Tech Expo
23 05 2008 
I just wanted to thank Madame Wehman and our wonderful student helpers this past Thursday at the CUIP Technology Expo at King High School. We were there to present the Rosetta Stone software and one of the programs we used this year, Scratch. I have gone to the expo the past 4 years, and this is the first time I have come with another teacher AND student helpers. It is a long day, but having the extra help there made the day a lot more fun and interesting. Thanks again for making it a success!
On to fine arts, the 3rd graders are starting to make their prints. Unfortunately, both classes have or will eventually miss a lot of art class, but we are still hoping to finish their prints before we need to sell them at the St. Thomas Art Fair on June 7th. They have already done some printmaking in previous years, so they have done a great job so far getting to work and building on their knowledge of this art making process.
The 4th grade students have been working with light and shadow over the past week. We have talked about light sources, shadows, and why they are an important part of a lot of artwork. We have been painting a highly exaggerated cube with different values of either purple or blue so the students can make out where the light source, how it can “change color” depending on where the light source is, and how shadows are created from the light source. This is all in preparation for a trip to the Art Institute we are taking next week to view portraits and artworks showing light and shadow.
The 5th grade students are busy working on their canvases showing either a Chicago scene or summer scene. We will be selling these at the St. Thomas Art Fair as well. The students are not only learning how painting on canvas is different than painting on paper, but they are learning how to mix their own colors and add details. I’m looking forward to see how these will all turn out.
Finally, the 6th graders are just about done with their graffiti pieces. This week, many students got to experiment using an airbrush. They did not use it for an extended period of time, but they at least got to see how it works and add a different look to their graffiti pieces. I hope to send these home next week. To end the year, we will be watching a documentary called “My Kid Could Paint That”. It is an excellent documentary about a 4-year-old girl who was said to have special artistic talent and began selling her artwork for thousands of dollars in a gallery. This continued until people suspected that she was getting help from parents with the artwork. I will have to edit a couple parts out in order to show it in school, but it will allow me to talk with the students about the validity of abstract art and the supposed artistic talent of children.
Until next week…
