Sub Plans - Art Bingo!

Dear Sub, 

This is pretty fun and easy. Each student gets one Bingo card. From the 30 options listed, they choose 24. They should write ONE in each square. They can mix them up anyway they’d like. This way, everyone should have a unique card. It will probably take about 10 minutes for all students to fill their card. For students who have difficulty writing, they can just write in the number. 

For markers, you can use beans or gem stones, or even torn collage paper. I don’t recommend X-ing them off with pencil because you will be able to get three or four games in. 

I read the definitions and examples first, and wait for a student to shout out the answer. Then I confirm the answer. 

As you confirm the art terms called, I recommend writing them on the white board so you know which ones you’ve called (especially if a student knocks their markers off). 

I’ve attached the definition/clues, as well as enough Bingo sheets for a full day (three classes). 

I MIGHT have candy or prizes. If so, they are in the drawer to the left of the sink. Feel free to use these for winners or good behavior. 

Thank you!!

Here are the clues:

1. Line - dotted, straight, zigzag, “A _______ is a dot that went for a walk.” -Klee
2. Shape - when lines intersect they make this, triangle, 
3. Form - sphere, prism, 
4. Space - you can wander in between, the negative balances the positive
5. Color - color wheel, cool vs warm, ROY G BPurple, 
6. Value - lightness to darkness scale
7. Texture - how it feels or how it looks like it feels
8. Elements - these are in every work of art
9. Principles - the rules, tools, and guidelines that artists use to make work; this is the “how” the artwork feels
10. Balance - no part over powers, three types: symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial
11. Symmetry - can be described as having equal "weight" on equal sides
12. Reflection - serious thought or consideration OR bouncing back an image without absorbing it
13. St. Gaudins - March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance". Raised in New York City, he traveled to Europe for further training and artistic study, and then returned to New York, where he achieved major critical success for his monuments commemorating heroes of the American Civil War, many of which still stand. In addition to his famous works such as the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common. He also designed coins for US Mint. 
14. Donatello - early Renaissance Italian sculptor from Florence. He is, in part, known for his work in bas-relief, a form of shallow relief sculpture
15. Michelangelo - Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the High Renaissance. Painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling and carved the David.
16. Raphael - italian renaissance painter 1483-1520. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur
17. Leonardo - Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. His genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. He painted The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. 
18. Dr. Seuss - wrote and illustrated his own picture books, inventing words and his own style. 
19. Place - an area with definite or indefinite boundaries
20. Primary - colors for mixing other colors for painting Red Yellow Blue
21. Secondary - purple orange green, mixed from RYB
22. Tertiary - a color made by mixing either one primary color with one secondary color, or two secondary colors like red-violet, yellow-green, blue-green
23. Collage artwork is made from an assemblage of different forms or images
24. Positive space - is the area or space on a painting in which is occupied by the subject
25. Negative space - is the space around and between the subject(s) of an image
26. Picasso - father of Cubism, painter, printer, sculptor 
27. Inspiration - something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create; artist mentors help inspire our work
28. Stamp - impress a pattern or mark, esp. an official one, on (a surface, object, or document) using an engraved or inked block or die or other instrument.
29. Andy Warhol - NYC artist, 60s/70s/80s, Pop, soup cans, printmaker
30. Portrait - a picture of a person, informal or formal, a selfie

Sub Plan - Art Hero

Use blank scrap paper from the green tray and colored pencils. These are located in the drawing center by the whiteboard. Small pictures of art heroes are attached to this sheet. (I just dragged images of celebrities and everyday people from google searches to a Pages document.)

Read aloud:

Over the weekend in Newburyport, a Picasso painting worth over $1 million dollars was saved from a burning building. A hero ran in, saved the painting from the flames, handed it over to the owner on the street, and then ran away! Who was this anonymous art hero? There were some witnesses. 

Sub-- pass out pictures of people to the witness face down. Ask witnesses to raise their hands so you know. 

Partner up. One of you will be the witness, the other will be police sketch artist. 

