I'll Get a Smile Out of Him Yet

We all have that one kid.  Or maybe more than one.  The one student that is quiet, does his work, never makes a fuss, and almost seems AFRAID to talk to you.  This year in my class, that guy is Ronnie.  He's a sweet 6th grader that sits at a table with 3 other sweet girls, by his choice, and he doesn't interact with them much either.  I try to encourage him daily and often find myself at their table, trying to get a little bit of conversation going but my friend, well he just sits and does his work and only speaks when spoken to.  Ronnie, Dude, I'm trying to help you out here.  In 4 or 5 years, you are going to thank MizzSmiff, trust me. Turns out Ronnie is the same way in PE.  One day at lunch I said to his Coach/Health teacher, "Hey, what's up with Ronnie?  Does he talk much in your class?" and she responded with a hearty, "NO!  What is up with him?" I don't think he is unhappy, or frightened or anything that a good teacher should always be on the lookout for, I just think he is one of those kids.

Our last project before break was the printmaking project that will never end Printmaking. Sometime last year, I got it in my head that I was going to use some of the old printmaking ink that had been lingering in my disaster of a supply closet for the last forever.  I probably saw something on Pinterest that sparked my interest and I did an example and somehow, it got moved to the back of my brain and onto a shelf and I never got to it.  I LOVE printmaking even though that is the one major class that I never took when I was in college.  I have taught myself how to do silk screening and how to make gelli plates and how to do various other methods by reading about them.  Yes, dear readers, I am way older than youtube, but that has been an invaluable resource as well.  Some summer when I don't have a To Do list a mile long, I might just find a class somewhere that I can take.

So, some time in what feels like the last millennium, I introduced the process to my students.  I showed them a couple of videos and gave them a demonstration.  Perhaps because it was so close to the holidays and even though it's hard to believe, I think that they may be getting tired of me, they seemed to pay better attention to the videos.  This got me thinking that I might just video my lessons and send them in via GoogleClassrooms in the future, all the while sitting at my kitchen table in my jammies with a cup of hot cocoa but THAT is another blogpost.

We painted our backgrounds, did a little tutorial on radial symmetry (an idea that I will expand upon with our next and final project of the semester) and got busy with the printing.

But shall I stray from the original topic at hand, our friend Ronnie was the first one that got to the actual printing of his designs.  His little drawing was perfect and printed very clearly.  His background was bright and colorful and came through marvelously through the printed design.  I was excited!  The other kids were excited when they heard how excited I was.  They all gathered around to watch Ronnie print little square after little square.  There were Ooooooooos!  There were Ahhhhhhhhs!  Someone shouted Coooooool!  The atmosphere in the Art Room was positively electric! Everyone was so excited to get to their work because of how awesome Ronnie's work looked.  I was smiling ear to ear, which my friends is not easy as Ronnie's class is my first class of the day.  I was happy for success.  As Ronnie printed, I smiled.  And finally, I said, "Ronnie!  You are doing such a great job!  It looks awesome.  Do you like it?" and my stoic little friend said, "Yes" and kept printing.

Sigh.

I'll get a smile out of him yet.

Here's the process:
We drew a 3" grid on 12 x 18 white construction paper
We painted a wash of colors on the paper using watercolors.  Some students chose to paint in a checkerboard, others were more expressive in their painting. ;)
After learning about mandalas and radial symmetry, we practiced drawing our own mandalas.  We chose 2 that we liked and transferred those designs to 3 x 3 stickie notes.
Everyone got one 5 x 5 styrofoam to-go containers (I got them at Sam's club), which we cut in half and trimmed the edges off.
We stuck our stickie notes on the flat parts of the styrofoam, and trimmed it to size.  Then using a dull colored pencil, we transferred our design onto the styrofoam.  We pulled off the stickie notes, then went over our lines using a ball point pen to define the lines and add detail.
We did a test print, made any changes that were needed and started printing on our paper.  Some students chose to use both 'plates' after their test prints, while others chose to use the one they liked best.

Hundertwasser Murals

I recently did a group project with my classes.  In all my years of teaching, I've never done a group project because I hated them when I was a student. Things were never fair and someone always ended up doing most of the work.

