I felt groggy today. I think it was a combination of sleeping in over the weekend and the lack of ventilation for the turpentine fumes from the oils class today.
MT was a little late, so I started them off. They are such a good class, and are the advanced students so I wasn't really worried about it. I'm not really good at motivating students, so if they weren't working I didn't really know what to do other than to ask them if they had an idea and what it was.
One student used a marbleizing technique and that was new to me. That is what caused the strong fumes, as the paint must be thinned down. The thinned paint is then suspended in a pan of water and can be manipulated in swirls. Then, paper is dipped onto the top layer and it picks up the swirls. The today's didn't work exactly as it is supposed to, the paint was a little too thin. We siphoned the water out of the pan into the sink so the paint and thinner wouldn't go down the drain.
At the end of the class, I showed the ppt I had put together with examples of work exemplifying a point or two of the assignment.
The Drawing class worked on the symbol worksheets. At the beginning of class MT asked questions to check their knowledge/comprehension.
I graded all the drawing classes' magazine responses.
In AP Art History, a student brought in a really cool book. It was a textbook that he had used in elementary school! It had pictures of ancient architecture, but the coolest part was the acetate layer depicting the ruin as it theoretically would have looked. I want a book like that!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Day Six, Seven, & Eight
I'm getting lazy.
Wednesday was all Drawing I classes. They are doing the same project (Dali) as Tuesday's Drawing I class. There is quite a difference between the behaviors of most of these classes and one class. MT said that separating the rowdy group doesn't really work, because it increases their noise from yelling across the room. It is easier with this group/class to isolate. They are not bad kids. They just don't do the work, even though they are capable, and that is frustrating.
I am getting much better with learning the names.
Thursday I printing participation certificates for a convention MT was going to Friday.
The oils class began planning and working on their new assignment. It was mostly individual instruction, except for a class 'pep talk' about good work habits (staying motivated and on task).
The drawing class completed a worksheet made by MT with questions about a magazine article on Dali. The article was copied and handed out, so that the mags wouldn't get ruined. The questions were to get them started thinking about his way of working and his symbolism. MT had a book on Dali that was passed around. She began with a disclaimer/warning that some of the images were "a least PG13" so those who might be offended were encouraged not to look. The book was used to show his range of imagery- more than just melting clocks.
This was the assignment written on the board:
"Drawing I Surrealism- Surrealist Perspective drawing inspired by Dali
1.) Perspective pretest
2.) Perspective lesson/interiors & exteriors
3.) 5 items that symbolize you
4.) Create the environment for ^ [5 items that symbolize you] to exist
5.) put final drawing together on large gesso paper
It was cool to watch the students as they looked at Dali. MT was showing them a painting that has 'hidden' images and many of them were struggling to see it. Then, when they finally saw it they got excited! I overheard one student naming some of the things he could see "That looks like an arm, and that looks like a door opening, and I don't know what that looks like!" It was neat to see them interact with the art like that.
AP Art History moved on to Islamic Art. These students are so bright! Islam was discussed in the lesson intro and each student was asked to contribute a fact about Islam. The responses were so well educated and knowledgeable!
Friday MT was at a convention. There was a sub, who I know and like a lot and had subbed for another art teacher long-term. MT suggested that I complete some of the observations I am required to do in other classrooms on this day. I'm not going to post on those, I have to type them up officially.
I will post on one class. The Drawing III class is starting a new unit: Art of the Streets. They are going to talk about contemporary artists who either got their start on, or are inspired by, the street's art, for example graffiti. They watched a video, which was pretty cool, about graffiti in NYC in the '90's.
Wednesday was all Drawing I classes. They are doing the same project (Dali) as Tuesday's Drawing I class. There is quite a difference between the behaviors of most of these classes and one class. MT said that separating the rowdy group doesn't really work, because it increases their noise from yelling across the room. It is easier with this group/class to isolate. They are not bad kids. They just don't do the work, even though they are capable, and that is frustrating.
I am getting much better with learning the names.
Thursday I printing participation certificates for a convention MT was going to Friday.
The oils class began planning and working on their new assignment. It was mostly individual instruction, except for a class 'pep talk' about good work habits (staying motivated and on task).
The drawing class completed a worksheet made by MT with questions about a magazine article on Dali. The article was copied and handed out, so that the mags wouldn't get ruined. The questions were to get them started thinking about his way of working and his symbolism. MT had a book on Dali that was passed around. She began with a disclaimer/warning that some of the images were "a least PG13" so those who might be offended were encouraged not to look. The book was used to show his range of imagery- more than just melting clocks.
