One way that I see myself including academic language and literacy into the art room is by including reading, writing, and opportunities to include discussion about artwork.
I have made attempts at including literacy and including academic language into the lesson that I will be teaching to my Practicum students by first introducing the unit with a book that introduces the students to Australia. This semester, the students' curricula encompasses the continents of Africa and Australia, and the unit that I will be teaching will be the first unit that is based out of Australia. By reading the book "Australia ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Australia," the students will be further exposed to the country besides what they currently know. I plan on implementing this type of instruction into my teaching style at various times throughout the school year.
By including writing into the classroom, students will 1)improve on their writing skills, 2) practice writing and using the academic language appropriate for the unit, and 3)improve the students' literacy. Students would have opportunities to write during such activities as think-pair-shares, writing self assessments, vocabulary quizzes/tests, etc.
By giving students opportunities to have discussions about artists' works, their own works, etc., students will have the chance to verbally demonstrate academic language and refine their understanding of those terms.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Monday, November 2, 2015
Week of October 12, 2015
This week we had a practicing Elementary art teacher visit my ARTED 308 classroom, Jennifer Dahl, who also happens to be my cooperating teacher for my Practicum experience. I felt that it was very beneficial for us to have her come into our class and give us tips and advice for when we finally become art educators!
This meeting was especially beneficial to me because I was able to get to know about her as a teacher and information about her school and her students. I was very humbled by hearing how committed she is to achieving success for her students, so much so that she drives over an hour every day to teach at Black River Falls, and is divided between three elementary schools! During my ARTED 208 Practicum, there we several times where I was questioning whether or not I belonged in Art Education. After listening to Mrs. Dahl's advice and working with her and her students during Practicum, I have realized that this career field is truly where I am meant to be.
This meeting was especially beneficial to me because I was able to get to know about her as a teacher and information about her school and her students. I was very humbled by hearing how committed she is to achieving success for her students, so much so that she drives over an hour every day to teach at Black River Falls, and is divided between three elementary schools! During my ARTED 208 Practicum, there we several times where I was questioning whether or not I belonged in Art Education. After listening to Mrs. Dahl's advice and working with her and her students during Practicum, I have realized that this career field is truly where I am meant to be.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Week of October 5th, 2015
My ARTED 308 professor challenged us to think about why we as individuals chose to pursue art education, as well as asking us to think about what our best characteristic is.
I did not come to choose art education initially when I began my college career at UW Stout. Originally I was a Studio Art major, and after taking classes for little over a year, I kept thinking, "Is this what I'm really meant to do?" I still loved art, but I didn't think I could be competitive enough as a commercial artist as well as financially support myself after school. I decided to speak with the program director of Art Education and she recommended attending a few Children's Art Club meetings, a weekly event where local children, both attending public school and home-school, learn about art from art education students. As I began attending meetings, I met new people and worked with children, and I became a happier person. Every time I came home to visit, my parents told me that I looked happier and I was more excited to talk about art education than I was as a studio art major, and at that point, I knew I belonged in Art Education. Ever since changing majors, I have not regretted it for one single day.
As a child, I was very shy, and many times art was the only way I could express my thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Art does things that many other things can't, and if I can help one child discover how art helped them come out of their shell like it did for me, then it would mean the world for me.
Because of my shyness as a child, I feel that my strongest characteristic is my ability to listen. My grandma was always one for listening to others before she expressed her opinion, and I believe that characteristic was passed down to me. I believe that this personal trait is especially beneficial to a teacher because teachers need to be able to listen to their students in order to be respected. I believe that respect is a two-way street and in order to get respect, you need to give respect, and I believe that begins with listening.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Week of September 28th, 2015
Another week has gone by of classes, and I continue to learn about new things every day, and in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
In ARTED 308 last week we were given the opportunity to listen and ask questions of former classmate and current student teacher, Ms. Carr. I felt her advice to be especially helpful because it gave me an idea of what to expect from student teaching when I will be going through the process. I feel more at ease of the idea of student teaching in the fall semester instead of the spring semester because in a way, you are learning along with the students in regards to classroom procedures and even each others' names. I feel that this would be an easier transition to make for a student teacher than for a student teacher in the spring semester because in the spring semester the students are comfortable now and are familiar with classroom procedures, and then a student teacher comes in and their world has changed over the course of 8 weeks. One piece of advice that I especially appreciated is to observe how your cooperating teacher manages a classroom. Currently, I am taking a classroom management course, and we have yet to discuss techniques and strategies on how to manage a classroom. I may be a bit ahead of what the course schedule entails, but I feel that this is the most important thing to take from the class.
