I discovered that when teaching fine arts to my students, it became a subject matter that I could promote awareness and understanding of the diversity that exists within our society, both the visible differences (ex: race, sex) and not so visible (ex: culture, ancestry). I reminded students that culture is dynamic and multifaceted and that their classmates are seldom homogeneous—not everyone within a given community thinks or behaves the same way. I loved how the students could be expressive with their artwork, and create something that showcases their background.
One example I have done was called “footprint art” which was created as a Father’s Day activity allowing students the opportunity to give a personalized gift to a significant adult in their life (Grandfather, Father, Brother, Uncle etc). Students were able to personalize their artwork with their own footprint, and wrote why they wanted to follow in the footsteps of that special person. The students had a lot of fun with this activity, and there was a great keepsake for the receiver!
Chalk art drawings were created at the start of spring. Students began as a class creating a word web of all the things that reminded them of spring. They chose a design and using pencil, transferred it onto dark black construction paper. Using liquid white glue, students traced over all of their pencil lines and waited for it to dry. The students used chalk or pastels to then colour in their images. The glue acts as a barrier so the colours did not run into each other.
Working with watercolours, acrylic and textiles. Students began by creating a beautiful background scene. Most students chose to do a sunset or sunrise with the watercolour painting. Once dried, they used acrylic paint to create a tree. They each received a “glob” of acrylic paint, and using only a straw, had to blow the paint around to create their tree image. In the last step students glued different sizes and colours of tissue paper to create their final product of cherry tree artwork. Chalk art drawings were created at the start of spring. Students began as a class creating a word web of all the things that reminded them of spring. They chose a design and using pencil, transferred it onto dark black construction paper. Using liquid white glue, students traced over all of their pencil lines and waited for it to dry. The students used chalk or pastels to then colour in their images. The glue acted as a barrier so the colours did not run into each other.
Spring break offered many adventures for students. In this assignment, students had to create a movie poster which described what they did over their 2 week holiday. The students were shown examples of movie posters, and had to try and visually persuade their viewer to want to go and see their movie. Many students were able to showcase their family vacations to various places in the world, and upon presenting their poster to the class, teach their peers a little about the culture and what they had learned about that country.
