We began by listening to the book, The Dot in Spanish and looking at the art of Kandisnky, Kusama and Sonia Delauney,
although students in K, 2 and 4th (the grades I work with) did similar framework, the expectations were very different for each. Plus, the materials they had access to were also drastically different.
Kinders primarily made circles, worked on how to color using various media and also learned how to make various things by combining and using circles.
2nd graders had access to every material kinder did plus hole punchers, circle stickers and the Fiskars circle squeeze punchers of two sizes. Having collage as an additional option really was exciting to students.
4ht graders had same materials K and 2nd graders had but also had two types of compasses.
During the second lesson, for 2nd and 4th, I hung all work on my display board and on a line held by clothing pins and we practiced noticing what we see in each other's work. Students were asked to go back to their work after the gathering and choose one items in another's work that inspired them and to use that idea in their own work.
I began the discussion lesson by demonstrating using the first sentence starter, which is only "I notice this artist_____". I then asked students to do the same. We then learned to identify ideas that inspire us by identifying which ideas we gravitate towards. We
learned that in art it's not called "stealing", it's called "inspiration". I emphasized that no matter how much one tried one could not truly copy the idea for we are all uniquely different and my version will always be different by that very premise.
thatA great measure of how much creativity went into a class project is seeing just how different each one is. The more you do this the more each student begins to feel proud of the work they do.... and value their ideas.
punchers.....they made the most beautiful collage material.
When you allow students to work on their own ideas they are focused, alert, engaged. Behavior management is never an issue either when students are working on solving interesting and personal meaningful problems.
An extension I did for my younger kids is using the masking tape rolls to make simple drawings. One of my goals for kinder is learning to combine simple shapes to make recognizable things... I was so proud of their work.
This is a butterfly....
a bird.
these are sample finished work by 4th graders. Each one has a personally meaningful narrative which they will get to write about in the next class. Narratives do not lead the work, they are often generated as the work is being created. A shape might remind them of something and that's how they take off and build the work around that one initial inspirational idea.
