3rd Grade- End of the Year

Well I have decided that I had better put up the work from last year before school starts. So here is the work of Carpenter's 3rd Graders. There was a lot of reflection and modifying lessons based on students' abilities. In 3rd Grade more lessons are open ended and students have to make a lot of design choices. As they build their confidence I can see it in their work.

Pablo Picasso's Old Guitarist (1904) was the inspiration for the students Blue Guitars. During Picasso's Blue Period of paintings he used the color blue to express the state of poverty that he was in along with the state of many people in Italy at the time. My students discussed his work using Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS). I thought we had a very healthy conversation about poverty and homelessness. Students got to choose if they wanted to do an acoustic guitar or electric.

The Senufu cloths that they made were based on the large cloth I was given when I started working at Carpenter Elementary. I loved explaining that the cloth tells a story and since it is made of natural fibers the paint is actually different shades of mud. Students like the idea of mud but we used oil pastels and chalk instead. 

Alex Beard's Peacock has been an inspiration for students since I started teaching Art. My students seem to enjoy the zen-ness of the design and the rhythm of the design. I generally go over the elements of design with this project.

Students created images to compliment their poems. These were on display for all those who attended the 3rd Grade Performance could read and admire after the event was over. Students work stayed up until the end of the year. Younger students were very interested in the work. Students had access to many library books as well as the computer to help them with their work.

3rd Grade students also made biome landscapes for their clay animals. I will be updating with photos soon.