The Lost Sock : July 2013

This 2013-14 is going to be my 10th year teaching art to middle schoolers!

I have struggled to find ways every year to keep kids productive during free time.

I liked giving them the option of doing art during this time to get extra booster grades. But I still wanted to reward them at the same time if they were on task and finished early. The problem rooted where students would turn in poor work just to have free time, then in the process would get low grades in art (by fault of their own choices) and I would run into more discipline problems as well. I struggled with trying to teach them that what they choose to do in their free time would lead to different results, hoping they would choose wisely. Unfortunately, I have realized that most middle school students are not really ready to make these choices wisely. Since I do not want to see failure or idleness in my class any longer! I have decided to require them to journal in their free time to hopefully change the pattern.

From now on, I am requiring each art student to carry a spiral notebook

to use for multiple things in the class;

Class notes, instruction, sketches, thoughts, inspiration, and free work.

It is a way to stay organized with their artistic ideas and have a place to turn to stay productive.

I decided to give them a new topic every week (total 36).

Well... That was the plan... But...

You know... ;)

We made it to 22 topics!

If they finish their work early, they will be expected to grab their journal and begin on their weekly sketch.

If they do not finish early, they will be expected to do it for homework.

The earlier they finish their class work, the higher my expectation I will have for journal because they had more time to work on it.

I want to begin the year by taking notes on how we use supplies in the MMS art room.

I will have them write as they go and encourage them to illustrate their paper as well.

Writing the rules will allow them to refer back to them and enforce it to their creative memory.

We use lettering ALOT in my art class.

I want to start off the basics of forming letters with them at the beginning of the year.

A beginners guide to lettering is a lesson I will teach for journaling.

I will have the students take these notes in their journals in order to get them started on the next entry...

Write your name in 10 different styles...

5 Things you are Thankful For...

LInes on LInes...

Each line on the notebook spiral will contain a new line design.

Bucket list

Students draw a 3d bucket and fill it up creatively with at least 10 things they want to do before they graduate and get too old to be cool!

Larry's SprayCan 6th grade

What do you want to SprAY?

Use the step by step guide to drawing a spray can

from www.youtube.com/drawstuffrealeasy

Then draw on the can what you wish you could spray out everywhere in unlimited amounts to say to the world, make your mark!

3D PENCIL

This is supposed to look like the students drew all over their page and then laid their pencil on top of the drawing. The drawing should be 2D while the pencil will appear 3D in comparison.

Draw a large pencil in your journal with your pencil.

Make it appear 3d by blending darker colors at bottom and casting a shadow with grey.

Develop drawings below to keep the 2D look on the paper.

Use M.C. Escher's Drawing Hands picture as an example of 3D on top of 2D.

Caricature of You

These are a funny , goofy, exaggerated, and humors versions of ourselves. Take a feature you love or hate about yourself and flare it up! Make you even more "you" than reality!

Head in the Clouds

Here it is ok to have a cloudy brain...

Draw clouds filling up the page focusing on variety of style here.

Be free, be cartoonish, be wild, be abstract, be realisitc... just draw clouds.

Pictorgraphy

This is writing a message using pictures as a code or puzzle...

For example, "Dear Pam" could be done by drawing a deer and then drawing a Jar of Jam with the formula P+ Jar of Jam-J...

This gets cryptic, so they need to include the key on back of note.

Inspiritaion Pocket

or Idea Pouch...

I have a worksheet for them to create the pocket. It is basically just a rectangle with a tab on right, left, and bottom. They are supposed to decorate the pouch front, cut it out then fold tabs under and apply glue to them. Then lay the pocket in the book. It is a place for them to keep ideas in for their free time journaling.