Looking through Pinterest I found several projects by Friedensriech Hundertwasser,  an artist that I was unfamiliar with and I became fascinated with his work.  His work is whimsical, colorful and fun.  Recently, my district has made it easier to show our students YouTube videos and I was able to find several short videos that featured Hundertwasser and the students were able to hear the artist himself speak about his work, via video. 

I knew I wanted to do something with paint because my students were getting tired of pencils, colored pencils and markers.  One of my fellow art teahchers had recently done a project using black glue and I knew I wanted to give that a try as well.  I had a couple of rolls of butcher paper and I thought that murals and a group project might be a nice change.

I allowed students to pick their groups and they got busy.  They sketched out their ideas, making sure that they included all the elements of Hundertwasswer's work in their painting.  

They worked hard, with the black glue being the hardest part.  I think they enjoyed working in teams and while I don't think I'm going to do that again for a while, I would say that the project was successful.  The students are super proud of thier work and it brings a dose of much needed color to the hallways.

It's Report Card time!

Report cards come out this coming Friday, November 6th.  Invariably, I will get a few phone calls, emails or visits regarding grades.  Hopefully, this post will answer some of the questions that I will get.

Grading is my least favorite part of my job. Art is so subjective, however I try to be as objective as I possibly can be when it comes to assigning grades to the projects that my students turn in.

Today marks the last day of the First Quarter of the 2015-2016 school year. The last 4 days of the quarter have been used as "Ketchup Days". Students have the opportunity to use class time to finish any projects that they may not have completed. It is up to students to get their work done and to use their time wisely. I conference with each student, showing them their grade for the quarter and give them the opportunity to complete or redo projects.

In my classroom, I have visual reminders of the expectations for the level of craftsmanship for middle school students so that there is no question about what is expected from them at this point in their school career.

This rubric is on my door and is an example of the expectations for craftsmanship and coloring.  Often, I will redirect students to the rubric when they turn in a project so that they can self-assess.  

This second image is on my front board (in a different direction!) and shows the expectations for different media.  I want to make sure that students have absolutely no question as to what is expected of them.

I also use a modified rubric fashioned from the Studio Habits of Mind.  This outlines expectations in the Art Room (studio) and demonstrates to  students that they need to participate in taking care of the classroom and materials, not giving up when learning a new skill and learning to think like an artist.

Studio Habits

Craftsmanship	A (90-100)	B (80-89)	C (70-79)	D (60-69)
Learning to use materials and tools correctly and caring for your space and the art room.	Art materials were cared for and returned to where they belong in excellent condition. Space was clean and ready for the next class. Art work was neat	Art materials were cared for and returned to where they belong in good condition. Space was clean and ready for the next class. Art work was neat with few extra marks or mistakes.	Art materials somewhat cared for and returned to where they belong in fair condition. Space was not left as clean and neat as it could be. Some of my work was sloppy.	Art materials were not cared for and not returned to where they belong. Space was left messy. Art work was sloppy and evident that time and care was not taken.

Engaging and Persisting	A (90-100)	B (80-89)	C (70-79)	D (60-69)
Learning to work through problems, to develop focus and perseverance at art tasks.	Artwork was complete.  The artist took his time and was thoughtful about the process.	Artwork is mostly complete and the artist worked hard.	Artwork is still in beginning phase or it is evident that artist has rushed through the project to complete it.	Artwork is not complete or was rushed through with little to no regard to technique or process.

Envisioning and Expressing	A (90-100)	B (80-89)	C (70-79)	D (60-69)
Learning to imagine and brainstorm.  Thinking outside the box.	Artist came up with more than one idea and chose the one that was the most unique. Artwork is clearly thought out.	Artist came up with one idea that was somewhat original but many components were copied.	Artwork was not original.  Artist put little thought or effort into coming up with a new idea.	Artwork was copied and the artist put no effort into being original.

I hope that this information gives a little bit of insight as to how I grade student artwork and why your child has earned the grade that they have earned in Art.  Of course, each project also has different criteria that are explained at the beginning of a project.  For example, we recently finished an abstract drawing that was to show the use of value.  In that project, students knew that they need to show me that they understand how to show value, use the space on the paper and follow the steps to create the forms that were expected along with the requirements in the above examples.

