work. She has become such a wonderful artist-- quite...
Did the Egyptians worship cats?
Lesson idea from Art. Paper. Scissors. Glue! 3rd graders started a conversation about what textile arts are by reading the book "Tar Beach" by author and artist Faith Ringgold. We talked about how the book and its illustrations were actually inspired by a story quilt that Ringgold created (the original work is pictured in the back of the book I had). The story in the book brought up the themes of both inequality (which works well since February is Black History Month) and imagination. The book's main character 3rd grader Cassie Louise Lightfoot discovers she has the ability to fly and in doing so, finds a sense of power and ownership over whatever she flies. She flies over the George Washington Bridge (a structure her father helped to build), an ice cream factory, and the Union Building (a building which housed an organization her father was not allowed to join because of his skin color). After reading and discussing the themes in the book, I asked my 3rd graders "Where would you go if you could fly (real or imaginary) and why?" This question was the inspiration for our very own patches on our 3rd grade story quilt. Students created their own "story patches" by creating a border using squares of 1.5"x1.5" decorative paper along the edge of a 12" x 12" piece of white drawing paper. Students then attached a strip of grey paper to the bottom of their picture squares and wrote about where they would go and why. Then in the remaining space, they used colored pencils to illustrate their ideas. I got a huge range of responses from Candyland (naturally to eat a ton of candy), to Columbia (to visit friends and family), to the Twin Towers in New York City (which prompted an entirely difference conversation). Students really enjoyed working on this project (which took between 4-5 class periods -- including one day for sketching ideas). I really love the finished product - and even more so when they are all hung together to make a giant story quilt! :)
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Image from 11th century AH (17th century AD) Persian manuscript by Mansur ibn Muhammad Ahmad at the Majles Library, Tehran. (Source)
Fibonacci Day - 11/23
1) “Few of us ever live in the present. We are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone.” – Louis L’Amour 2) “Do every act of your life as though it were the last act of your life.” – Marcus Aurelius 3) “I wish that life should not be cheap, but sacred. I wish the days to be as centuries, loaded, fragrant.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson 4) “As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise, you will miss most of your life.” – Buddha 5) “When you realize nothing is lacking, the whole
The storm surrounds me, and it amazes me how the rest of the world continues to spin. I've felt it's presence for a while now; yet there I stood defiant, strong, watching as the walls steadily caved in upon me. For some reason I believed it would be easier this time. It`s day two, the fear comes and I succumb. Panic and terror crush me, My ears drum with the sound of the rain pelting against my windscreen, the earth wearing the tears I couldn't allow. Water drowns the road in front of me, tearing away the bottom of my car. I am left on the side of the road, tears matching those of the sky. For the first time in seven years I’m finally alone. My broken car leads me home once more, breathless, and desperate. I stare motionless into my husband’s face, the terror in his eyes, The desperation from his lips, the same lips I've kissed a thousand times, and here they are, begging me to come home. I'm disoriented, so tired. His whispers lack conviction, they promise that everything is going to be ok, that in twenty years we will look back in disgust at how we almost threw this away. He asks me what's holding me back, why I can`t forgive. The thought flutters its way through thousands; "there's nothing left to push me forward, every dream and hope, every promise, slipped away silently like the smoke of a thousand candles."
Students are expected to come to every art class with a PENCIL & ERASER. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OUR ART PROGRAM Even though we do not have an art studio this claymation…
These Halloween language arts activities for your middle school students gives you the tools for keeping students engaged without sacrificing the quality of instruction. Great literature and peer collaboration allow for high-interest lesson activities. Students engage in the opportunities presented to create, perform and share original products that show evidence of learning. Students love Halloween! You will too with these creative, engaging ideas that take the BOO out of teaching this Halloween season.
I LOVE this project! It's definitely a staple in my room now for 5th graders to do this project. Their classroom teachers love it (because they draw the animal they research for class) and the students love it because they tend to be so successful with the oil pastels! I even had one of the teachers ask me if she could have a box or two of oil pastels for the students to draw with in their spare time in their classroom! :) We did this project last year, and it didn't really change at all. I printed off a picture of each student's animal for them to use as a resource to draw from. I demonstrated how to blend oil pastels together and how to create different textures, such as rock, leaf, water, and fur. We also talk about using complementary colors to create value, not just black and white. Here are some of this year's results! LOVE LOVE LOVE! There were so many students who normally turn in rushed, sloppy artwork that did amazing! I have to admit, I'm one of those bloggers who tends to only upload and share the good work...and this time around, there are student's artwork posted that often never get considered!
