Go here to see our work:  http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=2193

Day 1: a plump and tender little bird

2nd grade students are totally into Ancient Egypt. Students completed research and art projects on the Ancient Egyptian civilization. The majority of students were fascinated by the process of mummification, so we are now rolling up our sleeves and putting some game hens through the process. We are currently 2 weeks into this venture and things are fantastic! No awful smell and no mummy’s curse. Check back as we document the process here!

We used a combination of allspice, basil, and rosemary and rubbed the entire surface, in hopes the spices would help control the odor. We covered the hens in salt and double bagged them. The bag on the left is one week old, while the one on the right has just been put into the salt for the first time. After 7 days,  we took out the hen on the left, Nefer-tweety, she had lost 3 ounces of fluids! Our hypothesis was correct. Good news! The spices worked and there was no terrible odor. Back into the salt for another week.

What emotion do you think these students are trying to show?

Artwork above by: Drew N., Shane B., Peyton W. and Quinn K.

Find this project and more in our online gallery at Artsonia!

Students practiced identifying, tracing, drawing, coloring and cutting basic geometric shapes.  Then, we looked at several works by Eric Carle (like the one below) and tried to figure out what shapes Eric Carle used to create it. 

Click here to see the bats and horses that we made in the style of Eric Carle!  Here is Mason’s horse:

Here are the steps we followed:
1.  Paint paper with a variety of painting tools.
2.  As a class, vote on the animal we will each create.
3.  Draw the shape needed on the back of the painted paper.
4.  Carefully cut out the shape.
5.  Carefully glue the shape in its place.
6.  Repeat drawing, cutting and gluing until animal is complete.
7.  Add minimal detail with crayon.

After the lesson, I shared some Photorealistic works with them.  They, like me, were in awe of what some of these artists are able to do with paint!

First graders learned about three groups of shapes: geometric, free-form and organic.  We looked at several works by artist Henri Matisse and found examples of each of these kind of shapes.  What do you see?
 

Then, students thought of a time or place where there may be a lot of action.  They created abstract works of art using all three types of shapes.  Click here to see our Artsonia gallery of the Matisse project.  Here are a few examples by Ava, Eliza and Maya.  Can you figure out what may be happening in these images?

First graders learned that red, yellow and blue are the primary colors.  They also learned that these colors are special because you cannot make them, but they can be used to make all the other colors on the color wheel!

Inspired by Kandinsky’s color studies (above), students created their own color study dots.   We created 5 dots: a primary dot, a secondary dot, a “how to make purple” dot, a “how to make orange” dot and a “how to make green” dot.  Click here to see all works from Mrs. Decker’s class at our Artsonia gallery page.  Here are two examples from Amelia and Lilah.

Cost: FREE (for up to 5 files), see levels of subscription at http://voicethread.com/products/k12/

What is it?
With VoiceThread, group conversations are collected and shared in one place from anywhere in the world. All with no software to install.

A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to navigate slides and leave comments in 5 ways – using voice (with a mic or telephone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam). Share a VoiceThread with friends, students, and colleagues for them to record comments too.  (taken from voicethread site)

How I am using it:
To be honest, I’ve only used Voicethread for my classroom curriculum one time.  I used it as a station to help show how the artist Henri Rousseau shows space in his work.  I only took advantage of uploading images, recording sound and drawing on the images.  There is so much more you could do with this!

Click the link to see the voicethread:
http://voicethread.com/share/999930/

Teacher Tips:
Use a voicethread to bring together a vareity of media files on one topic.  I find it works well for the visual side of things- reading diagrams, critiquing artworks, etc.

Create a voicethread to introduce, reinforce or close a topic in class.  If used to introduce a topic, students could post questions.

Have individual students or small groups access voicethreads to get instruction directly from you (recorded into the voicethread) while you work with other students.

Give students access to a voicethread (simply use the web address) and they can leave comments (audio or written) of their own.  Great way to document participation or understanding.

Have students (if they have email addresses and create accounts) create a voicethread on a certain topic to share with the class.

Have students create a voicethread to share their work.  Have other students log in and use the comment feature to give peer feedback.

Parent Tips:
Have students make voicethreads about what they are learning in school.  Share with the teacher!

Families could create voicethreads to send to family and friends far away.  It could include pictures and narration of things happening in your life!

As students started sketching landscapes for a warm and cool artwork, we learned about foreground, middle ground and background.  Students made sure that they showed these three levels of space in their artwork.

Drawings were then transferred onto black paper and traced with glue.  This created a clear boundary between shapes in the drawing.  Students then added oil pastel, choosing one group (either warm or cool) to use above the horizon line, and the other below the horizon line.

Check out all of the landscapes in our Artsonia gallery here!

Here are a few examples by Cara O., Lauren G., and Jasmine Z.

The PTA Reflections Program encourages students in all grade levels to pursue artistic expression.  Rosa Parks-Edison students can enter thier best creative work to illustrate this year’s theme– “Diversity Means…” — in six categories: visual arts, dance choreography, film/video production, musical composition, literature and photography.  Each project must be the original work of one person only, but students may ask for advice from their classroom teachers and special teachers in the areas of art and music.

To participate, please complete the form sent home and return it to your teacher.  Within two days, you’ll recieve an entry packet with the program rules and registration information.  You may entre more than one category, and you may have more than one entry in a category.

All entries will be judged by a panel of experts in January 2012.  School-level winners in each category will advance to the Indiana PTA Reflections Program.

Projects are due on or before Tuesday, December 13th, 2011.
If you have any questions about the PTA Reflections Program, or need an additional entry form, please contact Manda Newlin, 317.881.7581 or manda_newlin@yahoo.com.