I do tell my students that effort does go a long way in my class.

Harry Potter and the After School Art Club

We are in our third week of after school art club.  It's been a lot of fun and every day I have one or two students ask me if it is too late to join.  It's not and I make sure to get them a permission slip that I conveniently put on the table by the front door of my classroom.

Art Club is a little more relaxed than regular class.  We do a lot of projects that we just can't do during school because of time, supplies and materials.  For our first project, we have been making "Harry Potter Wands" mostly because I wanted to make one myself.  

I bought a bunch of chopsticks and a ton of glue sticks, showed them a couple of YouTube videos and let them loose.  I've had a container full of beads and sequins and other assorted baubles since I've been at AMS and I let them sort through it to find things to add dimension and interest. 

Don't tell anyone but I think there may be a few Bulldog moms, dads, sisters and brothers that might find some magic under their Christmas trees.

Scones

Hmmmm.  According to the Art of Apex High School site, this very Friday is National Bring a Scone to Art Class Day.

Why is this the first I have heard of this holiday?

Gluten Free scones would also be nice.
Just sayin...

To Test or Not to Test

I’m a middle school art teacher.  In my classes, we draw, we paint, we create and we push ourselves to think outside of the (schoolhouse) box.  We see how art connects nearly every other thing that we do in life.  We do math, we learn about science and history and we write.  We are process driven, often with a beautiful product at the end.  And now, just recently, ‘they’ want us to TEST.  Standardized tests.  Tests that are supposed to gather data about student (and teacher) performance and intelligence.  The problem with testing the arts is that NOTHING that we do is standardized.  It isn’t so easy to measure creativity, performance or subjective responses to art.  How do you test 300+ students ability to create?  It would be like comparing the creativity and ability of Caravaggio to Andy Warhol.  Both are very talented, both are creative and they are very, very different.  Like all my students.

Let me be clear.  In my small county district in North Carolina, we are not testing the arts.  Yet.  Last year, we asked for, and received a waiver that said that we did not yet have to test the arts.  But it looms before us each year.  We know it is coming, eventually.  Maybe this year, maybe next semester, maybe next year.  It’s happened in other parts of the state.  Our beloved band teacher’s mom teaches art in a small county on the coast.  They ‘tested’ last year.  Her experience scares the heck out of me.  

The problem is that we have no idea what to expect.  What do THEY want?  Several summers ago, I went to a meeting about the possible, potentially happening, we are sure it’s coming just don’t know when, testing that we keep hearing about.  We were told that THEY realize that we are different (ya think?) and that we don’t fit into a mold and that our standardized testing that we would be evaluated on would be, well, non-standardized.  As far as I could tell then, and unless THEY have changed their minds arts testing would look something like this:  A small sample of students would be chosen.  Samples of their work would be sent in (digitally, I think) from different points in the span of time that they are taught. The later samples should show growth.  The samples should reflect certain standards in the NC essential standards.  Students  are randomly chosen and from what I understand, the teacher gets to pick the standards that are evaluated.  Here’s the problem, in my classroom.  I very rarely do the same project twice in a year with 2 different groups of students, semesterly, much less the same project with the same group of kids.  How can 2 different projects be compared objectively?  Even if I had my students do 2 different self portraits, the technique would be different and we would use a different medium. How can they be compared?  How would this show growth?  Should I do the same project at the end of the semester as I do at the beginning?  That’s a whole week to 10 days of sacrificing my students time learning something new or different.

Don’t even get me started on who is going to ‘grade’ the projects and decide if my small sample group has shown growth.  Don’t. Even.

I started this year with potential testing in mind.  Over the summer, I did my best to stay off Pinterest but I did come across a project that was posted on Artsonia.  It was a mixed media drawing.  I was intrigued and thought that I could do something similar with my students at the beginning of the semester and that it, if I did it right, could potentially show growth using the materials throughout the semester.

