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Fourth graders are finally ready to share the results of their latest project! This project ended up taking about seven weeks. That's about twice as long as we typically spend on a project, and that hard work has definitely paid off! Our inspiration for this artwork came from fourth grade's current study of patterns in weather and how different weather conditions affect the environment. The structure of this project is based on the designs of contemporary Israeli artist Yaacov Agam. Agam is a painter and sculptor whose work is kinetic, meaning it involves movement. He developed a new style of art that has come to be known as an agamograph. These agamographs are made of painted strips that appear to change depending on where the viewer is standing. Watch this video to see an example of one of his agamographs- do you see how the painting completely changes as the camera moves from one side to the other?! To make their own agamograph, students first had to decide what weather pattern they wanted to illustrate. (They could also choose day and night.) Next students created two separate artworks showing the exact same scene but with a change in the weather. We used a tracing technique to make sure the scenes were identical and would line up correctly when the agamograph was put together. After their two scenes were finished, students had to assemble their agamographs. This process was really tricky and had a lot of opportunities for mistakes, but the students did great! I was so proud of the commitment and dedication students showed for this project- they showed an amazing amount of perseverance and were willing to work until the job was done right! Here are just a few of the finished examples. I am SO impressed with the results!! A rainstorm turning to a rainbow: by Sophie A daytime and nighttime scene: by Sherlyn A before-and-after of a tornado: by Meredith Changing seasons: by Jordan A storm that causes a flood: by Melvin * Here's where I got the idea for this project-- http://reliefteachingideas.com/concertina-fold-changing-pictures/
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My first graders absolutely LOVED playing this game! In their classrooms, they've just finished learning about nouns, verbs, and adjectives. So, we turned their learning into a game! Each student had a turn to pick three cards from a bag- one noun, one adjective, and one verb. Then, the whole class had to illustrate that phrase! There were some really silly combinations!
Third graders have just started a new science unit on rocks and minerals. Last week, they had an in-house field trip where they got to experience mining for gemstones! In support of this learning, our next big art project will be a geometric gemstone painting project. To get us started, students spent this week's art class making detailed observational drawings of rocks.
Here's a sneak peek at what second grade has been working on. . . family portraits! This project is a second grade tradition and will be featured at their Art Show coming up in December!
Third grade's ELA curriculum recently focused on how an author's word choice helps to set the mood of a written work. We have been talking about how artists create mood, too! We started out by viewing some artwork in which the subject matter clearly communicates a mood. We looked at the colors used, as well as the body language of the figures. After some class discussion of those examples, we began looking at some non-objective artworks. (Non-objective literally means "no object"- it's artwork made solely from lines and shapes and colors. Often people refer to this type of art as "abstract" but that's actually a whole different category.) In non-objective work, the energy (calm, swirling, jagged, etc.) in addition to color, contributes to the mood. Students then created their own non-objective mood paintings. They divided their papers into fourths and painted each section to show a different mood. They were to consider both their color choices and the energy of the mark-making to successfully communicate their chosen moods. When students finished their paintings, their next task was to use sticky notes to analyze the moods of several artworks on display in the room. They needed to tell what mood they interpreted and then explain their thinking. I was impressed with their critical thinking skills! And I loved the enthusiasm they showed for this activity!
I love this activity for kindergartners because it's excellent for developing fine motor skills. Students first make a squiggly line that twists all over their entire paper- this is great for teaching big movements, and drawing with your whole arm, not just the hand. Then, students use paint to trace back over that line- this is much harder for them! Any kind of tracing practice is a great skill-builder. It's wonderful for strengthening all the little muscles in the hand, which means students have better control over their drawing materials. (And better handwriting!) Here's one of the finished paintings... they are beautiful! First graders have been learning about different kinds of words- nouns, verbs, and now adjectives. In the Art room, students wrote adjectives about artworks!
Students circulated around the room to look at lots of different kinds of artwork. They wrote describing words on sticky notes. Then we gathered as a group to have a time of sharing and discussion. |
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