Following your elementary classroom observation, describe how art materials, visual forms, images, or activities were used in the classroom by answering the following three questions (200 words):
1. What form of arts integration or interdisciplinary learning units have you observed? In what ways were the visual forms investigated, learned, discussed, or produced in the classroom?
I observed art integrated with literacy, or more specifically writing. The visual forms were illustrations that students created to go with a story that they had just written about a thing they love. Every student's story was different, so there was a wide variety in the illustrations produced. The illustrations were not investigated or learned. Instead, the students were free to draw whatever they felt best represented the thing they loved that they chose to write about. Students discussed the drawings afterwards, but very informally. They all looked at each other's drawings as i displayed them in the room, and the students casually talked about what they liked about each other's illustrations.
2. Was there a big idea or theme used? If so describe. Were students working with narrative, observation, imagination, and / or visual thinking?
The big idea behind the drawing was "love stories". This was during valentine's day, but instead of focusing on romance, the students wrote about things relevant to them that they loved. They did this through narrative, simply telling the audience what they wrote about and why.
3. What suggestions would you have for integration and interdisciplinary learning for this unit or lesson you observed? Try to think how you could make the learning more meaningful, connected, and deeper. Be specific.
I am having trouble coming up with ways to make the learning more meaningful and connected. Perhaps students could do a (respectful) VTS-type discussion with their peers' illustrations. They could discuss the meaning (without knowing what their classmates wrote about) and try to figure out what it is that their classmate loves. Another way to bring art into writing could be to have the students complete a collage instead of illustrating.
Art Classroom Observation
Following your art room observations describe (200 words):
1. The content of the lesson, written and spoken objectives, and resources used This lesson was a collaborative project between the art teacher and the media center teacher. In the media center, the students wrote diamante poems about the rain forests, which is a topic that they had been researching. The students then visualized their poems and sketched them in art class with pencil and/or colored pencil. Next, the art teacher discussed elements and principles of design to help them come up with additional descriptive words. The project ended with students looking at their final illustrations and adding more detailed words to their poems using the words they had discussed.
2. The teacher, her / his teaching strategies and format / process of the lesson as presented. Once the students walked into the art classroom, the teacher called them to sit in a circle on the carpet. They discussed their diamante poem and what they did with the media teacher. A few students read their poems with the class. The students were then allowed to work independently on their projects, as long as they sat at certain tables depending on how far along they were on their poems or illustrations. The teacher then visited with each student to see how their project was coming along. At the end of the class, she called the students back to the carpet to share their new and improved poems that students added more descriptive words to, using their illustrations as inspiration. This was a good wrap-up, and students got to see what their classmates created.
3. Student engagement of the lesson, classroom atmosphere, and environment Students were engaged by the teacher at the beginning of the lesson while sharing their poems with the class and discussing elements and principles of art. This is also when students participated in a discussion about using descriptive words, and utilizing their pictures to help create more descriptive language. Students were also actively engaged by whole-class discussion at the end of class, when students shared what they added onto their projects and why they did that.
4. Classroom behavior management The students each knew what part of the process they were currently in, so the art teacher allowed them to work independently and visited with each student to check in. The teacher did, however, group students to sit in different areas of the classroom who based on who was on the same step. Students knew the expectations for their behavior and there were very few problems. They must have learned procedures and rules for the art classroom at the beginning of the year. 5. Compare the art classroom to the regular classroom in regards to the teaching strategies, lesson presentation, student engagement, classroom atmosphere, environment, and behavior management. From my experience between these two classroom observations, the regular classroom and the art classroom are fairly different. The regular classroom is environment is calm. The students were all in their assigned seats, working quietly on their love stories. When a student finished writing, revising, and editing, the teacher gave them a page to illustrate their story on. The teacher was at a table in the back of the room, very approachable for students who have questions or concerns. He occasionally walked around to check on student progress. Again, students illustrated quietly in their seats. This vibe is not different from the classroom's daily atmosphere, because it is a very calm classroom in general. I did not see much active behavior management--there were practically no problems. I assume that the teacher practiced procedures and explained expectations at the beginning of the school year. The students knew exactly what was expected of them. The art classroom has a more relaxed classroom atmosphere and the environment encourages creativity and imagination. There is soft music playing and inspiring posters on the wall, but the classroom was very busy with the hustle and bustle of activity. The teaching strategy in this lesson was pretty student centered. The teacher asked the students about their work, ideas for what to add to their projects, and asked their input on possible ways to use description to their poems. Students are either engaged in discussion, learning about other students' works, or working on their projects by drawing or coming up with descriptive words. Similar to the regular classroom, I did not see much behavior management. There were practically no problems with the students. I am assuming the teacher established expectations and procedures early in the school year (before I came along) because the students seem to know exactly what they should be doing and how they should be behaving. The art classroom has a more relaxed classroom atmosphere.