So,  I set up a still life in the middle of my classroom on a cart.  The kids were curious and of course, wanted to touch.  I let them look.  I let them talk about what it was and what it might mean.  And then it started.  “OMG!  MIzzSmiff!  I CAN’T DRAW THAT!  I’M NOT AN ARTIST!”  After I calmed them down and clawed one or two of them off of the ceiling, I gave them some VERY BASIC instructions.  Draw a baseline.  Draw your biggest object first.  Fill it in with the smaller objects.  Use your space.  On a side note:  Why is it that middle schoolers will draw something so miniscule on a 12 x 18” piece of drawing paper and think it’s okay.  Seriously?  I let them move around the room to decide which angle they like the still life from the best.  Draw what you see, I told them.  Do your best.  I just want to see what you can do.  

The very intriguing cart in the middle of the room.

On day 2, I let them know that this was a sort of test.  Was that fair?  I don’t know, but I didn’t want them to freak out anymore than they already had.  I told them that I wanted to see how they used different media and that hopefully, by the end of the semester, they would feel more comfortable using them all.  To make things easier on myself, I am only going to have my students divide their papers into 4 parts compared to the original post’s 9.  Students will have to finish their still life drawings using pencil, colored pencil, watercolor paint and markers.  

Sketching first.

Contemplating the still life.

We aren’t quite there yet.  It’s Labor Day and my students are off celebrating the last big weekend of the summer.   Tomorrow is day 3 of the project.  I’m just getting some of them started with pencil.  Some are still in the sketching stage.  Some are ready to move on to the next medium.  Like I said, we are all different.  My classes don’t fit into a mold.  My students and their work aren’t standard.  What they learn in my class can’t be filled in on a bubble sheet but is authentic learning that hopefully, will stick with them long after they have graduated from public school.  

Ali still sketching.  Jamal has moved on to drawing his final copy.

They say they can't do it, but I know better.  

Yay, me!

A couple of months ago, while I was still sleeping late and basking in the sunshine during the long, lazy days of summer, I entered Our State Magazine's Creative Classrooms contest, sponsored by Linville Caverns.  I submitted an idea that had been rolling around in my head for years that I had unsuccessfully applied for grants and to Donor's Choose and other similar 'fund me' sources.  I got my entry in just under the wire, thisclose to the end of the contest and a mere 3 weeks later, I received an email that I had won!

$500.00 (approx) of cameras for my Bulldogs, courtesy of Our State Magazine

I have never been so excited in my life.  This was definitely a "You're going to Disneyworld!"  level of excitement.  I've never been to Disneyworld either so you can see what I mean about how happy I was.  This really was a surprise because never in a million years did it ever occur to me that I would win.

I love Our State magazine.  For those of you that don't live in the Old North State, Our State is a magazine that features all that is wonderful about North Carolina.  It is full of rich photography, historical essays and endless ideas for road trips for those of us that are lucky enough to live within driving distance.  From barbecue to cobbler, from big cities to the smallest of towns (that would be Charlotte in Mecklenburg County, population 731,434 and Cerro Gordo in Columbus County, population 206.  Salute!) from Cherokee to Rodanthe, Our State covers it all.  Reading some of the essays makes me feel like I am sitting with my PawPaw under the string bean tree again, listening to him tell his stories.  I look forward to receiving it every month and the time that I spend browsing the pages while I sit with a hot cup of tea in my sun room.

I have always had a great love of photography that was nurtured when I was in college.  I learned my way around the dark room and took great joy in the magic that happened when developing film and printing my own photographs.  With the otherworldly red light and the torturously slow emergence of the images on the paper, I loved everything about it.  I didn't even mind the chemical smells.  I rarely go anywhere without my camera and am currently struggling with my now too small camera bag, that I love (it's red leather. What's not to love?) after buying a new lens this summer.  

I have always wanted to introduce photography to my students but art budgets these days are rarely large enough to cover the basics much less expand into a whole new medium.  With the advent of the digital age and the availability of fairly inexpensive cameras without the extra cost of film, photo-paper and all the other needed darkroom stuff I began to think that it might be a possibility.  Still, I had no cameras, not that there was a lack of 'photography' in my classroom, for what it is worth.  How many times have I turned my back for a split second only to find 4 of my girls are instantly cheesing for a selfie?  In their own words:  I. Can't. Even.   