As a police officer, you will ask yes or no questions to the witness about the hero, and draw the hero as they give you clues. 

Did the hero have brown hair?

Was the hero a boy?

Did they have a sharp pointy nose?

Did the hero have thick eye brows.

Is this hero famous?

As a witness, look at your hero picture, but do not show your partner. Say yes or no. You may point to a feature on your face if you want the police artist to ask about it. For example, say the art hero had really bushy eyebrows. The you could point to your eye brows as a clue. 

When the police sketch artist has a full picture of the art hero, then they may reveal it. 

Then, switch roles. The witness should ask the sub for a new picture card. 

Kinder Turkeys: Red + Yellow = Mixing Secondary Colors!

To combine a seasonal theme with skill building, I came up with these turkey paintings. Rather than have the kinders stamp their hands into paint and make a hand print, I decided that they could trace their hands with pencils, then mix colors RED and YELLOW to make the secondary color ORANGE and paint in their shape. 

open hand turkey

closed hand turkey with red snood

At circle we read Run, Turkey, Run! (it worked fine, but I think I'd like another book if I do this lesson again... something that doesn't make me feel bad about eating turkeys). 

Next, I modeled how to write a message, my name, and the date in marker along the border. 

Then, how to trace my hand - open and closed feathers were their choice. I also showed how to draw stick legs, triangle nose, and snood. (Snoods can be painted in red paint with one stroke!)

Lastly, how to use the color wheel palettes to mix the two colors. 

After showing them how they'd clean up their palette and brush, I sent them to seats. 

Materials I put out at tables:

-pre-cut and glued green and orange paper (6x6" green on 9x9" orange paper - cut from 12x18" pieces)

-markers to write a message/date/name in the border

-pencil for the hand trace

When students finished tracing their hands, I then handed them 

-a laminated color wheel "palette" that had red and yellow tempera paint on it.* 

-a brush 

-paper towel  (No need for water cups!!)

After students were finished painting, they practiced cleaning off the laminated color wheel with a sponge in the sink, putting it on the drying rack, cleaning their paint brush and leaving it hair up in the cup to dry. 

Here you can see the laminated color wheel palette! 

I have them leave their paintings at their table OR put them on their name-tagged carpet square at circle. Then they could choose free-draw with markers or free-dough, which is just a ball of Crayola play-dough on a tray that I have available. 

*FUNNY STORY.... so after I cut and glued 40 of these paper squares and set up the palettes for the first class, I then tried my sample. And that's when I realized that yellow paint doesn't show up on green paper very well. And that the green paper also made the orange looked like brown. Ha. My jaw dropped and I yelled at myself "This is why you try it yourself FIRST!" But luckily, not too big of a deal! Turkeys are brown after all! It almost looked like I planned it on purpose! What I did to make the tempera yellow pop a little more was to drop a little acrylic yellow paint into it. I was lucky this time! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Andy Warhol's Pop Color Mixing

How did I teach color mixing last week? With a little help from artist mentor, Andy Warhol!

The intention for this project was to practice setting up/using/cleaning the laminated color wheel palette, filling in positive AND negative space of an image, and experimenting with different color palette combinations, including tertiary colors.

I chose the same Marilyn photo that Andy Warhol used in his prints. 

I love introducing tertiary colors. Some older classes even understood that tertiary colors could be seen like a math equation: If yellow + red = orange, then 1 yellow + 1 red = 1 orange, which means...

1 yellow + 2 red = red orange 

Only materials needed: 

-laminated color wheel

-primary tempera paint

-tiny/small paint brush 

-celebrity photocopies  

-paper towel for brush

No water cup needed! Just clean your brush on the paper towel, 

and wash the re-usable palette in the sink when finished.     

To make the celebrity prints, I used my macbook to copy an image from the internet, and paste it 4x in Pages. I printed in out, then made tons of photocopies. I chose Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe, Maria Montessori, Justin Bieber, Tom Brady, and a few other requests by students. When some students finished, they even made their own portrait in Photobooth and I helped them paste the image three more times in Pages.

