at P.S. 39
Kindergarten
After touching and describing the surfaces of some objects, students used textured plates to create rubbing prints with crayons.
1st Grade
Watercolors - Students created wax resist drawings. They explored the chemical reaction between watercolor and oil based crayon. They learned about changing values of opaque and transparent through mixing different ratios of water to watercolor. Classes were asked to create a work with a text about something they did over the summer.
Painting - Students first made studies in line, shape, color mixing, and water/opacity mixing after discussing paintings by Kandinsky and Robert Delaunay.
Classes looked at contour line drawings by Henri Matisse and wire sculpture by Alexander Calder. They made both left and right-handed contour line portraits with pen, and they explored working with wire and dried-out marker caps to try their own sculptures.
4th Grade
Drawing - After watching a video about the exponential scale of the universe, students were asked to animate outer space. They learned how to sequence a series of drawings to create an animation. Pacing outlines helped plan ideas before working on smaller 4 x 6 notecards.
Animation - 5th graders reviewed the physics of motion pictures in a series of open-themed drawings. They collaborated to create this class animation.
Painting - Students learned to color mix tones. First they made studies in one primary tone with black and white, then attempted to color mix grey tones using the primary colors and white. They applied this knowledge to a still life lesson. Students attempted to depict areas of light and shadow while observing peppers.
Classes collaborated to create an acrylic painting of the school. We looked at paintings by Chuck Close, and worked from printed copies of a photograph. Students created corresponding grids on both the canvas and photograph. Following these grids, they sketched details of the facade onto the canvas before painting.
A book sale for P.S.39 displaying some student work on paper
Kindergarten read ABC by Bruno Munari. Using their knowledge of print rubbings, students were asked to design a styrofoam/scratch relief plate of a letter they know. (Horizontally flipping letters on their print plate in order to print forwards.) Many students chose letters from their initials, but were asked to use their letter to phonetically dictate a title other than their name for their print. They printed in small, teacher assisted groups.
Students made prints by stamping. They individually printed with a colored ink and a rubber letter stamp set and were encouraged to again phonetically connect letters to colors. Then they worked with sliced half potatoes and tempera paint and were asked to consider how placement, color and overlap might form a pattern. Some children printed on top of their previously made crayon rubbing prints.
Collaborating K-classes also painted large heavyweight paper with sponges and then potato stamp printed on top.
Painting - Students practiced holding brushes and learned about color mixing with ratios of paint. They looked at a work by Paul Klee and mixed tones by adding varying amounts of black or white to one primary color on gridded paper.
Next they made grey tone paintings after listing of types of lines based on body movements.
Kindergarten read Mouse Paint. They practiced mixing secondary colors from primary in another line painting exercise with paint and watercolors.
Finally, we discussed how shapes can represent ideas in Castle and Sun by Paul Klee as well as some paintings by children. Students practiced symbolism attempting to use a variety of colors, shapes, and lines.
Collage - Classes discussed what is a collage? Through collage using torn paper and pre-cut shapes students understood they could quickly arrange shapes to make different compositions. Classmates modeled favorite activity poses for one another to inspire different figurations. They counted to 10 while applying glue to finalize a favorite pose.
In an open-themed assignment, kindergarteners practiced how to hold and cut with scissors. They cut colored paper and explored arrangements of their shapes before gluing onto construction paper backgrounds. Next, classes looked at Sea Shapes. After asking students about animals they know, they were prompted to try to combine shapes to represent a real animal.
An illustration by Bill Peet was a resource for an imagined animal assignment. Students dictated a sentence describing their collage. They also color pencil illustrated stories in copy paper booklets.
After a discussion about balance, and how they might change paper and use glue to help balance paper, students changed their paper in a variety of ways to make a pop-up collage.
Sculpture - Kindergarteners reviewed a sculpture by Mark di Suvero and 3-dimensional space, recalling their paper pop-up sculptures. In an open-themed exercise, they used modeling clay to help fasten and balance plastic pieces. They also used the pieces as stencils to draw their sculptures.
Students reviewed changing clay in a variety of ways such as coil, slab, pinch as well as score and slip. They each created a portrait and a standing sculpture.
1st Grade
Watercolors - Students created wax resist drawings. They explored the chemical reaction between watercolor and oil based crayon. They learned about changing values of opaque and transparent through mixing different ratios of water to watercolor. Classes were asked to create a work with a text about something they did over the summer.