This was the assignment written on the board:
"Drawing I Surrealism- Surrealist Perspective drawing inspired by Dali
1.) Perspective pretest
2.) Perspective lesson/interiors & exteriors
3.) 5 items that symbolize you
4.) Create the environment for ^ [5 items that symbolize you] to exist
5.) put final drawing together on large gesso paper
It was cool to watch the students as they looked at Dali. MT was showing them a painting that has 'hidden' images and many of them were struggling to see it. Then, when they finally saw it they got excited! I overheard one student naming some of the things he could see "That looks like an arm, and that looks like a door opening, and I don't know what that looks like!" It was neat to see them interact with the art like that.
AP Art History moved on to Islamic Art. These students are so bright! Islam was discussed in the lesson intro and each student was asked to contribute a fact about Islam. The responses were so well educated and knowledgeable!
Friday MT was at a convention. There was a sub, who I know and like a lot and had subbed for another art teacher long-term. MT suggested that I complete some of the observations I am required to do in other classrooms on this day. I'm not going to post on those, I have to type them up officially.
I will post on one class. The Drawing III class is starting a new unit: Art of the Streets. They are going to talk about contemporary artists who either got their start on, or are inspired by, the street's art, for example graffiti. They watched a video, which was pretty cool, about graffiti in NYC in the '90's.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Day Four and Five
These are combined because I left my small notebook at school Friday.
Friday was another Drawing I class, so the previous post details this semester test procedure. I graded tests again. Then it was a prep period. The other intern and I used this time for our "intern project". We built flat storage shelves out of two large drafting tables. We placed one table top-down on the other and added shelves.
Because we did not finish this Friday, we used the end on today, Tuesday to finish.
Monday was a teacher recording day, so students and interns were out. We found out today that the main school computer dropped all students from the system (or something along those lines) and the teachers freaked out a little.
We finally got a taste of a regular school day. Today we had oil painting, drawing I, AP Art History and a prep period (during which we finished the table). I was glad to get the chance to see the lessons introduced.
Oil painting is an overview-type class. It provides ways of approaching art making. Their last project was glaze painting of self-portraits. This next project is going to be of a more contemporary nature. It is an advanced class, and the students get to choose one of three options for the next painting.
Option One: Play with surfaces
Work on an altered surface. Build layers. Use a linear or calligraphic line subject. (e.g. texturing with a toothpick, wipe-out, collaging with fabric, texturing with dust, sand, sawdust, or powdered pigment) Combine techniques. The classroom book, Arteffects by Jean Drysdall Green gives ideas and
Option Two: Paint on an unusual surface
Make sure what you are painting on the object make sense/ has a relationship to the object. All students made a list of twenty things they have at home that could be brought back and painted on- taking an ordinary object and making it extraordinary.
Option Three: Create from your portrait (or another painting?) a 'shrine' or environment in 3-D by adding things around it.
I like that the drawing I class is reiterating techniques, like perspective (although for some students it is the first time they learn it), while incorporating meaningful content and historical context.
The intro was about Salvador Dali. Several of his works were shown and his use of one-point perspective was discussed. Because this is a drawing one class, MT wanted to asses their current understanding. They were instructed to draw a horizon line, vanishing point, and three boxes (transparent cubes) above and three boxes below the horizon. The second part of this pre-test was to turn two of the boxes into objects that exhibited the effect of perspective. On the back of this drawing they followed MT as she step-by-step instructed them in the creation of a room-like image. This was turned in at the end of class.
Friday MT will be out and the students will answer worksheets with questions about Dali after reading an article about him in "Salvador Dali: working with the imagination" from Art&Man magazine published by Scholastic.
AP Art History continued with making the flash cards for the AP exam started as their final exam.
Friday was another Drawing I class, so the previous post details this semester test procedure. I graded tests again. Then it was a prep period. The other intern and I used this time for our "intern project". We built flat storage shelves out of two large drafting tables. We placed one table top-down on the other and added shelves.
Because we did not finish this Friday, we used the end on today, Tuesday to finish.
Monday was a teacher recording day, so students and interns were out. We found out today that the main school computer dropped all students from the system (or something along those lines) and the teachers freaked out a little.
We finally got a taste of a regular school day. Today we had oil painting, drawing I, AP Art History and a prep period (during which we finished the table). I was glad to get the chance to see the lessons introduced.
Oil painting is an overview-type class. It provides ways of approaching art making. Their last project was glaze painting of self-portraits. This next project is going to be of a more contemporary nature. It is an advanced class, and the students get to choose one of three options for the next painting.
Option One: Play with surfaces
Work on an altered surface. Build layers. Use a linear or calligraphic line subject. (e.g. texturing with a toothpick, wipe-out, collaging with fabric, texturing with dust, sand, sawdust, or powdered pigment) Combine techniques. The classroom book, Arteffects by Jean Drysdall Green gives ideas and
Option Two: Paint on an unusual surface
Make sure what you are painting on the object make sense/ has a relationship to the object. All students made a list of twenty things they have at home that could be brought back and painted on- taking an ordinary object and making it extraordinary.
