Day 1
PROJECT/UNIT DESCRIPTION/EXPEDITION:
Students will be exploring different characters and the spaces that they live in. They will be working on a activity that develops their own different imaginary characters. They will then create a sketch of their character and translate that into a 3-D clay sculpture.
Students will be exploring different characters and the spaces that they live in. They will be working on a activity that develops their own different imaginary characters. They will then create a sketch of their character and translate that into a 3-D clay sculpture.
ESSENTIAL UNDERSTANDING:
-Visual arts are a means for expression and communication of ideas and perspectives. -Ideation influences planning in works of art. |
INQUIRY/LEARNING TARGET:
-Students will create an imaginary character while thinking about the space that they live in. -Students will reflect on the character they made and its special features. |
KEY CONCEPTS:
-Planning -Ideation -Artistic Process -Expression |
SKILLS:
Making relationships between things. Express an idea. Imagine the possible next steps. |
ART FOCUS:
Create a drawing of an imaginary character using the sketches you created during brainstorming. |
LITERACY FOCUS:
The students will be participating in both small and large group discussions. They will also be filling out a worksheet and answering 3 questions about each sketch that they make. |
DOCUMENTATION:
Today's learning experience allowed the students to explore their creative side by creating characters using modeling clay and various drawing materials. These characters will be used in upcoming projects. At the beginning of class, Chandon gave a presentation on characters. She focused on where those characters might live as well as placed that characters could live. After learning a little about characters, We sent students back to their desks where we gave them a picture of a setting and they had to mold characters based on that. Below, shows a student creating a character that was brainstormed when she was shown a picture of an ocean. She talks about what giving the character as many legs as possible to live underwater. She also says that she is choosing different colors because she wants hers to be unique. This student looked very confident while making her art. The student made connections between ideation and material exploration; the student visualized her thoughts and ideas and turned them into a 3D representation.
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The video above shows a student explaining what she made.
After the students worked with modeling clay, we handed out all their sketchbooks and had the students work independently on a worksheet. The worksheet allowed students to draw pictures of characters and then write a little about them below. The student decided to draw a monster. He wanted it to be a one-headed alien. He gave the monster big eyes so that he could see on the dark planet he lived on. This student was also very confident in his art-making. He looked eager to jump into the project and never hesitated when he was making. This student was making connections between his character and the character's habitat. for example, the student drew the eyes on his character extremely large because that character lives in a dark place and needs large eyes to see.
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The video above shows a student explaining his drawing.
Students all took very different approaches. Some students chose 2 things and combined them into 1, some students made fantasy people, and many students made monsters. These monsters all seemed to stem from things that the students were already interested in. A few students made mine-craft inspired characters while another student made a flower monster which is shown below. She explains all the characteristics of the flower and how goofy it is. She wanted to combine her love for flowers with her own silliness.
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The video above shows a student talking about his artwork.
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Above are pictures of the student's artwork. It includes some small modeling clay sculptures as well as some of the pictures and writings they did in class.
Overall the students made strong connections between their interests, ideation, and material exploration. The students were "mad scientists" and were instructed to make a character with characteristics of their choice. By doing this process, the students started off with an idea pictured in their head to begin. After drawing a bit, the students just continued to make and add more features that would just come to them naturally. This lesson showed a good example of praxis throughout the classroom. The student were doing, just making characters but also making and incorporating strong ideas and aspects that were thought out and relevant. When the students are forced to think about their interests, likes, and dislikes it encourages the students to engage and persist. By incorporating their favorite things and interests, students got to play with materials and also the idea of turning a 2D sketch/idea into a 3D representation. This facilitated critical thinking skills and also the challenge of turning a 2D plain into a 3D sculpture. Many questions arose about how to make, "This look like this or how do you draw a large eyeball with a small pupil?". But the questions were never about ideation. The students all had outstanding ideas for their characters, making connections with characteristics and playing with ideas.
Overall the students made strong connections between their interests, ideation, and material exploration. The students were "mad scientists" and were instructed to make a character with characteristics of their choice. By doing this process, the students started off with an idea pictured in their head to begin. After drawing a bit, the students just continued to make and add more features that would just come to them naturally. This lesson showed a good example of praxis throughout the classroom. The student were doing, just making characters but also making and incorporating strong ideas and aspects that were thought out and relevant. When the students are forced to think about their interests, likes, and dislikes it encourages the students to engage and persist. By incorporating their favorite things and interests, students got to play with materials and also the idea of turning a 2D sketch/idea into a 3D representation. This facilitated critical thinking skills and also the challenge of turning a 2D plain into a 3D sculpture. Many questions arose about how to make, "This look like this or how do you draw a large eyeball with a small pupil?". But the questions were never about ideation. The students all had outstanding ideas for their characters, making connections with characteristics and playing with ideas.