Blog #5

 

Little Girl in a Blue Arm Chair, by Mary Cassatt

Based on your growing knowledge and experience, was Image #2 an appropriate choice for your students, considering their age, stage, interests, and abilities?

·      Yes. The image was accessible, open to interpretation, narratives were easily implied, the subject matter was a scene from everyday life, and the painting was realistic.  The only thing missing was diversity. Even though the painting is from the 19^th century, I don’ t think my students picked up on it.

Did this image motivate rigorous and engaging discussion for students?

·      Yes, the students have moved past listing and matching recently, and make up a variety of narratives. They stayed seated for our 10-minute discussion.

Was Image #2 rich enough to encourage continued discussion &/or independent student investigation?

·      For some, yes. For most, no. It may be their age. I did a drawing activity after the VTS session based on the artwork. One of their literacy standards is to have a beginning, middle, and end sequence in a story.  I asked them to draw what happened after the story in the painting. I videotaped some of the students explaining their drawings.  I will post stills of that soon.

Did Image #2 suggest opportunities to explore the big idea through art making or expand art making already in progress?

·      If I knew what my big idea is……….. don’t know.

Blog #4 WORK IN PROGRESS

I will be  deviating from the sequence set forth by Walker. I don't feel our class text deals with the needs of younger elementary students who do not think abstractly, and who are still developing basic skills. I will be creating a unit that utilizes VTS to create meaning and critical thinking skills. At this point, my focus group is doing less listing and matching, and more figuring out cause and effect relationships related to narratives.  I really want to start to compare and contrasting images with this age group, but they have short attention spans.


I am tinkering with the Big Idea: the artist tells stories

Key concepts:
1. Some artists use their work to tell stories.
2. Kindergartners approach art from a narrative view point.
2. Kindergartners react to the dynamic and expressive qualities of art.
3. Kindergartners are taught linear pattern sequencing.
4. Kindergartners look for cause and effect patterns in art.
5. Kindergartners express meaning through a combination of visual, verbal, and kinesthetic expressions.




Possible images:

Week 4 Reading Reflection

Feldman argues that people need to be taught visual literacy so they can critically evaluate the images that dominate our society and strongly influence us. Yenawine states that the process of developing visual literacy needs long term, graduated support to develop viewers who think critically and creatively.  I would say that my focus class falls at the preliterate end of the spectrum, and perhaps a little into the 'developing' literacy. Verbally and visually, they are beginning the journey to literacy. Most of what they have learned so far in life has been by observation (I L-O-V-E Bandura's observational learning theory, btw). They are learning the structure of written and visual language concurrently, which is cool to think about.

Blog #3

What is an appropriate image choice for your students?

Yes and no. Out of the four kindergarten classes that viewed the images, the only class that did not say game, play, or ring around the rosie was my VTS focus class. The painting was easy read by all, and some of the students really liked focusing on the figures in the distance. I thought at first  that an image of play would be easily read, but I did not take into account that kindergartners generally play alongside peers, not with peers.

Did the image motivate rigorous and engaging discussions for students?

Yes. Many of my students went beyond listing and describing, and started to interpret cause and effect relationships with in the artworks. The reading of space is still difficult for this group, so it made for interesting statements by some.

As an aside, on the first day I sequenced the images painting first, sculpture second. The second day, I reversed the sequence. I think the discussions on the second day got more to the connection of the meaning between the artworks. One student even commented that the painting was showing the children on the right side after they tripped and fell (not from my VTS group, though). I do not know why the change in sequence seemed to work.

What worked?

Even though my focus class was the only one not to come to the conclusion of a game, they did not movement, cause and effect, postures, gestures, and facial expression.

Was the image rich enough to encourage continued discussion?

For some yes, others no. This is why I must figure out the differentiation for those who want to keep talking.

Exploring the BIG IDEA through artmaking

Though I am unsure of the adequacy of by Big Idea, and I am sure it will change, I think the viewing will help spur aluminum foil sculptures based on the artworks.

Reflect on the image and the VTS discussion

Since I don't know if I will keep my current big idea, maybe I would keep this image, but probably start with an image of a child playing alone or alongside others, such as

The Little Girl Who Did Not Care, by Maria Izquierdo

Cat and Kittens, artist unknown

 Painting Lesson With Cat and Kittens, by Henriette Ronner-Knip

Week 3 Reading Reflection

The reading from week 3 did not offer any new information, but it was a nice review. It did spur me to open a developmental theory textbook and review Piaget, Kami, and Werner in context of my kinders. My little bit of re-research highlighted that kindergartners

•  are egocentric, and their interactions with people and view of space are dominated by this fact.
• have a blind obedience to rules imposed by adults (ha-ha).
• consider objects full of life and feeling.
• learn best when learning is part of active discovery.
• experience cognitive developments can be best described as metamorphoses. Young children do not think in the same way as older children and adults.

