Student Teaching at Ravenswood Weeks 3 through 7, 1st and 2nd grade

It's been quite a while since I've posted, but boy have we been busy in the art room at Ravenswood Elementary!

For starters, I began and nearly completed long-term projects with both the 1st and 2nd graders as well as the 6th grade.

The 1st and 2nd grade projects were born from a conversation with Ms. Kitty about how she wanted the students to have some practice creating sculptures and ensuring permanent attachments. Up until now, the students have mostly been working in the two-dimensional studios such as drawing, collage, painting and fashion.  We decided the 2nd graders would learn about building armatures out of paper and tape, and creating permanent attachments using paper mache'.  The 2nd grade was a great group for me to do an extended investigation with, because they get to come to art class twice a week!
We also decided the 1st graders would work in clay as their sculptural material, learning to make coils and slabs and learning to slip and score for permanent attachments.
It is the hope of myself and Ms. Kitty, that the students will continue to use these skills, materials and techniques independently, in the studios, even after these "must-do" projects are complete.

I also wanted this project to be about the Studio Habit of Envisioning. I wanted the students to feel the magic and learn about the process of having something two dimensional, like a drawing, become a three-dimensional object.  I decided to go with an animal theme and have each student create a combination animal because young children generally like animals and mythological creatures.
  In order to find a personal connection to the students' identities, I decided  to have both the 1st and 2nd grade students choose animals that they have had personal experiences with, either through memories, dreams or perceived similarities.

Students use this "thinking sheet" to draw animals they have personal connections with as a way to begin the project. 

1st and 2nd grade students brainstorm which animals they are similar to and why.

As it turns out, I wish I hadn't spent so much time (two days of work time) having students work on two different thinking sheets where they drew their animals.  Next time I would have the students go straight to the collaging phase, perhaps still choosing animals in the collage that they have had encounters with or memories of.
 

Next, students moved into creating a collage.  We looked at the book The Crazy Chameleon by Eric Carle, in order to discover the meaning of collage. Both 1st and 2nd grade students then collected the animals on their thinking sheets, navigating around the room to a "water animal", "land animal" and "air animal" table in order to collect their creatures. They then learned how to contour cut-out the parts they needed, and they created a brand-new never seen before combination creature. They gave it a name and silliness ensued!  The creatures the students made through collage are awesome.  I think this process is great for such young kids, because they get to make something that is complex and beyond their current drawing ability by using found images.

We organized the animals to collage by their habitats.

Pretty cool shark-dog!

Students who needed an extra day stored their animals in envelopes.

The next class, I talked to the students about how when you make a sculpture it is important to  simplify the shapes, and create a plan for the sculpture.  I demonstrated finding basic shapes like circles and triangles in my creature collage.  We then had the students place their collages into a plastic sleeve and use dry erase markers to outline all the shapes they found in their sculptures.  They then took their collage out of the sleeve and saw the shapes for what they were without the business of the collage.

As a last step for the day, the students had to re-draw the shapes they found in their collage on a separate sheet of paper so that we can reuse the plastic sleeves with another class.  This shape drawing will be the guide for their armature.  If they had time, students were encourages to make their shape drawing into a schematic drawing, labeling the different body parts of their creature for the sake of clarity.

Asher's process for planning his sculpture.

Next 2nd grade students learned about the word armature. We likened the armature of a sculpture to a human skeleton, which supports our muscles and skin and holds us upright.  We looked at Mr. Bones, the resident human skeleton in the classroom,  in order to make this connection.

Mr. Bones

Next the 2nd graders learned how to make a paper armature using one of three methods: crumpling, twisting, or adding to found form.  I demonstrated all three of these techniques, showing the students that paper can be manipulated and molded similarly to clay.  I showed the students how to use the edge of the table to help them keep track of the end of the masking tape, and how to get multiple pieces ready ahead of time so they had them when they needed them most.   We also encouraged the students to pair up and help each other tape. One student scrunched or twisted and held their form still, and the other student helped them tape that shape firmly.   It worked out pretty well, with most of the students being patient and helping each other get the job done.

This student twists paper to make a coil for a body part.

As students began working on their armatures, some students were still finishing up their shape drawings and collages.   

Individual paper forms come together to form a whole armature.

Students use the table to keep track of their tape and retrieve it when needed. 

Students created their armatures according to their shape drawing.  They created the shapes separately at first, and then joined them together with more tape.   Students were given a size limit to aim for, but many of the sculptures grew as the students added more and more body parts.
Regardless of being too big for an ideal world, it was very exciting to see the creatures begin to come to life using only paper and tape.   Students were encouraged to keep their shape drawings next to them while they worked on their armatures, in order to stick with their planned and envisioned creature.

Students compare their armatures to their shape drawings.

This armature is ready for the next step!

