Unit 4: Celebrations
Artist: Nick Cave
Finger Puppets: Modeling Compound
Artist: Norman Rockwell
Celebrating 21st Century America: Graphic Design
Artist: Miriam Schapiro
Artist's Choice
Unit 4: celebrations reflection
Our last big idea was celebrations, and I think it was so fitting to wrap up the semester. We are celebrating so many things currently including the end of Phase II and the beginning of our student teaching. Because of this, celebrations was very easy to connect with, and I think if I used this idea in my classroom, I would want to integrate it into the end of the year as well. Art is said to "celebrate multiple perspectives," and I think this unit could be a great way to see insight into how other people celebrate and understand things from their point of view (Eisner, 2002).
To start off the unit, we made finger puppets inspired by Nick Cave. This was one of my absolute favorite projects of the semester because I know that I could use it in so many ways. I could have students make their own character to write about or use examples as I do read aloud. They could also be used in a station for reader's theatre. The second project was a magazine cover inspired by Norman Rockwell. I chose to show off my puppies as a focus for a family magazine. At first this project really frustrated me because it was very difficult to format on the computer, but I ended up enjoying it. If I used something like this in my classroom, I think I would have my students print pictures, words, barcodes, ect. and make a collage like cover instead of using the computer. This could be integrated into social studies to be used as the cover of a history magazine or a cultural magazine. This project could be extended into a writing unit if the student's wrote some articles to be included in their magazine. The last project was free choice, and I made a house with a different celebration in each room. I wanted to show that all these different celebrations form who we are as a whole. I don't think I would give my elementary students this much freedom because I had difficulty coming up with ideas!
One of my favorite things that I have learned this semester is that "education can learn from the arts that open-ended tasks permit the exercise of imagination, and the exercise of imagination is one of the most important of human aptitudes. It is imagination, not necessity, that is the mother of invention" (Eisner, 2009). I absolutely love this quote because I think it shows how important projects like these are in our classroom.
Sources:
Eisner, E. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind. New Haven: Yale University.
Eisner, E. W. (2009). What education can learn from the arts. Art Education.
To start off the unit, we made finger puppets inspired by Nick Cave. This was one of my absolute favorite projects of the semester because I know that I could use it in so many ways. I could have students make their own character to write about or use examples as I do read aloud. They could also be used in a station for reader's theatre. The second project was a magazine cover inspired by Norman Rockwell. I chose to show off my puppies as a focus for a family magazine. At first this project really frustrated me because it was very difficult to format on the computer, but I ended up enjoying it. If I used something like this in my classroom, I think I would have my students print pictures, words, barcodes, ect. and make a collage like cover instead of using the computer. This could be integrated into social studies to be used as the cover of a history magazine or a cultural magazine. This project could be extended into a writing unit if the student's wrote some articles to be included in their magazine. The last project was free choice, and I made a house with a different celebration in each room. I wanted to show that all these different celebrations form who we are as a whole. I don't think I would give my elementary students this much freedom because I had difficulty coming up with ideas!
One of my favorite things that I have learned this semester is that "education can learn from the arts that open-ended tasks permit the exercise of imagination, and the exercise of imagination is one of the most important of human aptitudes. It is imagination, not necessity, that is the mother of invention" (Eisner, 2009). I absolutely love this quote because I think it shows how important projects like these are in our classroom.
Sources:
Eisner, E. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind. New Haven: Yale University.
Eisner, E. W. (2009). What education can learn from the arts. Art Education.