The Adventure Begins!

Classroom at S. Elementary

Today was my first pre-teaching experience! I drove to the elementary school I was assigned to with my partner for the practicum. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about meeting Mrs. M, but upon meeting her, I found her to be a kind-hearted and sincere individual, who has great compassion for her students. I observed the 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5 minutes of the 5th grade classes. For each of the classes, Mrs. M had my partner and I introduce ourselves before going on to introduce or continue working on the next project. We told them that we were from UW Stout and that we want to become art teachers like Mrs. M The students from each grade level appeared to love having us there, and kept glancing over at us during our visit. The room was nicely set up, with lots of artifacts and posters to inspire the students. Art supplies were organized on shelves near Mrs. M's desk, cubbies were organized for student work by class, and student sketchbooks and drawing books were located on a bookshelf. The tables were organized by color, which was taped onto the table.

When the classes would come in, they would come in with their teacher, and the teacher would leave once everyone was sitting in the classroom. The classes were pretty good about coming in and waiting for Mrs. M to instruct them. Mrs. M would always welcome them to the classroom, and would briefly review the previous lesson with each of the classes. If classes got too rowdy in this process (or throughout the class period), as everyone wanted to answer her questions, Mrs. M would use a clap rhythm that the class would repeat back to her to get their attention. After the brief review session, Mrs. M would hold a demonstration at a table, where she would make sure everyone was paying attention and could see what she was doing. She would also ask questions to the students to make sure they were paying attention throughout the demonstration. At the end of the class period, she would ring chimes and tell everyone to freeze, which signaled that it was time to clean up. 

Working on sketching a design for the totem pole.

2nd grade is learning about totem poles and their significance in Native American culture. Mrs. M reviewed parts of the lesson students had previously learned the day before. The students seemed to remember a lot of what they had learned, and answered Mrs. M's review questions with confidence in their answer. After the quick review session, Mrs. M had the students gather over to a table where she gave a demonstration on drawing totem poles on large pieces of paper, as they had previously drawn totem poles in their designated sketchbooks. The students were expected to include three animals on their totem poles. She asked students questions about the lesson as she was demonstrating to ensure that students were paying attention and were retaining the information given to them. After demonstrating, some of the students went back to their seats, and some of the students were given "jobs", such as handing out the sketchbooks and getting supplies for each table, which were designated by color. At the end of class, other students will put the supplies back where they belong, collect artwork, and put away sketchbooks. Mrs. M gave students the nice paper to draw their totem poles on after they got their design drawn in their sketchbook approved. The students worked on their totem poles, and I walked around the room to check on students' work and to help any struggling students. The students were on-task during class, and at the end, were good about picking up their supplies and going back to their seats quietly. Mrs. M dismissed the class by table when they answered a review question correctly. 

Leaf printing

4th grade is learning about the Elements of Design right now, and in this lesson, after the demonstration, they painted leaves white with paint and then pressed them onto a piece of long black paper. After being pressed onto the paper, the leaves' texture was evident, which is what they were learning about as an element in design. The students were allowed to use three different kinds of leaves in their composition. Many of the students liked seeing how the leaves left texture on the black paper after they pressed them down. A few students got done early, so they were allowed to sketch or color in their sketchbooks, or they could read some of the books in the back of the classroom. After class was over, Mrs. M reviewed the concepts of texture with them, and they lined up quietly to go on to their next class. 

Drawing into clay

3rd grade is learning about Prehistoric art, according to the art history timeline Mrs. M bases many of her lessons on. The students learned about cave paintings and drawings, and the significance of the symbols they used to portray events in their everyday lives. They were given square clay slabs to trace their cave drawings into. They used a variety of clay tools and even some random tools such as toothbrushes to create textures, which they were also exploring in this lesson. 

I loved my first day at the elementary school, and I can't wait to go back! I can already tell that I will love being an art teacher!