Day 1

Lesson Plan

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the art room and the expectations of being an “ARTIST.” Students will then be introduced to the medium of clay and engage in a game to familiarize themselves with it and encourage them not to be afraid of making mistakes and starting over. Students are exploring the Studio Habits of Mind of Stretch & Explore, Engage & Persist, and Develop Craft. Students will then practice their clean-up routine and learn how to label and store finished projects to dry.

Classroom layout / management

The tables in my room were in a fixed position, so I was required to work around them. However, this was only a minor setback, as their current locations worked well to spread students out and allow for a good classroom flow. I utilized the throwing table as storage for winter coats and other items students brought since we would otherwise not be using it, and I wanted the students to be safe from being tempted to sit there. The central part of the classroom was the counter next to the sink, so I used this area to display the class schedule for all students. The wall to the right of the sinks was the most open area, so I designated it the primary visuals wall. I also utilized the large cabinets next to the door to display our artist community wall. Finally, the chalkboard was fixed to the wall, but I covered it with a laminated piece of paper to create a whiteboard for students to see a trickle-in prompt as they entered class. I placed two carts in front of the office door so they were easily accessible. These carts will house extra supplies and serve as a drying area for finished sculptures. They also serve as an extension to the slab roller, which I will use to house supplies as well. The tables were covered with colored paper, which students would later use to draw on. In keeping with our theme of emotions and utilizing relevant pop culture, I used laminated prints of the characters from the movie Inside Out to label the tables and allow me to call on groups.

Visuals

Class Schedule

The class schedule will be a permanent visual for the classroom. It is a customizable schedule to allow students consistency and a daily guide. The arrow along the left side is moveable to remind students of what we are doing and what to expect next.

Visuals Wall

The visual wall is located along the wall behind the largest table. This wall will contain all relevant visuals for the class. I put up all of my current visuals for the first class to provide consistency for my students. Some students noticed them and even used them for inspiration in our activities for the day. The current visuals include how to slip and score, texture, types of coils, the stages of clay, and color psychology.

Game Wheel

The game wheel was a unique visual for the first day of class. One of our main activities was a game called "Destroy, Build, Destroy." I would spin the wheel to provide a random prompt for students to sculpt. I placed the wheel near the classroom schedule to keep it in a central location for all students to see as we played.

Artist Wall

After doing a tour of the art room, I wanted to create a fun way to remind students of their expectations while in the art room. I also wanted to provide a way to start building community early and make the kids feel like this room was their studio, not mine. I called on volunteers to read each line of the poster. When we all agreed to abide by these expectations, I invited students up to place a handprint and write their names on a large piece of paper as a way to "sign" this agreement. In subsequent classes, I plan to display this handprint mural on the wall next to this poster to remind students of their agreement with the expectations so they can hold themselves and their peers accountable. It also serves as a reminder that we are a community of artists.

Students at work

Destroy, build, destroy

One of the main activities for class today was a game called "Destroy, Build, Destroy." This game was designed to engage students with clay, get their creative juices flowing, encourage mistakes and starting over, and allow them to see the endless possibilities of a single ball of clay. In this activity we focused on the studio habit of mind of engage and persist. Each student was given the same amount of model magic to use for the entirety of the game. Using the game wheel I created, students were granted limited time to sculpt the prompt the wheel landed on. We started with about 5 minutes to sculpt and ended on a speed round that was only 30 seconds. After each round, the students were instructed to squish their clay back into a ball so they could start the following prompt. At the end of the game, students were given time to create a sculpture they would leave to dry that we would revisit in a later class.

Table Art

As a trickle-in activity for the first day, I asked students to write their names on the table in front of them. Then, they were allowed to draw freely on the tables as everyone finished checking in. Throughout the class, as students finished early or were waiting for the next set of instructions, they were allowed to work on their table drawings. Many students collaborated, took inspiration from each other, and developed intriguing drawings during the class. These are the final "community murals" from the end of class.

Final Sculptures

Following our game, students were provided time to stretch and explore independently. They were given 20 minutes to create their own model magic sculpture they would allow to dry for use in a future class.

Exit Tickets

To end the day, I passed out index cards to each student for an exit ticket. I asked them to write or draw what they thought our big project for the year would be.