(Hmm, I'm just really noticing this student's pallet above.)

 Soup cans and Justin Bieber!

This student is using the secondary color wheel very neatly. 

I cover who, what, when, where, why, and how 

in lessons that feature an artist mentor so I set the scene. 

Using photocopies made this lesson cheap (for me!) an emphasized that element of mass production. I knew that the final product would have looked nicer if we just used markers to color the black and white, but the real purpose for me was to practice mixing paint. Overall, it worked really well! 

SPACE: Positive and Negative

This inspiration for the Positive and Negative Space lesson came from Dick Blick.
I'd seen the results before, but I wasn't sure how to do it, until I found this link. The effect makes it look  more complicated than it really is.

I did this lesson with 1st grade through 8th grade because I wanted to emphasize the point about utilizing negative space. I wasn't sure that the younger grades could do it, but I was wrong-- they were awesome! (I recommend straighter lines, simplistic shapes. Loops and swirls are complicated and frustrating.) But even some of the older grades found it challenging. I encouraged middle school to make at least 7 cuts, but some just perfected 3-4 for the whole class.

I talked about complementary colors, but I let students choose their color combinations.

Here are some examples:

We did this the week of Halloween, so we went though a lot of black and orange paper. (1st Grade)

3rd grader wanted to add her third color. 

1st grader moved his half sheet to the center and cut both edges, drawn with a stencil. 

1st grader, copied from a middle schooler's work.

2nd grader: "I drew a sword, but I didn't want it to be violent, so now it's a bottle opener." <3

3rd grader drew in shapes on her +/- areas

This 3rd grader went on to make a total of FIVE of these in a 55 minute class. 

1st grader made a book. 

1st grader (added googly eyes on his heart)

6th grade

6th grade

My white board with a goal of 8 cuts for Middle School. 

Researching an Artist Mentor: 4-3-2-1 Go!

Here is one example of a quick, yet meaningful way to research an artist. I call it a "4-3-2-1 Go".

Students choose one artist, and discover the following:

   4 pictures of their artwork and/or the artist that catch my eye

   

   3 observations I make about the artist’s work

   2 questions about the artist or their work (which may or may not be answerable)

   1 idea I will take with me when I make my own work

I'm planning to have students answer these questions on a 8 1/2" x 11" sheet, so then we can collect a binder full of artist mentors to reference. Here's my first attempt at an example for students: 

I'm planning on re-creating it like I would if I were doing the assignment, without the highlights. I'll repost it when I do. 

The real connection that a student has with another artist's work that interests them is important to me. I want them to have the opportunity to observe, question, and build new knowledge to benefit their own work. They could also do this lesson for genres or periods of art, too. 

Why did I create this? I have a lot of students who have written proposals for self directed lessons that want to splatter paint, but don't know Jackson Pollack's name or biography. I'm hoping that this assignment is a quick way to get to know a little about Jackson Pollack that adds meaning and inquiry without being overwhelming. If they can do this study about him, then I may grant them permission to do a self directed art lesson. 

I'll try it and see how it goes! 

Reflecting on "What Matters"

A colleague just asked "what other art teachers do to cheer themselves up if things aren't going as planned/scheduled?"

I thought I would share how I reflect and document a quick snapshot of my day. I try to do this everyday on paper for my records. And if not on paper, I at least try acknowledge the components mentally and emotionally, and jot them in a note on my phone.  

I ask myself "What matters?" I brake it up to the states of matter that I learned in science: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. (You can even look at it with bathroom humor. That helps, too.) 

I usually record in this order:

SOLID - I jot down the crappy thing that happened. The immovable block that is bothering me. The things I can't seem to get over. Events that were frustrating. Things that just went wrong. Students who had a rough time. "I wasn't at the door when the students came in. Student ran in and caused commotion, and I spent lesson time recovering for behavior." "Found out about student rumor." "Parent emailed me about concerns." These are the things I know I'm going to hold onto, bring home, and allow to keep bothering me it I don't write it down.  

