Mr. Mills Blog

For me, this is a challenging and exciting time of year. The weather makes it tough to get around, ISAT testing is looming in the distance, and as teachers, we have a lot of things to take care of. On the flip side, it is exciting because we have so much to look forward to in the coming months. Presently, we get to celebrate the African-American History Fair together as a school community on Friday. And, we are in the middle of some exciting projects in Fine Arts.

First, I wanted to mention that a group of four students from the School of the Art Institute visited my classroom on Thursday. They are learning to be teachers and part of their curriculum is to actually “test” out one of their projects with actual students. Each student based their project on the work of Ken Grimes who currently has work at Intuit Gallery. His work is based on aliens and is only black and white. The students were broken up into four groups and did one of the four activities. The students were great “test subjects” and I’m proud of how they accepted this diversion. I’m sure the student teachers learned a lot.

As I mentioned last week, the third graders finished up their movement pictures this week. Mr. Brookins class will actually finish them next week. Afterwards, both classes will be coming to the computer lab to work on landscapes using Windows Paint.

The 4th graders are continuing their project with CAPE. This week, Ms. Walsh and I gave them a series of six pictures that they needed to visually rearrange as a group and then write stories individually to accompany the pictures. It is exciting to see the students use these pictures to write creative stories. We have noticed that the more interesting pictures elicit a tremendous response from the students. As we continue through this project, we hope the students continue to look beyond the pictures to create their stories. We have talked about how they need to think about the characters, setting, and plot behind the pictures. Then, the students began to take their own pictures. We talked about the correct way to frame a picture and to focus on details. Each student took two pictures within the new wing. Next week, we will be going outside to take more pictures.

The 5th graders began their painting based on the work of Chuck Close this week. We looked at a couple examples of his work like the one below.

We began by creating a grid this week on an eight inch by ten inch piece of cardboard. Next week, we will begin painting the individual squares. When we piece the individual paintings together, it will create one large face. I’m very excited to see the results.

The sixth graders are working on games using their world language and math. The world language teachers and I collaborated on this project so the students would apply multiple disciplines into one project. This week, the students formed groups and began working on the rough drafts. We have been stressing that the students practice their games because the you work out the problems and kinks of your game by practicing it multiple times. It makes the final game more enjoyable to play. My former profession was a toy designer, so I love collaborating with the students on the game play, the rules, and the theme of the game. The students do a great job working together and making a working game.

On the technology front, I’m pleased to report that we will be getting new black and white printers for the school. The printers we have right now have been a major headache for the tech coordinator (me) and the teachers. I’m happy the PTO approved this move and I wanted to thank them again.

Also, the 6th graders have been making podcasts under the guidance of Mr. Rowell. They created podcasts last year with myself and Erik Treese from CUIP, so they are building on their knowledge of how to make a podcast and using Audacity (a free sound editing program).

Enjoy the long weekend…