Student Teaching Part 2: Gayhead Elementary School

After leaving a wonderful experience at the New Paltz Middle School, I thought my only direction for my next placement could go was down. Little did I know, Mrs. Robinson, the elementary schools art teacher was also an amazing mentor. I learned so much from her as a teacher and peer in the school. Her classroom was extremely organized and displayed all the students work. She had a great relationship with the students and new extremely well where to draw the line between friend and educator.
I hung around the room for a week or so, getting the hang of the way she taught and what the students reacted well to. She had many techniques I took notes on and wanted to incorporate into my teaching style. While I waited, I developed lesson plans and projects.
The projects I did with the students included:

1st grade
Van Gogh Trees- this project may have been a little better for a higher age level, second or third grade. Students had a hard time connecting paintbrush to paper. But, the end results were so cute! Students learned A LOT of techniques and names of styles in this lesson. After reading Sky Tree, by Thomas Locker, students were asked to make their own tree and use color schemes for a particular season.

2nd grade

The Big Orange Splot- The introduction for this lesson icluded a class book reading of "The Big Orange Splot." Students then learned how to mix paint to create the color orange. They then created their own ink blot and had to decide what they saw in the image! Very cool. They were asked to draw on top of the dried paint and recreate whatever they had imagined the splot to be. We spoke about contrasting colors and negative space. Each student also wrote the story of what they saw in their big orange splot.

 

3rd grade

Texture Boxes- After I dressed myself up as Louis Nevelson to introduce this lesson, students learned about Nevelson as an artist and what texture was. They were asked to make their own texture boxes that would create an installation when combined with classmates work. Thank goodness my mentor teacher had tons of materials for this! We used laundry detergent caps, wood, buttons, straws, tissue paper, pinecones..  When students finished their boxes I brought them all outside and spray painted them according to class. This class came back and saw their pieces all gold! The reactions were extremely rewarding and they kids loved to see their work together. They conducted a quick write up about texture, what they see in other students boxes and what they learned from the lesson. This was on display in the hallways and students recieved MANY complements on the lesson. It was abstract but eye grabbing!

4th grade
Nature Books- Students in these classes learned how to create an accordian book and what drawing from observation meant. They were asked to explore outside for interesting materials that they can bring into the classrom. After gathering supplies from outside, they came back and explored the art materials such as painting, watercolor, printing, and drawing.

5th grade
Calder Balloons- This project was definitely a bit of a challenge for this age group. I would love to try it again with 7th graders and see if it was a bit more productive. The main goal for this project was to learn about artist Alexander Calder and create hollow balloon like structures with facial expressions. Using balloons, students wrapped glue-y yarn around the balloon. The base was a primary color and once dried, yarn was again applied to create a loopy facial expression that the student chose in black. Students at this age seemed to have an extremely hard time working the motor skills to control the balloon. After a first failed attempt, I made the balloons smaller. This worked a bit better, but even then students had a hard time keeping the yarn tight from falling off the balloon. Again, an older group would have had a bit of an easier time with this project. In the end, I finished the base for some balloons that had no hope. Students created the face on top and the next day in class, they showed up to their spheres hanging in the front of the room.

This was as well a marvelous experience. I spoke a lot with Mrs. Robinson outside of the classes about how I can improve my teaching and communication with the students. She gave me a ton of feedback for growth and expanding. I would hope to go back one day to see the classes and school again. I greatly enjoyed my experiences student teaching and I often reminisce about how great it was!

Student Teaching Part 1: New Paltz Middle School

After sitting back and rethinking my experiences student teaching, I've decided to get back into the swing of things and post my experiences to share with you. I began my first placement at the New Paltz Middle School with Kim Sturgis. This was an amazing experience. Because I was at this school for my internship, it was an easy transition into teaching the students straight away.

Many say middle schools contain students at "the worst age level" and it is the most frustrating to teach. But I have to say I think I enjoyed it the most. Students are at the age where they are learning about themselves and experiencing new things. I feel this is the age where good teachers are most crucial. I found students respected me as a teacher because I did not try to speak at them rather with them. I found many students felt comfortable speaking with me after class. I also tried to direct my lessons to things students find interesting or are experiencing at this time in their lives. This was helpful for them and myself because students were engaged in the projects.

My lessons in the middle school included :
6th grade
Clay amulets

·      Historical and Cultural introduction to Amulets and good luck charms

·      Jewelry making: Use of wire, beads, hemp to create finished jewelry piece

·      Ceramics: Use of earthenware clay and glaze to create amulet

Doodle for Google
 This years theme was to create a doodle for google "If I could travel anywhere in time, I would go..." Students were asked to create a well thought out doodle and 50 word write up based on their design. End results were great!

7th grade
Word Locker Project- This project was introduced by my mentor teacher and I assisted in the final stages to complete the project. This created an easy transition into the next project
Facebook Project- This was an amazing experience to have while teaching. I introduced social media into the art room. Students needed to create a Facebook for an American Artist. The students had a requirement to learn about an artist. As requested, my teacher asked me to think of a way students can learn from eachother. What better way than introducing something the students may already do at home. I created a template and the students simply had to do the research and plug in the information found. It was a fun and exciting way to change the learning style.

Results were great! Trust me! I am still in the process of figuring out how to post these end products...

8th grade
Elements of Art Project- This was a requirement for the class, for the students to learn about the Elements of art before the leave for high school. I turned this into a group project, students made a poster that would be displayed in the front of the classroom describing the Elements of Art.

 

Sell That Logo Project- A quick transition from the Elements of Art Project, students were in groups and had to create a logo for a company based on their needs and the situation at hand.  Students liked this project because we used companies that were in their own town. Companies they knew and went to every day!

Grafitti Project- 

Students will create stencils expressing concerns of change within their school and community through a collaborative graffiti work by using spraypaint and printmaking techniques. Students had a hard time with the stencil concept but once they practiced and worked with the exacto knives they began enjoying the project and idea of  "grafitti"ing the school.

I also was able to help with the set of the schools play, Mulan. I worked side by side with the students creating backdrops, decorations, and more. This was extremely beneficial for me because I was able to allow students from my class to stay after school to work on their projects. I often had a full class of students working outside of their art class. This is the kind of environment I'd like to create in my own classroom. The art room is somewhere students can be free to explore materials, be comfortable in school, and learn about themselves as they grow up.

Overall, I had an extremely positive experience at the New Paltz Middle School. I will forever think of Kim Sturgis and the students at the school as a group that has impacted my life. The school had an amazing sense of community where the students spoke with the teachers, educators were always watching hallways making sure students were safe and respecting eachother.