This leads me to a big question that I have about our class text. It focuses on middle and high school students, but I am working with a different set of creatures. How can teachers structure meaningful art making for younger students?

Week 2 Reflection

In the past, I have interpreted the following state standard for Kindergartners as merely a nudge to get the students involved in as many media as possible.

Standard 6: Creative Processes Students shall demonstrate creativity using a wide variety of media, techniques, processes, and tools to develop expressive (communicating, moods, feelings, and ideas) works of art and design.

  

Now I am wondering, How do I make sure what they are doing is creative? How can I build basic skills and allow for divergent problem solving?

I realized this past week is that I do not often teach in a way that allows for divergent responses from my younger students. I have always been suspicious of the word, "creative, " as it can be tossed around like pretty and good.  I have held that a firm skills base is needed in order for students to let loose and be creative.  I think I do well in allowing for open responses in  art making in grades third and above, but I tend to use guided lessons for the K-2 crowd.  I think the last paragraph of Chapter 4 explains how a strategy like VTS can help make meaning for the younger kiddos. Paraphrased, the last thought is that students must explore ideas in order to make meaning. The kinders are not meta-cognitive yet.  Maybe by combining VTS with projects that are more open ended, I can get them used to questioning and decision making that will help them create increasing meaning as they grow. Before tackling the BIG IDEA I want to use for this class, I reviewed the of Piaget , Kamii, and  Werner to help form a better picture of my kinders. Ideas expressed by these theorists have influenced and provided validity to the work of Abigail Housen. Piaget thought that learning comes from within the child through the process of discovery.  Kamii saw teachers as facilitators who provided students with materials and challenges that motivate the student. Werner said that out feeling of unity with the world comes from developing out aesthetic perception. These theorists describe learning for children as best done from a child's point of view, because they think differently. They describe qualitative changes and metamorphoses. I knew the aesthetic stages were based on stage theory, but  I can see it better in this weeks reading.

The week 2 reading also helped me to understand the difference between Stage 1 and 2 viewers a bit better by providing sample dialogues, then analyzing them.

Blog #2: Big Idea Revised

Big Idea Update - End of the Year

 

 

Big Idea and Theme

The big idea of this unit is: Art is experience.

The subject matter is roller coasters.

Key Concepts

·       Art is the experience of making art

·       Art is the experience of encountering art

·       Art can convey a message.

·       Art can convey a mood.

·       Art can convey symbolism that the viewer interprets.

Essential Questions

·       How do we experience making art?

·       How do we encounter art?

·       How do artists convey messages?

·       How do artists convey moods?

·       How do artists use symbols?

Artmaking Activities

·       Artmaking Activity A: Students will construct a three dimensional rollercoaster out of construction paper strips. Students will use “paper lines,” combine different line types, and produce a continuous rollercoaster. The purpose of the lesson is to enforce that lines can communicate. The emphasis will not be on emotions in the first artmaking activity.

·       Artmaking Activity B: Color and emotions will be introduced in the second art making activity. The students will work two-dimensionally to make a printmaking plate. The students respond the painting, The Giant Dipper, and make the lines of a roller coaster using glue. After the glue dries, students will choose colors that express their feelings about roller coasters. Paint will be applied with rollers, and prints will be made.

·      Artmaking Activity C: Students will discuss as a class and develop schemas for portraying emotions. The class schemas will be documented on a chart using crayons.

·      Armaking Activity D: Students will respond to a writing prompt such as, “Tell of a time when you felt too small. Explain why you felt small, and who helped you.” Student will use a schema and oil pastels to communicate their feeling in a self-portrait.

VTS Images (in sequence)	Title	Artist/Culture	Rationale
	Coney Island, 1945	Weegee (Arthur Fellig), 20th Century, American	Pre-Assessment of emotional language
	The Giant Dipper, 2010	Ati Maier, 21st Century, German	Motivational eye candy, sensory invitation to discuss color and line in an engaging context
3.	Hansel and Gretel, 2009	Corey Godbey, 21st Century, American	Compare/Contrast, identifying feeling of being too small or lost
4.	The Lost Child, 1866	Arthur Hughes, 19th Century, English	Compare/Contrast, identifying feeling of being found and belonging
5.	Coney Island, 1945	Weegee (Arthur Fellig), 20th Century, American	Post-Assessment of emotional language