Classroom Reflection
1. What form of arts integration or interdisciplinary learning units have you observed? In what ways were the visual forms investigated, learned, discussed, or produced in the classroom?
I have not seen a whole lot of art integration in my host classroom. The closest thing I have seen were the illustrations for their famous people reports. Drawing is definitely an art form and several elements could be integrated into these illustrations. However, I did not witness any incorporation with this assignment. The students merely had to draw and color a picture for every page to accompany the words.
2. Was there a Big Idea or theme used? If so describe. Were students working with narrative, observation, imagination, and / or visual thinking?
The big idea was for students to draw a picture that was related to the text on their page. Their reports were written about a famous person, so their drawings were supposed to be realistic. Many students observed the pictures that accompanied the text in their research books and modeled their illustrations after those.
3. What suggestions would you have for integration and interdisciplinary learning for this unit or lesson you observed? Try to think how you could make the learning more meaningful, connected, and deeper. Be specific.
Students could use elements they have learned or mediums they have used in art class. I know that they have used crayons and watercolor in their art class, so that could be presented to students as an option for their illustrations. That would allow the students to have more choice in their work and not feel as stressed about having to draw their illustrations.
I have not seen a whole lot of art integration in my host classroom. The closest thing I have seen were the illustrations for their famous people reports. Drawing is definitely an art form and several elements could be integrated into these illustrations. However, I did not witness any incorporation with this assignment. The students merely had to draw and color a picture for every page to accompany the words.
2. Was there a Big Idea or theme used? If so describe. Were students working with narrative, observation, imagination, and / or visual thinking?
The big idea was for students to draw a picture that was related to the text on their page. Their reports were written about a famous person, so their drawings were supposed to be realistic. Many students observed the pictures that accompanied the text in their research books and modeled their illustrations after those.
3. What suggestions would you have for integration and interdisciplinary learning for this unit or lesson you observed? Try to think how you could make the learning more meaningful, connected, and deeper. Be specific.
Students could use elements they have learned or mediums they have used in art class. I know that they have used crayons and watercolor in their art class, so that could be presented to students as an option for their illustrations. That would allow the students to have more choice in their work and not feel as stressed about having to draw their illustrations.
Art Classroom Reflection
The art lesson I observed was at Grant Elementary School. I went with my 2nd grade class during one of their “specials” time. I am not sure what the big idea of this lesson was. I did not see the art teacher, Dr. Jennie, use any lesson plans. However, I could tell what the objective of the lesson were. The students had learned about Henri Matisse and his still life paintings. When we learned about Henri Matisse it was under the big idea of identity. Perhaps, this was the big idea of their lesson. In this lesson, the students were to create their own still life picture. Dr. Jennie presented the lesson in many stages. First, she had a bowl with several types of fake fruits and the students started by drawing this bowl. Next, the students had to use oil pastels to decorate the background of the picture in a way that Henri Matisse would. Lastly, the students used paint to ensure that their picture contained no white. Each students piece was different and their individual pieces represented their own identity. The students seemed to be as engaged as second graders can be (the class is mostly boys, so they get sort of rowdy and talkative). The classroom atmosphere was warm and accepting. The art teacher, Dr. Jennie, is very mild mannered. She never yelled or raised her voice, but managed to keep the students quiet. She was also extremely encouraging to all the students regardless of their artistic ability. Compared to the regular classroom, the art classroom seemed similar in regards to classroom management. The art and my host teacher are both very loving and soft spoken. However, they manage their classrooms extremely well. The students do get rowdy and loud at times, but with PBS redirection the noise and activity level significantly decreases. The environment of the classroom is warm and loving in both the art room and the regular classroom.