This experience has been wonderful. I have learned a great deal about teaching and how to interact with students in meaningful ways. Working with the Arts Bridge Program has given me the opportunity to gain insight into how a classroom can be run in order to maintain order and foster learning.
When I first set out on this expedition, I had no experience with teaching in a classroom. I was anxious, to say the least, and wanted to do a good job. The lesson that day went alright, but Mrs. Black was able to help me improve by pointing out areas were I was lacking. Her advice and counsel helped me avoid making the same mistakes over and over again. It also gave me opportunities to see how I could alter my teaching strategies to best fit the classroom's environment.
One technique that really helped was getting the students more involved during the instruction portion of my lessons. In my first lesson, I seemed to bore the children because I was just talking at them and their attention spans are not the same as college students. Mrs. Black mentioned that I need to get the students involved, so I tried that with all of my subsequent lessons. With that new approach, the students were much more enthusiastic about my lessons and were excited by the art principles being taught as well as the general knowledge associated with our lesson.
Because I was getting the students more involved, there was a new issue created. How do I maintain order and stay on course with the lesson. This I was able to solve due to my classes I was taking at BYU. I learned that you sometimes have to cut off the comments by stating that you will only be taking one or two more comments before moving on. That way the students know that the time to transition is coming up and not everyone can comment. For those students that really want to share, I also thought up the solution to give them the option to share their comment with you later during work time. This really worked well with the last lesson on Fables.
Mrs. Black also helped by sharing with me her hand clapping rhythm that she uses to get the students' attention. With that aid in place, I was able to quiet the students and explain portions of the assignment that I had forgotten to mention earlier. I was also able to use the technique so that I could mention something that I noticed that would benefit the whole class, such as a frequently asked question or an action that I noticed multiple students performing.
Some other aspects of my teaching that improved were my lesson plans. I became much better at laying out the procedures and remembering all of the steps. I was able to think ahead about the types of problems I thought my arise and come up with solutions beforehand. As I became familiar with the students and their level of experience, I was also able to adapt my lesson material so that I could effectively communicate what I wanted them to know.
I will carry these experiences with me into my student teaching and continue to improve my teaching practices as I gain more experience and enter new realms of teaching. Each classroom is different, so I will constantly be adapting and learning. With the lessons learned in Arts Bridge, I know that I can rise to the challenge and be the best teacher I can be.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
The Last Steps
Today was the last time I would visit for my Arts Bridge Experience. I have really enjoyed my experiences and learned a lot of useful skills. Those skills were used today with my final lesson to wrap up the Fables lesson from last week.
I had asked Mrs. Black to have the students write a fable of their own and come up with a moral to their fable. Just in case they were not able to do that, I had prepared a list of fables from Aesop's book of fables that the students could use as a basis for their cover illustration. The students had written fables with Mrs. Black though, so I was able to move forward with the lesson as planned.
I began the lesson by talking to the students about their fables. I asked for a few volunteers who would like to read their fables for the class and tell us the moral of the story. There were quite a number of hands that were raised, so I called on one student and, before calling on the second student, informed the class that I would only be taking one more volunteer. There were still some students who wanted to share their fables, so I told them that as we worked on their illustrations I would go around and listen to their fables if they wanted to share them with me.
Both of the students had imaginative fables with some good morals. They had done a good job with their writing. I was able to then use their fables as examples as I started prepping the students for what they would be doing for art that day.
I asked the students to tell me some of the characteristics of a fable to review and clear up any misunderstandings. They remembered the characteristics perfectly, so I moved on quickly to talking about the illustrations they would be making for their fables.
This reminded me that we needed to finish the crocodile drawing I had been walking them through last week. I took some time doing that with them. I asked them to get their papers out from last week and waited for them to all be ready. When there were just a few students left who were still looking for their paper, I told them I would wait for a few moments more and then begin. After waiting for a little longer, everyone was ready and I began to help them finish up the crocodile we started on the 3rd.
Once I was done with the crocodile, I finished explaining the illustrations assignment. I wanted them to use perspective in their drawings and illustrate a scene from their fable. Do help review, I asked the students for some examples of how we show perspective. They provided great answers. One, you make things in the background smaller. Two, you have things in the background higher up on the horizon than things that are closer. I then added that you can use overlapping to help transition into their drawings.
Using the fables that were shared earlier, I explained some ideas of what they could draw and some compositions they could think of. I also reminded the students that they needed to have a setting for their characters. They shouldn't just draw their characters on a blank page.