I. Get. It. Out. 
And then, I move on. 

LIQUID - The things that flowed well. What I can compliment myself for. "I reduced need for extra materials and set out exactly what they needed; I noticed that most students could start with ease." "The template enabled Student to work independently." "The book I chose really inspired the conversation and artwork." I see that it worked, and I'll try it again. 

GAS - (My favorite.) The things said that made me laugh, artwork that made me feel joy or pride in a student, a GEM (Great Educational Moment) that reminded me why I really and truly love this job. Student was so proud she created a pop up! When I showed kindergarten Student a princess picture, he told me his "dad wears dresses like that" with a straight face. By the end of the year, I'll have over 180 things written that remind me the joys of teaching, and funny quotes to share with the teachers and kids when they get older. 

And, lastly...

PLASMA -  What the heck is plasma? I really am not sure, and I'll have to look it up... again. This is where I list my lingering questions and the things I'm wondering. How do other teachers store clay? Is there a better routine for clean up? Who is an artist I can show tomorrow that uses space well? How did I respond to that parent last year? What the heck are the National Standards!?

            

I hand write them on a bank sheet or use a template and store them in my binder. After I write my PLASMA questions, I write in my calendar my to-do list for tomorrow. Like an action plan, look up those answer! Collect trash bags! Send that email! 

Usually I don't go back to read these reflection sheets, but when I need to reference something I was wondering or a behavior problem, I have it, and it's helpful. 

What I really like about it is a balance of what I'm documenting about my process as a teacher. I noticed when I used to come home and verbally vent (ie, process) to my fiance, that wasn't the most helpful or healthy. I needed to be documenting the issues and learning from them. Plus, I really wanted document the successes and the fun GEMs I was encountering, too. Writing this "What Matters" reflection helps me leave work feeling like I do have control, because I am focusing on what matters to me. And it only takes two minutes.   

If this helps, you, please let me know! Also, if you have another science-related twist to add on, please share. 


Thanks!  
K-Lee

Form - Designing a Place-scape

Dots make lines.

When lines intersect they make shapes.

When shapes are in the third dimension they make form!

All grades designed place-scapes using large paper, paper strips, tape, staples, and scissors. I also put out markers in case they wanted to draw into their places. We had some road lines and people drawn in. 

When I walked kindergarten upstairs I told them to look for curvy lines around them to help build schema.

Then, we read Dr. Seuss's Oh the Places You'll Go! for inspiration for unique places with repetition of curved and straight lines. (I skipped a few pages in the middle after the Waiting Place, then jumped back in when it was upbeat again.)

I showed students how to make flat paper pop into third dimension by twisting, folding, rolling, curling. 

I taught two methods of adhesion: tape and staples. 

They designed roller coasters, water parks, skate parks, towns, and some unknown mysterious places. 

The concentration was so focused and engaged. I loved how creative they were. Some of my toughest customers in 3rd grade said this was "the best art lesson ever." Many of the E1 students even moved onto the floor and make large cooperative places with friends. I totally recommend this lesson. We're going to be continuing with something like it next week!  

   

                                    

                                

Geometric and Organic Shape Collages

Dots make lines. 

When lines intersect, they make shapes!

This week we read The Shape of my Heart  by Mark Sperring, which is about seeing the shapes in the neighborhood around us. Abstract shapes like square and circle, as well as recognizable organic shapes like eye shape and hand shape. 

Because we live in New England and the trees are changing color, I chose to make my example drawing the shape of a tree. 

I showed how to cut geometric shapes with scissors --even drawing them first by hand or with stencil-- as well as tearing the paper for soft organic shapes. 

Then I introduced the glue sponge! And showed how to press into the sponge like a stamp, then stick it on the paper. 

We had many other trees designed, and even had a few squirrels hiding in the folded leaves. 

Overall, success!!

   3rd grader who cut out a leopard and made fringe with paint sample cards. 

