Art Class: Printmaking

Hi Teachers! I have a new teacher, Ms J, joining me in my art classes this year. We started co-teaching the Printmaking unit. Ms J adapted some current resources and added new ideas of her own. The tuning-in activity included printing with LEGO bricks. She brought some from home and got the students to try printing with acrylic paint. It's funny how sometimes I think teaching is probably the only career that is widely acceptable to bring things from home for work purpose. 

The uniform LEGO bricks produces interesting textures and shapes. While it might seem easy to carry out the activity, we had to remind them that the amount of paint that is picked up by the brick will determine if the print can be seen clearly. There is a way to coat the paint evenly before printing without the use of brayer in this case.  Another point to note is that students have a tendency to use the brick like a paintbrush so the imprint of the LEGO bricks is not visible. 

In the following lesson, students watched a video on making collograph and they sketch out a robot collography on their sketchbook. It's inherently important to discuss some common 'mistakes' in Printmaking because there are just too many elements to watch out for. It's great if students can just discover these elements but that would mean some students will not feel successful when the time runs out. As students need to do more than one print to get their ideal ones, they show the deconstructed parts of their sketch first and then transfer the drawings to a piece of foam before cutting and pasting them on a piece of cardboard. Next, the placement of the parts also determine the intricacies of the final print. Having the parts pasted without gaps would just yield a big blob of ink while gaps that are too distance will make the work looks sparse. 

Art Class: Applied Learning Programme

 

Hi! It's been busy times. I wish I have more work-in-progress photos to upload. My students have completed their projects and they are tidying up their scripts for the upcoming recorded video presentation. The ICT teacher went through the concept of the project while I gave them suggestions on attaching the microbits and presentation of the work. I didn't like the idea of pasting masking tape directly over the microbits so I had them cover it up with bits and pieces of paper first. It will be easier to separate the tape and the microbits when the project is over. Check out my teacher's work sample in the video. I'm happy to see that the foam brushes produce an even finish and are effective for painting larger surface area compared to paintbrushes. I'm always curious when students bring something from home as add-ons. The toys as furniture looks so adorable👶. For the final layer, permanent markers are used to speed up the process otherwise we will never resume our routine art classes!

Art Class: Fresh From the Oven Art Sketchbooks

Last week was the deadline for their sketchbook design. For the past few lessons, I've gather all the art materials on the trolley and bring them to class. In our first lesson, I introduced the usage of the materials. For materials that are more straight forward such as coloured markers and papers, I don't have to give them more air time. Two hot glue guns were placed on the teacher's desk so that I can monitor their usage from time to time while allowing them some autonomy. I have goggly eyes of various sizes, coloured pompoms and glitters. The students viewed some sketchbook design ideas online and I left the rest to them. Different art materials call for different types of glue. It's a good idea to go through the requirements and recommendations before letting them loose. 

Art Class: Understanding Understanding

In art class, we adopt the Havard Project Zero Thinking Routines for assessment. You can view the video below:

I enjoy reading the children's writing especially when their artwork has a personal connection to themselves. Time will usually reveal what is significant to the children. I told them that I snapped photos of their work so that everyone can learn from each other. It has more relevance when they know they are going to view/ read something from their friends rather than of the teacher's work sample. Art is also one of those subjects where children can use their 'heartware' (soul) instead of emphasizing on the 'hardware' (end product). It helps when I know more about the children because it helps in planning the kind the lessons that are important to know and engaging to them as well. For example, if the majority of the children are responsive to music then perhaps we could study the lyrics/ text in a song/ poem.

At the same time, I'm also using the assessment to gauge how the children respond and think if the lessons were effective. Different classes of the same level can react differently to the same lessons. There are days where I question my decision to teach. There are also good days where the aura of the class is particular good that it feels surreal.