Another piece of advice that was helpful to me was how to engage and connect with my students. I believe that it helped hearing that information from a peer currently going through student teaching rather than a current teacher or professor because sometimes the information is more relatable coming from someone on the same level as me.
Overall, the best piece of advice I learned from Ms. Carr is just to be calm. If you can't be calm, you cannot be flexible, prepared, healthy, or even be yourself!
In ARTED 308 last week we were given the opportunity to listen and ask questions of former classmate and current student teacher, Ms. Carr. I felt her advice to be especially helpful because it gave me an idea of what to expect from student teaching when I will be going through the process. I feel more at ease of the idea of student teaching in the fall semester instead of the spring semester because in a way, you are learning along with the students in regards to classroom procedures and even each others' names. I feel that this would be an easier transition to make for a student teacher than for a student teacher in the spring semester because in the spring semester the students are comfortable now and are familiar with classroom procedures, and then a student teacher comes in and their world has changed over the course of 8 weeks. One piece of advice that I especially appreciated is to observe how your cooperating teacher manages a classroom. Currently, I am taking a classroom management course, and we have yet to discuss techniques and strategies on how to manage a classroom. I may be a bit ahead of what the course schedule entails, but I feel that this is the most important thing to take from the class.
Another piece of advice that was helpful to me was how to engage and connect with my students. I believe that it helped hearing that information from a peer currently going through student teaching rather than a current teacher or professor because sometimes the information is more relatable coming from someone on the same level as me.
Overall, the best piece of advice I learned from Ms. Carr is just to be calm. If you can't be calm, you cannot be flexible, prepared, healthy, or even be yourself!
Monday, September 28, 2015
Week of September 21, 2015
During our ARTED 308 class this week, we presented either a PowerPoint or Prezi presentation to our peers as if we were introducing ourselves to our students on the first day of school. We were also asked to include topics in the presentation such as teacher expectations, procedures regarding bathroom/hall passes, how to properly enter the classroom, and homework policies.
Overall, I felt that my Prezi presentation was successful, but I know that it would not hurt to make some adjustments to make my presentation a little more engaging with my students. One way I tried to make it more engaging was to include more pictures than words, especially if I am going to be presenting this presentation at the K-5 level. It felt a little awkward placing homework/late work policies into the presentation when I was originally planning this presentation for a K-5 age group. I specifically chose to make a Prezi presentation over a PowerPoint because I feel the way the slides transition in Prezi are more dynamic and engaging than PowerPoint. I have seen how children react to Prezis during my times volunteering at Children's Art Club here at UW Stout, and they seem to be more engaged and focused on the task at hand than with a PowerPoint presentation.
One thing I would like to include into my presentation would be a reward system for good behavior, where the students would earn points as a class. When the class would earn enough points, they would be rewarded an activity, such as watching a movie related to what they are currently studying, a popcorn party, or an extra day to work on their projects. I believe this type of reward system would help students be consistently engaged in their classroom, as well as teaching them responsibility for their behavior.
During the presentation, I felt a little nervous presenting because a few of my peers presented before me and I felt that how they presented certain topics was more successful than how I presented them, but I told myself, "If you presented something differently, it doesn't mean that it is bad." Students learn differently from one another, and that includes learning about the classroom on the first day of school. Initially when I presented in front of my peers, I felt that I appeared frazzled and anxious, but I soon began to relax and by the end of the presentation I felt confident about the information I was presenting.