Line Drawing to Music

I've done this lesson before, and it's always a hit.
I started with my repeating my favorite quote, "A line is a dot that went for a walk," by Paul Klee, and demonstrated a few of the many different ways a dot could walk. 

Next we read the book Along a Long Road by Frank Viva, noticing that the cyclist was like the dot that made a line through the city. The kindergarteners loved chanting back each "line" of text on the page. 

I put out markers, crayons, and colored pencils for choice. I also used small, long sheets of paper. 

For inspiration, I played music. The songs I chose this time were:
I love you, Too by Ziggy Marley
Let's Go by Calvin Harris ft. Ne-Yo
any song on the Amelie soundtrack, and
peaceful MetaMusic called Enchanted Forest. 

Most kinders did not stick to one page per song, but moved on as they liked. Some wanted to make a book by stapling their pages together. A few older students wanted to make a book as well, and for some of the older ones who felt bored, I was able to convince them to look back into their abstract drawings and find some meaning and keep drawing into it to make it look more like something. They thought that was cool when I looked at it and told them what I saw. Then they took over and told me what they saw and kept drawing. 

I noticed that students always want to dance and talk during the faster songs, but are quiet and more mellow during the slower songs. I like to sandwich my fast songs with mellow ones. I don't recommend songs with words, but it didn't seem to distract the lesson in any way.

Overall, easy set up and clean up, yet still fun and engaging!

Royalty Rules: What Am I Teaching in the Beginning Weeks for Lower El grades K-3

Rules, behaviors, procedures... How can I cover these while still making art exciting? We are already a few weeks into school and I am still establishing how to "be" in art.

Here was my first attempt with the younger grades to combine how to act, use materials, draw, and connect with art history.  I called it Royalty Rules. We drew formal portraits of rich royal figures who represent the best things about art.

What we covered in the first 5-10 mins: 
--how to hold pencils or markers;
--where I keep pencils, sharpeners, etc. because I'm trying to go TAB this year.
--creating a character/characteristic: Queen of Clean, King of Creativity, Painting Prince, Princess    Pointillism. Another one that a student came up with was Sir Smilie the II.
--formal portraits vs. informal portraits
--where to place facial features; we started with the letter U and drew a crown, added neck/shoulders then went back to the face
--art history: portraits, Mona Lisa, etc.
--elements: line, shape
--principles: balance
--how we can act "proper" in art class (I acted dramatically proper to demonstrate this. Of course we won't act snobbish and like royalty for the whole year, but now we have a reference point to pull ourselves out of the chaos and into control. HA!)

Here are some examples:

 Prince Yellow 

and the King of Wisdom.

Can I also confess that this meme is establishing itself as the root for the curriculum this fall? 

It totally is ruling my world. Already we've talked about Leonardo AND I see a future for Donatello entering very soon. I'll post about that in the next few weeks. But for now, royalty is definitely rocking my art room and I love it!

Projecting Pinterest

"I follow you on Pinterest!" was the exclamation I received from a 4th grade girl in art class last week. Not what I expected to hear as I directed my Upper El students to look at the wall where I was projecting images of Art Nouveau. 

I was quite taken aback. Most of my students hadn't heard of Pinterest and were confused as to why my name was at the top of the screen; never mind that one of my students was following my pins-- and I didn't even know it. My fearful surprise quickly turned to excitement. Perhaps this was another learning tool?

I had been pinning images of Art Nouveau for my own inspiration and lesson planning. But, when I needed to introduce this movement to students before we began our scratchboards, I was flat out of time to create a powerpoint or print out a slew of images. I settled on the idea of projecting my Pinterest board on the wall over my desk. Not only was it a mega time saver, but it facilitated a sincere conversation with more ease because we could focus on the images that caught their eye. It worked well. We could easily see similarities between the works that made it Nouveau. 

Pinterest has become my new and unintentional school-to-home connection. I'm not sure if any other students have followed me, but if they do they will be inundated with art images. Now that I'm aware, I'm thinking of my pinning with more purpose. How Nouveau...

