Education Closet!

Here at the Columbia Art Center we have had the privelege of working with Susan Riley, a passionate Arts Integration Specialist.  Her blog http://educationcloset.com/ is full of fantastic ideas and information.  Be sure to check it out!

Easy Marbling Techniques

Marbling is one of those fantastic art techniques that can be difficult to teach in the classroom.  The chemicals and the space required to achieve the beautiful effects are just a couple of the obstacles in teaching this to children.  That's why these Easy Marbling Techniques compiled on http://www.kinderart.com/ are so exciting!  Click the link to check out some amazing artwork as well as interesting ways of developing a lesson around the deceptively simply marbling substitution! 

Multicultural Art

KENTE CLOTHS - A lesson from http://www.kinderart.com/

Grade: 2
Age: 6-8

Submitted by teacher Amy Shapley

Objectives:

• Students will learn the history of Ghanaian Kente Cloths.
• Students will practice using geometric shapes to design their own Kente Cloth strips.

Vocabulary:

• Kente:
• Ghana:
• Geometric:

What You Need:

• Items for demonstration - Kente strips and fabrics, caps and key rings, etc. using Kente symbolism, pictures, great resource website http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/kente/top.htm
• 18x4 inch strips of good quality white paper
• pencils
• rulers
• red, green, blue, black, and yellow tempera paint
• paintbrushes
• water cups and paper towels

What You Do:

1. Present lesson:

• Who: African Americans, Africans, anyone who celebrates African heritage
• What: Kente Cloths, strips of fabric woven by hand in the colors that represent Africa.  Red - Life and Blood; Blue - Innocence; Green - Mother Africa, Mother Earth; Black - People and Unity; Gold - Strength and Fortune
• Strips are sewn together to make cloth.  Always woven from cotton threads.
• When: Celebrations - weddings, births, graduations, ceremonies to bring in new leaders; Whenever you want to respectfully show your African heritage.
• Why: To symbolize African culture.
• Where: Most examples from Ghana, worn in Africa, America, and wherever people show African heritage.

2.  Discuss the difference between geometric and organic shapes and lines.
3.  Direct the students to design geometric patterns of stripes, squares, diamonds, triangles, etc. on the paper strips.
4.  Distribute trays of paint, brushes, water cups, and paper towels. Remind students that the colors are very important in Kente cloth, so they should do their best to keep the colors clean and not muddied.  
5.  When the strips are dry, it is sometimes very effective to use a black marker to outline the shapes and stripes. It gives the paper an embroidered look. This is your choice.
*Note: This project looks really cool using pieces of colored yarn and glue instead of paint! Just substitute tagboard for the white paper.

Recommended Reading: "Kente Colors" by Deborah M. Newton Chocolate

Texture and Pattern Collage

Grade Level: 4th
Time: 3 hours, broken into 2 or 3 sessions
Objective: Students will learn about rubbings, pattern, and collage and will get a chance to share a piece of artwork with a partner.
Materials Needed:

• One large sheet of white paper (per student)
• 2-3 pieces of white typing paper (per student)
• One ebody pencil (per student)
• Crayons
• Scissors
• Glue
• Construction Paper
• Magazines
• Paint
• Rulers
• Examples of patterns (i.e. Quilts, Adinkra Cloth, Batik)

Instructions:

1. This lesson corresponds with a lesson teaching geometry.  Prior to the art lesson, the students will be learning about shapes and patterns.
2. Students will begin by making rubbings of interesting textures in and around the classroom using the white typing paper and the ebony pencil or crayons.
3. They will then create a border for their collage on the big sheet of heavy white paper.
4. Using their texture rubbings, construction paper, markers, and other materials student will begin laying down a pattern on their large sheet of paper (show examples to help guide the pattern making process). - End the first session without completing project.
5. During the second session students will switch the project they were working on with a partner.  The partner will pick up where the other left off, using their own imagination to create different patterns.  

Vocabulary:
texture - surface character or visual feel of an object relating to tactility
collage - a picture made up of layering of different materials
pattern - made up of repeating shapes or ideas
repetition - use of the same visual element a number of times in the same composition
color - quality and quantity of light both reflected and absorbed by any object
balance - feeling or sensing of equality in weight, attention, or attraction of the various visual elements within an artwork as a means of accomplishing unity
harmony - causing each feature of an artwork to show visual connections with other features which causes them to be seen as integrated members of the whole
shape - 2D flat object or area which stands out from the space next to or around it because of a defined boundary or because of a difference of value, color, or texture
symmetry - balance in a composition
asymmetry - lack of balance in a composition

Evaluation/Assessment:
After the project, the students will show their works and say one thing they liked about it, and one thing they didn't.  The students will identify the patterns in their and each others works.  Have them properly critque the strength of each composition using the newly learned vocabulary.


*This lesson plan was taken from a webpage that is no longer available*    

A Me, Myself and I project...

BODY COLLAGE (from http://www.kinderart.com/recycle/) - Written by Andrea Mulder-Slater
Grade: K-6
Age: 4-10

What You Need:

• Large paper bags OR a large roll of craft paper
• Pencils
• Crayons, pencil crayons
• Old magazines and photographs
• Fabric, yarn, buttons
• Glue
• Scissors

What You Do:

1. Cut open two large paper bags and tape them together until you have a size that is a little longer and a little wider than yourself.  Or you can use a large section of a craft paper roll.
2. Lie on the paper and have a partner trace around your outline.
3. Cut out the body shape.
4. Find pictures in magazines that show things that you like.  Cut them out and paste them to your body outline.  These could be anything from pictures of animals to computer games, cars or musical groups.
5. Draw your face, shoes, etc. using pencil crayons or crayons.  You might also with to glue pieces of fabric onto your collage.
6. Hang your collage on a door.

Here at the Art Center we've modified this project a number of times for different lessons.  Once we outlined the kids and gave them fish tails to turn them into mermaids.  Another time, with older kids, we used it to do a lesson about bacteria and germs.   They filled their outlines with different "bugs" in their organs like stomachs and intestines.  Sounds gross, but they had a blast!  There is something immediately enjoyable about a project that allows for laying on the floor on a giant piece of paper...

Meaningful Integration

"In essence, tapping into the arts is not a supplement, but a viable ally for learning and motivating across the curriculum." - Angela Bunyi

Angela Bunyi is an educator who advocates for arts integration.  Through personal and professional experience she has encountered the many benefits of multi-faceted education.  The "Art" of Meaningful Integration is an article that highlights some key elements of arts integration and lists some fantastic lesson planning materials.  Be sure to check out more at Angela Bunyi's bio page on Scholastic.com. 

Art Teacher Websites

Here are some splendid Art Teaching Resources that could benefit any teaching curriculum!  Full of lessons, visuals, and inspiration.


Teach Kids Art

http://teachkidsart.blogspot.com/  - A website full of art lessons, classroom management ideas, and beautiful examples of kids work!


Modern Art 4 Kids

http://modernart4kids.blogspot.com/ - Specifically geared towards more contemporary art lessons with loads of pictures.





Painted Paper

http://paintedpaperintheartroom.blogspot.com/ - "Painted Paper" is about as colorful as it gets!  Full of photos and lesson ideas.






Definitely give these websites a look.  All three blogs are maintained by teachers who have great classroom enhancement solutions and ideas!