I then let the students get to work and began walking around the room to help them as needed. I noticed a two girls that got up to look at some picture books on animals. I realized that that would be a great resource for the whole class if they needed help knowing what their animals look like. Using the hand clapping rhythm I got the classes attention, making sure that everyone was paying attention before speaking, and told them that they could spend one minute at the picture book corner to get a book to help them draw their animal if they wanted to get a reference photo. Those that didn't want a book, or didn't need one, I told to continue working.
Once the students began looking for books, I helped them find ones that had pictures of the animals they were looking for. When everyone was back at their seats, I began making the rounds again to help students and ask them questions about their fables. I also made sure to talk to those that had wanted to share their fables but didn't get a chance. I asked to hear their fable and had them tell me what the moral was.
The students had great illustrations and very creative fables. It was fun to work with them and help them come up with ideas for their compositions.
At the end of my allotted time for teaching, I said goodbye to the class. I then told them that today was my last day and they all thanked me for coming. They were disappointed that I wouldn't be coming back, they wanted to know where I was going. This helped me realize how important these relationships with my students can be. As a teacher, I have a great opportunity to make a difference in the lives of my students. It is a great responsibility was well, but it is one that I am glad to accept.
One student asked me where I would be teaching when I become an Art teacher. They wanted to know if they would see me again. I told them that I am hoping to be a high school teacher, they didn't like that it would be so long before they saw me again. I was really touched and it helped reaffirm my resolve the be the best teacher I can be. I will miss them too, but maybe I'll see them in high school.
I had asked Mrs. Black to have the students write a fable of their own and come up with a moral to their fable. Just in case they were not able to do that, I had prepared a list of fables from Aesop's book of fables that the students could use as a basis for their cover illustration. The students had written fables with Mrs. Black though, so I was able to move forward with the lesson as planned.
I began the lesson by talking to the students about their fables. I asked for a few volunteers who would like to read their fables for the class and tell us the moral of the story. There were quite a number of hands that were raised, so I called on one student and, before calling on the second student, informed the class that I would only be taking one more volunteer. There were still some students who wanted to share their fables, so I told them that as we worked on their illustrations I would go around and listen to their fables if they wanted to share them with me.
Both of the students had imaginative fables with some good morals. They had done a good job with their writing. I was able to then use their fables as examples as I started prepping the students for what they would be doing for art that day.
I asked the students to tell me some of the characteristics of a fable to review and clear up any misunderstandings. They remembered the characteristics perfectly, so I moved on quickly to talking about the illustrations they would be making for their fables.
This reminded me that we needed to finish the crocodile drawing I had been walking them through last week. I took some time doing that with them. I asked them to get their papers out from last week and waited for them to all be ready. When there were just a few students left who were still looking for their paper, I told them I would wait for a few moments more and then begin. After waiting for a little longer, everyone was ready and I began to help them finish up the crocodile we started on the 3rd.
Once I was done with the crocodile, I finished explaining the illustrations assignment. I wanted them to use perspective in their drawings and illustrate a scene from their fable. Do help review, I asked the students for some examples of how we show perspective. They provided great answers. One, you make things in the background smaller. Two, you have things in the background higher up on the horizon than things that are closer. I then added that you can use overlapping to help transition into their drawings.
Using the fables that were shared earlier, I explained some ideas of what they could draw and some compositions they could think of. I also reminded the students that they needed to have a setting for their characters. They shouldn't just draw their characters on a blank page.
I then let the students get to work and began walking around the room to help them as needed. I noticed a two girls that got up to look at some picture books on animals. I realized that that would be a great resource for the whole class if they needed help knowing what their animals look like. Using the hand clapping rhythm I got the classes attention, making sure that everyone was paying attention before speaking, and told them that they could spend one minute at the picture book corner to get a book to help them draw their animal if they wanted to get a reference photo. Those that didn't want a book, or didn't need one, I told to continue working.
Once the students began looking for books, I helped them find ones that had pictures of the animals they were looking for. When everyone was back at their seats, I began making the rounds again to help students and ask them questions about their fables. I also made sure to talk to those that had wanted to share their fables but didn't get a chance. I asked to hear their fable and had them tell me what the moral was.
The students had great illustrations and very creative fables. It was fun to work with them and help them come up with ideas for their compositions.
