The First Day of School!

Hello Burr Community!

I am very excited to begin this school year; the Art room has moved from the basement, room 007, to the second floor, room 206, and I can't wait to fill the new Art room with student work.

I have planned lessons using a vast array of materials, created units with many different themes and ideas for us to delve into, and I am looking forward to planning for another after school club as well.

All-in-all, I hope all members of the Burr community have a great first day back!

See you in the Art room!

P.S. Don't forget to #EmbraceDiversity and... #ChooseKind!

1st Grade 8-Panel Comics

This is quite an overdue post, but during the 3rd quarter the Kindergarten and 1st Grade students completed 8-panel comics based on the idea of traveling to visit a family member or friend. The inspiration for this unit was Up & Down by Britta Teckentrup which I read to the students and had them analyze. After the reading students discussed the idea of pictures telling a story as well as stories usually having multiple "middles" but only one "beginning" and "end."

After much discussion and sharing, students final work of art was a 8-panel comic with a beginning, six middle sections, and a clear ending in which they arrive at their destination to visit their friend or family member.

See below for a sample of the work by the 1st grade classes:

Kindergarten 8-Panel Comics

This is quite an overdue post, but during the 3rd quarter the Kindergarten and 1st Grade students completed 8-panel comics based on the idea of traveling to visit a family member or friend. The inspiration for this unit was Up & Down by Britta Teckentrup which I read to the students and had them analyze. After the reading students discussed the idea of pictures telling a story as well as stories usually having multiple "middles" but only one "beginning" and "end."

After much discussion and sharing, students final work of art was a 8-panel comic with a beginning, six middle sections, and a clear ending in which they arrive at their destination to visit their friend or family member.

See below for a sample of the work by the Kindergarten classes:

2nd/3rd Grade Radial Nature Designs

Prior to the students' current Unit, Plushy Monsters, room 202 created Radial Nature Designs. Throughout the course of this Unit the students learned about symmetry, radial designs, warm/cool colors, and a charcoal transfer technique.

Upon completion of this Unit of study each student reflected on symmetry, cool/warm color usage in art, and how to create personal art.

Take a look at their hard work below!

2nd/3rd Grade Weavings

The 2nd/3rd split class' most recently completed Unit was on weaving. For this Unit, 2nd and 3rd grade students discussed Textiles and how handmade textiles differ from machine made textiles. Throughout the course of this unit students learned how to tie simple knots, set up a chipboard loom, and create a weaving using two different styles of weaving.

Upon completion of this Unit students reflected on how their weaving was similar to or different from a machine made woven textile and how artists might be able to make money off of handmade items.

Check out Room 202's handmade weavings below!

The students seemed to really enjoy this Unit! I think they had great results and they could not wait to take their weavings home!

5th Grade Totem Pole Display!

Before the 5th grade totem pole display comes down soon I wanted to post an image of it:

Although the 4th and 5th graders completed their unit on totem poles awhile back, I think they did a great job. Below I have uploaded some images of the 5th graders idea sketches for their totem poles.

Idea inspired by a lesson found on: Thomas Elementary Art

4th Grade Totem Poles

This post is overdue, but a few months back the 4th and 5th graders completed a Unit on the totem poles of the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. As students progressed through this Unit they focused on the concept of Stylization, Symmetry, and Limited Color.

After discussing totem pole examples in class students chose an animal, any animal that they felt a personal connection to, and sketched that animal in the style of a Pacific Northwest totem pole. While sketching students looked at reference packets filled with totem pole examples. After students completed full color sketches, each totem was limited to four colors, students created totem pole collages.

See below for some of their completed art work:

Idea inspired by a lesson found on: Thomas Elementary Art