After setting expectations for the semester, and communicating with Mrs. Stapels on what she wanted from this experience, we decided it would be worthwhile to teach the students some basic drawing skills. This would be a foundational lesson that would help students develop and apply these skills to their future projects. To get their creative juices flowing, I gave them three prompts to choose from. These were the prompts:
After the warm-up, I wanted to teach them different ways they could fill the space of whatever it is they are drawing. We folded a paper into quarters and filled 3 of the 4 quarters with a different drawing technique: circling, hatching, cross-hatching. For the fourth quarter, I showed them how to draw a tree -- the way a tree grows. I was so impressed with their abilities to pick up these skills!
To wrap up the lesson, we went back to our warm-up drawings. I invited them each to choose one or two skills they learned from the lesson and apply it to their drawing. I felt like this was a great way to wind things down and bring everything full circle. This was different than what I had originally planned. I was going to have them draw something completely new. If we had more time, it would have been a good activity, but either way, I'm glad I had them go back to their original drawing. I'm grateful I learned the lesson to go with the flow, be flexible, and open to new ideas and different things to do in the moment!
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After going in and observing Mrs. Stapels' 2nd Grade classroom, I was so excited to get to know these cute kids, help them improve their art skills, and learn from an experienced master teacher! For the first lesson, I decided I wanted to get to know the students better. And, since it's still early in the school year, I wanted to give them an opportunity to get to know each other a little better, too. Before getting into the activity, I wanted the students to understand the difference between abstract and realism in the art world, specifically for portraits. I shared several examples of what both looked like. The students were very bright and made great observations on the different aspects of abstract and realistic art. Next, I introduced to them our activity: Speed Portraits. Essentially, students were going to face each other in pairs and would spend 2 minutes at a time drawing the classmate across from them. They had the freedom to choose to draw their partner either realistically or abstractly. Then, in "speed dating" style, they would rotate and spend another 2 minutes drawing someone else. They used a different medium with each person they drew (pencil, crayon, pencil) in order to explore which they liked best. Now, in theory and on paper this worked very well and transitioned flawlessly! I learned quickly that reality was a little different. Transitions were not smooth and there was a flaw in the rotation system. Trying to rotate between poeple and mediums just did not work! Thanks to an experienced classroom manager, Mrs. Stapels thought quickly as to how we could adjust and make it work. It took some doing, and I learned a lot from this experience, but it worked out in the end and I think the students enjoyed themselves! Rather than trying to rotate and snake through the desks, in the future, I would probably arrange students in two circles facing each other. Each set of chairs would be assigned a medium and students would rotate either clockwise or counter-clockwise. I look forward to trying that out, and I imagine it would work out a little more smoothly than what I originally thought. After we completed the activity, students placed their work on their desks and did a silent art gallery walk-through to observe each other's work! We took some time to reflect and share what they liked from other's work, which medium they liked best and why, and whether they liked to draw realistically or abstractly and why. Overall, it was a great first lesson. The students enjoyed it, had the opportunity to discover their own style of art, and get to know each other a little better. I learned some solid classroom management skills and Mrs. Stapels will hopefully get to use a rendition of this activity in the future.
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AuthorBYU Early Childhood Education Major. Archives |