What have I learned so far?

As we begin our second unit, Art is a Form of Creative Communication, I will share with you some of the ways we have wrapped up our first unit with some fun critiques. These first few photos show my second graders filling out a 3-2-1 sheet - three things I learned, two things I like about my work, and one thing I would change. After reviewing all the work in their portfolios, they filled out their own and then we paired up to share our thoughts with our classmates. They really enjoyed this and I hope they will take them home to their parents to talk about some of our art learning so far!

 

The next photos show my first graders completing a rubric about their favorite artwork from Unit 1. Once complete, we did an art walk and students could add hearts, smileys, or question marks (if they wanted to ask the artist a question)at the bottom of each other's rubrics.

 

 

 

The next two are from the 3rd grade project I recently posted about, but I thought I'd include it here too since it's relevant to the topic. First we wrote about our own, then we "art sandwiched" a friend's work.

As I mentioned in an earlier post this year, most of these critique forms were adapted from some I found on Pinterest or other blogs, so thanks again art teachers for sharing such useful ideas. You can also see on that post the rubric my 4th and 5th graders are using on a selected piece from each unit. 

Watching the students compliment each other and express their feelings in these formats has been a real treat for me, and hasn't been as time consuming as I once worried it would be. I am going to try to get some form of this in each 9 weeks!

**Update - you can get some of my newest goals and rubrics at my Teachers Pay teachers store here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Knights-Smartest-Artists

 

 

Harper and Audubon: Bird Portraits

These two teacher examples of the blue jay show the similarities and differences of the two artists' styles

Charley Harper and John James Audubon are two artists who loved the outdoors, especially bird watching. They both made careers as artists who shared their love of birds and nature in their work. They have some differences too, in terms of style - Harper used mostly geometric shapes and simple backgrounds in his abstract works, while Audubon used more organic shapes to create his detailed, realistic birds and habitats. After researching the two styles, the students chose the style they preferred and began planning their collage. 

 

 

 

We also used our class computers to research our birds' natural habitats.

 

Here are a few of our collages as we finished up... 

 

 

 

  

As a final step, we selected partners and critiqued each other, using the "Art Sandwich" technique. The students were very thoughtful about their compliments and suggestions, and were excited to read what everyone had written, and we even had a minute to share a few out loud. 

 

Fall Still Life Surprise

  

Drawing from observation, memory, and imagination are three big concepts in the elementary art room. I set up a still life in-the-round in the middle of the room for one particular grade, but all the kids from other grades were so interested in it that I decided to leave it up a few weeks so that we could all draw from it as we completed our various activities.

Here's the surprise -

In past still lifes, I gave specific instructions about creating the compositions. This year, the only instructions I gave were to fill the page, draw big, and draw only what you could see from your spot. The rest of the composition - spatial relationships, color choices, patterns, background - was up to them to figure out. You can see how they are making decisions on size relationships, overlapping, and high/low placement. They are even throwing in a few of their own objects from memory that feel appropriate for them, like mugs to go with the teapot. I have to say, I have been so impressed with what they have come up with, especially the younger grades! Some of them are just blowing me away. It has inspired me to keep a seasonal still life going all year... Let the hunting and gathering begin!

Here are a few of the K-2 completed examples, with more to come soon.

 

 

 

 

 

A view from the other side...