4th and 5th grade African People Pots 

I designed a four week clay unit with my fourth and fifth grade students at Riverton Elementary School. I chose to make a project that was culturally significant to the population of students I was teaching. Many of my students were born in Africa and immigrated to Maine with their families within the past couple of years. It was important for me to create a project that was also inclusive of every student and designed it to be open ended. I taught my classes about the history of functional and decorative People Pots and how personal meaning was put into each creation. My students had clear objectives each class. I worked with them each morning at the demonstration table teaching them new skills needed to make successful objects. I was able to check for understanding by asking questions and having students help show the class each skill. To see the full lesson plan please click here.  

Second and Third Grade Clay Birds

I designed a four week clay unit with my second and third grade students based on skill building as well as an exploration of various birds. We talked about all of the different kinds of birds in the world, where they come from and what each bird consisted of. My classes were excited to be able to choose the types of birds they liked and from there I shared demonstrations on basic skills needed to complete their birds and then taught additional ways to create specific aspects of different kinds of birds. This lesson was highly successful because of its open ended nature and use of individual exploration. To see the full lesson click here.

Second and Third Grade Giuseppe Arcimboldo Inspired Collages

I designed this lesson to introduce my students to the artist, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who painted during the Renaissance. I also introduced the terms collage, portrait, and silhouette into my classes vocabulary. They learned how to collage, incorporating their silhouettes and interests into their work. This was a challenging lesson for some of my students, but my ability to work one on one with each student helped them find success.  To see the full lesson click here.

Fourth and Fifth Grade Matryoshka Dolls

This lesson taught students about the historical and cultural background of Matryoshka Dolls around the world. They learned how to cut out and piece together the various parts needed to make a series of three paper Matryoshka Dolls. Pattern design as well as personal meaning were the other objectives incorporated into this lesson. To see the full lesson click here.

Honors Painting Mashup Lesson

For this lesson I wanted my class to explore popular culture as well as historical works of art. Each student had to research both aspects to create a new and meaningful message through combining their chosen historical work with a theme in popular culture. Not only did each student have fun while coming up with this new message in a low stakes way, but they were also able to practice other artists techniques in history to build their own painting skills. 

Honors Drawing Surreal Perspective Lesson

I designed this lesson to incorporate using either one, two or three point perspective as well as an imaginative aspect involving the research and incorporation of Surrealism into each students final work. Perspective is a challenging concept for many students to understand so I wanted to find a way for each student to engage with their work. I incorporated mini sketchbook exercises and slideshows to make sure that each student would find success in their final project.