 Following the completion of their paper armature, which took at least three class periods, students moved on to paper mache'. I discussed with the students how paper mache' is a great way to permanently attach two porous materials together.  We also talked about how paper mache is like the skin on top of the armature, and once we covered our armatures with the skin of brown paper and glue, no one would be able to tell exactly what was underneath.  I demonstrated how to properly apply the glue to the torn paper, never dunking the paper into the glue but rather using two fingers to apply a conservative amount of glue to each side of the paper, and encouraging the students to apply one layer of mache over one body part at a time.

Students worked on their mache, and most were quite persistent in getting it done. Some students took three 45 minute class periods to paper mache their sculpture and others needed another class to get it done.  Once some students finished applying "skin" to their own sculpture, I asked them to help other students finish their paper mache.

Figuring out systems for making sure all the paper mache sculptures would dry, and even figuring out where to keep all 50 2nd grade sculptures was pretty tricky.  Ms. Kitty and I ended up coming up with a system where the kids would place their sculptures in long gray bins at the end of class, and then after school I would hang them up to dry on a pole using a rubber band around the sculpture and a paper clip as a hook.  As it turns out they dried just as well within the bin, in the warm hallway, so I didn't need to hang them up each time after all.  We also made name tags for each student that included their class number, which we "laminated" with tape. The students placed the tags around the neck of their sculpture at the end of each day.  These name tags will come in handy for future classes and projects, so we actually made them for the 1st grade and kindergarten classes as well.

Currently the students are working on painting their combination creature sculptures. I taught the students about applying a base coat of acrylic paint as a background layer, demonstrating how it is more difficult to paint around details, rather than adding them on top of a solid background.




Because this project involves so many steps and the students don't take their art home until the end,  I felt we needed a way to let the parents in on what we were doing in the art room. I created a second grade newsletter for both 2nd grade classes, using the students own words that they had written on sentence strips...   Photocopiers are the absolute best!



I had to leave student teaching after a short seven weeks in order to move on to student teaching at the high school level. Ms. Kitty is going to continue this project to completion, and teach the students the final step which is about how to paint textures and details such as fur and feathers on their creatures.  I will post some of the completed sculptures when she sends me the pics.  I can't wait to see them displayed around the school for report card pick-up!

Student Teaching at Ravenswood- Week 2

This week has turned out to be a short week because of the snow blizzard. Chicago Public Schools had two whole days off! This is unheard of, but it's a very welcomed phenomenon for all the kids (and adults). 

On Monday kids continued to work in the open studios to finish up the pieces they have started. Kindergarten and 1st grade continued to reflect on their work in teams, using a modified version of the Art Sandwich. Ms. Kitty had the brilliant idea to further simplify the Art Sandwich by turning it into manipulatives. We used construction paper to make bread and meat/cheese.  While the students were gathered at the rug, we discussed what a compliment is and practiced giving compliments and suggestions for improvement as we looked at an art piece.  Ms. Kitty and I then helped groups of four students give an Art Sandwich to one member of their group. The artist talked about their work first, for one minute, and then each of the three students giving feedback verbalized and wrote a compliment or suggestion. 

1st grade students write what they like about Samara's artwork (bread) as well as something she might be able to work on (cheese).

I am so impressed by even very young students' ability to reflect on their work and give others thoughtful feedback. 

 I know many teachers don't have young kids think about their artwork and engage in critiques, but in Ms. Kitty's room, she starts them out young, and I really think it's a great benefit to the students. 

1st grade students look at an art piece and give each other feedback using an Art Sandwich made from three pieces of construction paper. 

On Tuesday I did get to implement the first mini-project I devised for the 5th graders. Unfortunately, there are two 5th grade classes which we only get to see 3-4 times over the 7 weeks I am student teaching, due to the fact that many of their art days fall on holidays or professional development days. 

Because of this, Ms. Kitty and I decided that the students should engage in weekly sculpture challenges, where they would complete the challenge in one class period.  

The goal of these sculpture challenges is to have students become more comfortable with thinking on their feet and with creating 3-D forms in the construction studio. 

This first challenge was built on students' prior knowledge of how nets (flat templates) create 3-D solids. The students had recently engaged in an activity where they matched nets to their respective solids, as well as drew three-dimensional forms on paper using shapes such as rhombuses and trapezoids.

5th grade students in this 1st Sculpture Challenge were told at the rug that they 30 minutes to create a sculpture based on one of three geometric forms. We began at the rug by looking at the book:

which is geared towards small children but is wonderful for any age to demonstrate how depending on the viewpoint you look at something from...

it can be completely transformed.

We then looked at a pencil case and discussed what objects it could become if it had a different skin. Skin is what Ms. Kitty calls the surface treatment. We also discussed how sometimes artists have strict deadlines to adhere to, and they have to be creative in a very short period of time.

Students were told they would have 30 minutes to trace one of three nets, envision what that geometric solid could become, and create the skin so that the audience could see their vision.  

