Using Videos in the Art Room/ Asian Unit

Using Videos in the Art Room 

So many of you may wonder why I use so many videos during my lessons.  My room is extremely small and I have absolutely NO demo room.  For all 25-36 students to see what I am doing I have found it is easier to project a demo video that I can pause, rewind, or fast forward as needed and not have to draw the same lesson 8 times in a week.  I created my YouTube channel, Mrs. Paintbrush - Misti Scaggs, strictly as a platform to better control the videos with.  It is easier to pause a YouTube video than it is to pause the Window's Movie Maker I use to create the videos with.  Also, surprisingly, the kids listen better to virtual me than real me! 

Asian Unit

The next 3 weeks will be devoted to the customs and culture of the Chinese.  Being from Northeast Texas, we do not have a large Mandarin population, but the artistry and beauty of the country and its artwork are undeniable to any student.  This is always a huge hit and I do these lessons every year.  

My 3rd graders are studying the legend of the Chinese Dragon and we drew and painted a dragon on large paper.  We used a 17" x 12" (I have to cut an inch off so the artwork will fit into the copier paper portfolio boxes I have to keep artwork for art show in.)

Week 1 we discuss the different geographical regions of china using the video vlog form  Mr. Zoller's Geography Vlog.  I created a worksheet  to accompany the video and we worked through it together.  This took the whole 45 minute class period. 

Geography Questions

The map I found on the web and saved it for later use with this lesson.  It was found on WorksheetWorks.com 

Map of China

Week 2 we watched  a read aloud called The Legend of the Chinese Dragon.  Written by Marie Seller, this book discusses the different regions of China and the folk lore of each region.  It was a great resource to accompany this lesson.  This day, we just drew our dragon.

Week 3 we will paint our dragon and Upload it to Artsonia before turning it into the drying rack marked 3rd grade. 

Week 1 - 4th Grade did the same geography lesson with the same worksheet as 3rd Grade.  

We watched this amazing video produced by Christie's about a talented Japanese artist Takuji Hamanaka takes us inside his Brooklyn studio to explain why he adopted a centuries-old technique to create contemporary woodblock prints. The student's were just blown away with the composition of the artwork he displayed for the clip.

Week 2 - we reviewed the previous lesson and watched a clip to better understand The Great Wave, Better Know the Great Wave | The Art Assignment | PBS Digital Studios. This video gave modern references as well as historical references pertaining to the Great Wave.

We drew our wave with dark blue oil pastel.

Week 3 - Students will be able to choose what medium they want to add color to their drawings with. They will get a choice of 3: Tempera Cakes, Chalk pastels, and my favorite oil pastels. They will add color and upload to their Artsonia accounts before turning them into the drying racks or their Teacher Portfolio Boxes.

Week 1 of 1st Grade: Koi Fish Facts Worksheet we used to accompany the video we used to learn about the Koi Fish by Animal Fact Files.

On the opposite side of the worksheet I put a coloring page I found online for free of Koi Fish and the students colored their fish using the 7 colors we discussed during the video.

Week 2 - 1st Grade is explored the Legend of the Koi Fish. I found this great video for a read aloud about the legend of the Dragon Gate and the Koi Fish, A Koi Story, directed and animated by Emma Louise Brelt and Phare. The illustrations in this video are truly stunning. I loved it!

Students drew their fish with a guided drawing lesson from my channel.

Week 3 - students will paint their fish and background, upload to Artsonia and turn them into the drying rack.

2nd Grade - Chinese Vases

Week 1 - students watched an advertisement by Viking Cruise Lines on a brief history of Chinese Porcelain. I showed a few pieces of my own wedding China (although I did NOT pass it around.)

We answered a few questions regarding porcelain then I gave the students a blank coloring sheet with the silhouette of a vase on it to design their own with. 

Week 2 - we drew our vase talking about symmetry, line, and pattern.  

Week 3 - students will cut out their vase, paint a background on a separate piece of paper, and glue their vase to the background.  I will have them use oil pastels to draw flowers in their vase before painting the background. 

