Graphing with Grade 4

I like things to be pretty.
                                 Well-designed.
                                            Aesthetically pleasing.

But sometimes, the function is the main thing.

Today, I made a rudimentary graph. Then I snapped a picture of it. And now I'm posting it. See, just this weekend, I read Mr. E's post about graphing favorite shapes. I've done similar things before, but with that post fresh in my mind and five extra minutes at the end of 4th grade art, I decided to do an informal poll of the students. They had just spent the period doing a continuous line drawing of their shoe followed by another (not necessarily continuous) line drawing of their shoe. Afterwards, they selected their favorite and mounted it on a piece of colored paper.

      So which was their favorite?

As much as the kids complain about the challenge of a continuous line drawing, I knew from last year that many students select that as the better of their drawings. How many today? I asked each student, just placing a dot in the rectangle to signify each response. The class was almost evenly split.

It was quick. It was ugly. I'm glad I did it. We practiced math skills while recognizing diverse opinions and reflecting on our own art.

Now I want to create a more permanent unlabeled graph for future activities. The question is where and how...

Fourth Grade Field Trip

My fourth graders took a field trip.

To introduce a landscape project, we analyzed different examples of landscapes from art history. I selected eight examples of landscapes from my art prints, some western, some eastern, and some folk art. To display, I clipped the pieces along this tension line, made by IKEA for curtains. (The line was installed last fall and typically shows secondary work, the hallway is next to the secondary art room.)

We discussed vocabulary and went through the worksheet questions with an example, then quietly made our way up the stairs to our private museum. The students walked around with a clipboard, choosing to write about four of the eight pictures. After I checked their work, they were allowed to free draw until everyone was done.

Lastly, we sat around a few images and talked about techniques artists use to tell us what is close in a picture and what is far away.

The worksheet was a great tie-in to language arts. Approximately 85% of my students are non-native English speakers, so I like to emphasize all vocabulary (not just art terms) and other language arts concepts whenever possible (like the art-making/writing process).




Worksheet Prompts

     Foreground Nouns:
     Background Nouns:
     Sky Adjectives:
     Landscape Verbs:
     Where is this place?


I was very pleased with the lesson results. The change of location and the change of activity was enough to keep the students quietly engaged in the process. It was great to use parts of speech as a starting block for looking closely at art. At the end, as students shared their answers for nouns in the foreground and background, I challenged how they knew certain things were close. The students did a marvelous job putting words to their observations, noting things like size, overlapping, placement, and details.


Some of my students were too smart for their own good. My prints are labeled, including the museum that currently owns the piece. Noticing the place names, some of my students copied those locations instead of guessing the place the artist was representing. Henri Rousseau's jungle paintings were definitely not a painting of London...I got a chuckle out of such responses, then explained it to the students and asked them to guess another location.

Design Challenge

Just over a year ago, the art department purchased a DSLR. Yet it was only last week that I discovered I could now take pictures of my whole bulletin board straight on---not at an angle from down the hall! Guess I should have tried that sooner. The hall was too narrow for my old point and click, and while there's some curvature to these pictures, I'll take it any day over the demonstration of one-point perspective in my previous bulletin board pictures.

This project was based on a design challenge seen at the Briargrove Elementary Art Page. My students could only use our school initials, ISQ, to create an interesting composition. We talked about how to create variety with only three elements through repeating, enlarging, overlapping, cropping, and tilting. We also discussed thick and thin lines, along with dark and light value.

The students did a great job with their one-class-period project. It was great to see them overcome challenges and limitations. I love projects that require them to think creatively!







































One table of students decided to join their pictures together to create a larger letter "I." I had to place it sideways on the bulletin board due to space, but it was fun to see them initiate the collaboration and work through the problems it presented. Scroll back up to see their work!

(masterpieces) Figure Drawing

It might be my favorite lesson of the entire year. After three weeks of figure drawing, the students get a new (and significantly older/taller) model. Of course, I model on the 4th week because they are so much better at drawing now! But the results are still amusing, particularly the ones who struggle.

