Grade Level Program Descriptions
Clay Club! The Clay Club is an after-school extra-curricular activity for kids to come to after school and do things with clay. It is basically free open-studio time to make whatever one wants, with Mrs. Leverton there to help. It is a fun and relaxed, informal atmosphere in which to work! Students pay a supply fee for the materials.The Clay Club meets every Tuesday after school from 3:30-5:00 pm. Interested students and their parents can contact Mrs. Leverton at (406) 961-3007, ext. 214 or email at peggyl@corvallis.k12.mt.us . Also: a letter of introduction and permission slip can be obtained on the "Links to Related Places and assignments" page, in the left-hand column here.
5th Grade Art Class: A big goal is simply getting students accustomed to Middle School Art class and its expectations and routines. We do lots of different projects! We do lots of drawing for one thing. We learn about the Chinese New Year and try our hand at painting with ink and bamboo brushes. We also build relief tiles in clay, and later in the semester, we do painting with both tempera and watercolors. During the semester we participate in local art events such as the annual Duck Stamp wildlife art contest. In conjunction with Memorial Day, we have also created posters for veterans. We have created our own scratch art paper, and we look at artworks through history by different artists. Students receive receive regular feedback in person, in class about their projects and the progress that they are making. About Grades: Since 2016-17, students have been on the standards-based grading system. For Art Class, there are three standards: 1) Work Habits: how well does the student use class-time, show evidence of effort and using class time to its fullest. Follow through with in-class work. 2) Process: This includes all of the practice in-class exercises, and 3) Content: How well has the student completed the finished product. Evidence of time and effort, proper use of materials, a finished piece! Students receive a score of 1 - 4 on each standard, with 1 being low, and 4 being high.
6th Grade Art Class: We do linear perspective drawing, plus a unit on the art of Botswana, where Mrs. Leverton lived and worked as a Peace Corps Volunteer. In this unit of study, we create clay figure sculptures, based on the mythical creature called the Tokolose (pronounced 'toe-koe-LOE-see'), and also learn how to do printmaking with styrofoam printing plates, which the students create. We will also study the Color Wheel and how colors are mixed. In conjunction with American Indian Heritage Day, students learn about the tradition of the Star Quilt and create their own designs using colored construction paper. We practice drawing the human figure to proportion. About Grades: Students have the Standards-Based grading system for their report card grades, with three standards: 1) Work Habits: how well does the student use class-time, show evidence of effort and using class time to its fullest, 2) Process: this includes all of the practice exercises and preliminary sketches and even notes on the process, done in class, and 3) Content: the finished project. How well has the student completed the project, followed through, shown evidence of effort and proper use of materials. In the classroom though, we use other systems: We use the "O-S-U system for projects: "O" = Outstanding, "S" = Satisfactory, "U" = Unsatisfactory, with "S+" and "S-" in-between. We have class discussions about grades in general, to ease students into the whole system. Students are invited to transition, at their own pace, to a points-percentage grade on their projects, daily in-class work, and class-time use. This is intended to help them prepare for seventh grade coming up.
7th Grade Art Foundations Class: We create our own handmade sketchbooks which we will use throughout the semester for in-class work and warm-ups. We work with clay and create the "Ugly:" cartoon heads in clay! Students also get a chance to try their hand at the Potter's Wheel. We work with wire sculpture and model magic. We work on our basic drawing skills with value scales and how to do shading and create the illusion of a three-dimensional object. We do linear perspective drawing both in the classroom and out on location. We paint, print, and look at artworks through history. Mrs. Leverton is always looking for new projects to try out in the classroom! Students receive conventional A B C D F grades for their final report card grades, based on the the points/percentage format. For their individual class projects and assignments, they earn points out of points possible, which factor into their final percentage of points earned out possible points, for the quarter.
7th Art Enhancement Class: This class is different from the Art Foundations class, given above. Some students will have had the Foundations class, and some will not have. The Enhancement class is implemented more on what projects and materials that the students choose. Grading is done based on the thought that some students have not yet gone through a conventional grading system for Art class (meaning a grade of A B C D F). Therefore, this being a semester-long class, grading is carried out the following way:
For the first half of the semester (which is a quarter long) students receive what is called an "in-class work" grade, which covers all in-class assignments for a 2-week period. This also covers such things as their use of class-time, preliminary sketches and planning, whatever they do in class, pretty much. It is then converted to points, with 10 points possible for that 2-week period. Points earned convert to a percentage which then converts to a conventional grade of A B C D F.
For the second half of the semester, grading will be based on points possible for individual assignment projects (just like the Foundations classes, described above). Projects are usually 25 points possible, but it varies from project to project. Students will also receive one "in-class work" grade for the whole quarter, which will cover in-class preliminary work, practice exercises, and evidence of class-time use. Anything that falls under that umbrella, so to speak. As is mentioned above, all points earned out of points possible convert to a percentage, which then converts to a conventional grade of A B C D F.
8th Grade Art Class: In the 8th Grade Art class, the goal is to work at a more advanced level, in preparation for High School. We reflect on the different skills and projects from the middle school years and approach them again, but at a higher level. We do sculpture and hand-built vessels in clay, we do plaster casting with plaster gauze. We do two-point linear perspective drawing and figure drawing. We review Color Theory and the Color Wheel. We re-visit the importance of composition and design principles. We have viewed contemporary artworks by Montana Native American artists and artists from other backgrounds, in addition to ongoing in-class Art History reading and writing. Exposure to the works of other artists is critical. Time permitting, students look over their collections of works made that semester and created a whole new artwork called the Artist's Book of their various sketches, drawings, and even notes. We have also talked about the career possibilities for artists and the world of Commercial Art. About Grading: Students receive their project grades in the percentage format, with a final quarter grade of A B C D F.