Portrait of a teacher

Grade 600 have worked feverishly to complete a portrait of their home room teacher for a global project including technology. They have definitely shown skills and techniques necessary in grade 6 for this special assignment.

Grade 600 Thursday November 19th

Guess what we are making?

Final 5 minute lesson of Term 1 for Grade 6

Our final 5 minute lesson for Grade 6 is on Connections.  In Literacy we are asked to read text and be able to make connections to our self, another text or the world.  In Art it is much the same.  Can you think of an artwork that you have a connection to already.  For example: I really like the artwork The Scream by Edvard Munch and have even seen it in person.  When doing art projects about The Scream I am reminded of the time I visited the Glenbow Museum in Calgary and saw The Scream prints on display.
Can you find an artwork that is has a connection to the artwork you just created?  This connection would be similar to text to text connections. For example: you created an artwork about hockey, can you find another artwork using the same idea?
Google Image search Canadian First Nations artist or artworks and see if you can find a Canadian artist that has created an artwork similar to yours.  Print it off and write down the details of the artwork, such as Title, Medium, and Artist name.

Term 1 projects

Term 1 projects are in full swing! Here is the line up creating/producing:

Grade 1- I can create an artwork using lines and a playground inspiration.

Grade  2- I can create an artwork that uses my community as an inspiration.

Grade 3- I can create a landscape using the elements of art and the natural environment as inspiration.

Grade 4- I can create an artwork showing urban or rural Saskatchewan and the elements of art.

Grade 5- I can create an artwork that reflects my understandings of the pop art style.

Grade 6- I can create an artwork that reflects my identity and shows a challenge in my studio habits.

This Grade 6 student has decided to create a sculpture of his head then paint it to show some if his interests. This is step 1.

Grade 6 five minute lesson for Oct. 22.

This week's 5 minute lesson is going to challenge your drawing skills. You could earn 3 extra dojo points if you can bring in the answer to the questions: What is contour drawing? What is BLIND contour drawing? And who is Igor Stravinsky?

3 questions to answer 1 dojo point for each correct answer....can you handle it?

Going to school dances with Miss Hickie

Grade 2 students were treated to performances of their peers today. Miss Hickie had the students create dance phrases based on what they do getting ready to go to schools they used locomotor and non-locomotor movements and energy changes in their choreography to show the different things students do while getting ready for school.

Grade 6: 5 Minute Lesson for Oct.14/17

Grade 6's have been creating their "Identity" roadmaps to use for ideas during this term's Full Free Choice routine.

The Routine works like this:

ATTN GR. 6: This week's 5 minute lesson is reviewing how to write an Artist Statement when your artwork is completed.  AHHHGRRR I hear the groans now from my students reading this.  Don't worry, it will get easier as the year goes on.

Your statement should follow an order of what is the artwork title, artwork medium, how did you create it, and what idea inspired you.  NEVER use words that tell people how to feel about the artwork.  FOr example, "It is the coolest collage you've ever seen." or "I like my painting because....".

Check the corner of the Art Room by the window for the rubric example when you finish a statement so you are sure you have completed it properly.

To bypass 5 minute lesson and get straight to work on your project for Term 1 you must write out a pretend Artist Statement for the following artwork.  You will pretend it is yours and make up the information.  I am looking for good sentences, and understanding of the word medium.  Hand it in to Mrs. Kitch at the beginning of your class day (600: Wednesday, 601: Friday) by 9:30 so I can check them over and be sure you don't need to have a refresher on the 5 minute lesson.  

Personal Timeline Dance Presentations

Grade 6's will be performing their Personal Timeline dance phrases today. Their task was to create a dance phrase using all the elements of dance and transitions in their choreography about 4 important moments in their lives so far.  This dance will be built into a full class dance co,position for our annual Night At The Museum night at the end of the year.

Grade 6's if you can give me all the elements of dance written correctly on a sticky note when you come to class you will be awarded 3 bonus dojo points!!

Grade 6 construction Center opening using teamwork.

Kaden, Kalan,Garrett  we were challenged to create a 3D structure out of tin foil and pipe cleaners.So we decided to create a cow shed. We felt good about our structure because it looks awesome sauce.

Superheroes Away

Grade 1's were working on designing their superhero characters in Drama today. First they performed tableaus of what Superheroes do. A tableau is a frozen pose in role showing a situation and using BEST.  BEST stands for body position, expression, still, time:10 seconds.

Heads up Grade 6!

Start going through your baby book or ask your parents about milestones you hit as you have grown.  You will be creating a personal timeline of your life up to this point.  Next Dance class you could bring this information in to help you with your assignment.
Next Class Sept.23rd.

What happened today?

Today was full of excitement as many students had Drama in the art room for the first time.  We reviewed "roles" and what being in role means and looks like.

We picked grade 6 helpers to put the art room back together after Band. Room 600: Avery & Makayla, Room 601: Ethan S. & Makayla.

Class dojo points were handed out everywhere!

I Spy in the Art Room

The Grades 3 &4's were introduced to the Art Room routines, procedures, and expectations through an I Spy game.  Students were shown pictures and asked where it was, how to use it, how to clean up after it, what value it would show.  Here are some of the pictures. Other Davison student's, do you know the answers?

1 week to go!

The classroom is almost student ready and I am so excited to start another great choice based art year in Visual Art. New to the room this year will be 3 new centres for grades 4-6. They will be the Fibre arts centre, bookmaking/card making centre, and the puppet centre. I look forward to introducing these centres as they are built. Also new will be a "flipped classroom" style of learning incentive for grade 6. This blog will contain a video link or information students can access before learning about it in the classroom. Those who choose to follow the blog and complete the activities posted will earn extra DoJo points plus be able to skip 5 minute lesson to get straight to work on projects. All they have to do is fill,out the exit slip that would be required at the end of the 5 minute lesson, have it checked by me and they may continue. It is a great advantage to those who would like to Gain as much class time as possible for project work and still understand the concept being demonstrated.

Tomorrow I hope to post pictures of the 2015/16 art room.

New Year New Blog

August is around the corner and I've been busying planning the 2015-2016 school year through the summer in my spare time.  I am busy making my goals, unit planning, classroom organizing, and preparing for the best school year yet.
Some of my professional goals for this year are:
1) Building more on my Choice Based Art Instruction philosophy in the classroom.
2) Flipped classroom demos with Grade 6's (stay tuned in the school year for their guest blog posts)
3) Go to the NAEA conference in Chicago to connect with other Arts Educator from around North America
4) Stay on top of new changes in unit planning, assessment, and report cards!!

What are your goals?  Even though it is summer I am a true teacher at heart and love to plan/organize for the next school year.  Visions of bulletin boards, better lesson plans, classroom management tips, and dressing for success swarm my head on a daily basis.  This is of course in between my family time with S & E.

Every morning in July it has been a routine of sunrise watching (our skies in Saskatchewan are magnificent), yoga, coffee and Pinterest.  Be sure to check out my boards as I use them on a daily basis in my classroom.

S&E are waking up and are ready to start their day.  The computer will get closed and opened again tomorrow.  Happy summer planning folks!