Next students discussed Vincent Van Gogh's portrait of Joseph Roulin. They generated their own ideas of what made a "good" portrait. These included carefully observed shapes, lots of details as well as color and background. They were given demonstration to begin by drawing large shapes in pencil before using sharpie and watercolor to create a portrait of a classmate.
Printmaking - Classes continued to look at drawings of architecture, including an illustration by Butch Hancock. They designed smaller versions of dream houses for prints.
Painting - Students looked at a painting by Henri Michaux. They discussed what abstract means, how to mix grey, and attempted to create a painting using a variety of line and shape using black and white tempera paint.
1st graders also created watercolor drawings after singing Bling Blang by Woody Guthrie. They were asked to design a dream home.
Printmaking - Classes continued to look at drawings of architecture, including an illustration by Butch Hancock. They designed smaller versions of dream houses for prints.
Collage & Sculpture - 1st graders looked at collages by Henri Matisse and Eric Carle. After making some paper rubbings, they used this paper in a collage exploration. Next they were asked to create a collage about something they know about winter. They were also given instruction on how to slip and score clay to translate these ideas into clay sculptures.
Painting - Students looked at a painting by Henri Michaux. They discussed what abstract means, how to mix grey, and attempted to create a painting using a variety of line and shape using black and white tempera paint.
Next they discussed symmetry and identified geometric shapes found in Islamic tiles. They used measurement and a coordinate plane while making symmetrical sketches on graph paper. Classes worked with color tempera paint to create a symmetrical painting using primary and mixed secondary colors.
1st grade classes reviewed their Earth Science studies and then were asked to mural paint their studied landscapes on canvases
2nd Grade
Printmaking - 2nd graders discussed patterns heard in music as well as seen in musical notation. They made pattern drawings with repeated imagery on graph paper before reviewing printmaking, using styrofoam to print multiples.
Printmaking - 2nd graders discussed patterns heard in music as well as seen in musical notation. They made pattern drawings with repeated imagery on graph paper before reviewing printmaking, using styrofoam to print multiples.
Students continued talking about music and how musical instruments work. Using colored pencils, they were assigned to invent an instrument and include a manual explaining how it works.
Another mechanical drawing assignment could include a technology teacher and some introduction to how computers work.
Drawing & Sculpture - Students discussed Native American masks and their various purposes. 2nd graders were asked to sketch an idea for a mask that would give its wearer a supernatural power. We also looked at another collection of masks online. 2nd graders reviewed how to use air dry clay to construct their mask.
Next students learned about comics. They talked about personification and used colored pencils to make strips about their mask power with onomatopoeia.
Collage - Students reviewed uses of collage. Working with scissors they cut, combined and arranged at least 10 shapes in different figural compositions/poses before glueing self-portraits.
2nd graders wrote more comic strips about how they got somewhere using pen and watercolor. Next they chose a panel from their strip to make into a pop-up book page combining collage with text.
 |
Painting - Students first made studies in line, shape, color mixing, and water/opacity mixing after discussing paintings by Kandinsky and Robert Delaunay.
2nd graders discussed cityscapes by artists, James Rizzi and Red Grooms.They were asked to create a painting about something in their community/neighborhood accompanied by an index card text description. Finally they collaborated to create a group painting along this open-ended theme on canvas.
3rd Grade
Video - 3rd graders individually authored and illustrated folded paper books. They were given some context and examples of various storytelling traditions. Next they collaborated to build shadow puppets and silent movie title cards. Then finally enacted and video recorded their shadow puppet theater stories with digital cameras.
Animation - 3rd graders responded to an inquiry about weather. One class explored an entirely open-ended theme while expressing movement and time through drawings.
Drawing & Painting - Following a trip to the Rubin Museum 3rd graders did some drawing from observation of kale using calligraphic techniques.
Video - 3rd graders individually authored and illustrated folded paper books. They were given some context and examples of various storytelling traditions. Next they collaborated to build shadow puppets and silent movie title cards. Then finally enacted and video recorded their shadow puppet theater stories with digital cameras.
Animation - 3rd graders responded to an inquiry about weather. One class explored an entirely open-ended theme while expressing movement and time through drawings.
Drawing & Painting - Following a trip to the Rubin Museum 3rd graders did some drawing from observation of kale using calligraphic techniques.
Next classes made 1-point perspective studies. They discussed La Grande Jatte, 1884-1886 by Georges Seurat. 3rd graders were asked to create watercolor studies from memory of a place where they have seen lots of people. These also became tempera paintings.
Students learned about shading to create a sense of 3-dimensional space on a 2-dimensional plane. Using charcoal sticks they attempted to blend areas of shadow observed in styrofoam balls and eggs. Then practicing with oil pastels, they made self-portraits using mirrors.