One of my college photography professors carried around a little Olympus point and shoot camera in his shirt pocket at all times.  He used it for pictures that he called 'happy snaps'.  Still in the pre-digital age, I wonder now if he sent his happy snaps to the film lab at Walgreens or if he developed it himself?  That being said, I learned from him that there is a time and place for the pictures that we take every day, memory captures, now primarily using our smartphones (who would have thought 30+ years ago?  It boggles the mind) and the pictures that we consider 'ART'.  It seems that we record every minute of our lives and then end up posting it on social media (said the art teacher writing a blog post) and that our memories are driven by images on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook.  Every moment from "This is me this morning, no makeup!" to "Bacon, eggs and grits for breaky!" to "Finally, toes in the sand!" and endless furrbaby pictures (I'm guilty) are captured for all to see.

I remember this day!  Ocean Isle Beach for a whole week with friends.  Ahhh.  Toes in the sand!

This day.  We had a big storm and the power was out all over town, in some places for over a week.  I drove into Charlotte and took myself out for breakfast.  Looks good right about now!

Ahh.  My sweet furbaby, Maia.  She's a love.

See what I mean?  Pictures!  They are everywhere.  We have become a society that communicates visually.  You get a text that asks, "Whatchoo doin?" and you send back a selfie of yourself at the gym (well, not me.  I'm on the couch).  Someone asks, "What's for dinner?" and you snap a pic of the lasagna in the oven.   

But is it art?  I really want my students to learn the basics of photography.  Things like composition and exposure and manipulating the image before you upload it.  I want them to look through the lens differently to see things that they see every single day of their lives in a new way.  I want them to learn about the pioneers of photography and become familiar with the work of Ansel Adams and Alfred Steiglitz. Dorothea Lange and Man Ray.

Martin Parr and Walker Evans.  Leibovitz and Mapplethorpe.  Well, maybe not so much Mapplethorpe.  This is middle school after all.  And I'm not ready for THAT discussion.  With my babies or their parents.  You get the idea though.  I want them to understand that there is a craft and a skill behind the lens.  I want them to think beyond the selfie.

My idea is this:  I am going to start with my 8th graders who are one of my most favorite groups of students that I have taught in my career.  They are fun and smart and thoughtful and trustworthy.  We'll dive in with a little bit of photographic art history, learning about all the artists I mentioned above and then some.  We'll look at tons of photographs-photojournalism, art photography, portraits and landscapes.  After we learn how to use our cameras, we are going to receive a series of photographic challenges that we will complete both at school (this is where the trustworthy part comes in) and at home.  Then the fun begins.  Have I told you that I work with some of the most amazing teachers that I have ever come across?  Well, I do.  We do our best to support each other's crazy ideas and try to make them work.  For the good of our students.  So, I mentioned to one 8th grade ELA teacher, the extraordinary Penny M., that we would be taking pictures and I wanted our kids to write about the photographs that they took.  She immediately took my idea and went with it, declaring that "We shall do narrative writing with those pictures in class and it shall be amazing!", more or less, tee hee,  but you get my point.  So, collaboration at it's best.

Visual literacy.  Pictures are our first language.  We communicate with images every day of our lives. The pictures that we take have special meaning for us and drive our memories.  Of people, of places in time and in space.  What better subjects to write about than the things that stir our emotions and recall relationships.  We are going to learn to look at our world differently and then we are going to tell stories about our world. And we all know that writers make better readers.  So, it's a win-win.

And now, if you'll pardon me, it's Saturday morning and this month's Our State and a cup of tea are waiting for me in my sun room.

2:00 a.m. ramblings on grading, assessment and the upcoming school year.

It’s the middle of the night here in the middle of North Carolina and I can’t sleep.  My mind is on school.  (NO!)  It’s August (Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?) and there are but a couple of precious weeks left in the summer of 2015.  With all of the Back To School commercials on the teevee and the Back To School sections that popped up weeks ago in my favorite stores that I am now avoiding, it is getting more difficult to ignore the fact that the 2015-2016 school year will soon be upon us.  I am not giving up on summer yet and I have one more adventure planned but my brain is thinking how to set up my classroom, what to do the first day, the first week, what am I going to do different than I have in years past, what can I keep the same? And I can't sleep. Sigh.