I think through my outfit carefully. For the other models (their classmates, chosen by drawing names out of a hat), I have them wear a costume. For myself, I pick an outfit with good details---seams, pleats, folds, etc. I added an umbrella this time since my sweater was somewhat boring.

I ask the students not to draw faces or hands. This is not about portraits, but about the entire figure. In general, the focus is on lines, but some students begin to explore value as a way to communicate.

(teacher's note) 4th grade has been refining their drawing skills by drawing their classmates, dressed in funny costumes! Students are practicing drawing what they actually see: all the wrinkles and folds in the fabric, the details of the clothes, and the position of the body. For the last class, students had the opportunity to draw Miss Melachrinos. Kevin did an excellent job showing the pleats in her skirt, the details on her shoes, and even the umbrella she was holding!

The Peaceable Classroom

The masterpiece featured in yesterday's post, A Peaceful Family by Julia, is unique in the history of this project.  Though it is my third year doing this project, inspired by a project found online while researching Edward Hicks, never once have I had a student paint an interior scene.  Julia is not your average student, though.  She is very patient and has proven herself to be an excellent painter.  When she asked if she could do a cat and a mouse in a living room, I got out my school laptop and found her some pictures of those ordinary household creatures.  (My large supply of pages from two Planet Earth coloring books and 10 library books feature more "wild" creatures, not the domesticated variety.)

Then came the dilemma of how to show interior space.  While I had taught them some basic techniques to create perspective in their work, it was entirely based on an outdoor landscape.  Julia attempted to show a room with a doorway and a line of sight into the next room, but I thought she could take it further.  Bringing back the laptop, I googled some images of interiors.  We looked at the orthogonals in rooms drawn or photographed in one-point perspective.  Without getting technical on her, we talked about why the lines go in towards the center (things that are further away look smaller, and even though we know the wall is always the same height, the part that touches the back wall looks as if it is shorter).  Julia then worked independently to sketch her scene.

But despite her success, I don't feel like it is an accurate representation of the project.  And since I've never blogged about this project, I figured now is the time.  To to show you a broader view of the project, here are all 23 paintings from this year!



Apart from showing depth (using any of the following methods: decreasing size, overlapping shapes, place objects higher up on the picture plane, using less detail or lighter colors in the distance, etc.), student worked on

     drawing animals realistically from a source,
     drawing a story about people from their imagination,
     and mixing paint colors, particularly to create more natural colors. 

As with all projects, the levels of success in the paintings are almost as diverse as the students.  Some students are great draftsman but have very little control with a brush; other students struggle equally with pencil and brush.  Some students insist on a cartoon-like style to their drawings; other students continually impress me with their imaginative ideas and inspiring outcomes.  

The students also titled their work as part of their art log.  Appropriately, peace appears frequently in the titles.  A curious case is A. R..  The artist has a natural gift for drawing, whether from life, sources, or his imagination.  His first few marks of the bird had me quite concerned, but he managed to pull off a convincing aerial view from inside the tree branches.  I only wish he had more control with a paintbrush.  He is often in his own art-filled world and doesn't apply my tips for how to paint more successfully (for example, waiting until the paint is dry before painting on top of a shape).  But maybe he'll surprise the world with his talent and non-traditional methods...

(masterpieces) Peaceful Painting

For quite some time now, I've been thinking about displaying student work online. Sure, I (occasionally) blog about projects, but what about a site for the kids and parents?

I talked with our admissions and marketing guy two years ago. He runs the school website. While we could have added a gallery of artwork, I wasn't thrilled with the formatting of the already-existing albums on the website. It got put on the back-burner.

This past spring, our school's weekly newsletter went digital. With the new WordPress powered site, a gallery of student work seemed more attainable.


Before I could initiate anything, a third grade teacher submitted a student's poem, and thus, the birth of the Student Masterpieces tab.

