The 2nd quarter has started and we have moved from the Elements of Art and on to the Creative Process. I made some changes from what I have done in the past and I am loving it.

  • 1st grade is making clay frames and then drawing self-portraits for the frames.
  • 2nd grade is creating their own “worlds”. They must create a map, design the money and a plant or animal species for their world.
  • 3rd grade is designing a superhero and creating an action figure of it complete with a box advertising it.
  • 4th grade is finishing four grade level mural collaborations and then making softie-stuffed critters.
  • 5th grade is planning and creating a 2D or 3D piece about the topic Conflict: personal, community or global. In social studies and in drama the 5th graders are investigating global conflict.

To prepare the 3rd grade students for their project I asked them to reflect on the Creative Process using a worksheet. I usually do not use worksheets, but this worksheet allowed students to write or draw their answers. Since I do not normally do this I was taking a risk challenging them with something new. Here are some of their answers below. The only question that I spent time working through with the class as a whole was: What does an original idea mean? Pardon the poor quality images.

What does an original idea mean?

How can you get better ideas for your artwork?…. This student could barely write comprehensible sentences last year, so this was an exciting response.

 

 

 

 

My 5th graders also had to do this worksheet and then the backside dealt with their ideas for conflict. For the backside I did not specify written or visual answers and was pleased to see a combination of responses. They were surprisingly receptive of the project and had a variety of responses to the topic of conflict.