Field Trip!

I'm finished with my comprehensive exit exams! After two days of essay writing I really needed to relax this weekend, and I actually have a little time to post something. I'm really excited for this upcoming week because I get to go along on a field trip with the IB Art class from the high school I student teach at. We're going to the Portland Art Museum to see the China Design Now exhibit. Field trips with upper class men are awesome, and I get to spend a little time with my Junior (now Senior!) class that I student taught last year. I'm stoked to go because I don't know much about modern Chinese design, and I'll try to write up a little something about the exhibit when I get back.

Peace!

Art Appointment Passes

Bogged down in my work sample and getting nervous for comprehensive exams, but I thought I'd update this blog and post something small but useful: art appointment passes. These ensure that your students won't forget if they need to come to your room and it lets other teachers know whats going on. I always hate it when students say they need to go to someone's room, but I'm never sure if they really are going there are just skipping and I never have other teacher's numbers. Anyway, these can be easily modified into art hall passes too. In order to save trees you could even laminate them! You know you're an organizational freak when you're excited to laminate and label...

Art Appointment Pass

Peace!

Work Sample Lessons

I realized after looking at my last post that it isn't that useful unless you are writing a work sample. So for all those teachers out there that just need some good lesson plans I'm giving you just the part of my work sample is actually taught in the classroom. All the lesson plans, handouts, tests, and slide shows. If you're looking for an interesting way to teach color and line this unit might be a good fit.

Peace!


Goals and Objectives
Lesson Plans
Handouts
Pretest
Posttest
Rubrics
References
Slide Shows
History of Graffiti
Line Examples
Color Examples
Test Graffiti Slides

Work Samples

Today I thought I'd ask for comments and suggestions on work samples from those of you that haven't blocked them out due to painful memories of assessment analysis and goals and objectives. I'm preparing to start my second (and biggest) work sample and would love any suggestions that people could give me about art work samples. So many of professors can't help me because they aren't familiar with my subject. Any advice you guys could give me on structure, tests, time management, or something you discovered along the way would be great. I have an idea for my next work sample but I just don't know how it will all turn out. I'm worried about the outcome of this work sample a little more than the first. Do you have any horror stories about work samples you'd like to share as well? I don't know if anyone is actually reading this thing yet, but I'd love to hear from anyone who is and has a work sample story. I've included a condensed version of my first work sample on graffiti art, line and color. It's kinda boring, like most work samples are, but I thought it might help anyone out there needing examples of how an art work sample could be put together. Hope it helps a little!

Graffiti Art Work Sample

Peace!

Visual Art Rubric

Well it's been a while since I've posted anything because I got busy with grading, then with the flu. Just a little reminder to all the teachers out there that the flu shot takes less time and is less painful than the actual flu. I guess they even come in a nasal mist now (no needles!). Anyway, thought I'd quickly post something that has saved me lots of time so far: my complete visual art rubric. I use it to grade just about every project at the high school because effort, craftsmanship, composition, creativity, and use of medium are important in any project. At the beginning of the year I went over the whole rubric with the class so they knew exactly how they'd be graded. Right now it's out of 20 to match my mentor teacher's system, but can be altered for what you need. I don't have the actual word document anymore so it's a jpeg, but if you needed to make any changes it's pretty easy to retype. When I have more time I might redo it myself in case I wanted to change anything. It's been really efficient having one grading sheet to worry about (and try to find next year) instead of boxes full, and the students get used to it and learn what the different areas mean more in depth. Hope it saves you some time!

Visual Art Rubric

Peace!

Elements and Principles Slide Shows

I just finished making some slide shows on Power Point for a computers class and thought I'd share them. The first one is on the Elements of Art and has action buttons to advance the slide show, and the second one is on the Principles of Design and is self advancing (requirements for the projects). Most of the pictures and photos are mine and people are free to use them if they want to and the voice over is me, but if you wanted to take my voice off that would easy to do. There are also some hyper links that connect to a really good website for the Elements and Principles:

http://www.artsconnected.org/toolkit/index.html

At the end of both shows is a hyperlink to a course outline I wrote that uses the Elements and Principles (again a requirement of the project you could take off). Feel free to use course outline if you would like, but I should mention that I did get the sculpture project from the Arts and Activities magazine (I'll give credit where it's due).

I also have a slide in each show with a mnemonic device for memorizing the Elements and Principles which I used to study for Praxis. It's really helpful if your kids have problems remembering the terms.

Elements of Art Slide Show

Principles of Design Slide Show

Peace!

Guidelines for Success Posters

I figured it was about time I added something useful to this page. I thought about one of the first things I made in grad school for my future classroom and thought that would be a good place to start. So here are my Guidelines for Success. When I introduce it to the kids I ask them to read each line and tell me what it means to them, and we discuss each topic a little as we go down the list. Then I ask what word it spells out and when they say "ARTIST!" I tell them yes, and in this class we're all going to strive to be artists and these are the traits of an artist. I also have included another one I made for non-art classrooms that spells out STUDENT. I just recently had the ARTIST one made into a large poster for my class which I'm excited to hang, and I have it on my syllabus.

Peace!

Artist Guidelines for Success

Student Guidelines for Success

The Beginning...

Well, this is my first post on my blog. Welcome! My name is Chantel and I'm currently in my last term of graduate school earning my Master of Arts in Teaching. When I'm done I'll be certified in both middle and high school art. I'm starting this blog for a class project, and at first I wasn't even sure I wanted a blog, because I didn't think I had anything interesting to say and I was worried about having personal information on the web because well....I have to be professional as a teacher. After thinking about what I want to say, who I'd want to read it, and who I'd write it for, I decided to dedicate my blog to art education. I'll discuss and present anything art or education related. That means lesson plans I've made, found, or been given, fun craft projects for art day camp classes (which I taught for two years) or just for fun, personal art I'm making, art events locally in Oregon, educational sites, classroom tools I've made in my grad classes, education theory discussions, and useful links for teachers (art or otherwise).

So I'm dedicating this blog to all those under appreciated art teachers out there. The teachers that encourage experimentation and risks, the teachers that stay after school so students can use the supplies they couldn't otherwise afford, the teachers that donate their own pencils and brushes when the class runs out, the ones that put their own art aside to teach others for a while, and who are constantly trying to wash paint (or is it printmaking ink?) out of their new khakis. I'm inspired by all the teachers I've met, and wish that I could someday be half the teacher they are. I hope this blog can be a resource for some of you, and maybe a way to feel that you aren't so alone in your subject as I sometimes feel (only art specialty in my whole cohort). I hope to hear some of your stories, and if you ever come to a Portland First Thursday gallery opening you might run into me. I'll be the debt laden new teacher in the corner drinking the free wine and putting rolls in my purse.

Peace!