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First grade students have spent the last several class sessions exploring narrative art- art that tells a story. In our latest project, students chose a painting and used it as the middle of a story. They had to closely study the painting and look for clues to determine what was happening. They needed to make inferences about what could have happened before the painting, and then make predictions to decide what happened next! We did this through drawing and writing. Developing these skills will help students analyze written texts. "First, the man didn't want his food because he was full. Next, he gave it to the dog. Last, the dog ate it all up." "First, she tripped over a rock. Then she got sick. Next, she had to sit in the chair. Last, she felt better after her nap." "First, she gets the milk. Next, she gives the milk to the cat. Last, then the cat drinks." "First, they are back from the Big E. (a movie theater) Next, they are home. Last, they go to bed." "First, she had a fight! Next, she went to the principal's office. Last, she got a spanking with a book." "First, the boy is with his dad the police. Next, they are eating lunch. Last, they are going home. We are eating." "First, he went fishing with his dog and he built a raft. Next, he let his dog ride it. Last, they went back home." "First, the family is eating watermelon.
Next, the boy is playing baseball. Last, it is night time."
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This week's schedule was a little off due to our snow days. First and third grade classes were due to start a new project, but I wanted to hold off until all classes could start the same week. So we used this week for some extra practice with making narrative art- art that tells a story. My favorite master artist to show when discussing narrative art is Norman Rockwell. His pictures are so fun for students to interpret. We began the lesson by studying his painting "Roadblock". "Roadblock" Cover for Saturday Evening Post 1949 We looked at the artwork and I asked them to answer some questions. They had to find clues in the picture to answer each question. First they had to identify the problem in the scene, and describe the main characters. Some of the other questions were really challenging! One of my questions was "What time of day is it in this scene?" and they decided it had to be morning because the kids had their bookbags and were walking to school. I asked why they couldn't be coming home from school instead, and they said it was because the lady on the balcony still had on her apron from cooking breakfast and her husband wasn't dressed in his work clothes yet. What a smart interpretation!! Next, students completed a worksheet with the same questions on it. They had to think of an event from their life and answer the questions based on that event. Then, they had to find a way to make all of their answers evident in their drawing. For example, if it was a hot day, how will you show that? Are people sweating? Are they wearing summer clothes? Could you draw the sun really big? I wanted them to include details they might normally forget about- what the weather was like, the types of clothes people were wearing, even body language and facial expressions. These are first grade examples. We will complete their drawings next week, and if we have time, they will write a paragraph explaining their drawing. I am hoping that by focusing on drawing with more detail, they will be encouraged to write using more detail. And these last examples are from a third grade class. They were able to get more accomplished in one class period, so their drawings are more complete. 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 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!
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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