 I donned a whistle and talked about how this contest was like Project Runway or Top Chef, and when the clock runs out, every student was to place their sculpture on the blue table and we would vote for the one that was most successful.  The students really grasped on to the fun of working quickly, and they hurriedly worked either alone or in teams of 2 or 3 (their choice) to meet the challenge in 30 minutes.  

In the end, a sculpture called Girly Girl Bed got the most student votes, followed by a robot and a jack in the box in second and third place. 

Students begin by tracing a net (template) of their choice. This student chose a pyramid as her solid.

Next, students taped their nets together to form a solid.

Students used any studio; construction, fashion, painting, or collage to add a skin to their solid in order to turn it into a recognizable object.

Students worked in teams if they chose to.  Some teams worked seamlessly and others struggled to agree.

These girls used the fashion studio to add bed covers and pillows to their Girly Bed. Time is almost up!

One of the final pieces, Two Dice.

The Robot, created by combining several solids and using foil as a skin.  We voted using post-it notes if you're wondering what all the mess is.

The Jack in the Box.  Created using multiple studios for skin.

Top view of the Girly Girl Bed, as well as a Messed Up Couch, a Pyramid, and a Shoe Box.

Next time we see them, 

the students will work on Sculpture Challenge #2! 

 

Student Teaching at Ravenswood- Week 1

1st and 2nd graders work in the painting studio to express their ideas

Ms. Kitty has three categories of artwork that get made in the studio. The first is kind is “exploring” artwork where kids take it upon themselves to try out new things, play with materials, and experiment. The second is showcase pieces, where kids develop and sketch out their ideas, and then see their projects through to completion with good craftsmanship. The third category is a must-do project, where the teacher leads the students through a specific project she feels will benefit the students. These are not very common because she really wants the students to choose their own content and materials; however, sometimes they are important in order to teach a specific skill, standard, or idea. The projects I will be leading will be “must-do’s” but they will also include a lot of student choice within them.
This week at Ravenswood most of the younger students have been finishing up projects they were already working on so that they can move on to working on some new ideas and processes with me.

The 1st and 2nd graders learned how to critique each others works in progress using a structure Kitty invented called the “Art Sandwich”. As each class gathered on the rug, Ms. Kitty talked to the kids about how as artists and people, we need feedback in order to improve and grow. She discussed with the kids how suggestions for improvement are always better received when they are paired with compliments. In the Art Sandwich, the bread is compliments, and the meat is a suggestion for how the artist can improve their work. Students are reminded that they can’t just say they like it when giving a compliment, because then the artist does not know what they’ve done well. Instead, you should always give a specific reason why you like something. This is a great thing for teachers to remember too!

This student said he created an ocean!

Students worked in groups of four- one artist and three viewers. They took turns giving compliments and one student out of the group volunteered to give the meat of the sandwich (or the cheese if they are vegetarian). It was exciting to see the students talking about their work. Each piece was very unique because the students had been given free range of the painting, collage, drawing and construction studios. The students were a little impatient waiting for each other to think of what to say, so next time we might have them all write down their compliments and suggestions for an art sandwich and then have them share out with each other afterwards so they are focused the entire time. I was very impressed with how articulate and invested all the artists were as they talked about their own work.

Ms. Kitty (as well as myself) believes very strongly in critique and reflection even for very young children as a necessary tool for growth and learning. We always need to unpack what we learned, to be metacognitive. Another example of how Ms. Kitty teaches this to her students is this picture. Students exhibited their showcase pieces and then went for a "gallery walk" to view the artwork of their peers. They wrote compliments on post-it notes and placed them on the artwork. What can I say? Post-it note critiques work for all ages!

young kids write compliments about artwork on post-it notes and share them with the artist

The kindergarteners are working on a project that is all about the artistic behavior of envisioning. They are given the challenge of transforming a cylinder (toilet paper tube) into a specific idea. They first drew their idea on a planning sheet, and Ms. Kitty helped them think about what materials they needed. I then observed them working in the construction studio to bring their plan to life in three dimensions. When one of the students wanted to change his plan to an entirely different object, Ms. Kitty asked him to create a new planning drawing because that was the main idea (behavior) she wanted the kids to learn. I love looking at the drawings next to the sculptures. The planning helps the students be more anchored and invested in the process, especially when faced with so many enticing materials to choose from!

kindergarteners planning and envisioning (a robot!)

The collage studio before we organized it.

Ms. Kitty thinks through how to attach certain materials to each other with the students at the rug

Ms. Kitty and I spent a lot of time after school this week organizing and cleaning out space for the newly opened clay and sculpture studio, as well as straightening up the messy collage studio.  Even though labeling isn't part of the Reggio Emilio school of thought and methodology, it does help ESL students who are plentiful at Ravenswood. So we'll go for clear labels in the clay studio.