My school advisor gave me some excellent resources to look through that would help me integrate art elements into my lessons. This books are: What is Colour? by Tea Benduhn What is Line? by Susan Markowitz Meredith What is Shape? by Tea Benduhn What is Texture? by Stephanie Fitzgerald What is Space? by Susan Markowitz Meredith What is Form? by Susan Markowitz Meredith The Many Faces of the Face by Brigitte Baumbusch Animals Observed by Brigitte Baumbusch
This week when I went into practicum, the school was celebrating the Lunar New Year. The students had been discussing the importance of the dragon throughout the week, so as an art project the students created their own dragons. They first practiced on white boards, going step by step instruction. Then the students were given paper in which to re-create their dragons in pencil. Once this was finished, the students were given black pastels to outline their dragons. They were also given coloured pastels to add some elements to their…read more
During our Thursday visits I helped my SA organize a clothing day in their Family Needs Unit. The students had discussed that we need water, food, and shelter prior to my day with them. We started the day by reading a picture book about clothing and discussing why we need clothing. We discussed reasons such as to keep warm, to express your opinion, to demonstrate your culture, and for functionality. The students were very quick to grasp these concepts and understand them. We then did a writing piece about their…read more
I have received many resources from my SA over the course of my practicum. One that I have been reading and loved is “The Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists” by Edward Bernard Fry, Jacqueline E. Kress, Dona Lee Fountoukidis. It has been extremely useful and I wanted to share it with everyone.
On my second last day in the classroom before Winter break I did an art activity with my students. We talked about how we put up Christmas lights around the holidays. I showed them pictures I had found off of the Internet of houses that were absolutely covered in Christmas lights. We then made our own Christmas lights using thumbprints. After the students had created their lights, we went over the line with black glue to give a raised feeling to the artwork. Interestingly, the upstairs grade three class also…read more
For the remainder of the week, my students built their own Coast Salish longhouses. We used shoeboxes, tissue paper, wood, cedar, gravel, Popsicle sticks, paper, and burlap. Below are pictures of them working and their final products. [A close-up of the dioramas] [A close-up of the dioramas] [A close-up of the inside of the longhouse] [A totem pole]
During my two week practicum I led a unit about Coast Salish longhouses. Our first lesson revolved around trying to make connections. I did this by reading “A House is a House for Me” by Betty Fraser and then having the students go back to their desks and complete a sheet. They had to trace the words “I live in a” and then write what they lived in. Additionally, I got them to draw their homes. This helped my students create a connection with their own houses and the traditional Coast…read more
During my two week practicum we made shadow trees on a sunset background. My students painted the background with water colours starting with yellow, then orange, then pink, then purple and ended with blue. Once the paintings had dried we created trees with black pastels. The students enjoyed this very much and it made a cool image. In the future it might be cool to do a four piece image. One image with a blue background, one with a pink background, one with an orange background, and one with a…read more
Today I taught my second lesson that I had planned by myself. I had read a story during story time about Halloween and costumes and during our printing/writing block I handed out a worksheet for the students. We had gathered in a circle and talked about the different costumes you could wear and how you could be something different every year. Once I had talked to them about this, they went off to their desks. They traced the words, “For Halloween I am going to be” and then had to…read more
Today in our inquiry class we started discussion about which questions we could explore during our practicum. The following seven questions are some of the questions that I have created. 1) Can rote memorization help reinforce my students’ learning? This is in reference to my school advisor’s power points that she plays during transition periods 2) What method is better for teaching grade 1 students? At the carpet, at desks, or a combination of the two? 3) When is too much, too much in reference to commercial products? 4) Does…read more