Right before break, the 1st graders finished their mixed media robots. These could possibly be the cutest robots you have ever seen!
To begin this lesson, we learned about present day robots and robots of the future. We looked at robot artwork and the students verbalized what they observed on the robots to get ideas for their own work. We then reviewed the difference between organic and geometric shapes. They were reminded that we often see geometric shapes on things that are man-made and organic shapes on things that are natural or from nature. They then watched and danced to a video about different kinds of geometric shapes. I then asked them to design a robot and be able to describe what it does. They were required to use different kinds of geometric shapes. I also asked them to come up with a name for their robot. They created these robots using aluminum foil tape, sharpies, and discarded items. They are pictured below...
The 5th graders are working hard on their clay whistles to get them to work. This is a very challenging project that I compare to do doing surgery because you have to be so precise and careful. Below is a video on how to make a clay whistle if you are interested in making one at home with polymer clay that you can bake in the oven instead of a kiln.
I will be posting some pictures of the kids working on their whistles sometime this week. I have also embedded a video about the Aztec Death whistle. When we started this unit, we learned about death whistles and other historical information about the creation and use of whistles through-out time. Hey all! This week will be our third week in the new trimester. All the students have completed their student contracts and first art exercise. We started the trimester by doing a observational drawing exercise with grades 1st through 5th. Observational drawing is a great way to increase observational skills, as well as improve hand and eye coordination. It's a pretty simple exercise that you can do anywhere at anytime. You just grab an object and draw what you see. Here is a link to a few websites that explain the benefits of observational drawing for little kids and they also explain a little bit more about what it is....
https://artfulparent.com/2016/05/observational-drawing-for-kids.html http://www.mustardseedschool.org/2014/11/observational-drawing-as-a-science-tool-in-the-early-childhood-classroom/ Kindergarten has already made their clay pinch pots and textured hands. They now know where clay comes from and what a kiln is. Last week they were pretty thrilled because they got to look inside the kiln. They just recently started studying line and the artist Kandinsky while their clay projects are drying out. 1st grade has started to make their clay pinch pot monsters. 2nd grade is preparing to make their clay self-portraits. 3rd grade is preparing to make their clay soul shakers. 4th grade just started making their favorite places out of clay. 5th grade is beginning to make their clay whistles. We always start the trimester with clay because their projects need a few weeks to dry out before they can be fired. After they are fired, they need to be glazed. Glazing usually takes a couple of class periods. Finally, they have to be fired again. It's a long process, and to make sure we have enough time in the trimester that is why we always start with clay. 1st trimester 5th graders finished up glazing their coil pots just at the trimester ended. This was a fun and very time consuming project! It took us a majority of the trimester to complete them. The students started this unit by learning some of the history of coil pottery and comparing and contrasting pottery from different parts of the world. I then demonstrated how to make a coil pot using different types of coils. Their assignment was to make a coil pot that was at least 10 inches high and personalize it using different types of designs, lettering, and or color. The works are pictured below.
2nd grade ended the semester by creating family portraits using colored pencils and watercolor. I taught the kids different ways to draw facial features by demonstrating and by passing out example sheets with variations of lips, noses, and eyes. We talked about where to place the eyes, nose, and mouth and how to draw the bodies by overlapping to show who is in the front, back, and middle of the picture. We looked at pictures of family portraits through-out time and talked about how it feels to be in a family. Some of the kids were unable to finish this project and will hopefully finish at home. The pieces that were finished are currently hanging in the hallway and are pictured below.
I recently put the 2nd grade clay self-portraits on display in the 1/2 hallway. The students started this assignment by looking in a mirror and drawing themselves after a lesson on facial features. We also read two books called I'm Gonna Like Me and The Colors of Us. They are books about self-esteem and loving our unique qualities. Each of these books are below through a youtube video.
After sketching, we moved on to creating the faces out of clay. I showed them different ways to make noses, mouths, hair, and eyes out of clay. I reviewed how to score and slip. It took two class periods to complete the faces. We had to wait for them to dry out and then I fired them. We glazed the pieces and then I fired them again. |