CRSE / SEL STANDARDS

Blog - Day 1

I am incredibly thrilled about how the first day went! The students quickly warmed up to each other, especially since many knew each other from school or from previous years at Saturday Art School. The students were eager to begin class when they learned we would focus on clay as our medium for the year. Many of them had already worked with clay in school and were highly interested in the pottery wheels. Unfortunately, I had to tell them we will not be using the pottery wheels this year. While many of us, including me, were nervous, by the end of class, we all left smiling and excited to return!

The staff debrief afterward was also very insightful as I could reflect on my teaching and get ideas from the other teachers’ experiences. It was also reassuring that I was not the only one who struggled with some aspects of my teaching that day. I received some constructive feedback to use in future lessons while also reasserting the skills I have already developed to effectively teach. The students were highly responsive to my game and the correct-me demo and were more than happy to be able to play with clay on the first day. At this time, my goals for future classes are to better reinforce expectations, such as listening when others are speaking, and to remove gendered language from my vocabulary.

4. How did you plan and implement the components of Studio Habits of Mind and/or Teaching for Artistic Behavior in your instructional planning and teaching of these two (2) lessons?

For this lesson, I wanted to introduce students to the art room and begin exploring clay immediately. The first part of the class was devoted to Develop Craft: Studio Practice. After guiding students through a tour of the room and explaining the expectations for working in the studio, they engaged in a correct-me demonstration. I pretended to be a student coming into class but broke all the expectations we had discussed. Students stopped me whenever I did something wrong and corrected me on what I should be doing. In doing this, we reinforced how to work in and respect the studio and each other.
The next portion of the class focused on the studio habit of Engage and Persist. Students participated in a game where they would have to create something in a limited amount of time before destroying it and starting over with a new prompt. This game allowed students to get their hands dirty as they experimented with model magic clay. As students learned the new material, they had to work through any struggles to create a sculpture they were happy with. By having the students create each new sculpture out of the same piece of clay, students were able to normalize starting over as a natural part of the artistic process. Doing this in a low-stakes game makes them more comfortable with making mistakes and starting over during their final project.
Stretch and Explore is a third studio habit explored at the end of the lesson. After our game on engaging and persisting, students could develop sculptures from their ideas. They began to play freely with clay and experiment and discover techniques on their own. These techniques included coiling, pinch pots, and carving into the clay. After the game, students were also more confident in starting over on their final project or fixing a mistake if something was not turning out how they wanted. Some students started making pinch pots as their final project before they eventually developed into perfume bottles.

5. How did you plan and implement Social Emotional Learning (SEL) benchmarks into your two (2) lessons?

This lesson plan implemented the Social Emotional Learning benchmark 3A.1b. (Create, understand, and practice shared classroom expectations that support the well-being of self and others). During our lecture on classroom expectations and “How to be an ARTIST,” students agreed on a set of expectations to adhere to while in the art room. They signed a poster marking them as part of our artistic community so that they can hold themselves and others accountable to these expectations. To reinforce these expectations, they participated in a correct me demonstration where I pretended to be a student and corrected me when I did not follow our expectations. Students practiced these expectations at the end of class as they stored their work, cleaned their tables, and waited for dismissal.

6. A. Did your students meet the learning objective(s) of the lessons?

My students met all of the learning objectives for this lesson. After watching a tour of the art classroom and listening to the classroom expectations, the students could Develop Craft as they learned how to care for the studio space and its materials. After our skill-building game, students knew how to Engage and Persist when they ran into issues with their sculptures and needed to fix mistakes or start over. Finally, students could Stretch and Explore as they made their first sculptures based on their ideas.

6. B. List the assessments you used to come to that conclusion.

I assessed the students’ understanding of studio care through a correct-me demonstration. I pretended to be a student coming into class, and the students stopped me and corrected me when I did not follow our classroom rules or meet our classroom expectations. To assess the students’ ability to Engage and Persist, I observed the class as they participated in making multiple sculptures during our game, taking note of them following the prompt and their willingness to start over for each prompt. Finally, I assessed the students’ ability to Stretch and Explore by making sculptures of their own. I watched the students work and noticed how they tried various techniques to create with the clay, including coiling and pinch pots. At the end of class, students placed their finished sculptures on a cart to dry, and I could further analyze how they made three-dimensional forms, utilized all their clay, and came up with their own unique ideas.