At the end of my allotted time for teaching, I said goodbye to the class. I then told them that today was my last day and they all thanked me for coming. They were disappointed that I wouldn't be coming back, they wanted to know where I was going. This helped me realize how important these relationships with my students can be. As a teacher, I have a great opportunity to make a difference in the lives of my students. It is a great responsibility was well, but it is one that I am glad to accept.
One student asked me where I would be teaching when I become an Art teacher. They wanted to know if they would see me again. I told them that I am hoping to be a high school teacher, they didn't like that it would be so long before they saw me again. I was really touched and it helped reaffirm my resolve the be the best teacher I can be. I will miss them too, but maybe I'll see them in high school.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Fables and Morals
As I mentioned at the end of my last post, Mrs. Black and I decided to focus on fables for my last two visits. Today I went in to the class prepared to help them get started on creating their own fable with a moral and have them design the cover or illustration that would go with that fable.
I started the class by introducing the idea of genres and had the class participate in telling me what a genre was. Once we had established that, I transitioned to our focus of fables. I asked if any students were familiar with some fables. One student responded with the Ugly Duckling.
I had brought a book of fables with me, Fables by Arnold Lobel. I used this to help illustrate some of the characteristics of a fable to lay the ground work for when they would need to make up their own. Using the fable The Baboon's Umbrella as an example from the book, we discussed how fables use animals as the main characters, they teach a moral, and the animals often have human qualities.
I had made copies of the fable along with it's illustration for each of the students. We read the fable together and then discussed how it exemplified the characteristics of a fable.
During discussion times, I would ask the students to raise their hands and then call on them when they had done so. The whole class participated very well and we interested in the fable and the topic at hand. Once the discussion was over, I moved on to what they were going to be doing for next week.
The assignment is to draw an illustration of their own fable which should include a moral and have a list of the character(s) in their fable. Part of what Mrs. Black had wanted for me to do with this lesson was show them how to draw some animals and have them follow along as I did so. This is why we chose to have this lesson be on fables, so that the students could draw animals.
After introducing their task of drawing an illustration and the written portion of their work, I had them get out some paper and a pencil so that I could walk them through how to draw some cartoon animals they could then expound on to create their own illustrations. I used by animation book Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair as a reference to help me in this process.
In the book, there are some "how to" sections on drawing heads, animals, and other such things for cartoon characters. I started by picking the portion on a rabbit's head and a bear cub's head and walked them through how to draw those. The class was very excited because they love to draw and some of them were very good at following along and were quite pleased with their results. There were others that had some difficulty, but they still had fun. It became a little rowdy during this process, especially between animals, but Mrs. Black and I were able to get them to settle back down using her hand clapping rhythm that she uses with them.
After finishing those two drawings, we had time to start one last drawing, so I chose to show them how to draw the entire body of an animal with human characteristics. Earlier, we had learned the word for this, which is anthropomorphism. There were several animals from the book that I could choose from, but since we could only do one, I wrote down five options and had the students vote on which one they wanted to learn how to draw. They chose a crocodile.
We began the crocodile drawing, but only got half-way done when the bell for recess sounded. We dismissed the class and told them we would finish next week.
I plan to finish that crocodile drawing next week and then have the students work on their fable, moral, and illustration. Depending on how much time we have, I may be able to walk them through a few more cartoon animal drawings.
This lesson was a lot less intense than the last few weeks. It ran smoothly and I believe that the students all learned from it as well as enjoyed themselves.
I started the class by introducing the idea of genres and had the class participate in telling me what a genre was. Once we had established that, I transitioned to our focus of fables. I asked if any students were familiar with some fables. One student responded with the Ugly Duckling.
I had brought a book of fables with me, Fables by Arnold Lobel. I used this to help illustrate some of the characteristics of a fable to lay the ground work for when they would need to make up their own. Using the fable The Baboon's Umbrella as an example from the book, we discussed how fables use animals as the main characters, they teach a moral, and the animals often have human qualities.
I had made copies of the fable along with it's illustration for each of the students. We read the fable together and then discussed how it exemplified the characteristics of a fable.
During discussion times, I would ask the students to raise their hands and then call on them when they had done so. The whole class participated very well and we interested in the fable and the topic at hand. Once the discussion was over, I moved on to what they were going to be doing for next week.
The assignment is to draw an illustration of their own fable which should include a moral and have a list of the character(s) in their fable. Part of what Mrs. Black had wanted for me to do with this lesson was show them how to draw some animals and have them follow along as I did so. This is why we chose to have this lesson be on fables, so that the students could draw animals.