Option Three: Create from your portrait (or another painting?) a 'shrine' or environment in 3-D by adding things around it.
I like that the drawing I class is reiterating techniques, like perspective (although for some students it is the first time they learn it), while incorporating meaningful content and historical context.
The intro was about Salvador Dali. Several of his works were shown and his use of one-point perspective was discussed. Because this is a drawing one class, MT wanted to asses their current understanding. They were instructed to draw a horizon line, vanishing point, and three boxes (transparent cubes) above and three boxes below the horizon. The second part of this pre-test was to turn two of the boxes into objects that exhibited the effect of perspective. On the back of this drawing they followed MT as she step-by-step instructed them in the creation of a room-like image. This was turned in at the end of class.
Friday MT will be out and the students will answer worksheets with questions about Dali after reading an article about him in "Salvador Dali: working with the imagination" from Art&Man magazine published by Scholastic.
AP Art History continued with making the flash cards for the AP exam started as their final exam.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Day Three
Today was another class of Drawing I students for the first block and then the long-awaited, much-anticipated AP Art History class.
Drawing I was the same format as yesterday. I have been grading their tests and have been mostly surprised by their written definition of Formalist Art. Almost all of them defined it as abstract, a common thread, rather than the artist's emphasis on the form using the elements and principles of art as a focus. There is a wide range of achievement on the test.
The Art History semester exam was interesting, practical, and original. The students were given xeroxed copies of the artwork they have been studying. My mentor teacher (hereafter MT) cut them out of a book that was falling apart and I glued them onto the page. The students were also given large 'flashcards' on which to paste the images. They then were supposed to identify the artist, title of work, period, location, and significance on the back of the card. It was a small class and after a period of independent work on this they were allowed to ask each other and talk about the answers as a class. I think this was useful to my MT as formative assessment. The cards were collected at the end of class so MT could grade them. The cards will be returned to the students so they can study for the AP exam with them. I think flashcards with images are the best way to study art images, especially if slide identification is a part of the exam. For my art history classes I always made flashcards. I drew the image on the front, rather than xerox, so I would remember the image better. MT said that this class moved through work so quickly that there was little time to do things like this, so I think the time was well spent. I was impressed with the students. Most knew the work on their own, and as it was all ancient art, was quite impressive. I always have a hard time separating Greek and Roman sculpture, especially since the Romans copied so many Greek sculptures.
The other intern and I are working on a project together. There are two large drafting tables that we are converting into flat storage slots for drawings.
Aside from the commute, everything is great. I really don't like the drive in, but it is worth the good experience, I suppose.
Drawing I was the same format as yesterday. I have been grading their tests and have been mostly surprised by their written definition of Formalist Art. Almost all of them defined it as abstract, a common thread, rather than the artist's emphasis on the form using the elements and principles of art as a focus. There is a wide range of achievement on the test.
The Art History semester exam was interesting, practical, and original. The students were given xeroxed copies of the artwork they have been studying. My mentor teacher (hereafter MT) cut them out of a book that was falling apart and I glued them onto the page. The students were also given large 'flashcards' on which to paste the images. They then were supposed to identify the artist, title of work, period, location, and significance on the back of the card. It was a small class and after a period of independent work on this they were allowed to ask each other and talk about the answers as a class. I think this was useful to my MT as formative assessment. The cards were collected at the end of class so MT could grade them. The cards will be returned to the students so they can study for the AP exam with them. I think flashcards with images are the best way to study art images, especially if slide identification is a part of the exam. For my art history classes I always made flashcards. I drew the image on the front, rather than xerox, so I would remember the image better. MT said that this class moved through work so quickly that there was little time to do things like this, so I think the time was well spent. I was impressed with the students. Most knew the work on their own, and as it was all ancient art, was quite impressive. I always have a hard time separating Greek and Roman sculpture, especially since the Romans copied so many Greek sculptures.
The other intern and I are working on a project together. There are two large drafting tables that we are converting into flat storage slots for drawings.
Aside from the commute, everything is great. I really don't like the drive in, but it is worth the good experience, I suppose.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Day Two
First, a disclaimer. This blog is in no way associated with/endorsed by the university I attend, or the high school where I intern. It is a record of my personal opinions and should not be considered a legitimate record of any event.
Okay, I have no idea if that is semi-necessary, but the education dept. gets weired about things. I will not name any names or names will be changed to protect confidentiality.
