May 1, 2012
I emailed Mrs. Salesses last week that I missed the kids. I went in to volunteer after completing my internship a few days last week. She brought me homemade brownies and presents on Friday, my last unofficial day :)
I read a lot of one of the presents, Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind. Once I started reading, I read for about 2-3 hours last night. In case you might now know about this book, it's about how much of the 20th century was dominated by left-brained jobs and careers. In the 21st century, the labor force has increasingly morphed into one that depends on using the right-brain specialties of synthesis, creativity, and seeing the big picture.
-KCW
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April 19, 2012
Tomorrow is my last day officially as a student teacher. I've given back the classes to Mrs. Salesses. It feels weird to not be the central teacher anymore calling the shots in my pretend art room. Mrs. Salesses was awesome at making sure I made the decisions even about little things.
My biggest improvements were made with how I communicated and got the attention of the kids. I started out having to work on my "elementary" vocabulary since I'd been more experienced with secondary kids at the time. I also got a lot better at using the document camera which can be a bit awkward at times because of a delay in what you're doing in real time vs. what's showing up on the screen.
-KCW
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April 9, 2012
We started our "final" clay slabs this week of the units focusing on historical or ancient cultures and monuments. Second graders are learning about The Rosetta Stone and translating hieroglyphics onto cartouche-shaped clay slabs. First graders are learning about the monumental architecture of the Hagia Sophia (or, Aya Sophia) in Turkey, the height of Byzantine architecture. The mathematics behind the architecture of the Hagia Sophia include the revolutionary "pendentives" which are used to hold the extremely large domes of the Hagia Sophia. This was an architectural feat that divvied out the weight of the dome evenly through the pendentives and through to the rectangular or squarish bases of the structure. See this brief Wikipedia article on pendentives here.
Third, fourth, and fifth graders are engaging the right sides of their brains with drawing units designed to allow them to draw what they see with their eyes. Third grade still lifes are turning out wonderfully! I am so excited about these! We practiced shading some circles to make them look like spheres today in order to add value to our drawings. Third and fifth grades will focus on contour drawing as well as adding value, but in fourth grade, we have been focusing on the very technical perspective drawing. This is how architects and other technical drawing artists are able to depict 3D space on a 2D plane.
On Friday, April 20th, Mr. Stoddard, a local parent of one of our fourth graders, will be joining us to show our fourth graders all about Landscape Architecture. He practices technical drawing on a daily basis with how he designs the environments of buildings and places (as opposed to regular architecture that is concerned with only the look and design of the building).
:) Will upload more pictures soon
-Cassandra
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March 27, 2012
This week, many of the 3rd through 5th grades are engaging in critiques. I gave everyone a self and peer evaluation sheet for them to experience judging their own and one other person's artwork. After filling out the short-answer questions, such as "What elements and principles do you think this person used and why?", we shared our observations and talked about what worked in other people's artwork. If students agreed or disagreed, they just had to tell me "Why?" This engages their critical thinking skills and higher-order skills because they have to judge the relationship and inherent qualities of the artwork.
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March 25, 2012
Well, folks, spring break is winding down, and I am excited to be starting some new projects with Kindergarten through 2nd grades. We will be studying Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs and The Rosetta Stone, among other fun facts.
-KCW
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March 3, 2012
I presented at NAEA this morning on my lesson plan I'd developed for secondary students called a "Cultural Body Map". I had taught this lesson plan to Florida High students in 2010, and I had a lot of pictures to share, yet I can still talk forever about the fun I had presenting this idea to those students. My prezi is on a public link at: http://prezi.com/btc9bvghqqxd/cultural-body-maps-schemata-lessons-from-turkey/
From here, I was able to go to a session about how one Florida art teacher does a whole year's curriculum for Kindergarten of the ABC's of Artists where she has an artist for each of the 26 letters of the alphabet and where children eventually take home a book or a portfolio of their 26 works to keep. They only get to take it home though at the end of the year so that it can be bound together somehow for safe keeping. This can be the hardest part because of having to manage 26 pieces of artwork for each of your over 600 students! That means coming with a management system for over 15, 000 works of art!!!!