After introducing their task of drawing an illustration and the written portion of their work, I had them get out some paper and a pencil so that I could walk them through how to draw some cartoon animals they could then expound on to create their own illustrations. I used by animation book Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair as a reference to help me in this process.
In the book, there are some "how to" sections on drawing heads, animals, and other such things for cartoon characters. I started by picking the portion on a rabbit's head and a bear cub's head and walked them through how to draw those. The class was very excited because they love to draw and some of them were very good at following along and were quite pleased with their results. There were others that had some difficulty, but they still had fun. It became a little rowdy during this process, especially between animals, but Mrs. Black and I were able to get them to settle back down using her hand clapping rhythm that she uses with them.
After finishing those two drawings, we had time to start one last drawing, so I chose to show them how to draw the entire body of an animal with human characteristics. Earlier, we had learned the word for this, which is anthropomorphism. There were several animals from the book that I could choose from, but since we could only do one, I wrote down five options and had the students vote on which one they wanted to learn how to draw. They chose a crocodile.
We began the crocodile drawing, but only got half-way done when the bell for recess sounded. We dismissed the class and told them we would finish next week.
I plan to finish that crocodile drawing next week and then have the students work on their fable, moral, and illustration. Depending on how much time we have, I may be able to walk them through a few more cartoon animal drawings.
This lesson was a lot less intense than the last few weeks. It ran smoothly and I believe that the students all learned from it as well as enjoyed themselves.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Preview of Next Week
We have not gone through the three big lesson ideas that Mrs. Black and I came up with at our first meeting. I spent some time with her after the kids had left for recess to talk about what we could do with the remaining two visits that I have left.
We decided that since the students are learning about genre, that we could try to do some art that related. The students also love drawing animals and following along with the "How to Draw" books. So we were thinking that we could have the students design and draw their own book cover for a fable, fairy tale, or folk tale. I will even give them some simple lessons on constructing characters and animals.
That will finish up the time I have with them and hopefully help the students to learn more about genre.
We decided that since the students are learning about genre, that we could try to do some art that related. The students also love drawing animals and following along with the "How to Draw" books. So we were thinking that we could have the students design and draw their own book cover for a fable, fairy tale, or folk tale. I will even give them some simple lessons on constructing characters and animals.
That will finish up the time I have with them and hopefully help the students to learn more about genre.
Putting the Animals In Their Place
I learned a great deal from my experiences last Tuesday. I felt that I could have done a better job with instruction and how I handled materials. It was also apparent that I needed to spent more time thinking about what students should do when they finished early or didn't have anything to work on.
Using the lessons I learned, I went in to today's lesson better prepared. I first made sure that I had clear instruction on what they would be doing, how they should clean up, and what they should do when they finished.
They were painting their boxes to create a habitat for their animal. I had prepared their boxes beforehand so that they just needed to paint on them. I reviewed the rules for using the paint, cautioning them against getting it on themselves, their clothes, or their neighbor.
On the board, I wrote down the steps for cleaning up once they finished. Despite this, I still needed to remind students what they needed to do, but I had something to refer to when instructing them.
I had come prepared with some "How to Draw" books that I was going to make available to the students for when they finished so that they would not disturb the others still working. This proved to be unnecessary as the students had some projects and assignments that they needed to finish already. So I reminded them of those assignments so that they had something to occupy them as they waited for the class to release for recess.
The distribution of materials was a lot smoother this time. I had not known where to find the paper plates last week, so I didn't have "palettes" to put colors on for them. Today, I knew where to find them and was able to get some paper plates so that I could give each table a plate with all of the colors available for them to paint. This way, I just handed out one plate for each table in stead of going around to each student. I also provided them with a few extra plates for mixing colors. As the class worked, I was able to replenish any colors the students needed. I had informed the class to raise their hand and I would talk to them and get them any colors they ran out of.
Anything that I failed to mention at the start of the art period I was able to tell the students after getting their attention using the hand clapping rhythm that Mrs. Black uses with them. For instance, I needed to remind the students to roll up their sleeves if they had on long-sleeve shirts. I also needed to remind the students to not paint the bottom of their boxes so that they wouldn't stick to the drying paper.
I spent most of my time walking around the class commenting on their work, providing praise for their use of color and some of the interesting compositions they created. I also encouraged them as they tried mixing colors and creating textures. When necessary, I gave them more paint.
