My fourth and fifth grade students at Oxbow and Brooks Elementary were in for a treat! Knowing we were going outside they were bursting with excitement and energy. I had set up this lesson by introducing the children to the art of Andy Goldsworthy, a unique Scottish artist who creates sculptures entirely made from nature. They were fascinated to watch him string a trail of golden leaves through an emerald green forest or create huge driftwood structures that slowly floated off into the sea when the tide came in. Eagerly they broke into groups or worked with a partner setting out their leaves, sticks, acorns, apples or pine cones into radial designs and delightful 3D sculptures around the school. Rarely have I seen them this engaged in a lesson, rushing to nearby trees to gather crimson colored leaves or picking dandelions to add to their creations. With the eyes of an artist, they would step back to survey their work, then run over to see what another team was doing, full of eager enthusiasm as the works slowly evolved and developed into finished sculptures. With only an hour long art class, I often don't get the luxury of time to debrief - yet with one class, we were able to take a few minutes to reflect on the day's experience. After surveying the finished projects all around the school, I queried the class... What was the best thing about this project? What was the most difficult? What did you notice about working together? What would you do differently? Every hand in the room shot up as each student had a chance to share. Wow!
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Sometimes life sideswipes you with an unwelcomed surprise. Such was the case over the summer when I learned our treasured ceiling tiles that the fifth grade students had painted over the years would have to be removed. What!? Shocked and dismayed, I frantically started making calls trying hard to keep these special gifts of art at Oxbow. Unfortunately, due to issues of the roof leaking among other factors, I was informed they had to go. Thankfully, I was able to save and photograph at least the ceiling tiles that had been in my classroom before they went off to the great art gallery in the sky. In fact, two still remain in my classroom permanently displayed on one wall. I hope you enjoy the slideshow below showing some of the delightful talent of our Oxbow's fifth grade artists over the years. You can see that each year we had a theme tied either to the Lego team's theme, a social studies theme, or focused on environmental awareness. Our unit on Egypt was especially exciting for my art students. All grades enjoyed a chance to learn about mummies, the mummification process, Egyptian tombs and artifacts and writing using pictographs. I kicked off the unit by popping out of a full size sarcophagus (mummy case) as each class entered the room. Of course, this led to students taking turns for a quick visit for themselves inside the case. Then table teams traced around a student who lay arms crossed on top of two huge sheets of butcher paper. Each team then eagerly drew and designed their pharoah's mummy case including headdress, jewels, and intricate Egyptian designs on the front and back. They also wrote a secret message using Egyptian pictograhs on the front and back. Finally we stuffed them with newspaper and stapled the mummies closed. This lesson was so successful that students insisted on taking turns taking their finished mummy home to share with their families.
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March 2024
AuthorMy name is Mrs. Krupa and I'm an elementary art teacher at Oxbow Elementary. I'm a professional harpist turned art teacher of 20 years. I'll share art lessons and ideas on these pages, what works and doesn't. Enjoy! Categories
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