Eagles Inspired
I always tell my students that the art room is a perfect place for them to wander from their “comfort zone,” a class where they can put their academic guard down, so to speak, and take creative risks. Though there are always guidelines when completing an Eagle Art project, students are encouraged to go with creative whims, adding personal style to their work.
Our block scheduling makes a big difference in allowing students to experience a more continuous flow in respect to projects. For example, during the white cycle I see 3rd grade three times during the week for the six-week period. There’s no waiting a whole week to continue with a project! More importantly, this schedule allows me to collaborate with teachers on curriculum from the classroom that lends itself to visual interpretation. Most projects span 3-4 classes, from “blueprint” to final product stage. Video, picture storybooks, posters, and class-friendly (brief) artist biographies supplement instruction, but the bulk of time is dedicated to hands-on art work. Students are graded according to four areas: Effort (25%), Participation (25%), Conduct (25%) and, most importantly, Completeness (25%), which refers to a student’s ability to follow through with a project to its final stage. Parents and other visitors will often see the fruits of art labor in our Eagle Art displays which line the upper and lower level hallways.
Though we follow the Diocesan art curriculum in respect fundamental skills, I use a wide range of sources for project inspiration, including instruction books, trade periodicals, the internet, and happenstance (I’ve been known to wander the halls of other schools when visiting for basketball games and jotting down ideas that I see and like! Who says sports and art aren’t related?).
This year, Kindergarten through 5th Grade are benefiting from the newly purchased art textbooks, a very good series offered by Harcourt Publishers. The beautiful prints that come with the series are very helpful---they even inspired me to purchase more prints to share with students so that our art room can be quickly transformed into a museum! It’s wonderful having plenty of print samples at my fingertips!
In class, we use a variety of medium when creating projects, oil pastels, paints, markers, colored pencils, watercolors, crayons, chalk pastels, charcoal pencils, and more. We look at master work and often delve into the unusual personalities of artists.
Eagle artwork is a source of pride for our school. The students enjoy the process and our community reaps the benefit as well.
Our block scheduling makes a big difference in allowing students to experience a more continuous flow in respect to projects. For example, during the white cycle I see 3rd grade three times during the week for the six-week period. There’s no waiting a whole week to continue with a project! More importantly, this schedule allows me to collaborate with teachers on curriculum from the classroom that lends itself to visual interpretation. Most projects span 3-4 classes, from “blueprint” to final product stage. Video, picture storybooks, posters, and class-friendly (brief) artist biographies supplement instruction, but the bulk of time is dedicated to hands-on art work. Students are graded according to four areas: Effort (25%), Participation (25%), Conduct (25%) and, most importantly, Completeness (25%), which refers to a student’s ability to follow through with a project to its final stage. Parents and other visitors will often see the fruits of art labor in our Eagle Art displays which line the upper and lower level hallways.
Though we follow the Diocesan art curriculum in respect fundamental skills, I use a wide range of sources for project inspiration, including instruction books, trade periodicals, the internet, and happenstance (I’ve been known to wander the halls of other schools when visiting for basketball games and jotting down ideas that I see and like! Who says sports and art aren’t related?).
This year, Kindergarten through 5th Grade are benefiting from the newly purchased art textbooks, a very good series offered by Harcourt Publishers. The beautiful prints that come with the series are very helpful---they even inspired me to purchase more prints to share with students so that our art room can be quickly transformed into a museum! It’s wonderful having plenty of print samples at my fingertips!
In class, we use a variety of medium when creating projects, oil pastels, paints, markers, colored pencils, watercolors, crayons, chalk pastels, charcoal pencils, and more. We look at master work and often delve into the unusual personalities of artists.
Eagle artwork is a source of pride for our school. The students enjoy the process and our community reaps the benefit as well.