When their composition is complete they will upload it to Artsonia and turn it into the drying rack. 

Lines are EVERYWHERE!

The past two weeks we have been talking about the element of Line in all grades.  I try to keep some continuity throughout the lessons just because it makes it easier for me.  Helps me remember what we are doing, how we are doing it and saves time.  I have absolutely NO spare minutes between classes.  As one class is leaving the room, another is waiting outside the room to come in.

This lesson was a great success.  It helped review Line for my 2nd-4th Graders and introduced the vocabulary of different lines for my 1st Graders.  It also reminded my older grades how FAST Art Class really is!

I have 45 minutes to load the chairs, introduce the lesson, present the technique, pass out the paper (I don't put the paper on the table because I have some that can not resist getting started before they even know what is expected for the day!), give expectations, and our goals for the day.  I let the kids go on their own and 10 minutes before class ends I have a bell that rings to warn they have 5 minutes left to work.  A second bell rings 5 minutes after that and this is their signal to CLEAN UP!!  This gives us 5 minutes to clean up and get the classroom ready for the next class, go over our expectations of the day (did you do our standard 6 expectations which I will post about later), and reveal our Secret Student.  All before the teacher shows up to pick up his/her students.

This lesson really reminded the students that time FLIES in the art room!!

Thanks goes to Patty Palmer at Deep Space Sparkle for our lessons this week.  You will see this a lot!  I am an official Sparkler and LOVE the lessons offered to Members in the Members Club.  As soon as she offered this club I joined right away and have enjoyed AMAZING art in my room ever since.  She has so many more years experience than I and I learn something every time I do a lesson from DSS!

Deep Space Sparkle

My First lesson was with 4th Grade.  We watched a short Youtube video on St. Basil and Ivan the Terrible and the construction of St. Basil's Cathedral.  We looked at the construction, discussed what Lines we see on the outside of the Cathedral.  

Students sketch their Cathedrals on White paper, adding pattern to show contrast, and tracing with a sharpie.

  

On the second day, students chose 3 chalk pastels from the same color family and starting at the top of the paper with their darkest color we discussed cross hatching the chalk and "massaging" the color into the paper.  The middle of the paper is for the medium color, and the bottom of the paper their lightest color.  They blended with small circular motions with ONE finger.  This was difficult for many students and I had lots of whole hand smearing going on!  Next they cut out their Cathedral's and glued them to the new background.  The end result is amazing!!  They look so great hanging in the hallway, however I had a lot of students not finish. They spent too much time on intricate patterns and ran out of time.  

3rd Grade looked at Line and Shape.  We drew delivery trucks using our basic shapes......rectangles, squares, circles, and triangles.  We discussed where we see delivery trucks, what are some of the things they deliver, and what would your delivery truck deliver to you.  I got everything from Toxic Gas to a Giant Bowl of Spaghetti with a Huge Meatball!  LOL!  

Students followed the same process, sketching lightly and tracing with a Sharpie.

On Day 2 they finished coloring their trucks.  It was difficult to get students to NOT add a background because it has been sung for years to FILL UP THE SPACE and do the background.  Students then got another sheet of paper and drew a scene.  Where is your delivery truck going?  They then cut out their trucks and glued them to their background.  I think they did an amazing job!  Again, many did not finish.  

2nd Grade  read the book Elmer the Elephant by David McKee.

Elmer the Patchwork Elephant by David McKee

Students followed a Directed Line Drawing to draw their Elmer and then added whatever pattern they wanted.  They sketched with a pencil and traced with a Sharpie, finally coloring with markers. 

As you can see, it is VERY busy in the Art Room and I forgot to take pictures of the finished elephants.  I will post the finished work soon.  They really turned out great!

1st Grade learned what each line is called, how to draw them, and then took their favorite 4 for a walk across their paper.  Clifford even came by for a visit and learn about LINE!

Students then used tempera cakes to paint LOTS and LOTS of color in the different spaces their lines made.