Library Projects

3rd graders recently finished their author study on famous children’s book author, Tomie dePaola.  They wrote and drew about many of his most popular books.  See some of their work in the photo below.

Some of the 5th graders have been reading about the history of books and written language.  After learning about ancient Sumerian Cuneiform, they used the ancient alphabetical symbols to press their own Cuneiform words into clay tablets.

From Doodles to Turtles in Art Class

Second grade used the pattern or net (2-D plan for a 3-D form) on the back of their doodle pages to make a rectangular prism/treasure box.  The boxes were to carry home one of the best 3-D sculpting materials that artists use - modeling clay!  Students were given the very fun homework of making spheres, cones, and cylinders, and building them into animals over and over again.  Modeling clay does not dry out because it is an oil based clay.

All of the practice led to second graders making clay turtles this week!  The turtles are being created out of earth clay though, so they have to be good enough to build a turtle in about 20 minutes! (that's one forty minute class period minus the demonstration and material gathering time) Students learned that earth clay is water based and therefore it dries out because the water evaporates.  Students also learned the artistic process of joining earth clay by scoring and slipping it.

The turtles are turning out beautifully and will of course need to be painted before going home.
A unit that started out with doodling has ended with the students also learning about nets, spheres, cylinders, cones, symmetry, properties of oil and water, evaporation, and the critical observation of turtles and their shells.  The upper portion of the shell is called the carapace, and the hexagonally shaped pieces that make a pattern on the carapace are called scutes or shields.

Some students have already remarked about how they could create a name for their turtle, write a story about it, or build it an environment.  With more time there would be so many places that a doodle could end up.

The biggest part of this lesson is how it instructs students to visualize the parts of a whole and how artists join basic forms into more elaborate and complicated ones.

Art can lead us to many places.  One of the things it does best though is make the journey feel joyful and inspired!

Chorus-Fest!

Six of our Warren L. Miller students will be participating the PMEA Chorus-Fest, on Friday April 24th at Troy Area HS. The concert will be at 7pm, and the students are working on the music now and will also rehearse together with students from all around the region.

I'm including links to youtube videos of performances of six of the songs they'll be performing below, for our students to listen to, and for anyone else who is interested in hearing them!

K-1 Has Been Busy in Library

In Library the K-1 students read lots of fiction and non-fiction books about penguins.  After learning lots of interesting facts about penguins and being entertained by some silly stories, the students created their own penguins.  The students decided our penguins are fiction penguins since they are wearing scarves and earmuffs.  I was really impressed with the patterns the children created on their penguin scarves.

Now that we are all done learning about penguins, the K-1 students have started a unit on Newbery Honor winning author and illustrator, Mo Willems.  The first set of books we read is the Knuffle Bunny series.  Mo Willems' books are best known for teaching important lessons in a comical way.



The students have been working at centers where they get to participate in Mo Willems activities like matching, puzzle making, reading, and drawing.  The students also learned how to create their own Knuffle Bunnies like a real illustrator.  Check out their illustrations below!

Guidance class

The 4th grade students are working on the Character Education topic of Compassion. For the main activity, the students will be making Sunshine Cards for a local Retirement Home in Mansfield. Each student will make a card or two that sends a message of kindness and compassion. These cards will be delivered at the end of the month to celebrate the arrival of Spring.

Check out this video of fourth graders working on geometric patterns! 

 In this lesson the students had to build an interesting composition using devices such as varying the size of shapes, extending the space by making shapes go off the edge, making shapes go diagonally through the design and show movement, and overlapping shapes to create emphasis.  We discussed these techniques in class and did several practices or plans of mini compositions.

After completing mini compositions that included organic and geometric shapes, they needed to create a plan.  Choosing their favorite design and thinking about geometry, they could flip (reflect), slide, or rotate the composition throughout a grid.

The process of building the overall design is awesome to watch and I thought parents would enjoy seeing the work in progress!  

Imagine if some of these artworks were digitally downloaded and then printed into wrapping paper, wall papers, or used in packaging design!