Every week since then, I have submitted a digital photo of a recent piece of student art, along with a description of the project. It's been four weeks now, but only this week did I realize I should also post the masterpieces here! As a special treat, here's an advanced screening of this week's Student Masterpiece---the 5th piece of elementary art featured on our school's online newsletter for parents and staff. Stay tuned for more weekly masterpieces, as well as posts showing previously-featured masterpieces...

(teacher's note) After studying The Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks, fourth graders painted their own stories of peace. Like Hicks, their foreground contained peaceful animals, despite the predator/prey relationship. In the background, they added their own story of people choosing peace. Julia decided to use an interior space as the setting for her peaceful situations. Behind the cat and mouse, you can see a brother and sister playing together nicely instead of fighting. Julia did a great job showing depth in her painting! She also mixed interesting colors and painted very carefully.

Lamps!

One of my passions in teaching is integration. In 7th grade, my reading teacher told the class "you can read about anything, so I can teach you anything." Well he did, and since then, I've never forgotten the words mausoleum and gubernatorial.

My little sister is in his class this year. (We're ten years apart.) He's still up to his old reading tricks, and gave the same "I can teach anything" speech. My mom told me on Skype one day that it's the same for me. It's true! We can make art about ANYTHING! So how do I pick subject matter? I try to make it relevant to their lives, and often tie it to their classroom curriculum.

This takes a lot of planning. Unfortunately, it also takes effort on the part of the classroom teachers. If they don't talk to me about their units, I can't make connections. This year, I've sent a few e-mail pleas to the teachers---please tell me! I know it takes a few minutes of their time, but the reinforcement the students get in my class is DEFINITELY worth the effort!

One of those e-mails resulted in this project!

Fourth grade has a unit on electricity. Their teacher asked me "would you want to work with me to make lamps?"

YES!

I cannot claim to have taken any classes with Lyn Godley, but I did teach her son during my first student teaching placement. She came in and gave a presentation to the class about her lighting designs and the work of various KU students. The juniors then started a hanging light project, using IKEA pre-fab cords and making their own lampshades.

After a little brainstorming about the possibilities at our school with our students, Mrs. Early and I decided on a design. The fourth graders would discuss design and lighting in my class. Mr. Early (her husband and our facilities manager) would have his staff create wooden bases. The kids would wire the lamps in Mrs. Early's class. In my class, we'd make the paper shades and glue them to the wooden structure.

To introduce the art component, we discussed the difference between decoration and function. I pulled together a slide show of various lighting projects (compliments of Miss Emily and Miss Amanda: those are some beautiful lights you've made!). I even showed the movarian bell lights made by Miss Emily's elementary students during student teaching! When I got to Godley's crinkle lamp, I jumped over to a video on youtube about the lighting design by Godley and KU students for the outside of the Goggleworks. We ended the discussion by looking at various paper lanterns, including some rectangular lamps from
                                                                                              IKEA that looked quite similar to our basic design.

In the remaining classtime and the following week, the students created three possible designs for the lampshade. Our little mock-ups were quite simple---a half sheet of A4 copy paper (hotdog style) folded into four sections.

After all the designs were finished, we taped the open side together. Each student put their designs above three columns on another sheet of copy paper. The two rows were + compliments and - suggestions or concerns. I asked the students to think of at least one + and one - for each design.

Before the students read their sheets, I reminded them that these were not intended to hurt feelings. They should read all the ideas, think about them, but remember, they are just someone's opinion. They make the decision about which design should be implemented. (I didn't say implemented, but sometimes I miss using big words!)

If I'd been more careful in my planning, I would have designed the lamp size to correspond with the paper. Instead, I arbitrarily picked a size for the base. It was loosely based on the scrap of A4 paper I was sketching on and took into consideration the distance between the lightbulb and the paper. Unfortunately, when all was said and done, the long side of the paper was 1 or 2 cms too short to wrap around all four sides! Though it was frustrating, we made do by making three sides connected and a fourth separate panel.