6. C. Analyze and discuss how students met or did not meet the learning objectives by citing evidence from your assessment of student learning.

At the beginning of the lesson, students met their objective by participating in a correct demonstration to express their knowledge of studio care. When I would go to do something against expectations, the class would shout “No!” or “Stop!” at me. I would then ask a volunteer to tell me what I did wrong and what I was supposed to do instead. Students repeated expectations, such as what tables to sit at and how to follow the sign-in/sign-out procedure with their parents.
Students met the objective of Engage and Persist by participating in our classroom game. Many students protested when I first explained the rules, telling them how to sculpt something and then smush it so we could sculpt something else. Nevertheless, they still participated in the game. A few students did not want to destroy their first sculpture, but after some encouragement from their friends and teacher, they did. By the end of the second round, everyone was excited to squish their clay again and see what they had to make next. Some students even started over before I gave the cue to do so.
To assess the students’ ability to Stretch and Explore, I observed the class as they worked independently on their final sculptures. Many students made two or three sculptures before choosing which one to leave to try. Students also asked for sculpting tools to help them manipulate and carve into their clay. Two girls started their independent practice by seeing who could roll the longest coil. Another took inspiration from the coiling visual on the wall and created a twisted coil piece she said she wanted to turn into a hair clip.

6. D. Based upon this analysis and discussion of student learning, what will you do next with your students (i.e., reteaching needs, next steps, how to move forward, etc.)?

In the next class, we will start with a drawing game to engage students in creating and reinforcing the necessity of making mistakes and starting over. We will then discuss our focus artists so that we can move into planning for our final projects. We will do a team activity to learn about utilizing symbolism in our projects and reinforce our expectations of listening and collaborating. Many students have used clay before, so we will review different hand-building techniques through students teaching others and a friendly competition before moving into our final project.

7. A. In what ways did you provide feedback, both planned and in-the-moment, that supported students’ learning and encouraged active participation? Provide specific examples.

I knew there would be some resistance at the beginning of our game, so I encouraged students only to use half of their clay to make their first sculpture. When they realized how fun it was to squish their clay, they quickly moved to use all of the clay for the rest of the game. When I noticed that not all students were interested in the spun prompt, rather than discouraging them from experimenting on their own, I asked them about the idea they were making separately. For students who finished early during independent practice, I asked if they might want to add any other details or accessories to their sculpture before we put it up to dry.

7. B. How did you ensure that this feedback was helpful, constructive, and meaningful to students?

When I found students who were not engaged in the prompt but were still creating, I asked them to explain their ideas. Rather than tell them they needed to make the prompt, I encouraged them to stretch and explore but still try starting over when everyone else did. For the students who finished early, I discussed what other details they might want to add to enhance their art. One girl made an owl, and I asked if she wanted to add a feather texture to develop her idea further, and she eagerly agreed.

8. How did you address the following principles of culturally responsive and sustaining education in your planning and instruction [see also: your lesson plans in Section 2: Designing Two (2) Consecutive Lessons]:

A. Welcoming and Affirming Environment:

To create a Welcoming and Affirming Environment, I focused on having students “Take ownership of the physical space and learning environment in the school community.” This is found in the lesson through the art room tour and having students make a handprint to show they are part of our artistic community. The handprints will be displayed to remind students that the art studio is their space, and they shape the culture of that community. It also reminds them that caring for the items and people within that space is their responsibility.

B. Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment:

Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment is represented in this lesson through our closure activity. In our exit ticket, all students were allowed “to actively give input and share their opinions on the curriculum.” Our exit activity allowed students to respond verbally and in written or drawn form. This allows every student the opportunity to respond. In asking them what they think our final project will be, I can also gauge where student interest lies to shape future lessons.

C. High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction:

High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction are critical parts of the art room. In this lesson, students could “present to their peers through project-based learning.” During both the game and the independent practice, students created sculptures and were allowed to share what they made with their tables or the whole class. Presenting to their peers allows students to share their beliefs and ideas and learn from one another’s mistakes and successes.

Page updated

Report abuse