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? 

• Following the trickle-in activity, students engaged in a partner game and individual planning sheet on the impact of color on emotions. Students worked in pairs to choose a color they felt represented a selected emotion. After a few rounds, students were given two handouts—one with a list of colors and emotions associated with them and one to plan what colors they wanted to use on their sculpture. Students could analyze what colors related to the emotion they sculpted and envision how they would use them on their sculptures.

• Following the lesson demonstration, students were able to develop their craft by practicing the appropriate techniques for painting a sculpture with acrylic paint. Students also discussed using large brushes to cover larger areas and smaller brushes to add details. They practiced how to “Dip, wipe, and blot” their brushes to clean them when changing colors so they did not become muddy on their sculpture.

• Since the class was primarily focused on painting their sculptures, students also practiced stretching and exploring. Students engaged in mixing colors on their palettes, blending colors on their sculptures, and discovering how to blend and layer colors on a three-dimensional surface. Some students also discovered how to use paint as a “glue” to reattach small pieces that broke off their sculptures. As students learned new techniques and how to mix new colors, they shared their process with their neighbors so everyone could try something new.

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

• This lesson implemented the social-emotional learning benchmark of 2D.1a. (Identify opportunities, challenges, and conflicts commonly experienced by themselves and their peers). Students at this age understand how to identify various challenges they and their peers face and how to develop different solutions for these challenges. Students worked together to mix paint on their shared palettes when they did not have their desired colors, showed their peers how to mix new colors, engaged and persisted when pieces broke by finding ways to alter their designs or reattach the pieces, and collaborated to clean up their supplies and workstations at the end of class. Providing students with challenges like these allows them to demonstrate their prior knowledge, practice collaborative efforts and problem-solving skills, and reinforce self-confidence when they can help their peers or develop solutions independently.

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

• My students were able to meet all their learning objectives for this lesson. Following the independent practice/planning time, students could envision by considering how color impacts the viewers’ emotions. The demonstration went differently than initially planned. However, students were still observed developing crafts as they painted their practice and final sculptures. Finally, students were able to stretch and explore different techniques to mix colors and apply paint to their ceramic sculptures.

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

• I assessed my students’ abilities to envision by observing them as they completed their color planning page. I circulated the room and answered questions while observing as students reviewed colors they related to their emotion. Everyone completed a planning page with a sketch of their sculpture, what colors they wanted to paint it, and where those colors would go. I assessed their ability to develop craft by observing them as they worked on painting their practice sculptures and final sculptures. I noticed students mixing colors on their palettes, using smaller brushes for adding details and practicing the “dip, wipe, blot” to clean their brushes when changing colors. Finally, at the end of class, many students finished painting their sculptures, and I was able to use the Emotion Sculpture Rubric to assess how they were able to stretch and explore, as well as develop craft as previously stated. I also evaluated their ability to stretch and explore as they worked on painting their final sculptures by watching their painting techniques and listening to their conversations with their peers.

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

• During the independent practice, I listened to students discuss with their peers what colors represented their emotions based on the handout they were given. I also worked one-on-one with many students to help them determine what emotions were synonyms to their chosen emotion so they could decide what colors to use. For instance, one girl chose silly as her emotion. We worked together to determine that when she feels silly, she also feels happy, excited, and friendly. One boy chose hurt as his emotion, and we worked together to determine that when he feels hurt, he also feels sad or angry sometimes. Following class, I was also able to review everyone’s planning page and observe the thoughts they had marked on their paper.

• Following the demonstration, students had time to practice the painting techniques on their sculptures from the first class. I observed the students using the large brushes to create a base of solid color on their sculptures before taking their smaller brushes to add details, like eyes, freckles, and stripes. Students also practiced how to “swirl, wipe, and blot” to clean their brushes, and many determined it was also helpful to squeeze their brushes in a paper towel to remove the excess color if their brushes were really dirty.

