FInal Reflection

This class has had its ups and downs this year. I've had high points and I've had low points, but one thing is for sure; I have USEFUL work that I am extremely proud of. It is important as a teacher to always keep an open mind, and I have done that this year. Art was always interesting for me but it has never really been "my thing." I'm very glad I didn't let that affect me in keeping my mind open. There was a lot of information received this year and regardless of the atmosphere of the class I do believe that I will be leaving with things that will help me to become a better teacher down the road!

Web Quest Work

Holy Cow. This thing is a lot of work. It's pretty cool to see it all come together though. I am very proud of it and all I have put into it. It's all just a learning process. I was foolish to think that everything would magically just work the way I wanted to, but in the end it all came together. The important thing is to not get frustrated and to keep your head up in everything that you do. Although it was a headache, it is something that will definitely be included in my classroom. I cannot wait to get into the class and teach my students using all of these lessons and strategies that I have learned throughout the year. Well, here's a picture of our original production, the little merman!

Movie Presentations

I honestly cannot pick which movie was my favorite. We all had such awesome movies that had the class laughing for the entire time. Tyler's group had such an awesome concept with the vintage detective theme in their Cinderella spinoff. The Jersey Shore concept of Brigid's group was absolutely hilarious and the camera angles used made it look just like the show. Madeline's group had such a memorable presentation that I caught myself singing the songs in their movie outside of class! Finally, Liz's group's movie was so well put together that it got us engaged in their Law & Order spinoff just like it should. All our hard work is such a great thing to witness!

Movie Project Update!

OH MY GOODNESS! I had so much fun making this video. Our version of the Little Mermaid is sure to make everyone in class laugh their pants off. It is great to see all of our hard work pay off. All of the scripts, arguments, brainstorms, and laughs have payed off finally. Our movie is a spinoff of the MTV show NEXT, a dating show which we tailored to the prince for the little mermaid. We used so many different props and costumes and I had a complete blast. The arboretum was such a beautiful location for shooting. The editing process was a trip, we were laughing hysterically. I hope everyone enjoys our video!

Web Quest Introduction

Today our final project was introduced to us, a web quest. I gotta be honest, it does look a little overwhelming at the moment, but I'm sure I'll be fine. To be completely honest, the main thing on my mind right now is our Movie project, which we are making awesome progress in! Just from hearing the description I think I'm going to use Wix. Wix is recommended if you're tech savvy and I believe that I will be able to do a great job with it. I really hope this is something I can utilize in my future classroom!

Brainstorming and Movie Creation Ideas

Today we learned different strategies that could possibly help us produce the best movie possible. We went over everything from editing the sound and video of our movies to just defining roles in our groups. Our group is definitely utilizing some of these strategies, especially story boarding. We can't just jump in and expect to improvise the entire thing and come out with a great product. Improvisation should be done within a set plan so that everything flows as smoothly as possible. I think that our movie is going to be great, I'm actually pretty excited for our version of the little mermaid...or man!

Mini Lessons Continued.

The mini lesson that caught my attention the most today was Brigid's presentation. Her shoebox diorama was so beautifully put together and when paired together with her detailed sculptures it was truly something I admired. I enjoyed the big ideas of habitat and environment when paired with her fairytale, Thumbelina (which is something I don't really know about).

I also enjoyed Alyssa's friendship dolls a lot. Not all of our students will be the same, and unfortunately, some of our students may be reserved or a lone. I think her project is very good at dealing with this because regardless of who we are, we could always use a friend!

Start of Mini Lessons

Today was the start of mini lessons! All our hard work is going to show during presentations. I went today and I think I did an awesome job! I put a lot of effort into the project and the final result just being up there on the screen really made it worth it for me. I think I succeeded in creating a very good lesson with a great key idea to teach to my future students: Transformation. Aside from mine, there were really good presentations that took place.I loved Mauras activity with creating a sneaker in relation to cinderella. I love sneakers and this freedom was something I never could experience in a classroom when I was a kid, so I will definitely keep it in mind!

Photography Activity - Week 7

These are pictures I took in order to try and gain new perspectives of the things around us that we see everyday!

Palmer Museum of Art Trip

I thought our tour guide was very helpful. Not only was she knowledgeable, but she did a fantastic job of realting everything back to the classrooms we will teach later down the road. She gave us effective strategies and information that I'm sure I will use in my classroom. She mentioned to keep in mind the appropriateness of certain pieces of art. She also pointed out that certain pieces of art may not be able to grasped until they reach a certain age so it is good to know what will be most effective. We looked at some beautiful pieces in the museum many of which caught my eye. The thing I liked the most was the piece of art that was a collage of toys to make a beautiful picture. It reminded me a lot of Robert Bradford.

