Extra credit #2

Extra Credit #2- Art in the classroom
For an extra credit assignment I used art within my social studies lesson. The lesson was on Ancient Greece architecture and the Olympics. I first used technology to create a power point to show the students images of different architecture, the columns and all the different sports. I showed them how the images of the Olympic sports were painted on pottery and other places. The students were amazed at how tall the columns were in many of the buildings. The students were then given four questions and had to choose two to complete. The questions are written below. This lesson gave the students to take their knowledge and apply it to create something of their own. They took things they learned about the columns and architecture to create their own buildings.
1) Create a temple of your choice, using Greek Architecture. In three sentences or more, explain what the purpose of your temple is and how people would use it in Ancient Greece.
2) If you were a sculptor during Ancient Greek times, draw a sketch of something you might sculpt. Write what your sculpture is, what you made it out of, and why you made it?
3) Design your own Olympic sport that could be played at the Greek Olympics. This must be a sport that does not exist now or then. Draw what your sport would look like and write how the sport is played and why it would be important to do during the Greek Olympics.
4) Draw a picture of you playing your favorite Greek Olympic sport. Write why it is your favorite sport and why you think people enjoyed playing it or watching it during the Greek Olympics. What is dangerous about this sport during Ancient Greek times?

Extra Credit #1

Extra Credit #1- Art in the classroom
For one of my lessons I used art as a large portion. I do not have images of the student work because I had to turn them in with my lesson. The lesson was a social studies lesson. The topic was on Ancient Egypt. The students were having difficulties with the new vocabulary words. Their teacher would just make them copy the vocabulary words and look up the definition in the back of their text book. I could tell that this was extremely boring to them and they were not learning the words. In this 6th grade class, I decided to use art in my lesson. The students had the option to choose the vocabulary word that they wanted to do. The vocabulary word was typed on the top of their page. Below their was a space for them to illustrate what the vocabulary word meant and below they had to use that vocabulary word and write 3 to 6 sentences about it from a Pharaoh’s perspective. The students loved this lesson. They always have to do boring worksheets, and they truly enjoyed illustrating their vocabulary word. They were able to show what the word meant to them. It was interesting to see the different interpretations of the word the students had. The students shared their work with each other. By having the illustrations, the students were able to better remember what the words meant and it no longer was just text to help them remember.

Developing criteria rubrics in the art classroom

Developing criteria rubrics in the art classroom
One part about rubrics that I find very important is that they should not be used only by the teachers. I believe that the students should be given the rubric before an art assignment so that they have a clear expectation of what is expected of them. The students should also be able to grade themselves on their work, using the same rubric the teacher uses. This will give the students a chance to reflect on their work and to think about their strengths and what they can improve upon next time. I don’t think any rubric should have comments or words that are very negative, such as bad or weakness. Teachers should try to use positive language. For example, instead of saying a weakness, the teacher should say that something the student could improve upon.
When creating a rubric, it should be very clear to the students what the rubric means and the expectations. What should be on the rubric is exactly what you wanted the students to get out of the assignment. To be able to create a good rubric in order to know what to asses, the teacher should go back and look at his/her objectives. If the objectives are written correctly and they are measurable, then the teacher will be able to create a clear rubric.

Romare Bearden- Let's walk the block

Let’s Walk the Block

Romare Bearden’s art work is so interesting. It really shows how your life experiences, music and culture can truly affect your art work. It changes the way you look at the world, how to create art and what you want your art to express. I really liked how he uses so many different things in his art to create an image. By doing a collage type piece of work, it is so interesting to the eye. There is so many different things to looks at. I find it interesting how someone could use such different pieces to create something and how if someone was given the same pieces, it would be totally different. I find it amazing all of the places that he has been too. Every place can be seen as inspiration. I am jealous that he is able to live in St. Martin now to create his artwork. I sure could find that place inspirational!

Islamic Art and Geometric Design

I really liked the Islamic art articles. I think it is a great idea is to have students learn about different art and different art forms from other cultures other than their own. I like the Islamic art activity because it is simple to do and the students can all make their designs very different. It is so amazing to look at the designs and see all the different shapes in them and how they come together to create an amazing works of art. By adding different colors to the design, it can give the art a completely different look by enhancing certain shapes and designs. The introduction to Islamic art would be great for students to learn. As an extension project, students could research other cultures and their art, or explore ones that they had already learned a little about. Students can them create a larger piece of work to go along with the culture that they have been studying. At the end of their research and creating their art, the students can present about the culture and show their work. This is a great way to bring art into the classroom and to make the curriculum multicultural.

