First Days of School 2015

Student curators, goal statements and an elephant parade are just a few ways we've started off to a great year in art class!

Each class began the year using my new Curator Board. The bulletin board in my classroom has been transformed into a gallery wall, with several empty frames.  Throughout the year students will be curating their own work, the work of their peers and the work of famous artists.

4th Grade:
Fourth grade students are currently learning about art from India. We've practiced drawing elephants from a distance and close-up. Students drew an elephant from the side and a frontal view. We looked at images of elephants in India, and noticed the bright decorations used for celebrations.

We watched the following video from the Elephant Festival in Jaipur:

Students will create two elephant paintings. The first is a close-up elephant portrait, and the second is a landscape painting featuring a side-view of an elephant. Students will decorate both elephants with designs inspired by  elephants from India! Here are my teaching examples for each project:

Students have started drawing their elephant portraits and I am thrilled with how great they look so far!

While students were drawing, I read to each class the book, Same, Same but Different, a story of an American boy named Elliot and his pen-pal, Kailash, from India. The book encourages readers to acknowledge our similarities and appreciate our differences!

5th Grade:
Fifth grade students started the year off learning about artist, Kehinde Wiley. Wiley creates contemporary portraits inspired by the poses in traditional Baroque paintings. Students will select their own Baroque pose for an altered photograph project and create a unique overlapping pattern inspired by Wiley.

We watched the following Kehinde Wiley interview to learn more about the artist:

I asked students to write a goal statement regarding what they hoped to learn, produce, or achieve by the end of this project. The goal statements were written on the student's unit newsletter which will go home to parents shortly.

6th Grade:
Sixth grade students are studying Medieval artwork.  Recently, we've been looking at rose windows from Medieval architecture. Each student will create a radial design featuring symbols that describe their own interests and personality.

Each class watched the following video to learn more about the history of rose windows:

Each student has been sketching ideas for their rose window-inspired artwork on paper. The final project will be done on a round piece of cardboard. They are creating some really amazing designs!

Here are examples of what students have accomplished so far!