Overall, I felt that my Prezi presentation was successful, but I know that it would not hurt to make some adjustments to make my presentation a little more engaging with my students. One way I tried to make it more engaging was to include more pictures than words, especially if I am going to be presenting this presentation at the K-5 level. It felt a little awkward placing homework/late work policies into the presentation when I was originally planning this presentation for a K-5 age group. I specifically chose to make a Prezi presentation over a PowerPoint because I feel the way the slides transition in Prezi are more dynamic and engaging than PowerPoint. I have seen how children react to Prezis during my times volunteering at Children's Art Club here at UW Stout, and they seem to be more engaged and focused on the task at hand than with a PowerPoint presentation.
One thing I would like to include into my presentation would be a reward system for good behavior, where the students would earn points as a class. When the class would earn enough points, they would be rewarded an activity, such as watching a movie related to what they are currently studying, a popcorn party, or an extra day to work on their projects. I believe this type of reward system would help students be consistently engaged in their classroom, as well as teaching them responsibility for their behavior.
During the presentation, I felt a little nervous presenting because a few of my peers presented before me and I felt that how they presented certain topics was more successful than how I presented them, but I told myself, "If you presented something differently, it doesn't mean that it is bad." Students learn differently from one another, and that includes learning about the classroom on the first day of school. Initially when I presented in front of my peers, I felt that I appeared frazzled and anxious, but I soon began to relax and by the end of the presentation I felt confident about the information I was presenting.
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Week of September 14th, 2015
About one week of classes have gone by, and I already feel that I am growing more as an art educator. In ARTED 308, we discussed the purpose and importance of academic language, especially in regards to edTPA.
I have struggled to find an effective way to introduce academic language to students in a way that is engaging, especially at the high school level. I especially liked the activity where we read the brief paragraph from Mary Abbe's review of "Claes Oldenburg's 1960's Work at Walker Art Center" in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and then highlighted sections of the text where the words highlighted in yellow were words that would be considered academic language in the subject of art, and the words highlighted in blue represented words that would be considered overall academic language. I could use this activity for all school levels by determining what words my students know and what words they do not know, otherwise known as an informal formative assessment. Another activity that I believe I can easily incorporate into my classroom at any grade level is to include a word wall for every unit I teach.
When I first switched my major into Art Education, I was excited to learn how I could teach children about my passion for art, but I never considered having my students write on a regular basis. I never wrote in any of my art classes as a child, so why would you need to write in an art class now? It wasn't until I began college that I started to write about art, my processes, and my ideas, which was a great challenge for me. One question that was brought to my attention during class one day helped me understand exactly why we need to know academic language in art; "Why teach academic language?" By teaching academic language, we are helping students learn and grow, it helps students learn how to articulate better in the given discipline which increases their cognition and thinking skills, and it increases rigor in the students when they understand what is being discussed in the class. By having a word wall, I believe that it can encourage students to use academic language in the art room for such activities as writing artist statements, critiques, and open discussions about art.
As I introduce a unit with terms that I want students to know, I would post each term on the board and would have 2 columns under each word, one column being "know", and the other column being "need to know". I would pass out a certain amount of pieces of paper, depending on how many terms there are, and ask students to write their initials on the paper and tape it in the column they feel is appropriate. I would use this activity to determine what words I know my students know and what words I would need to touch base on.
After an activity such as this, I would define the words in a way that is age appropriate for my students, then I would have my students attempt to use the word in a sentence. As we progressed through the unit, I would use the words as a form of an exit ticket for students to leave the classroom at the end of the day. I would give a student a word from the unit and they would have to use it in a sentence. Before a formal assessment, such as a formal critique or written test, I would make a Jeopardy game with the terms and the students would be in small teams. I believe that having some form of peer interaction would also help students remember and retain the academic language that they need to know for the class.
Discussing how we can teach academic language in the art room has helped me come up with many engaging and productive activities that I hope will help my students improve their understanding of academic language in art.