Graphic Novels

I find that the students that I have worked with love reading comics and creating them. I think it is a very creative and engaging ways for students to show their knowledge of the content through a comic strip. The comics made by the class could be put together into a book to create a graphic novel. Before reading the article I have not heard a comic book be called a graphic novel. I think for children, hearing that they will create a comic book is more exciting because that is the term they are familiar with but they can be taught the new term. Comics tend to make the content more interesting to the reader because you are not just reading the text and the pictures are able to help the students to make better sense of the material. This is very good for students because people are very visual learners.

Rube Goldberg

I really liked how the art teacher used Rube Goldberg’s ideas in his class. I have seen science teacher’s work with their students to create Rube Goldberg machines, while learning about different machines such as a lever or pulley, but I haven’t seen any art teacher work with their students on this. I think it is a great way for students to be very creative and different from their other peers. By drawing their designs on paper, they can think of anything, whereas if they were to actually create it, they may be limited due to materials.
In my science course a few years ago we created our own Rube Goldberg machines. This was so much fun because I was able to do anything I wanted. It really made me think about each piece of my machine and how the would all work together. Rube Goldberg’s machines amaze me and his drawings can be comical sometimes too. I enjoy seeing the chain of events that happen between the different parts, just like in the game Mouse Trap. I feel that designing these machines either on paper or actually doing it would be great for visual learners and students who are more hands on. It gives students such excitement when creating these contraptions to see everything work and the final, simpler task is achieved at the end.
One thing that I like to do is to go onto Youtube.com and see all the different intentions people have made using Rube Goldberg’s ideas.

Chairs, cars and bridges

This article made me really think about all the things that I use in my daily life. I never really think about all the aspects to an object when I am using it, I just use it and go about my day. When I do purchase something, I tend to think about some of the seven components of the design of the object. For example, with a car, I know that I need it, what it can do for me, is it a good car to have during the struggling economy, does it look good and am I able to drive it properly. I also pay attention to little details of the car, such as the interior, the CD player, automatic windows and more to fit my lifestyle and convenience. I feel that choosing a car says a lot about a person, their personalities and their interests. For example, the author said that she has a Volkswagen beetle that looks like a baby.
I find it very interesting to think about the seven components of different objects and how they have changed in objects overtime. People are always changing and wanting newer and better things to fit their lifestyle. Just look at cell phones and how often a new model comes out. People are always getting a new one that can always do something better than the last. Cell phones were once just to talk on and now there are so many different forms of communication that can be used on a cell phone such as talking, texting, picture messaging and e-mail. I agree that the aesthetic experience is based upon social expectations. There is a certain social status that goes along with objects the people have. For example, if you see someone driving around in a BMW people think that they have a lot of money. The knowledge about the prices of these objects lets people make judgments and inferences about others and their social or class status.

Art and Literacy

Students are very visual learners and in my experience I feel that teachers do not present material in a visual way often enough for students to have a clear understanding of the material. I think it is a great idea for students to create a story with pictures and then they can go back and add words or talk about their story to someone. I noticed in many lessons that I have taught that students need to have multiple forms of assessment so that they have a variety of ways to show their knowledge. In a science lesson, I taught about pollination as part of it and the students were given the option to write or draw what they knew pollination to be. Every student in the class decided to draw it. It is important to have visuals along with literacy because I feel that children can really have a much better understanding of the story and will be able to remember it by thinking of the pictures.

One of my favorite children’s books is called My Teacher For President by Kay Winters and Illustrated by Denise Brunkus. This is such a great book because it shows the jobs the president does and relates it to things that the teacher does in the classroom. For example, both the president and the teacher finds jobs for people. The teacher and the president both have to deal with the media. The words on the page tell that the teacher and president do the same activities but the pictures show a completely different meaning. For example the page where it talks about the media shows the president dealing with cameras and news stations while it shows the teacher trying to work the VCR playing on the television in the classroom. The pictures show great detail and the differences between the president and the teacher but the words tell about the similarities. It is a comical book that could be a great opening to a lesson on the election. The teacher could ask the students what they think is part of the presidents job. The teacher could then read the book to the class and have the students listen and look for similarities and differences. A discussion could occur after reading the book about the jobs of a president. This book will help students to remember the jobs because it makes connections with a teacher, something they have knowledge in and it is comical. After, the students could then break up into groups and research about a particular job the president does, such as making peace. The group would then have to give a real life example from the current president to the class about that job the president does.