Printmaking - students created drawings of butterflies from observation of photographs. They transferred and printed them using styrofoam plates on canvas in order to create a work for a school auction.
4th Grade
Drawing - After watching a video about the exponential scale of the universe, students were asked to animate outer space. They learned how to sequence a series of drawings to create an animation. Pacing outlines helped plan ideas before working on smaller 4 x 6 notecards.
After a watercolor exploration, students looked at drawings by artist Dawn Clements. They practiced observing and drawing flowers on unfolded paper bags.
Next they storyboarded and final drafted autobiographical comics, again with pencil and watercolor.
Collage - 4th graders cut, folded over, and pasted symmetrical designs using two sheets of contrasting construction paper. Given more paper they tried a symmetrical pop-up collage.
They also collaged using a variety of wrapping papers. Another collage assignment could include decorating paper with sharpies for freestanding paper sculptures.
Printmaking - Classes looked at a portrait print by Shepard Fairey. We talked about its context in appropriation and street art/graffiti and connected it to the concept of Internet memes through its use of text and image. Students used Photo Booth application to take a photograph of themselves, some experimented with effects. The photographs were all edited in Photoshop (using adjustments->threshold) to separate areas of dark and light and then printed. Students then traced over the dark areas while marking into a styrofoam plate placed underneath the visually adjusted photograph. Next they inked the plates and hand-printed their images on black paper. Some students included text.
Sculpture - 4th graders continued a discussion on appropriation, looking at a casted sculpture by Jeff Koons. We also looked at an assembled sculpture by Alberto Giacometti and reviewed clay assembling techniques. Students preferred an open-themed sculpture assignment to one based on appropriated imagery, and were assigned to create at least four clay shapes before combining them into a free standing sculpture.
5th Grade
Watercolors - Students began with an exploration of watercolors using brushes. They reviewed a watercolor by Paul Jenkins, varying opacities and color mixing.
Watercolors - Students began with an exploration of watercolors using brushes. They reviewed a watercolor by Paul Jenkins, varying opacities and color mixing.
Next, they studied an artwork by Pop-artist, Don Nice. They determined that careful attention to shape, and use of light and shadow to add a sense of 3-dimensional space were important factors in making a realistic drawing. They sketched their own sneakers with pencils and erasers before working with pens and watercolor.
Perspective drawings - Classes made studies in 1-point and 2-point perspective, demonstrating a knowledge of horizon lines, converging lines and vanishing points. Using these techniques they made architectural drawings from memory of spaces within their homes as well as perspective proposals for artworks or renovations within the school. We talked about the potential development of P.S.39's Mansard attic.
Comics - Continuing to consider Pop Art classes looked at some work by Roy
Lichtenstein. They reviewed the terminology of comics.
 |
| Part of an intro to comics exercise using assigned generic characters |
5th graders began autobiographical comics with a storyboard. They final drafted their comics, organizing their drawings and text on 12" x 18" paper.
Animation - 5th graders reviewed the physics of motion pictures in a series of open-themed drawings. They collaborated to create this class animation.
Painting - Students learned to color mix tones. First they made studies in one primary tone with black and white, then attempted to color mix grey tones using the primary colors and white. They applied this knowledge to a still life lesson. Students attempted to depict areas of light and shadow while observing peppers.
Classes collaborated to create an acrylic painting of the school. We looked at paintings by Chuck Close, and worked from printed copies of a photograph. Students created corresponding grids on both the canvas and photograph. Following these grids, they sketched details of the facade onto the canvas before painting.
Sculpture - 5th graders compared a realist self-portrait drawing by Rembrandt with a cubist portrait by Picasso. They made both realist, self-portraits from observation and collaborative, improvised portraits. Next, each student made a figurative sculpture based on their drawings.
We discussed examples and differences between relief and freestanding statues, then 5th graders attempted to engineer balanced armatures. They mixed flour plus water, applied paper mache, and then finally painted.
After looking at some architectural models, students also collaborated to create an open-themed, wall relief sculpture using cardboard and hot glue.
 |
Yearbook Elective 5th graders designed a yearbook cover and various themed content. Each 5th grader made a personal page in Art Class. I supervised and edited all content. 80-page yearbooks printed by Irvin Simon.
Visual art for school events
A book sale for P.S.39 displaying some student work on paper
A P.T.O. auction with murals on stretched canvas from each grade
Artwork from all 400 students for a visual art show