Feb. 27, 2012
Tomorrow (early), I am off to the NAEA (National Art Education Association) Convention in NYC. This is the annual big whig gathering of everyone in the field of visual arts education. I'm so excited! For many reasons! Not just because I will be in New York City! Not just because I will be presenting on the Art and Essay Contest, but really more so because I will be reconvening with art ed mentors I have not seen in a couple of years, namely, Dr. Sandra Bird, Debi West, and Jeanette Watchman.
I will also be helping out with a variety of FSU's activities as well as presenting my own thoughts for a short 25-minute session on Saturday, March 3rd, which also happens to be my Dad's Birthday! My Mom will join me in New York for a couple of days to watch me present!
In addition to all of these stimuli, I will be attending sessions and getting new ideas for my art teaching experience at DeSoto Trail! I'll be able to do some art myself at some of these sessions to test out a process or two myself, as well as visit with vendors and get some free samples! Hold on to your suitcases!
-KCW
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I'm getting observed today by my FSU portfolio/supervising professor! She will be visiting during our 3rd grade class period today.
-Cassandra
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Feb. 21, 2012
Since starting Mrs. Salesses new art blog, tonight, I experienced my first-ever iPug, School Advisory Council (SAC), and Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) meetings as the Art Intern at DeSoto Trail with Mrs. Kim Salesses. I was very pleased with my experiences as I watched my cooperating teacher, Mrs. Salesses, report and take down the minutes during the SAC meeting right before the PTO meeting. Most of all, I enjoyed listening to the veteran teachers I got a chance to sit down with as we took a break together between the afternoon and evening meetings.
I have since gone more in depth with the Art of Persuasion Graphic Design unit with the 3rd - 5th graders, and I have also started a printmaking unit with K-2nd grades. The printmaking unit focuses on patterns, which students have learned about through weaving with Mrs. Salesses, but we add on working with texture and experimenting with layering patterns and textures.
Some of the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards require students to know about everyday objects that use artistic skills. With printmaking, an obvious choice might be cards and books. We are brainstorming other items as well that artists have an impact on, especially in terms of altering their appearance for the sake of selling those items. These concepts are also important for the upper elementary grades as the graphic designers work with the elements and principles of art in a more sophisticated way with their cereal box designs and social issues posters.
I am so pleased to be working with Mrs. Salesses and to have met all of the lovely faculty and staff at DeSoto!
Best,
Cassandra
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Feb. 14, 2012
Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen!
My name is Miss Cassandra, and I will be learning from Mrs. Salesses and from our wonderful students while here completing my internship at DeSoto Trail Elementary.
This past week, I introduced a new unit to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders about the "Art of Persuasion" and how the field of graphic design is used in order to persuade us to think, buy, or do something. Most students, by a show of hands, did not think that they knew anything at all about graphic design. To connect with students' prior knowledge, we brainstormed together what types of objects we see and use everyday that require the hand of a graphic designer, such as clothing, advertisements, shoes, furniture, etc. More specifically, cereal boxes are things that graphic designers or artists work on that persuade us to either want or not want to buy a particular cereal. For example, in each 3rd grade class, we talked about how designers and artists use color, balance, contrast, and other effects in order for us to want to buy certain types of cereal. In 3rd grade, we will be designing our own cereal box label, keeping in mind the elements and principles of art/design and how everything ties together visually.
In 4th and 5th grades, we will be working on something a little bit different, but still under the umbrella of graphic design and the "Art of Persuasion". Fourth and fifth graders will be working on social issues posters. Students brainstormed about social issues they thought were important, such as bullying or staying fit.
Each student will come up with several thumbnail sketches, just like a real graphic designer would. Students will choose their best sketch and move forward with a final design choice, as this will allow them to make value judgments based on the relationships between images within a composition.
I had some great brainstorming sessions this past week, so I am really excited about next week as we continue working with the elements and principles of art/design and the "Art of Persuasion".
Thank you!
Miss Cassandra
P.S.: Here is a "glog" I made for you to get to know me a bit better: http://misscassandra.edu.glogster.com/get-to-know-miss-cassandra/?
Also, here is some of my artwork: www.kaatori.blogspot.com
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