Week 1

Grade Level Taught 3rd NAME : Becca Leslie Art 309 Reflections and Thoughts about Teaching Saturday #1 Artmakers are Enhancers and Decorators Overall reflections about the first Saturday class experience:
In the space below, briefly address two or three of the following:

REFLECTIONS Overall, the first lesson went really well. The students were enthusiastic and energetic. Each student was engaged in the historical aspect as well as the art making, which was really exciting. We had a little extra time left over after we were done with the clay medallions and beads because the clay project was a little too easy for them. The students understood how we wanted them to carve into the surface and completed that task very well. I was trying to get one student to elaborate his surface treatment and emphasize the idea of symbolism. The student ended up coming up with meaning for the few lines he carved into his medallion; at least he understood the concept and what we were looking for. For next week, I am going to work on having options for students that finish earlier than others, and also have a little bit more challenging art project for them to do. The students have more advanced art making skills that anticipated, so project with more components will be more rewarding for the teachers and students.

Week 1

GUIDED QUESTIONS Briefly address EACH of the following: 1. How did you (and your teaching partner) meet the objectives of the four components of your lesson (as listed below)? historical/cultural For lesson closure, we asked the students: How is the Inuit way of life different from the way you live? We asked them to elaborate on what was different, and why they thought that was. artmaking Students created a personalized ceramic good luck medallion and beads using carving techniques inspired by Inuit soapstone carvings. criticism We asked the students why they thought that the Inuit people carved the examples of soapstone carvings we showed them. We asked them to describe what they saw that made them think it was for a specific purpose. aesthetics In a discussion at the end of class, we asked students whether they thought that commercial made jewlery or handmade jewlery was more valuable 2. What still needs to be introduced or completed to meet the intended objectives during the third Saturday lesson? In the third lesson, we need to give the students a broader idea of Inuit culture. This week we only focused on their way of life based on climate and location. 3. What can you teach, re-teach, and/or re-direct during the next two Saturday classes? We can re-teach to emphasize the connection between Inuit culture and the students personal culture. 4. How did you check for students understanding? We asked several leading questions such as: Name one new thing you learned today How are the Inuit people similar and different from yourself? 5. Describe how you helped a particular individual who was having difficulty understanding a concept or technique. I helped a student to expand his idea to fit the criteria of the project. He did not want to carve the whole surface, but had a well thought out explaination for the carvings he did do on his medallion. 6. How did you address the class as a group to get their attention (other than saying you guys)? 3rd graders 7. How did you keep the students on task? We kept the students on track by keeping the discussion moving, careful not to get stuck talking about irrelavent topics. 8. How did you handle clean-up?

Everyone cleaned up their own spot by bringing tools to the bin, putting their project on the tray, and throwing out placemat with clay crumbs. 9. Describe the student-centered closure strategies used. We asked the students to describe similarities and difference between their way of life and the Inuit way of life. This reinforced the connection between cultures. 10. What differences where there between what you expected from the students and the way the students actually performed? The students had a lot of background knowledge about clay surface techniques. 11. What (if anything) would you do differently if you were able to teach the lesson again? I would add more components to the art making part of the lesson so that the students will be more challenged.