My Tattoo

Heather Knapp's tattoo design

Tattoos and teenagers

I do agree with this article when it says that tattoos are a form of expression and someone’s identity. It shows their likes and interests. I have noticed that some people have tattoos just to have them. They get a tattoo because they like how it looks even though it doesn’t mean anything to them. There are people who get tattoos just because they are old enough and they think they are unique and cool. I think it is stupid to get a tattoo just to get one. I understand getting one if it means something and show the type of person that you are. What gets me angry is when I see people who have crosses on their body even though they aren’t religious at all. What is the point of that? Those are the things that you have on your body for your life and the tattoo one gets will always be a reminder of something. This reminder may be about their culture, identity, something they thought looked cool, or a poor choice after a drunken night. No matter what, it is permanent and I think people need to really think about what their tattoo means to them before they get it.
I no longer think that tattoos are associated with drugs and other problematic behavior or poor lifestyles. I think that people are starting to get tattoos more often now to show who they are as a person, to express themselves. Tattoos are looked at more like an art form now. I think that overtime, tattoos will become more accepting but it also depends upon where you get them and what job you plan on having in the future. I don’t think visible tattoos will ever be professional in most companies, but in others it is the norm. For example, the music industry has many artists, producers, etc who all have tattoos. They get them to show what they stand for and what is important to them in their lives.
I am surprised at the young ages that kids get tattoos. I believe that they do it because they want a change with their look, something new and different. At a young age when they get a tattoo, it also gives them attention from their peers because it is not the norm. Tattoos are an interesting thing. You may look at them and think it looks nice, but it may have so much meaning behind it. What I find interesting is how a lot of Americans get Japanese writing on their bodies or symbols that represent a word. I once hear a comedian saying that the Japanese people don’t go around and write English words all over their body.
As a future teacher, if a student of mine or their parents has tattoos, I am able to learn more about that person and their culture. Tattoos can say a lot about a person and what they believe in. It is important to be aware of your student’s culture and life so that you can know how to make your content interesting to them.

The Way I See It

Heather Knapp
January 25, 2009
Art in the Classroom

When reading the two articles, “Autism-The Way I See It” and “Not Thinking in Pictures”, I found them both to be very similar. They both discussed the ways in which autistic people think. They said that Autistic people and most other people are visual learners and thinkers. As a future teacher this is important knowledge for me and makes me think of many different ways to include visuals in all aspects of my teaching. The second article discussed the language difficulties that people with autism may have. This is because that they are such visual learners and thinkers and not as much verbal logic thinkers.
What was different about these two articles is that the second article discussed how autistic people may not see the pictures on a card or in a book, but this does not have a reflection upon their intelligence. It is important to see students or individuals strengths instead of the things that they struggle with. By knowing their strengths, you may help them to use their strengths to improve on their weaknesses. Many people may be able to see pictures but some struggle to see pictures altogether, they merely just see its parts but struggle to see the whole thing.

The role that art has played in my life

Heather K
January 19, 2009
Art in the classroom

Art has always been a personal function for me. I have always enjoyed making different pieces of art because it allows me to express myself and to put all my thoughts and ideas on paper in different ways. I do not do it for anyone else. I do not make art for other people to get a message out of it. If people like my art work then that is good but if they don’t then that if fine too. I do it because it calms me down. Sometimes if I am creating a piece of art and it is not turning out how I envisioned it, then it may become frustrating. In high school I had to do some art pieces for other reasons than personal. For example, the function of one piece was political. I don’t remember the assignment exactly, but I drew a picture of an elephant and a donkey merged together to represent the two political parties. There was an American flag in the background. In my art work I do not try to send out any particular message to the viewer. Sometimes I just do art just because I feel like it and what I draw, paint or sketch may not have a meaning to it at all. Viewers will look at art in many different ways and interpret it differently. When I look at art, I never really know what the artist was trying to express because I can only interpret it the way I see it. The artist sees his or her work through a completely different set of eyes. Behind those eyes are also many different experiences, therefore artwork is never going to be looked at the same by any two people. When someone looks at a piece of art their emotions and thoughts will be different then others based on the life they lived.
It is so important for everyone to find one thing that they are really passionate about. This is why it is necessary in schools for teachers to open students up to many different things, such as art. It is so moving when a student, like Robert, finds something he enjoys. He was able to express himself, boost his confidence and therefore do better in school. Students need to be given many different opportunities to show their strengths, knowledge and character. I found art when I was younger and I would put a lot of effort into what I did because it gave me a sense of pride when I had finished a piece successfully to the way I had envisioned it.

Question: Even though there have been many strides moving forward with the arts in education, why are teachers not trying to use art more when teaching content? Is it too difficult for teachers to plan it into their lessons or do they not know how to incorporate the arts into their lessons?

In one of my placements, there was one student who hated going to art class and doing any artwork. He would not participate if he had to do anything art related. What should the general education teacher and the art teacher do with a student with this attitude toward art?