List of Books to Read

Book Thief
Moon over Manifest
The Maze
Trouble with Stars
Lovely Bones
Plain Truth
James Patterson
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Inkspell
Percy Jackson

Summer Reading List

Ironman--Chris Crutcher
Bridge to Tarabithia
How to Eat Fried Worms
Series of Unfortunate Events
Wizard of Oz
Indian in the Cupboard
Alice in Wonderland
Cinder--Marissa Meyer
Pathfinder--Orson Scott Card
Samurai Girl--Carrie Asai
Prom; Twisted; Chains; Speak--Laurie Halse Anderson
Tyler on Primetime--Steven Atinsky
The Game of Sunken Places--M. T. Anderson

I've been on a bit of a bulletin board kick after our art class.  These are some ideas that I've used in my "lessons."

Actually this is one that is at the Montessori pre-school.  I think it is a great idea and would be pretty easy to replicate.

I used this to help students learn the letters.  In a classroom I would have a lot more pictures so that there would be several examples of each letter.  The students would then be able to create a "dictionary" with at least one example of each phoneme.

This is a flannel board presentation of the song "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."

This is also be a flannel board of the song "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly."

This was very exciting for me to create.  It is a bulletin to be used with the song "And the Green Grass Grows All Around."  As the class learned the song we would add the pieces that correspond with each verse.

Paper Lei

This was simple and very fun for young children.  We cut out many flowers from colored construction paper and then threaded them onto a colored string, interspersed with short colored straws.  My favorite flowers were the ones that we painted ourselves with our water colors.

Learning about the Hawaiian Lei Day was a great incorporation of culture and historical education.  Perhaps many different cultural activities could be studies beside Hawaiian. This could also be used in science as a way to review the different kinds of flower pedals.

3-D town

This was a very simple project to explain.  Everyone was supposed to use either the cool colors or the warm colors and create a scene or town.  We were then instructed on how to make spirals, stairs, and tunnels and given free rein to employ them in any way we could think of.  I had the idea of creating a "main street".  Starting on the far side of the picture is the "Welcome to The Town of Dreams" sign and arched entrance.  The orange twist on the ground is the street and the origami shapes on each side were my "houses."  Each house has an unusual way to climb the "stairs" to the front door.  The easiest to see in this picture is the fish with a spiral stairway and the boat has a fireman's pole to gain entrance.

The teachers of this project read "Oh the Places You Will Go" by Dr. Seuss to the class and encouraged great creativity in our projects.  With an older group you could study the physics of roller-coasters and the students could create amusement parks.  As I did you could learn origami and focus on the history of this paper art.  The students could be encouraged to each find their own book to make a scene from as a literature project.

Coil Pot

The target age for this activity was 4th grade.  We used an air dry clay which made it a much quicker and less likely that someone loses a pot because of exploding air bubbles.  It was painted with acrylic paint, which again saves time and hassle from glazing.  I finished mine by adding a high gloss medium to give it a secure seal and to make it look more like a glaze would.  

Extension projects for clay would include a history study of the use of clay.  You could even do a science experiment with carbon dating of clay objects.

Railroad Printmaking

This project was an introduction to printmaking.  We first etched a pattern of our own creation into a rectangle of thin Styrofoam.  We then rolled paint onto our "stamp" and attempt to get a nice clear print.  I choice to take three very different prints to create my poster.  The background was supposed to be a scene that a South Dakota railroad train could pass through and the cars were to be loaded with a South Dakota export.  I chose to export sunflowers, disfigured cows, and wheat.

The idea of studying South Dakota exports is particularly fun and definitely covered in the 5th grade year.  This form of printmaking and pasting it on a scene could be done at any age and would be fun for K-3 to draw their family or yard.

Marbled Sightseeing

My partner and I did our activity with 2-D paper.  Our project included sketching the assigned place of interest  using a permanent black marker.  We then used shaving cream and tempera paint to create a marbled texture and dipped our completed sketches into the paint.  They turned out really well although a few students learned that too much texture mixes the paints too much and they got one sour color instead of marbled streaks of color. We displayed our finished projects in generally correct geographical positions on a bulletin.

The extension project we intended to teach was geography and tourism.  A teacher could also include a mathematical comparison of sizes or a historical timeline of the dates these were created.

Cool Colors Frog

This project was a combination of drawing, identifying cool and warm colors, and using lines, patterns, or shapes.  Each person was assigned a specific puzzle piece,color palette, and background and were then given the freedom to draw whatever they wished.  After we turned in the finished piece they were connected in the puzzles and displayed.  I choose to color a green frog.  I did most of the coloring with an oil pastel against the texture of the sole of my shoe.  The lines are mostly black with a few green to give them a pop.

The intended extension activity was to learn about the difference between cold and warm blooded animals. Unfortunately, there are many warm blooded animals with blue or green coats and many cold blooded animals with bright, warm colors.  The puzzle was a great way to expand the idea of the pattern and could be used with many activities.

Macrame

The target age for this particular lesson was 6th grade.  It think that is a great level for the interest but many students will already be familiar with Macrame by that time.  I think this could be done as early as 3rd or 4th grade.  Project requirements were to have a spiral shape, at least 3 beads, and be at least 3 inches long.  I am experienced with macrame and quickly made one long enough for a bracelet.  The final bead at the end was a way to hook the bracelet around my wrist.