Craftsmanship was very important in this project. I didn't have lots of extra paper for the shade. I told them the time to experiment was over. They made three designs already. Pick the best and make it carefully and neatly!

No starting again!

I also emphasized that this was THEIR light, for THEIR room. If they did a horrible job, it wasn't just their grade that would be affected. They wouldn't have an awesome project in their room, something in which they could take pride!

After the first day of coloring, we did a few tests. The shades looked best when the pencil side was facing out. Also, soft colored pencil was washed out by the compact fluorescent bulb.

As students finished, I worked one-on-one with them to glue the paper shades to the wooden dowels. The finished lamps looked fabulous!

While they wanted to take them home right away, there were a few things to happen first. One of Mr. Early's staff is an electrician by trade. He checked over their wiring before the projects made it to the artroom. He did a second check after the shades were finished. Also, Mrs. Early and I wanted the lamps to be in her classroom for Parent/Teacher conferences.

After a few days, the students finally got to take the lamps home. You should have seen the smiles as the students carried their projects to the bus that afternoon!

Figure Drawing with Fourth Grade

Back during my glory days at Kutztown, NAEA invited Sandy (retired teacher from Boyertown and Crayola Rep) to come and do a Crayola demonstration. She also spoke to my Early Field class. In all her projects and comments, one thing that stood out to me was doing figure drawing with elementary students! It seemed crazy--very ambitious! I didn't do figure drawings until Art III in 12th grade!

Her results were beautiful. I was convinced.

My drawing curriculum involves a lot of drawing from life. My 3rd graders drew the bicycle for four weeks. That's also a project I did in high school. But these kids can handle it! It challenges them, but if you give them the tools (three types of lines: straight, angled, curved, and some ENCOURAGEMENT and CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM), they can see it and learn to put that down on paper!

One thing Sandy said about doing this project: She always put the kids in costumes.

There are lots of benefits to costumes. Costumes lighten the mood. They can create a social studies tie-in, with the appropriate dress and props. Most importantly, they deflect the attention from the child, and their body, to the inanimate clothing, and its folds, bumps, lumps, seaming, etc.


I find this to be very important to my children. In Asian cultures, standing out from the group is not viewed as a good thing. It is a collectivist society, and you want to fit in. There may be pressure to fit in in the states, but we still put extreme value on being an individual. You're a star. Here's your chance to shine!

My students can be very shy when singled out. The costume puts a barrier between them and the group, and makes it about the clothing.

It also makes it so much easier for me to offer constructive criticism. Excuse me, you didn't make her butt big enough... Instead, I can say, look at the way the costume bumps out in the back. Make sure you draw that line. None of the costumes are fitted (check out how long most of the sleeves are!), so it always provides that option to comment on the thickness created by the costume.

I am also very careful to redirect any comments that might hurt the model's feelings. When a student is bold enough to hold up their drawing and say "look at how crazy you look," I am quick to add that it's not because the model is weird-looking, but because the drawing is crazy.

All of the students blew me away with the results! Here's an album of some of the highlights. Click on the link below the slideshow to look through the images slowly and read my captions...



http://picasaweb.google.com/art.abroad/FourthGradeFigureDrawing?authkey=Fqj6-A7yzpA&feat=directlink

I rearrange the classroom before the students come in the room. I put two small tables together in the center, making a square. The longer tables are then arranged, all six, around the perimeter of the room. I randomly place the students at the six tables, looking into the center. Any student that wants a chance to model writes their name on a small piece of paper. All the names are put in a bowl and I pick out two models for that class period. The first model comes with me to get a costume from my office, which is directly across the hall (remember, I have a TA, so she is still in the room with the kids). We come back, everyone giggles, and the model hops up onto the table. Each model does three poses. Usually one standing, one sitting on a chair, and one sitting directly on the table. These poses only last 5-7 minutes. Being still for that long is VERY challenging for the models! I remind the students not to worry about drawing eyes, noses, mouths...it's about the clothing! After all three poses, the model takes off the costume (just worn over his or her clothes) and the new model comes to get a new costume. Lather, rinse, and repeat!