Has anyone else shared their Pinterest page with students or used it in a similar way? What have your experiences been?

(Also note, my desk is NEVER really that clean.) 

Ukranian Eggs: Pysaty Folk Design

More lines, colors, shapes, and patterns!

This Easter-timed, but culturally-focused work follows our discussion about story-telling in art.

Each color and pattern on a Ukranian egg represents a story. The word pysaty itself means "to write" with beeswax.

I found this fabulous, old-school Reading Rainbow featuring Patricia Polacco dying pysaty after they read her book, Rechenka's Eggs.

I did this lesson with Kinderhaus first, then tried it with older grades. I wasn't planning on doing it with Middle School, but when they saw the eggs they wanted to, too. A few middle school girls are even planned an egg hunt for the Kindergarteners using the eggs they designed.

I have found that although the watercolor crayon-resist method would make the most sense in this lesson, students have more control of their designs when they just use marker.

Of course another egg-stention of this lesson would be to try to actually dye the eggs in the traditional method, but I wasn't ready for that this year. We'll see about next year.

At the bottom of this post, I copied the symbols and color meanings of the designs from http://graphicoriginals.com/history.html.

Symbols    drawings of symbols (will open in a new window)
Sun, circles- life, warmth and the love of God
Swastika- a common motif for happiness, blessings, good fortune and good will.
Tripod- a solar symbol known from Trypillian times meaning a trinity: birth, life, death; man, woman, child; the magical number 3
Star or rose-usually 8 pointed but also 6 and 5 pointed in ancient times signifying purity, life, the giver of light, the center of all knowledge, beauty, elegance and perfection; the eye or divine will of God, symbol of God's love for man. Today sun and cosmic symbols signify happiness, prosperity and good fortune
Triangles-a trinity; formerly air, fire, water or the heavens, earth and air. Now the Holy Trinity is meant.
Lines-unbroken to not break the thread of life
Sieve-dividing good from evil
Basket-contained knowledge, motherhood, the giver of life and gifts
Rakes-rays from the sun, reference to harvest
Spirals-divinity or immortality
Grape vine-continuity, good fellowship and strong, loyal love; as the wine of communion-the love of God and of Christ for mankind
Deer- leadership, masculinity and victory
Horse- an ancient sign for the sun, believed in ancient times to pull the sun across the sky; therefore, wealth, properity, speed and endurance
Ram- perseverence, dignity, leadership and strength
Rooster- coming good fortune, for men it predicts a rich married life with many children
Hen- fertility
Spider-patience, artistry and industry
Hen's feet-protection of the earth toward her young; guidance of the young in their search for knowledge
Horns-nobility, wisdom and triumph over problems; an implication of manhood and leadership
Wolves' teeth-loyalty, wisdom and a firm grip
Churches-appeared at the time of Christianity, used only in western Ukraine
Birds- precursors of spring
Fish- symbol for Christ and Christians
Netting- separating good from evil
Crosses-in many shapes, usually to represent Christ's suffering
Meander lines- eternal life
Ladders- prayer and rising to Heaven
Wheat- generous harvest
Pine needles- eternal life
Dots- stars and constellations
Flowers- wisdom, elegance and beauty
Leaves and flowers- life and growth

Colors
White-purity, virginity, innocence and birth
Green-renewal, spring, hope, health and victory of life over death, freedom from bondage
Yellow-light and purity, harvest, warmth, wisdom, youth
Orange-endurance, strength, ambition, the everlasting sun, the red of passion tempered by the yellow of wisdom
Red-a positive color for passion, action, fire, spiritual awakening, divine love, used especially for children and youth
Black- constancy, eternity, used with white as respect for departed souls, also fear or ignorance
Purple- fasting, faith, patience and trust
Brown- mother earth, bringing forth bountiful gifts
Blue- blue skies, life-giving air, is a talisman of good health
Pink- success, contentment
4 or more colors- family happiness, peace and love