A Social Studies Tie In

I know many art teachers hesitate to tie their art projects to Social Studies or Science, lest we be asked to make paper mache' globes, or solar systems. I however have found a few projects over the years that are much richer in content and quality because I tie them to what the students are doing in their classroom. I don't do this all the time, because I have my own curriculum to cover. When contemplating whether or not a collaboration will work, I consider what materials and content my students are already going to be using in art, regardless of subject matter. I also consider time frame. In this instance, 4th grade students used famous Tennsesseans to create timelines in Social Studies.  They already had information, books and knowledge about their person. I was supposed to  cover printmaking anyway, so I had each student draw a portrait of their chosen TN personality.  We looked at the work of Andy Warhol and discussed his celebrity prints.  Each student created several prints (6''squares) from their printing plate (good ole styrofoam) and when dry, selected their best 4 prints, arranging them in a grid. It was a logical tie in, and because the classroom teacher had already assigned the students their person, and the librarian already had pulled the books, I didn't have to worry about having enough information, or settling arguments about subject matter. It worked well.

 

Oh, and do you use Artsonia?  I do.  And, I don't have a fancy iPad or such to use, so I take pictures with my camera, and upload the old fashioned way.  I find that the best, and quickest thing to do, is to lay every piece out, walk down the line and take all of the pictures, and walk down the line one more time (same order) to write names and take grades.  While the pictures are uploading, I load all the grades into the software program we use in MNPS.  So, I kill alotta birds with one stone, and it's not too time consuming this way.

VOTE!

I have a kindergarten student up for "Artist of the Week" on Artsonia.  For those of you unfamiliar with Artsonia, they are a site where you can maintain a digital portfolio of your student's work for their family and friends to enjoy.  They are encouraging of all artists, and each week, they randomly select a few artists to be "Artist of the Week" contenders.  At the end of the week, the student in each category with the most votes wins- $50 in art supplies for them, and $100 for my art program.  We are a small school, and we don't generate the thousands of votes that most students can- so, I'm putting it out as many places as I can think of.  You can vote once a day-per device.  I'd appreciate your vote.

When you click the link,  look for Megan from Hermitage in the Pre-K to 3 category.  And, thanks!

Tryin' something new

Like most art teachers, I always have my eye on something that, given the right funding, would benefit my kids, and be a lotta fun in the art room. And, like most art teachers, I watch the $$ go to the classroom teachers, even though I often point out that if I had more technology, more students in the school would benefit from it.  Artsonia has been very helpful in getting my parents aware of what we do, and I've started to get a smidge of funding coming in from that resource.  But, today, I decided to try out Edbacker.  Here is my link if you are interested in helping me get an iPad for the art room. 

iPads for my Artists

VOTE

OK, here's the deal fellow artists- I decided to embark on a journey to figure out Artsonia this year.  I knew it would be extra work, but I also knew that it would spark good communication with families, it would serve as a digital portfolio so that the students and I could watch their progress, and it would back me up with the occasional parent.  I am loving it!  All that aside, Mr E of Art with Mr E would tell you that I am highly competitive, and love to win.  One of my students is up for the "artist of the week".  He is in the Pre-K-3 category, and he is Caleb from Hermitage TN.  If you have the time, and I'm not up against one of your students, please consider casting your vote.  You can vote daily until Sat.  He and our school would both get a little $$ for art supplies which is always welcome.

New (Free) Art Supplies!

My goal this year was to begin using Artsonia, not just as a display for my awesome students' work, but as a communication tool for my parents and I.  I have been uploading artwork for all students, good or bad, so that the parents have a digital portfolio of their student's progress in art.  It also helped on parent conference day to be able to refer to a student's work.  Because, if you are like me, by the time report cards go home, I have looked at a dizzying thousand or two pieces of artwork, and sent it home for the students to enjoy.  Artsonia ran a Fall Art Drive, where your goal was to submit 300 works of art by a specified date.  You could be entered more than once, if you uploaded more.  And, I was a really lucky art teacher to have won a $300 gift card to Dick Blick Art Supplies.    I was able to purchase  a few of those "extras" that I normally would put at the bottom of my list, because other things were more important.  I also took the advice of my Kindergarten students and bought new glue bottles for the new art room.  But, before they use them, I'm gonna break out the vaseline in hopes of reducing clogs.  I would like to give a shout-out to Dick Blick for their generous support of Artsonia's effort to involve families in their student's artwork.  And, if you haven't visited Artsonia, may I suggest that you do?  Even if not to upload work, there are lesson plans, and lots of great ideas.  To visit my Artsonia. click the link on the left.