Today we continued with the semester exams. I saw two Drawing I classes today. I was pleasantly surprised to see as much art history on the exams as there was. They have been studying the idea of social commentary in art. Kathe Kollwitz, Picasso, Barbara Kruger, Goya, Lieberman, and Norman Rockwell were included. There was also a drawing skills component to the test. These classes were a lot younger than I realized. Ninth grader really are quite little. I guess I hadn't realized this because I always think of my newly-fifteen little sister who looks older than fifteen. They can be really goofy, but in a kind of fun way. I could see how teaching that age would be a little like elementary.
The classes are nice and small, about 13-15 students. My mentor teacher said something about the schedule having other classes that cause conflicts. It is making it a little easier to learn names, but today was harder because there were two classes.
The University's cafeteria is packing me wonderful little lunches. I pick them up at breakfast. They come in a cute little box, no brown-bagging for me. Because I don't really eat their meat, I have three choices: tuna salad (yesterday's lunch, quite good), a salad (today's lunch, nice), and peanut-butter and jelly (tomorrow's lunch, hopeful). It makes me feel like a little kid, when my mom packed my lunch.
Okay, I have no idea if that is semi-necessary, but the education dept. gets weired about things. I will not name any names or names will be changed to protect confidentiality.
Today we continued with the semester exams. I saw two Drawing I classes today. I was pleasantly surprised to see as much art history on the exams as there was. They have been studying the idea of social commentary in art. Kathe Kollwitz, Picasso, Barbara Kruger, Goya, Lieberman, and Norman Rockwell were included. There was also a drawing skills component to the test. These classes were a lot younger than I realized. Ninth grader really are quite little. I guess I hadn't realized this because I always think of my newly-fifteen little sister who looks older than fifteen. They can be really goofy, but in a kind of fun way. I could see how teaching that age would be a little like elementary.
The classes are nice and small, about 13-15 students. My mentor teacher said something about the schedule having other classes that cause conflicts. It is making it a little easier to learn names, but today was harder because there were two classes.
The University's cafeteria is packing me wonderful little lunches. I pick them up at breakfast. They come in a cute little box, no brown-bagging for me. Because I don't really eat their meat, I have three choices: tuna salad (yesterday's lunch, quite good), a salad (today's lunch, nice), and peanut-butter and jelly (tomorrow's lunch, hopeful). It makes me feel like a little kid, when my mom packed my lunch.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Day One
Today was my first day as a student-teacher intern in a public school art class. This blog is really just my notes and good ideas/experiences that I will want to remember and share.
Because the school was conducting semester tests, the schedule was not as usual. My mentor teacher had only two class periods today, and one was a prep period. I am not used to block scheduling, but I don't think I will have too much trouble, as it is similar to college (or so it seems).
The first class was oil painting. This is an upper level class, and the work of some students made that obvious. The test was in two parts. First, the students were alloted one hour for completion of a still-life from glass bottles. They were aware of this prior to today, as some students were completely finished. Some students did not begin until today. Students selected to work on either paper or canvas, with oil paint or oil sticks. This is my mentor's only class that won't take a written section as a part of their exam. The second part of the class was a critique. This was useful to me my first day, as it gave me a chance to hear the way the students discuss art and talk about their own work and to begin learning names. The group rotated around the room to each student's work. Each student wrote down three things: an opportunity for the artist to improve/something she wished the artist had done differently, a praise for something the artist did in the artwork, and the thing that she, the viewer, learned from/will take with her from the artwork/artist.
My mentor teacher encouraged students to share both the "grow" and the "glow" points. The students had completed three paintings for this exam. They are 33 points each including the written responses. The students have the opportunity to revise and/or finish the painting before Friday to count towards their total semester grade.
Tomorrow I will see two of the Drawing I classes.
Because the school was conducting semester tests, the schedule was not as usual. My mentor teacher had only two class periods today, and one was a prep period. I am not used to block scheduling, but I don't think I will have too much trouble, as it is similar to college (or so it seems).
The first class was oil painting. This is an upper level class, and the work of some students made that obvious. The test was in two parts. First, the students were alloted one hour for completion of a still-life from glass bottles. They were aware of this prior to today, as some students were completely finished. Some students did not begin until today. Students selected to work on either paper or canvas, with oil paint or oil sticks. This is my mentor's only class that won't take a written section as a part of their exam. The second part of the class was a critique. This was useful to me my first day, as it gave me a chance to hear the way the students discuss art and talk about their own work and to begin learning names. The group rotated around the room to each student's work. Each student wrote down three things: an opportunity for the artist to improve/something she wished the artist had done differently, a praise for something the artist did in the artwork, and the thing that she, the viewer, learned from/will take with her from the artwork/artist.
My mentor teacher encouraged students to share both the "grow" and the "glow" points. The students had completed three paintings for this exam. They are 33 points each including the written responses. The students have the opportunity to revise and/or finish the painting before Friday to count towards their total semester grade.
Tomorrow I will see two of the Drawing I classes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