Art Criticism

- Key is to do it in a constructive manner
- Pay attention to Value
- Movement of still art work. Multiple strategies can be utilized to make movement possible on a stationary surface.
- Try to think about culture as you look at a piece of writing. Where is the artist from? What has he/she been through? How could that dictate what you see when you look at the art?
- Any patterns or repetition should be taken into consideration.
- Description --> Interpretation --> Evaluation

Managing the Classroom

-Effective group work strategies
-Effective set of rules and procedures
-Respectable and professional relationships between students, parents, and other staff members.
-Good mixture of group work and independent work.
-MAKE A PLAN A B AND C! Things can always go wrong! Be prepared.
-Discipline plan. ( I don't believe it should be that strict)
-Create an environment of respect.
-Maintain a positive attitude.
-Make sure that adequate amounts of materials are available for every student. CRUCIAL POINT!!

General Guidelines For Studio Explorations: Group 5

This week gave me insight into something I never truly had to think about in regards to art. The space in which you create. I've just gotten in a subconscious mind state that the work is created in "a vacuum" for example. Things like cleaning up, adequate lighting, ample space for each student, and SEPARATION from the class.

The most profound part about everything was the aspect of time and the role it plays in artwork. We don't want to rush students and damper their creative desire. Just put things on hold, don't close the book on things that the students really love to work on.

Art and Culture in Curriculum- Group 4

Learning begins with creative play!
Just like our groups week to present creative play is key! When children are free from regulations and restraints true discovery occurs. This discovery fuels inquiry which is so important in learning. The DESIRE to learn fuels discovery about oneself; and just like it was said in the presentation, "forming self allows students to further emotional and intellectual development." The inclusion of play-dough was also very fun. I believe it was a good activity but it was SO messy! (something that may not be the best idea for younger kids)

Presentation #2

I absolutely loved the activity for the second group. The connection between art & identity is one that is often taken for granted. I really enjoyed putting myself into the assignment and thinking about symbols or pictures of my passions and what makes me ME. I put in the train station where I live to show my neighborhood, I put in pictures of a superhero to show how much of a little kid I am. Various quotes, and even a big ol' smile to show how much that I like to laugh. I think it was a successful presentation because it both made us learn , and look into ourselves.

Drawing Faces (Week 4)

This assignment gave me confidence. Breaking something down into smaller parts makes things feel so much less overwhelming then we make them out to be. I think about the complexity of the sistine chapel and how it had to have started somewhere. It wasn't just created, there was placement and portions in every part of the process.

I loved the process of drawing body figures. It is something that I have seen often in the genere of graphic novels and it was a fun experience to be able to actually do it myself. The best part about it is the difficulty. I am by no means an artist of immense talent, but this opens the doors for my students. If I can draw these things that I believed I can't, then why can't you?!

The Connection Between Art and Words!

This week was our groups week to present and I feel like it went really well. Our guided activity was very engaging and I think it really made everyone in the class think about the relationship that pictures and words have. Pictures can be a very good starting point when it comes to writing. People say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the best part about it is, all of our words for a given picture are different!
This piece of art just reminded me of the relationship between art and words!

Art itself is a language. It speaks to us and we have to be aware that it speaks to others!

Identity and Art (Group 3 Presentation)

Today I learned a very valuable point. Shared interest COMMUNITIES are crucial to understanding our identities. I loved the activity that we could create a sheet with our own identities on it. My sheet completely told the story of me. If someone I didn't know looked at this picture I created I think they could get a very good view of who I am as a person.

I also think that this is a very useful tool for me in my classroom career. I can use this at the beginning of class to learn who my students are!

Creativity.

We are all creative, even if we don't think we are in the conventional way, we all have it in us. The idea mapping activity that we learned in class was immediately used in one of my classes the very next day. Many times we try to FORCE creativity when it naturally flows through all of us. The power that BOTH sides of our brain possess is unparalleled.

First Post

Well, this was overwhelming, but exciting. Maybe the fact that my college career is coming to an end so fast or all of the actual true learning that's going to happen for me this semester is getting to me. I'm ready for this class and everything that comes with it. I'm excited I get to express myself fully (or at least try) in ways that not only I will enjoy, but my students will enjoy. Also, we were told we get to draw bunnies.....that's kind of cool.