• I observed students stretching and exploring as they worked on painting their sculptures and using the rubric for this project. As I observed students, I watched as many worked together to mix different colors of paint to share, with forest green being a particular favorite at one table. I also observed students blending wet paint and layering over dry paint on their sculptures. Students also discovered they could use paint as a glue to reattach small pieces that fell off their sculptures.

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.)?

• Though many students felt complete with their sculptures at the end of class, many of their sculptures needed to meet a higher score on the rubric. This is primarily due to students not fully saturating their clay with paint and exposing a lot of white clay. Many students were absent from this class, so I already planned to add more work time to the next class. I plan to add a discussion before this work time about fully covering the clay with an even layer of paint to not only add details and enhance our pieces but also as a protective method. My goal with this discussion is to have more students revisit their pieces and spend more time painting so that the surface is fully coated with prismatic paint. I also want to remind students to paint the edges of their slabs for a more cohesive look, even carrying the paint onto the back of their sculptures to help the clay be fully covered.  

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. 

• As students worked, I made sure to comment on the techniques they were using. I commented on the different colors they were mixing and taught others how to make them. I commented on students using the “swirl, wipe, blot” technique to clean their brushes and how this would prevent any unwanted color mixing or streaks of unwanted colors in their paint. I told them this would also keep their colors bright for their sculptures. I reminded students that we would have time next class to keep painting so they didn’t rush. Many students still worked relatively quickly, so I commented on those taking their time and how they got clean edges of color and added lots of details. This feedback aimed to encourage students to take their time, allow them to reflect on their work so far, and understand why some of their painted areas may not be turning out how they wanted. I also commended students for engaging and persisting if any pieces broke off their sculptures, commenting on how they adapted their design to fit the new look to the sculpture or how they discovered how to use paint to seal in small pieces that broke off.

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

• To ensure feedback was meaningful to students, I elaborated on why I gave them or their peers that feedback. This gave students a deeper understanding of what they were doing and reminded their neighbors how they could be working. For example, when I commented on the two girls taking their time and being very precise with their colors, I mentioned that by taking their time, they allowed painted areas to dry so that their colors would not unintentionally mix. When I commented on students using the large brush on their pieces, I mentioned how this allowed them to create an even coat of paint and cover more white clay. When students had pieces of their clay break off, and they used paint to glue smaller pieces back on, I mentioned how some artists use paint like glue regularly when doing mixed media projects.

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]:

Welcoming and Affirming Environment:

• • To create a welcoming and affirming environment, I focused on having students “take academic risks in order to create an environment that capitalizes on student mistakes as learning opportunities that help students grow.” As students were stretching and exploring during their independent practice, they had to take risks to try new techniques when painting their sculptures. Some students had not painted three-dimensional forms before, which was their first risk. They also played with ways to mix, blend, and layer colors. Trying these new techniques allowed them to gain new knowledge and experiences and helped grow their self-confidence as they discovered techniques that worked for them and taught them to other students.

Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment:

• • This lesson represented inclusive curriculum and assessment through “Multiple ways of assessing in-classroom learning that allow all students to demonstrate their knowledge and growth.” This was done using a written/drawn trickle-in activity, independent work time, a partner-based game, and a large group closure activity. This allowed students to demonstrate their knowledge verbally, in a written manner, through hands-on work, and in large group, partner-based, and independent settings.

High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction:

• • High expectations and rigorous instruction were shown as students “identified their different learning styles” with various instructional strategies that were responsive to those styles. The trickle-in activity prompted a drawn response; the color game prompted teamwork and visual/verbal responses; our planning page allowed written and drawn responses; an independent practice allowed students hands-on demonstrations of their knowledge; and the closure permitted activity for large group verbal responses. Students were also given instructions by verbal and written means and had small and large visuals to refer to. Incorporating multiple styles of instruction and ways to demonstrate knowledge allows students to identify what works for them and how to show best what they learned to the class.