One thing that I struggle with each year is grading.  How do I communicate how I assign grades?  I have rubrics and posters that illustrate expectations and standards that are written on the board.  I show students exemplars that are teacher or student made. Still, it seems that the point is missed by many. Some might argue that it is impossible to grade an art project because it is subjective.  Most of those ‘some’ might be my students who might argue that I ‘gave’ them an inferior grade when they clearly completed the task at hand and that I am just making up grades based on my mood, or if I like them or how close to the end of the grading period it is. What my students (and their parents, ahem) should know that in many ways, grading is the hardest part of my job, which is why I have spent most of my career trying to figure out a way to communicate how I assign grades.

After a lot of thought and research culled from many different sources, I think that I have come up with a philosophy that fits in my classroom and the way that we work in the Bulldog Art Room.  

What my students need to know:

• Fair isn’t always equal.  Most of my classes have students in them with special needs.  We all need to work up to our levels of ability but what we all need to understand is we all have different levels of ability. My students (and their parents) might not understand that Susie sees an occupational therapist 2x a weeks to work with her on her fine motor skills and I take that into account when I am grading her work.  I am a visual arts specialist and I have been trained to do this.  It’s not just a magical assignment of arbitrary grades.  Coincidentally, when Johnny breaks his right wrist on the football field during the homecoming game, which is of course the hand that he writes (and paints, and draws) with and I take that into account when I am grading his work, too.
• We give grades to give you constructive feedback.  Like any other class, you should look where you have succeeded and where you may have fallen short and try to do better the next time.
• Just because you turn something in doesn’t mean that you get a 100%.  That’s all I have to say on that.
• I can tell when you rushed through something because you were being lazy or just tired of doing something.  I’m kind of smart that way.
• Yes, grading art is kind of subjective.  That is why I have my students put their names on the back of their work. My first impression of your work when I am sitting with it with a pile of other similar works is usually spot on.  But grading art is also kind of qualitative.  I am looking at the QUALITY of your work as well.  I look for how you used the materials you were given.  I look at the neatness of your work.  I look at how far you pushed yourself creatively.  Then I look at your name.   I try to be as objective as I possibly can.  
• If you are interested in more information about Qualitative Assessment, click here.

These are some of the things that I am going to be looking for from my art students this year:

• Comes to class prepared, daily.
• Works collaboratively.
• Learns how to manage time well.
• Follows school rules and having integrity.
• Shows creative, innovative thinking.
• Handles conflict appropriately.
• Has a good attitude.
• Has high standards for themselves and their work.
• Is committed to responsibilities outside of class.
• Is an effective communicator.
• Is flexible.
• Is a leader.
• Sees that a less than successful experience as an opportunity for growth.

This is from the NC Visual Arts Essential Standards:

From the beginning of time, the compulsion to create a visual vocabulary has been as innate in every society as the desire to acquire a system of spoken symbols. Visual art from past civilizations is frequently one of the few remaining clues with the power to illuminate which values were held most dear. Today, every aspect of our designed environment will serve to explain who we are to those of the future. The pattern of human growth in society is to develop a multi-sensory means of communicating symbols and values. A child discovers objects, those objects take on meaning, and this meaning is denoted and communicated through the various means of expression available to that child. The visual arts program is designed to develop visual literacy by promoting fluency in the various modes of visual communication. Students learn the visual arts by using a wide range of subject matter, media, and means to express their ideas, emotions, and knowledge. They evaluate the merits of their efforts and this assessment forms the basis for further growth that extends to all disciplines in school and to life. Visual arts education is a multifaceted creative process which includes the development of perceptual awareness and the ability to use materials expressively. Through participation in visual arts, students have the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the creativity and diversity inherent in all of us.

I’d love to hear from you and how you tackle grading and assessment in your classrooms. Until then, I'd better turn out my light and try to get back to sleep. It's going to be hard enough to get back to a normal sleeping schedule as it is. Good night, all!