I have struggled to find an effective way to introduce academic language to students in a way that is engaging, especially at the high school level. I especially liked the activity where we read the brief paragraph from Mary Abbe's review of "Claes Oldenburg's 1960's Work at Walker Art Center" in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and then highlighted sections of the text where the words highlighted in yellow were words that would be considered academic language in the subject of art, and the words highlighted in blue represented words that would be considered overall academic language. I could use this activity for all school levels by determining what words my students know and what words they do not know, otherwise known as an informal formative assessment. Another activity that I believe I can easily incorporate into my classroom at any grade level is to include a word wall for every unit I teach.
When I first switched my major into Art Education, I was excited to learn how I could teach children about my passion for art, but I never considered having my students write on a regular basis. I never wrote in any of my art classes as a child, so why would you need to write in an art class now? It wasn't until I began college that I started to write about art, my processes, and my ideas, which was a great challenge for me. One question that was brought to my attention during class one day helped me understand exactly why we need to know academic language in art; "Why teach academic language?" By teaching academic language, we are helping students learn and grow, it helps students learn how to articulate better in the given discipline which increases their cognition and thinking skills, and it increases rigor in the students when they understand what is being discussed in the class. By having a word wall, I believe that it can encourage students to use academic language in the art room for such activities as writing artist statements, critiques, and open discussions about art.
As I introduce a unit with terms that I want students to know, I would post each term on the board and would have 2 columns under each word, one column being "know", and the other column being "need to know". I would pass out a certain amount of pieces of paper, depending on how many terms there are, and ask students to write their initials on the paper and tape it in the column they feel is appropriate. I would use this activity to determine what words I know my students know and what words I would need to touch base on.
After an activity such as this, I would define the words in a way that is age appropriate for my students, then I would have my students attempt to use the word in a sentence. As we progressed through the unit, I would use the words as a form of an exit ticket for students to leave the classroom at the end of the day. I would give a student a word from the unit and they would have to use it in a sentence. Before a formal assessment, such as a formal critique or written test, I would make a Jeopardy game with the terms and the students would be in small teams. I believe that having some form of peer interaction would also help students remember and retain the academic language that they need to know for the class.
Discussing how we can teach academic language in the art room has helped me come up with many engaging and productive activities that I hope will help my students improve their understanding of academic language in art.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Continuing My Development as an Art Teacher
Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Summer and are looking forward to what's to come in the next coming months!
My summer was pretty hectic between working almost 40 hours as a manager at my wonderful summer job back home in the Northwoods, volunteering to be the head art teacher at my church's Vacation Bible School, and many other things.
It is with a heavy heart to say that my beloved dog, Dutchess, who I have had for eleven years, passed away over the weekend after a short battle with high-grade Lymphoma. As many of you know, I have had a passion for dogs ever since I was a little girl, and dogs have taught me many things in life that I know I can apply to my future career as an art teacher. I hope to bring compassion, responsibility, and respect into my classroom so that students know how to be productive members of society as well as keep their sense of creativity after they leave my classroom.
I am looking forward to learning more about art education in the coming semester and hoping that it will help further confirm that I am in the right place in my life. I am not afraid to admit that I am a little nervous about the unavoidable Benchmark II, but I am hoping the things I learn throughout the semester in ARTED 308 will help me put my mind at ease.
My summer was pretty hectic between working almost 40 hours as a manager at my wonderful summer job back home in the Northwoods, volunteering to be the head art teacher at my church's Vacation Bible School, and many other things.
It is with a heavy heart to say that my beloved dog, Dutchess, who I have had for eleven years, passed away over the weekend after a short battle with high-grade Lymphoma. As many of you know, I have had a passion for dogs ever since I was a little girl, and dogs have taught me many things in life that I know I can apply to my future career as an art teacher. I hope to bring compassion, responsibility, and respect into my classroom so that students know how to be productive members of society as well as keep their sense of creativity after they leave my classroom.
I am looking forward to learning more about art education in the coming semester and hoping that it will help further confirm that I am in the right place in my life. I am not afraid to admit that I am a little nervous about the unavoidable Benchmark II, but I am hoping the things I learn throughout the semester in ARTED 308 will help me put my mind at ease.
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