The 1st graders continued their shape unit by looking an an image by Polish illustrator and printmaker Barbara Dziadosz. We started the lesson by reviewing the elements in their Marcus Oakley inspired still life drawings from the week before- geometric shapes, natural shapes, and primary colors. After that we took a close look at Barbara's piece.
We identified the natural shapes. Then we talked about how the leaves were different- shape, size, direction, and pattern. We also noticed that Barbara did NOT use contour lines in this piece.
The dog was done with direct drawing instruction while the leaves were more independent. We put dots near the top and bottom of the paper and I modeled different types of leaf shapes and vein patterns. When cutting out the leaves, we practiced turning the paper instead of turning our scissors.
We arranged our leaves how each of us wanted and glued them in place. We did our best to do the gluing on top of the white paper and NOT the bare table tops, so we wouldn't leave them sticky for the classes that would come in later.
We wrote at least one sentence about our project together and another one that was created more independently, using vocabulary on the board.
The 4th graders have been focusing on positive and negative shapes the past couple of weeks. I've been using the super rad work of painter and designer Greg Pnut Galinsky as the inspiration for this shape exploration. (A couple years ago I did a similar project inspired by Greg's work.)
In particular, we have been looking at a series of skateboard decks he did a few years ago. The 4th graders are all involved in band and orchestra this year, so I thought this would be a great connection to tap into. I introduce the concepts of positive and negative to the kids. We also discuss the importance of balance between the positive and negative in terms of filling the page and making an interesting composition. We look at the work they already made for their line study and identify them in those. I then share Greg's skate decks and students can identify the contrast between the subject and background pretty quickly due to his contrast in white and color.
For this project, I provide the students handouts of the instruments that they are playing this year. I model sketching 3 different designs that have at least parts of 2 instruments in them. Students do their thing in sketch form and when they are done I ask them to break up the negative shape with at least 3 lines. Once they complete their sketches, they think about which one they want to do as their final and write down their reasoning in the form of a "because" statement. Students then share their reasoning with a neighbor. With this step I also model being an active listener- the listener should then replay in support of the designer's choise or offer reasoning of their own why another design might be more interesting.
Students shape their paper decks by cutting curves at the ends of a long sheet and draw their chosen image softly out on the larger paper. They trace their contour lines with black markers, and like their line lesson, make some lines thin and others thick for added variety and contrast.
When it comes to coloring their decks, they must only use one color. They can alter it's value by pressing soft, medium, or hard. They may also add black to the color. Once they are done, they complete an exit slip reinforcing their understanding of positive and negative shapes.
Boom. Pretty engaging for the kids. Greg's style is totally approachable and workable for the kids, and anytime they get to design something pop culture related, the kids more readily get into it.
This evening, Zamorano hosted our annual cultural art night. It was a wonderful night full of students, families, and staff working together and celebrating the diversity of our school community. For the first time, we were also able to offer our community cultural performances to watch and participate in throughout the night. I have to say, it was fantastic to offer our community this performance aspect. It took the evening to a whole other level!
I want to thank everyone involved in making the night the success it was and I want to especially thank our attendance clerk and volunteer coordinator, Chris Bess, for putting so much work into supporting and prepping for the event. I also want to thank our PTF board and all the parent volunteers that lent a hand preparing, running, and wrapping up the event.
Go Zamo!
Samahan, a Filipino performance group, opened the evening.
Area Superintendent Jackson came out to support our school community.
Mr. Bernardo is super proud of his square for our community quilt.
After viewing the video, I let the kids know that they would be planning a mural composition for the homes across the street from school. We looked at the buildings with google maps street view and sketched a couple of them out on practice paper. I then provided them with pattern examples from a variety of cultures that are present in our school community. We also looked at a mural the 5th graders did with me a few years ago that was inspired by our school community, too.
Students were to fill the architecture in their sketch with patterns. They did not have to copy the provided examples. They could use them as inspiration and/or modify them. They could create patterns based on their imagination and experiences. Once their sketch was finished, they moved on to a larger sheet of paper and refined their design. Changes could be made, as long as they were not wholesale. I wanted to see a connection between planning and refining. They traced their contours with fine tip markers and then added color to the scene. I encouraged them to use color patterns and modeled how to press hard and soft to create more color variety. We wrapped things up by writing about how they created unity, why they chose their included patterns, and what they had the most success with in the project.
