Flor/TCEP

Welcome to your class portfolio!! The purpose of this site is to show CAPE the development of your arts integration partnership, as guided by your big idea and inquiry question. 

Make sure you have the following:

1. Planning Form: You must fill out the planning form by February 15th

2. Evaluation: Upload your pre/post/mid assessment findings

3. Reflection Questions: Make sure you have your reflection questions filled out for each semester

4. Class Documentation: Include your best documentation with captions. Note about videos: upload videos to your designated folder (click on link here), and then embed the video on this page by clicking "Drive" (under "Insert") on the right-hand side menu, then selecting your video from that folder under "Shared with me." 

IMPORTANT: 

• Please do not edit any other pages other than this, your class' page!

• Please make sure that all media that you upload only displays students whose parents have given consent to their documentation through the signed Media Release Form. Should you upload images of a student who has not given their consent to be documented, please make sure to blur their face.

What is the context of your students, families, school, school neighborhood, or classroom that informed your class focus? Please include a specific example of how you brought that context to a project/ activity!

This was an in-person Spanish-language class in the Little Village neighborhood, with participants ranging in age from their 20s to 60s. Many were new to the U.S., and some had only been here for a year or two. I wanted to create a space where they could feel calm, connected, and seen. For one of our main projects, we created Huichol-inspired yarn paintings for El Día del Nopal. Each person shared a memory about cactus plants and turned it into art. This helped build a sense of community—people opened up, told stories, and connected with one another.

Describe your class focus: which art and non-art (academic, SEL, cultural, etc) content did you integrate into your project(s)?

The class focused on exploring traditional and contemporary Latin American art practices while supporting personal expression and emotional well-being. We used Huichol-inspired yarn painting as a meditative and tactile artmaking process. Non-art content included cultural memory, storytelling, and social-emotional learning. We worked on life skills like self-expression, patience, and intuitive decision-making, as well as technical skills like translating memories into visual form and simplifying images into patterns. One student told me, “Gracias maestro por enseñarnos a crear arte, especialmente en estos tiempos de tanta ansiedad—una forma muy sana de lidiar con esta emoción.” That sentiment captured the class's intention: to offer a creative and grounding practice during difficult times.

Focusing on themes help participants share memories and buid comunity around that.  We had to main themes, El dia del nopal and El dia de la mujer. 

What did you learn about how you teach?

I learned the importance of flexibility and responsiveness to the flow of participants. Because students' schedules varied, some were only able to attend once, while others came consistently. I adapted by offering layered projects—longer projects that returning participants could build on, and smaller activities that could be completed in one session. For instance, one student was only able to come once, but had always wanted to try aluminum embossing. She completed a finished piece in a single class and left feeling proud. Being able to meet participants where they are—emotionally, logistically, and artistically—has deepened my approach to community teaching.

Look back at your planning form and the skills you listed out that students would learn– provide an example of a project you did with students and how it developed some of those skills

One of our central projects was the Huichol-inspired yarn painting. This project supported both life and technical skills. It required patience and hand-eye coordination, which many participants found calming—especially at the start of the year when anxiety levels were high. The process of gluing yarn in patterns to depict personal imagery helped them develop their ability to simplify complex images and express stories visually. I encouraged them to follow their intuition and make each project their own. Later in the program, some participants expanded this skill into other materials—using string to add detail to their paper mâché sculptures. It was a clear example of how technical and expressive skills carried over from one project to the next.