Extending macrame into other subjects is particularly difficult.  Again a historical study of macrame could be employed (S.S.).  My mother made a macrame bracelet with industrial strength cord and wears it as an emergency preparation (FACS).  You could also discuss the making and history of beads (science).

Plaid Bunnies

I thought this was an adorable activity for very young students.  I doubt that their lines would be as straight as mine but they would love the bunny.  This was really simple, we were arranged by table, each table having complementary colors.  We all painted the warm color first then the cool color.  The teacher then read us a story, when the story was over we used a pattern to cut out the bunny form and glued him together.  A simple black marker let us complete the facial features and we had a wonderful spring decoration for mom to put on the fridge.

The integration that was presented in class was to learn about the common uses of plaid and to read a Language Arts story about a little girl who accidentally turned the whole world plaid.  Learning about different ways the create plaid especially weaving could give an extra aspect.

Spring Flowers

This project turned out better than I could have ever dreamed.  We started by taking a white or peach colored crayon or oil pastel to draw with.  Personally, I wouldn't use white because it's almost impossible to see and the peach turned out absolutely beautiful.  The hard part to this activity was that we weren't allowed to see what we were drawing.  Each of us stuck our utensil through a piece of paper that was about 3 X 6 inches which effectively blinded us  so we couldn't see what we were creating.  My flowers were supposed to be copies of the artwork of Georgia O'Keeffe, but they don't come very close to the original.  After completing our drawings we used very wet water colors to paint the entire page.  The idea was to ensure that there was no white remaining on our page.  The end effect was really pretty neat.

The integration which was presented in class was the study of the artist Georgia O'Keeffe.  Another idea with the flowers would be to have live flowers for the students to mimic.  This could be an ending project from a  science unit on parts of a flower.  It could also be changed so that you draw another type of object which gives limitless ideas for integration.  One that comes to mind is drawing musical instruments or tools that have changed history.

Hidden Safari

This was actually a lot more fun than I expected.  You start by drawing with a light blue colored pencil.  It is essential to use light blue.  We were all required to draw safari animals by turning the paper upside down and imitating an example.  I chose to do an elephant.  After completing the safari animal we then creating random patterns in warm colors to completely cover the page.  We kept adding patterns and colors until the naked eye no longer saw the blue elephant.  The magic of this activity is that by putting on red glasses you can see the elephant perfectly.  Unfortunately, my camera wouldn't take a good picture through the glasses so you can't see the elephant in this picture.

The natural integration of this project is Science, particularly habitats.  A book could also be read to accompany this activity thus integrating Language Arts.  The song "Going on a Bear Hunt" could be adapted and add a musical element to the project.

Story Book Page

This was one of the most creative and fun things we've done in class.  First we made our own "tissue" paper by thinning down tempre paint and splattering it onto 12 X 18 paper.  Next we designed a story book page as if it came out of the middle of a story.  We then used scissors or a razor blade to cut out each shape and glue them onto our page.  The end result is a beautiful collage.

This is automatically a link to Language Arts because it is part of a story, we read Eric Karle books because this is the method he uses to create his artwork.  It would be possible to make a lesson that required students to show awareness of habitat and characteristics of their animal characters, thus integrating a science aspect.

Van Gogh 2

Creating this collage was very fun and very easy.  First you affix tissue paper using Gloss Medium.  Then you add a landscape of your choice cut out of construction paper.  I choose to do the Delicate Arch from Arches National Park, Moab, Utah.  The lines in the "rock" were created by smearing oil pastels.  The final touch was to add "swirls," which van Gogh was famous for, using a silver permanent marker.

The idea I had for integrating the collage across the curriculum was to first have a science lesson on what causes things like rainbows, the Northern Lights, and the colors of a sunset.  Then encourage the students to recreate these patterns in their work.

Impressions from incent van Gogh

This pictures is one way of experimenting with bright colors and swirling lines as van Gogh did.

This finger painting was done on finger paint paper. The idea was to learn to mix colors and to become more comfortable with the motions involved in painting.  It also allowed me to experiment with movement in my painting.

The main extension project related to this project is learning about Vincent van Gogh.  I would implement a history lesson discussing world events during his life that may have influenced his work and possibly have the students create an actual time line.  Depending on the age of the students I could also have them each do a timeline of van Gogh's life and especially of some of his paintings.

Elements of Art Pictures

We made a power-point of all the elements and principles of art in my ART Ed class and I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures here.  These are pictures that I, or in the case of me dancing, my mother, took.

This is Asymmetrical balance, I found these trees in Mesa, Arizona.

This is my example of color.  These are my friends on a beach in Bear Lake, Idaho.

I used this picture as an example of space.  This was taken in Adam's Canyon, Layton, Utah.

 The object of this photo is also some friends we stopped at the side of the road on the way from California to Utah.  This was my example of contrast.

 This pictures is from my senior year Pops Concert.  I used it as an example of movement.

Art Project 1

We each created a footprint that is symbolic of the journey or the imprint we are making in life.  Each student can choose to use one foot or two feet side by side.  The project will be graded on the use of space, at least 3 mediums, and craftsmanship.  The students will each need to present their completed project to the class and they will be displayed in the class. 

A possible extension project could be studying the footprint that mankind has left on the planet.  It could also be creating footprints in plaster of paris.  We could do an experiment where everyone needs to put their foot in tubs containing different textures such as dirt, mud, sand, wet sand, lotion, mulch, dry leaves, packing foam, and water.  It will be obvious that some people like different things and that some substances leave a footprint while others do not.  These ideas could segue into making the construction paper footprints.