Last Day

Yesterday was my last day observing at S. Elementary school. I was sad to say goodbye to Mrs. M, who I really respect, and to the students, who loved having my partner and I interact with them.

Drawing lines on the columns.

The 2nd grade class are currently learning about Classical Greek art, according to the art history timeline. They are focusing on Greek columns, which they are creating out of paper. Mrs. M reviewed with the class of what they learned about the columns. After a brief review session, the students gathered around the table and watched as Mrs. M gave a demonstration on how to make columns. She drew lines on a long piece of paper with a pencil, and connected the lines to the rounded shapes at the bottom of the paper. After drawing the lines in pencil, she went over them with graphite crayons. Then she told the students that they would have to decide which of the ancient orders of columns they wanted to draw on the rounded shapes. The choices they had were ones they had covered, which included Ionic, Corinthian, and Doric. After they had their lines and order drawn on the column, the students had to come up with 25 adjectives that described them. After the demonstration, students passed out supply buckets to the tables and got to work. Quite a few of the students seemed to have trouble coming up with 25 adjectives on their own, so I went around to a few of them and helped them brainstorm some that fit who they were.

Finished space landscapes.

4 grade continued working on their space landscapes. They created planets out of circles and colored them in with bright colors previously. When they got in the classroom, they gathered around the demonstration table, and Mrs. M showed them how to use charcoal to shade the planets and give them shadows and make them appear spherical. She also gave them glitter glue to use on their compositions to create stars. She showed them how to overlap the planets after they had been shaded in with charcoal to give a sense of depth. The students got right to work after the demonstration was over with. I helped a student with cerebral palsy throughout the class period. She was unable to move wrists or hands, and she could only communicate through making sounds. I helped her to grab the charcoal, and she moved her arm up and down in order to shade in the planet. Then I helped her to apply glue to the backs of the planets to put on the composition. After she had glued the planets on her landscape, I gave her the choice of what color glitter glue she wanted to use to add to her landscape, and helped her apply that. Trying to work with her when communication was not clearly understood was difficult, but it was an excellent learning experience nonetheless.  

Finished canopic jar.

The 3rd grade class are learning about canopic jars in their Ancient Egyptian unit right now (again, according to their art history timeline). Previously, they had used brown, black, and white paint and a sponge to stamp a long piece of paper to create a texture resembling stone. Mrs. M gave a demonstration on how to cut the canopic jar shapes out of the stone-stamped paper. She began by folding the paper in half, and then tracing half of the design on it. Then she cut it out, and afterward, traced faces on the "jars" with gold and silver paint markers. The students got right to work, and seemed to really like making the paper jars. One student got frustrated with tracing and cutting, as he wanted to make a jar that resembled a jackal. I helped him with proportions and show him what he needed to do to get the shape he wanted. After a quick one-on-one demonstration with him, he understood and got right to work. It was rewarding to see him come to an understanding of what needed to be done and how to achieve what he wanted. He was proud of his work after he cut out his jar and drew on it with paint marker. 

This experience has been wonderful overall. I have learned so much about the art education field, both through observing the classes Mrs. M taught, and through the advice she's given me. Interacting with the students was so much fun, especially when I got to teach. I loved seeing how each student engages in art, and what they take from it. I look forward to my next pre-student teaching experience in the coming months. Until then, thanks for reading!