Mr. Mills Blog

I wanted to begin today by talking about the Scratch project Mr. Brookins writing/reading class is working on. Last week, the students wrote narrative and drew storyboards in preparation for animating their stories on a program called Scratch. Scratch is a programming language that could be seen as an “introduction” into the world of computer programming. It has an interface and language that is easier for a student to understand than what some might consider “normal” programming, but it provides students with a great way of understanding how to program. It requires them to problem solve and logically think about how their story is going to look on the screen. It is a tough program to really get a hang of, but I have a lot of confidence in their ability to produce some great work.

With everything else, we do not have many updates, so I will keep this brief. The 3rd graders continue to dive deeper into the Art in Focus program. Each class has now gone to the Smart Museum twice and they will both be going to the Hyde Park Art Center next week. Above, you will see some pictures from Ms. Burkhardt’s class trip to the museum this week. We are expanding their visual language (line, shape, space, non-representational…) by studying these words through activities, discussing the words while looking at artwork at the museum, and visiting the SmARTKids web site.

The 4th graders are continuing with their self-portraits. We continue to hit bumps in the road and feel frustrations, but the students who have put the most effort and concentration into their drawings have done the best job…regardless of their artistic talent. I hope they all know they are capable of success, but they really need to not only believe that they can do it, but they also put forth their best effort.

The 5th graders took a trip to the Hyde Park Art Center this week to create an ink drawing as a part of the Smart Explorers program this week. The trip to the Hyde Pak Art Center is different from past years, so I was happy the students had a chance to try out that medium. Above, you will see some pictures from those two trips. We will continue with the Smart Museum trips next week. Also, we are working on a project in class dealing with the concept of context…not an easy thing to understand…

The 6th graders are just about to finish their monochromatic portraits. They will be hanging up very soon. This week, we began a graffiti project. The students are choosing a nickname for themselves that they will be painting in a graffiti style. With this project, they will also be using an airbrush to add small details to their final pieces. Also, check out the above pictures of the mosaic…we are getting closer.

Until next week…