Art History Research

I'm one of those art teachers that feels it is really important to teach art history. The 6th graders spent 2 days this trimester researching an artist they chose. Then, they wirte a paragraph about what they learned about that artist. Next, they create a reproduction based on a work of art done by that artist and we hang them in the hallway with an example of the artist's original work. The students really gain an appreciation for all that goes into a masterpiece. Plus, its really fun to hear them telling each other about things they learned about their artist as they are all working on their projects. Here are a few of them as they hang in the hallway!

Creative Color Wheels

Each trimester I challenge my 7th graders with coming up with a creative way of creating a color wheel. The tough part is that they can use ANYTHING! The entire first day we spent on the computers, looking up some ideas that others from around the world had created. The vastness of ideas was simply amazing! Here are some of the color wheel my students created for this assignment.

Crazy Collaged Animals!

This trimester, when we began the animal collage project I really tried to stress to the kids using all of their paper (and then some) and trying some interesting paper techniques. I think this is one of the most creative examples I've seen in a while. These kids did a great job!

Colors, Tints, and Shades

What's the most important part about a color wheel?.....color, right? I walk the 6th graders through this project by teaching them step-by-step how to make each color. They know where to put the colors based on the color wheel we do with colored pencil as a warm-up to the project. I always like seeing how this project turns out. These kids did a really great job this trimester!

Strike a Pose! Make a Gesture!

Tell a class of 6th graders that they are about to do a project based on drawing people and you can actually see the panic in their faces. So, I teach human figure drawing through gestures. Gestures are quick sketches used to capture movement. The kids practice drawing gestures a few times before beginning the final project. I'm still working on the actual project that we do with the gestures. This one is just a little different from last trimester and next trimester's is going to be completely different.

Still-Life Drawings

Drawing: it's the ABC's of art. I would imagine that most of my students would say that they really don't enjoy drawing still-lifes. However, the many things I can teach through still-life drawings are priceless. We cover shape, value, space, gauging, highlights, color, blending, shadows, and craftsmanship. It's really amazing to see how far the kids come from their first drawing of the trimester to the last still-life they create. We only spend the first 3 1/2-5 weeks (of a 12 week grading period) on drawing, but to see how far they come in that time is awesome!

Gingerbread Houses

My first year teaching I remember thinking, "How will I ever get my kids to focus enough to work the day before Christmas break?" Then, my mother suggested that I create gingerbread houses with them. Well, 12 years later we are still making the houses. However, I never used gingerbread. Instead, we use graham crackers and royal icing. All the kids have to supply are the decorations for their homes. They each have a "property" (posterboard cut to 6"x6") that they build the house on and then can landscape around it. Once the houses are all built, they join "Gingerbread Village" on my countertop and the teachers all come in to judge them. I give extra credit to the winners and at the end of the day the kids take their houses home (if they make it that far before being devoured!). Here are some pictures of my 8th graders making their houses.