My time working with Liza Johnson at Spring Creek Elementary School was filled with a lot of new experiences, both for the students and me. I had the opportunity to work with K-5 for the first 8 weeks of my student teaching, and I'm so happy it was in such a free and creative environment.
During my time student teaching in an elementary setting, I was able to take over lessons for Liza, as well as implement a couple of my own. I spent a lot of my time observing during the first couple weeks, really paying attention to classroom routines and student behavior. As I slowly took over teaching for a few classes, and eventually all of them, the students welcomed me with open arms. I was so lucky to have had this chance to get to know these students and to see how much they loved art, and I learned so much from them and my mentor teacher.
During my time student teaching in an elementary setting, I was able to take over lessons for Liza, as well as implement a couple of my own. I spent a lot of my time observing during the first couple weeks, really paying attention to classroom routines and student behavior. As I slowly took over teaching for a few classes, and eventually all of them, the students welcomed me with open arms. I was so lucky to have had this chance to get to know these students and to see how much they loved art, and I learned so much from them and my mentor teacher.
Aboriginal Clay Turtles
My students created artwork based on Aboriginal art practices, the indigenous peoples of Australia. My inspiration from this lesson came from a study abroad trip I had taken in May 2019, prior to my student teaching, and I couldn't wait to share what I learned there with my 4th grade students.
The Aboriginals create magnificent story-telling art, usually entirely made up of symbols and dots. Throughout my trip, we looked at a variety of paintings, learned various well-known stories, and worked with some Aboriginal artists.
For this unit, students created Aboriginal clay turtles. Turtles are important to the indigenous peoples of Australia, as they were once a major food source. We looked at paintings of turtles and studied the intricate marks and details, and students created their own 3D versions.
The Aboriginals create magnificent story-telling art, usually entirely made up of symbols and dots. Throughout my trip, we looked at a variety of paintings, learned various well-known stories, and worked with some Aboriginal artists.
For this unit, students created Aboriginal clay turtles. Turtles are important to the indigenous peoples of Australia, as they were once a major food source. We looked at paintings of turtles and studied the intricate marks and details, and students created their own 3D versions.
Here, I create a video demonstration for the students to watch prior to starting, as well as a resource for them to reference throughout their projects. The students were reminded that their turtles didn't have to look exactly like mine, though, and that they could personalize the head, legs, and tail.
As I played this clip for my students, I talked through each step with them, explaining the importance of each part. For example, scoring was a step that was very emphasized throughout the video, and continued to be emphasized during work time. |
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Below is a PDF of the Clay Turtle Unit, which is comprised of 3 lessons. Depending on the student, the entire project took 3-4 class periods. Click here for a downloadable link.
Gelli Hearts
During the week of Valentine's Day, 3rd graders took a break from their projects to spend the day creating Gelli Plate Valentine's Day prints. I had never worked with gelli plates prior to deciding to do this lesson, so I was very excited to try them when my mentor told me she had some. There's so many different ways to use them, and I think the students really enjoyed playing and working with them. They turned out to be great Valentine's Day cards!