The class was on task with the exception of a few that needed to be talked to occasionally. They were all having a great time painting and talked with their neighbors as they worked on their habitats. Not everyone was able to finish in the time we had for art, but Mrs. Black is going to let them finish later in the day. I am excited to see their animals in their homes next week. I will take pictures of their work and post those next week. I believe that the students are really proud of their work and really like their animals. In fact, they are very protective of them and are cautious about letting Mrs. Black put them on display in the school library because they are afraid that other kids might ruin or break them. I am sure they will have a great time showing them off to their parents when they take them home next week.
Using the lessons I learned, I went in to today's lesson better prepared. I first made sure that I had clear instruction on what they would be doing, how they should clean up, and what they should do when they finished.
They were painting their boxes to create a habitat for their animal. I had prepared their boxes beforehand so that they just needed to paint on them. I reviewed the rules for using the paint, cautioning them against getting it on themselves, their clothes, or their neighbor.
On the board, I wrote down the steps for cleaning up once they finished. Despite this, I still needed to remind students what they needed to do, but I had something to refer to when instructing them.
I had come prepared with some "How to Draw" books that I was going to make available to the students for when they finished so that they would not disturb the others still working. This proved to be unnecessary as the students had some projects and assignments that they needed to finish already. So I reminded them of those assignments so that they had something to occupy them as they waited for the class to release for recess.
The distribution of materials was a lot smoother this time. I had not known where to find the paper plates last week, so I didn't have "palettes" to put colors on for them. Today, I knew where to find them and was able to get some paper plates so that I could give each table a plate with all of the colors available for them to paint. This way, I just handed out one plate for each table in stead of going around to each student. I also provided them with a few extra plates for mixing colors. As the class worked, I was able to replenish any colors the students needed. I had informed the class to raise their hand and I would talk to them and get them any colors they ran out of.
Anything that I failed to mention at the start of the art period I was able to tell the students after getting their attention using the hand clapping rhythm that Mrs. Black uses with them. For instance, I needed to remind the students to roll up their sleeves if they had on long-sleeve shirts. I also needed to remind the students to not paint the bottom of their boxes so that they wouldn't stick to the drying paper.
I spent most of my time walking around the class commenting on their work, providing praise for their use of color and some of the interesting compositions they created. I also encouraged them as they tried mixing colors and creating textures. When necessary, I gave them more paint.
The class was on task with the exception of a few that needed to be talked to occasionally. They were all having a great time painting and talked with their neighbors as they worked on their habitats. Not everyone was able to finish in the time we had for art, but Mrs. Black is going to let them finish later in the day. I am excited to see their animals in their homes next week. I will take pictures of their work and post those next week. I believe that the students are really proud of their work and really like their animals. In fact, they are very protective of them and are cautious about letting Mrs. Black put them on display in the school library because they are afraid that other kids might ruin or break them. I am sure they will have a great time showing them off to their parents when they take them home next week.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Painting the Animals
Last week, we created animals from Sculpey clay. Mrs. Black baked them sometime before today and had them ready at the classroom. Unfortunately, some of the animals fell apart, or broke. This was upsetting to the students whose animals broke, but I was able to let them know that we would glue the pieces together after they painted them. Mrs. Black is going to have some glue available for me next week so that I can take care of the gluing.
Mrs. Black had a meeting to attend today, so there was a substitute teacher there to assist me as I taught today's lesson on painting our clay animals. The materials that we would be using were on a table for me. It was also then that I saw the animals and how some of them were broken.
I arrived a little early so that I could arrange and organize the materials we would need and make sure that everything was prepared so that the students could paint and not make a mess.
I first cut large squares of butcher paper to cover the student's desks to help keep them from getting paint on them. The butcher paper was also used as a place to put their paint that they would be using. I also got a paper towel for each student that they would use to wipe off their brush and hands as they painted. I organized the paint brushes, setting aside any that were inferior so that the students could all have a nice brush to paint with.
I then worked on grouping the animals, finding all of the pieces that belonged to each animal if it was broken, so that they students would be able to come up and retrieve their animal in an orderly fashion once the art lesson was about to begin.
All of this was done while the students were working with the substitute on other class work. At 9:45, I began the lesson.
