Cool Links

A few weeks, I didn’t have much to discuss…today, it is the exact opposite. First, I wanted to pass along a couple interesting articles that talk about the importance of technology in K-12 curriculum. I know it is easy for the computer teacher to notice the “importance” of his subject, but even if I was not responsible for the technological education of Murray students, I would still be screaming from the rooftops that computer literacy needs to be part of any good curriculum. Anyway, here is a link to an blog post about the urgency for computer literacy for teachers. And, here is a link supporting the learning of computer programming in a technology program.

Also, I wanted to mention that we are in the middle of updating the Spanish Flash Cards on the Murray web site. A student from the University of Chicago has been putting in a lot of effort to not only update the Murray site, but to make the Spanish Flash Cards a great addition to the site. Please, check them out! Thanks Chelsea!

Now…on to fine arts. The 3rd graders are preparing for their first trip to the Smart Museum as part of the Art in Focus program. One of the main goals of this program is to increase the student’s use of visual language. In other words, we want the students to learn how to correctly talk about art. Above, Mr. Brown and I worked on an activity with the students utilizing two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. I have a couple examples above. We want the students to learn that different types of artwork have different names. I’m often surprised how students refer to sculptures as “paintings”. This activity was used to help students understand the difference between two-dimensional and three-dimensional artwork. We also filled out surveys that will be given to the folks at the Smart Museum before our first trip.

The 4th graders worked on a short activity this week. Mr. Brown and I are hosting a student teacher in the fall, so she has been getting her feet wet at Murray recently. She taught a short two day lesson this week to 203 that I duplicated with 207. We read the book The Adventures of a Nose to the students. It is a story about a nose that feels out of place, but all of the illustrations in the book use the background to create a face so the nose looks like it really does fit in. The students had to choose a place that they felt comfortable in, and then, they needed to create a face using the things they would find in that place. For instance, a lot of students use their home and used the windows and doors as the eyes, nose, and mouth. They created these pictures using oil pastels.

The 5th graders began preparing for their first trip to the Smart Museum this week as past of the Smart Explorers program. This program also focuses on visual language, but it is more advanced. Everything we do will be directed toward a final presentation the students will do at the Smart Museum. They will all have to describe a piece of artwork to an audience of their friends and family. They will be doing a lot of the preparation for this with Mr. Rowell. In art, we will focusing more on learning the terminology. Our first activity will be centered learning what a curator is and what they do. All of the students are making an artwork of their choosing that we will be using to “curate” different types of exhibitions.

The 6th graders…are busy. First, I am looking forward to videotaping Motown Madness tonight. I will be putting pictures up here on Monday.  the students have started working on their class mosaic this week. I have pulled some students out of class this week, and will continue to pull kids out over the next month. Above, you will see the students already putting it together. This project is VERY cool…I can not stress that enough. When this gets installed over the summer, it is going to be a great piece of artwork the students can always look back on…because it will be permanent! I’m very excited for them. While we are doing this, the students are working on another project. We are creating monochromatic portraits. This is one of my favorite projects all year long because it involves so many different artistic processes. One of the classes has begun to paint them, while the other class is just about ready to trace the areas of their face. I’m looking forward to putting these up in the hallway.

One last thing…we just got some new computers in the language lab, so it will hopefully be FULLY operational next week…whew…that’s enough for now…until next week…

First, I wanted to send my appreciation out to all of the teachers, parents, and students who made it to school this past Tuesday and Wednesday. While I feel the conditions could have been treacherous for many, I was happy to see that students still came. That says a lot about how important learning is in our world. When bus service was canceled on Wednesday, I asked one girl who I knew took the bus how she got to school. She said, “My dad drove me. He said, ‘My daughter is going to get her education.’” Of course, I’m paraphrasing, but it wasn’t that far off.

Also, I’m looking forward to the African American History Fair tonight. I missed last year because I was out of town, so I’m looking forward to the festivities tonight. This weekend, I should have pictures up on the Murray site here.

Finally, before I talk about this week in fine arts, I wanted to mention a cool online game I was introduced to this week. The Blueprint Game is pretty simple to learn but maddening to master. Plus, in this day and age when kids want to play games, I think it is fun and, dare I say, educational. Basically, you have to move the ramps, blocks, and other items around to make the bowling ball hit the target. Try it out!

Okay, let’s talk fine arts. The 3rd graders began working on Windows Paint this week. Personally, I like to experiment with a program when it is new to me, so I let the students try some of the tools on the Windows Paint program this week. I was impressed by their attention and interest in this basic program. I’m looking forward to working with them on it more in the coming weeks. Mr. Brookins class will work with Windows Paint next week. They have missed a couple class periods because of a field trip and the visit from the student teachers last week. We will back on track after next week.