Interestingly, most of the kids can finish a decent drawing in those few minutes. I remember wanting at least 15 minutes, maybe more, when we did figure drawing in high school.

One of my students is incredibly talented! I've seen her gifting in other projects, but the drawings make it very apparent.

I was showing her drawings from our second class to Mrs. Greene (the secondary art teacher). I told her that I couldn't take any credit for her skill level. Looking back at her first drawing, I do see improvement based on my suggestions. Her first drawing is "perfect" in a bad way. It's more like a fashion drawing and less like an actual person. I talked to her about not drawing a straight line if the belt actually is at a slight angle. We talked about the specific folds, seaming, and all the details of the pose.

The drawing on the left is her first drawing. The drawing on the right is from the second class.


The shirt had puffing at the shoulders, and the LONG skirt with a stretchy, gathered waist, was actually inside out, so the unfinished fabric edges were visible down the back of the skirt.

I made an album with some of her drawings.

You can see two of her drawings from the first week, and five from the second week, after I talked to her about drawing the specific folds, seams, draping, etc.

I'm not sure I can draw this well, and certainly not in five minutes!

http://picasaweb.google.com/art.abroad/FigureDrawingsOfOneStudent?authkey=jdKCM_W-q4Y&feat=directlink#5291648769834105938

By the way, I didn't say ANYTHING to the class or invidual students about line quality or using value, yet some of the students used both very effectively!

Funny Moments

I was trying to decide today which class is my favorite. I can't decide. I'm like the mom that says "all of you are my favorite" or "I don't have a favorite."

I was also thinking about funny moments this year. A few teachers were talking about those moments when you just crack up in class and can't stop laughing. I have a lot of fun in art class, but not so many moments of huge laughter, so much that it disturbs class.

I did have one really fun class when I totally lost my composure. 4th grade had come for class. The music classes nearby and cafeteria were a little loud. I knew I wanted to talk for a while at the beginning of class, so I decided I should close the door to block the noise. All the students were sitting, and instead of asking someone to close the door, I walked over to do it myself. As I got close to the door, I started turning towards the class and closing the door at the same time. The door opens into my room, so I was pushing it closed away from me. Turns out, not all the students were in the room. For some reason, one boy was straggling behind. I closed the door on Steven's face. My only clue was the loud clunk and the burst of laughter from my students. Since I had been addressing them as I went to close the door, they were all looking at me and saw me shut the door in his face!

Startled, I opened the door to see what had happened. I had knocked him onto his butt, and he was sitting on the floor, quite confused and startled himself! Thankfully, Steven has a sense of humor. I asked if he was okay and gave him a hand to help him get on his feet again. Meanwhile, the class was roaring with laughter. Even as I tried to start the lesson again, I started laughing more. It was just one of those moments!


The other classes that ALWAYS cause me to laugh are PreK and Kindergarten. The kids say and draw the funniest things!

For example, take this little girl named Rachel. She's in kindergarten. This picture is from the first week of painting. She told me "Miss M, I'm an artist. You know how you can tell, see how I paint the corners! I could paint all day. I could paint for a whole hour!" She was so excited to be painting!

















I also got a kick out of William's painting. At the beginning of class, I explained to the kindergarteners what they need to be ready to paint. I compared it to a place setting for a Western meal. We looked at a drawing on the board of a plate, cup, napkin, knife, fork, and spoon. We mentioned how we would need different things to eat Chinese, like chopsticks. All those things make us ready to eat our food.

Next to the place setting, I drew their painting set-up. We compared the picture to what they had at their seat. I explained each item--their paper, paintbrush, water cup, paint palette, and spongebob (I don't think I've explained spongebob yet...for another post). Then it was time to paint!

As I walked around the class, I realized William was inspired by my place setting picture. Check out his painting! And if you look above him to the white board, you can see my place setting on the left and painting set-up on the right!