I began by explaining the situation concerning some of the animals and the proposed solution. I then explained that since we were going to be working with paints, they needed to be careful and stay on task. I then went into detail about some rules and procedures. Once everyone was aware of the rules and agreed to behave themselves, I began to distribute materials. I had the students come up in small groups to receive their butcher paper, paper towel, and paint brush. Once everyone had those materials, I then moved on to handing out their animals. Again, I had them come up in small groups and pick up their animals. Those that were broken, I gave them all of the pieces and let them know that we would glue them later.
After all of the materials were distributed, I went around to each table and gave them a small amount of the paint they would need for their animals. I would pour small pools of the colors they wanted and move on to the next tables, this way the students weren't making a mess, and since the number of paint tubes was limited, everyone got the color they wanted without any arguments.
After that, it was just a matter of walking around the room and helping where needed. Some students wanted colors that we didn't have, like purple. I was able to teach them about mixing colors like red and blue to make purple. I also showed them that they could make a color lighter by adding some white.
As the students started to finish up, I had them place their animals on a table with paper towels to dry. They then washed their hands and threw away their butcher paper. For those that finished, I gave them some paper so that they could start thinking about what they wanted to make their box look like for when they painted those next week. The box will serve as a habitat for the animals and also a display case, like a diorama.
The students had a lot of fun. There was an issue of space though. It was really crowded as they were working at their desks. I think that next time I will have them spread out their desks more so that they can move a little easier as they get supplies and clean up.
I had forgotten to explain the procedure for cleaning up and what they should do when they were done at the beginning of the art hour. Luckily, using the hand clapping system that Mrs. Black has in place to get their attention, I was able to instruct them on those points during the hour.
There were some students that accidentally got their arms in their paint, but I had told them to roll up their sleeves and be careful, so when that did happen, it just got on their arm and I was able to give them some paper towels to clean up with.
Cleaning up went very well. The students washed their hands in the bathroom and put their soiled paper towels and butcher paper in the trash.
The students enjoyed painting and had a lot of fun finishing their animals. They are excited to paint their boxes next week and have a place for their animal to live. It should be another great day next week.
Mrs. Black had a meeting to attend today, so there was a substitute teacher there to assist me as I taught today's lesson on painting our clay animals. The materials that we would be using were on a table for me. It was also then that I saw the animals and how some of them were broken.
I arrived a little early so that I could arrange and organize the materials we would need and make sure that everything was prepared so that the students could paint and not make a mess.
I first cut large squares of butcher paper to cover the student's desks to help keep them from getting paint on them. The butcher paper was also used as a place to put their paint that they would be using. I also got a paper towel for each student that they would use to wipe off their brush and hands as they painted. I organized the paint brushes, setting aside any that were inferior so that the students could all have a nice brush to paint with.
I then worked on grouping the animals, finding all of the pieces that belonged to each animal if it was broken, so that they students would be able to come up and retrieve their animal in an orderly fashion once the art lesson was about to begin.
All of this was done while the students were working with the substitute on other class work. At 9:45, I began the lesson.
I began by explaining the situation concerning some of the animals and the proposed solution. I then explained that since we were going to be working with paints, they needed to be careful and stay on task. I then went into detail about some rules and procedures. Once everyone was aware of the rules and agreed to behave themselves, I began to distribute materials. I had the students come up in small groups to receive their butcher paper, paper towel, and paint brush. Once everyone had those materials, I then moved on to handing out their animals. Again, I had them come up in small groups and pick up their animals. Those that were broken, I gave them all of the pieces and let them know that we would glue them later.
After all of the materials were distributed, I went around to each table and gave them a small amount of the paint they would need for their animals. I would pour small pools of the colors they wanted and move on to the next tables, this way the students weren't making a mess, and since the number of paint tubes was limited, everyone got the color they wanted without any arguments.
After that, it was just a matter of walking around the room and helping where needed. Some students wanted colors that we didn't have, like purple. I was able to teach them about mixing colors like red and blue to make purple. I also showed them that they could make a color lighter by adding some white.
As the students started to finish up, I had them place their animals on a table with paper towels to dry. They then washed their hands and threw away their butcher paper. For those that finished, I gave them some paper so that they could start thinking about what they wanted to make their box look like for when they painted those next week. The box will serve as a habitat for the animals and also a display case, like a diorama.
The students had a lot of fun. There was an issue of space though. It was really crowded as they were working at their desks. I think that next time I will have them spread out their desks more so that they can move a little easier as they get supplies and clean up.