The 4th graders are still in the middle of their CAPE project. We intended on the students going outside to take pictures this week, but we decided against because all of their pictures would be white, so we adjusted. Instead, we gave them a bunch of strange objects on their table to they could arrange a still-life and take a picture of it. The students were disappointed we did not go outside, but I think they will be pleased with the results of their still-life pictures. They had very creative ideas! We also had a choice for their second picture. It could either be in their classroom or the old computer lab. Next week, we will definitely be going outside to take pictures. Cross your fingers…

The 5th graders began painting their grid this week. We talked about value and gray scale which is not an easy concept to grasp. Each student was given a small sheet of paper with a grid similar to their grid, but it was already filled in with different grays on them. Each gray corresponded to a certain percentage of black. They needed to match the grays to the correct percentage and then write it on their grid. Those percentages corresponded to a certain percentage of purple paint. They needed to go around the room and paint the correct percentage of purple in each square. Why are we doing this? Each of these grids is a piece of a puzzle. If it is done correctly, we will be able to piece this puzzle together to reveal a face. The kids are curious…which is good. I’m looking forward to the results.

The 6th graders are chugging along with their world language math games. I’ve been impressed with their involvement and self-sufficiency with this project. They finished up their rough drafts this week, and now, they are moving on to the final. The final goal is that these games can be used with other classes, so they have to make sure it works correctly and the rules make sense.

Hope to see you tonight and once again, enjoy the long weekend!

First, I wanted to share an article that, once again, supports using the Internet and teaching your child to use it responsibly. Even though we are afraid of Internet predators and the use of MySpace, why not show your child how to use it responsibly instead of immediately disallowing it in your house. I’m a big proponent of not being afraid of this new technology and finding ways to embrace rather than to push it away.

This week, almost all of the classes started new projects. The 6th graders are still working on the embroidered pillows they began before the break. Many of them look excellent. I bought a sewing machine over the break, and a few got to sew their pillow together. It was really exciting to watch them use the machine since many are using it for the first time. Once again, these pillows are due before the quarter ends in two weeks.

The 5th graders began a weaving project. We talked about the meaning of loom, warp, and weft. They are making a very basic weaving, but as I told the students, if they do not pay attention to what they are doing, they will make mistakes. It is alright if they do make a mistake, but I want them to learn how to correct it. This project takes a good amount of patience.

The 4th graders began creating logos using the Windows paint program. We started the project by looking at some famous logos and why they were designed the way they were designed. We talked about how graphic designers are paid to create these logos. They are making a logo that represents themselves using either their initials or their first name. The paint program is not the most powerful drawing program, but it is simple enough that the kids can make some fantastic designs. This is one of my favorite projects all year.

The 3rd graders began a project on movement. I don’t normally do this project with the 3rd grade, but I wanted to see how they could handle it. We learned how you can show movement in a drawing by changing the color, size, and line of your drawing. We just began with sketches this week, but will move on to a larger sheet of paper next week.

Also, check out the new web site I added to my list of links. You can design a person with a simple drawing program and then the site automatically animates it to dance. Very cool!

Enjoy the long weekend, and check out the student artwork on the blog. (Hint: You can get to it from the bar beneath my name.)

This time of year is always a great time of year. The air gets a little crisper, the leaves begin to fall, and the holidays are fast approaching. I’m happy to see all of my classes doing well as we end the first quarter. The 3rd graders finished up their symmetrical aliens. They are hanging near the fine arts room, and they are on Art Sonia. They began a project this week that involves drawing a community.

The 4th graders have finished up their watercolor still-life. They are hanging near the cafeteria and they are on Art Sonia. They started a project this week dealing with contrast. We discussed how putting two dissimilar things together like camouflage pants and a rainbow sweater makes something look very shocking and strange. In other words, they are in high contrast. We talked how the colors black and white can create a picture that is in high contrast. A picture was taken of each child and changed so it only had black and white in it, so the picture was in high contrast.

The 5th graders finished up Joan Miro inspired animals and abstract collages that are on Art Sonia now. They just began creating a six panel story or cartoon that can not use speech bubbles or captions. They have to tell their story without using words. We often look for stories in paintings we see, so this helps them see how a picture can tell a story. The final event for Smart Explorers is fast approaching. I’m hoping that everyone can attend. The 6th graders finished up their Frank Lloyd Light panels. They are on the ceiling near their classroom and on Art Sonia. They started creating logos this week using Inkscape. They are finding the program a little difficult, but the programis very powerful and I’d like to see them work with it more to feel comfortable. Plus, it is free!

I wanted to pass along two other things I saw this week. I saw a great site called Paper Back Swap where you can list the old books you want to get rid of and essentially trade for ones you want to read. It does not cost a thing except for postage. I haven’t set it up myself, but I’m hoping to do so soon. Also, I was saddened to see this article about cheating in college. I know our children are still young, but I would hate to see this trend of cheating to get ahead continue. It is not a good lesson…for all of us…

I added a few links on the right that are interesting fine arts places to go to on the web:

Yuva Studio - I have not tried this out, but it looks like an interesting place to do some digital art through the web. They give you a free trial, but you eventually have to pay for it. Worth checking out to give your child interested in art a safe place to go on the web.

Line Rider - This is cool! You draw a series of hills, bumps, and jumps and then press play to see if the virtual sledder makes it through. It seems like you could spend hours making different courses.

Imagination Cubed - This is just a fun and free drawing site from GE where you create, save, and share your drawings.

Enjoy…

Check out my other blog for a link to a great video. It is of an autistic man who draws an aerial view of Rome with amazing accuracy after only seeing for 45 minutes. The human brain is truly amazing. It is sad that someone can be afflicted with such a disease but have such amazing talents abilities.