I had forgotten to explain the procedure for cleaning up and what they should do when they were done at the beginning of the art hour. Luckily, using the hand clapping system that Mrs. Black has in place to get their attention, I was able to instruct them on those points during the hour.
There were some students that accidentally got their arms in their paint, but I had told them to roll up their sleeves and be careful, so when that did happen, it just got on their arm and I was able to give them some paper towels to clean up with.
Cleaning up went very well. The students washed their hands in the bathroom and put their soiled paper towels and butcher paper in the trash.
The students enjoyed painting and had a lot of fun finishing their animals. They are excited to paint their boxes next week and have a place for their animal to live. It should be another great day next week.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
More Animals Everywhere
Today was an exciting day! Last week the students created their own animals based on our discussion on animal adaptations. Today they got to make their animals using Sculpey clay. Because we were going to be working with clay, there needed to be some extra preparation.
I reviewed proper procedures for working with Sculpey clay. Because it is a polymer clay, it does not air dry. It also doesn't dry out from excessive handling. It starts out stiff from being cold, but as you work it in your hands, it warms up and becomes more pliable. It also needs to be used on a proper working surface, so I took that into consideration as I made my preparations to arrive at the school.
For today's lesson, I brought the following supplies:
- Wax paper to be used as the working surface while the students modeled their animals.
- Toothpicks to be used to strengthen the structure of the animals legs, wings, necks, etc.
- Sample boxes so that the students could make sure their animal was not too big.
Mrs. Black provided the clay and other materials such as scissors for cutting toothpicks. The toothpicks were necessary so that the animals would be able to stand on their legs and so that the heads or wings would not droop down. Sculpey becomes more pliable when it is warmed. It hardens after being heated to 275 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes for every quarter inch of thickness. Knowing that the clay could droop slightly before hardening in the oven, I instructed the students to reinforce their animals with the toothpicks.
Another way to create a stable structure would be to first make an armature with tin foil and cover that in clay. Since we were working on a small scale, that process would have been excessive.
I arrived to class early so that I could prepare the clay for the students and get the wax paper cut to fit on their desks. Mrs. Black had bought a large block of clay, per my request, and I spent the first 45 minutes dividing the clay into 24 balls and kneading the clay to get it pliable and warm for the students to work with. While I was preparing, Mrs. Black saw to the classes instruction in their regular subjects, reviewing math, spelling, and cursive. Once I was ready, she turned the time over to me so that we could being working on the animals.
I began by reviewing what we had done last week. A few of the students had been absent last Tuesday, so we got them caught up. I then explained what we would be doing today, modeling our animals out of clay. Since clay can be messy, I then laid down some ground rules with the help of the students. I asked them what they thought should be some rules for working with clay. They responded with, no throwing the clay, don't drop the clay on the floor, don't eat the clay, and work at your desk. Those were good rules and I felt that they were sufficient, so I informed them that if they kept those rules, we would be able to use the clay. If they broke the rules, I told them that they would receive a few warnings before we had to stop modeling.
With the ground rules in place, I began to demonstrate how to use the clay. I had a ball of clay the same size that they would all receive and I showed them how to knead the clay to get it more pliable. I then demonstrated some basic modeling with pinching as well as adding parts to create eyes, ears, legs, etc. I also informed them of the necessity of toothpicks to strengthen the legs and other parts of their animals while demonstrating one way to make legs using the toothpicks.
After the instruction was over, I had some students help me distribute the wax paper and toothpicks. Once that was done, I gave each student a ball of clay and let them get to work.
While the students were working, I walked around the room to answer questions and offer help where necessary. They were all excited to create their animal, with the exception of a few students who seemed a little lost. I took some time to help them get started and brainstorm how they might start making their animals. I helped them draw out their animal based on what they wanted their animals to look like. This was mainly for those students who had been absent last week.
With the other students I would help them check to make sure their animal wasn't too big to fit in the boxes, access if the parts of their animal were attached proper, and help them figure out how to make those parts of the animals that they were having difficulty.
Everyone was excited to make an animal. They were also quite proud of their creations and would come to show me when they were done. Because some students were getting done before the rest of the class, I needed to find something for them to do so that they wouldn't disturb those still working. Mrs. Black had a cursive worksheet that we decided would be a good activity for those early finishers. I got the classes attention using Mrs. Black's clapping rhythm. I then explained to the students the worksheet and instructed them how to let us know when they were done. Mrs. Black also had the students start gathering their finished animals at the back of the room.
When it was getting time for recess, I reminded the students of where they needed to put their finished animals. Once the students left for recess, I helped Mrs. Black clean up the wax paper and excess toothpicks. I then went over the baking instructions for the clay with her since she would be in charge of doing that. We also discussed the plan for next week and what needed to be done before next Tuesday. The students are excited to paint their animals and their little habitats. Next week looks like it will be a great time as well.
I reviewed proper procedures for working with Sculpey clay. Because it is a polymer clay, it does not air dry. It also doesn't dry out from excessive handling. It starts out stiff from being cold, but as you work it in your hands, it warms up and becomes more pliable. It also needs to be used on a proper working surface, so I took that into consideration as I made my preparations to arrive at the school.
For today's lesson, I brought the following supplies:
- Wax paper to be used as the working surface while the students modeled their animals.
- Toothpicks to be used to strengthen the structure of the animals legs, wings, necks, etc.
- Sample boxes so that the students could make sure their animal was not too big.
Mrs. Black provided the clay and other materials such as scissors for cutting toothpicks. The toothpicks were necessary so that the animals would be able to stand on their legs and so that the heads or wings would not droop down. Sculpey becomes more pliable when it is warmed. It hardens after being heated to 275 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes for every quarter inch of thickness. Knowing that the clay could droop slightly before hardening in the oven, I instructed the students to reinforce their animals with the toothpicks.
Another way to create a stable structure would be to first make an armature with tin foil and cover that in clay. Since we were working on a small scale, that process would have been excessive.
I arrived to class early so that I could prepare the clay for the students and get the wax paper cut to fit on their desks. Mrs. Black had bought a large block of clay, per my request, and I spent the first 45 minutes dividing the clay into 24 balls and kneading the clay to get it pliable and warm for the students to work with. While I was preparing, Mrs. Black saw to the classes instruction in their regular subjects, reviewing math, spelling, and cursive. Once I was ready, she turned the time over to me so that we could being working on the animals.
I began by reviewing what we had done last week. A few of the students had been absent last Tuesday, so we got them caught up. I then explained what we would be doing today, modeling our animals out of clay. Since clay can be messy, I then laid down some ground rules with the help of the students. I asked them what they thought should be some rules for working with clay. They responded with, no throwing the clay, don't drop the clay on the floor, don't eat the clay, and work at your desk. Those were good rules and I felt that they were sufficient, so I informed them that if they kept those rules, we would be able to use the clay. If they broke the rules, I told them that they would receive a few warnings before we had to stop modeling.
With the ground rules in place, I began to demonstrate how to use the clay. I had a ball of clay the same size that they would all receive and I showed them how to knead the clay to get it more pliable. I then demonstrated some basic modeling with pinching as well as adding parts to create eyes, ears, legs, etc. I also informed them of the necessity of toothpicks to strengthen the legs and other parts of their animals while demonstrating one way to make legs using the toothpicks.
After the instruction was over, I had some students help me distribute the wax paper and toothpicks. Once that was done, I gave each student a ball of clay and let them get to work.
While the students were working, I walked around the room to answer questions and offer help where necessary. They were all excited to create their animal, with the exception of a few students who seemed a little lost. I took some time to help them get started and brainstorm how they might start making their animals. I helped them draw out their animal based on what they wanted their animals to look like. This was mainly for those students who had been absent last week.
With the other students I would help them check to make sure their animal wasn't too big to fit in the boxes, access if the parts of their animal were attached proper, and help them figure out how to make those parts of the animals that they were having difficulty.
Everyone was excited to make an animal. They were also quite proud of their creations and would come to show me when they were done. Because some students were getting done before the rest of the class, I needed to find something for them to do so that they wouldn't disturb those still working. Mrs. Black had a cursive worksheet that we decided would be a good activity for those early finishers. I got the classes attention using Mrs. Black's clapping rhythm. I then explained to the students the worksheet and instructed them how to let us know when they were done. Mrs. Black also had the students start gathering their finished animals at the back of the room.
When it was getting time for recess, I reminded the students of where they needed to put their finished animals. Once the students left for recess, I helped Mrs. Black clean up the wax paper and excess toothpicks. I then went over the baking instructions for the clay with her since she would be in charge of doing that. We also discussed the plan for next week and what needed to be done before next Tuesday. The students are excited to paint their animals and their little habitats. Next week looks like it will be a great time as well.
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