Third and Fourth Grade Art
I received the job as the 3rd and 4th grade part-time art teacher at Maud Abrams School in Lower Township School District in March 2017! Becoming an art teacher was my dream job, and I never expected it to happen so early on in my teaching career. I am so thankful to have been giving this opportunity, and I am absolutely loving every minute of it! I developed a website specifically for the Maud Abrams' Art Room, so staff, students, and parents can stay up-to-date on all things art! Please click here to view the website. |
A dream come true: My very own art room!
Ms. Caplan's Art Room Rules
Within the first week of meeting my 450 very excited students, I asked them all to come up with their own art room rules. I compiled a list of all of their suggestions and narrowed them down to 8 extremely important rules! Listed below are all of the rules the students came up:
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Art Room Behavior System |
Since this was my first time being a special's area teacher, I knew I had to come up with some type of behavior system. I reached out to all of the classroom teachers to take into consideration all of their advice and suggestions. I also researched different classroom and behavior management techniques for the art room. I settled upon a clip chart system containing 5 tiers (red, yellow, green, blue, and purple). Each class will start on green ("Ready to Create") and the goal is for them to work their way up to purple ("Outstanding"). Depending on which color the class is on at the end of the period, they will get that color popsicle stick in their classes crayon container. The class with the most purple popsicle sticks in their crayon container by the end of the marking period will receive a prize!
Side note: If your class tends to be more-so on the noisy side, click here to try out this great classroom management tool. |
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Behavior Rewards
The First Project: Being unique is chic!
Amy Hussey, an art teacher at the J.W. Killam School and author of killamcreationstation.blogspot.com, developed an amazing collaborative mural project for her school. I took inspiration from her project and introduced it to my Maud Abrams students! Each student was to trace their hand on a half sheet of white drawing paper and decorate it either with a unique design or drawings that represent how they are unique and special. They were to stick to one color theme, so the end result would be a blossomed rainbow tree. This project was an aim to show that everybody is unique, but all of our differences and disparities come together as one big, beautiful Maud Abrams' Masterpiece! "We are each unique and beautiful, but together we are a masterpiece!"
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After:
Abstract Art & Oil Pastels: 3rd Grade
Upon completion of the our school-wide collaborative mural, I decided to focus on oil pastels as our next medium. Oil pastels are so fun, and I knew the kids would love working with them. In 3rd grade, I had the kids dive into the wonderful world of abstract art. I reviewed the basic elements of art with the students, and then taught them different oil pastel techniques that they can use in their own abstract art creations. I showed them the Youtube video on the left to help them review! |
Vincent Van Gogh & Oil Pastels: 4th Grade
I wanted the 4th grade students to get in on the oil pastel fun as well! Rather than focusing on a specific type of art, I am having the 4th grade students focus on a specific artist. I wanted these students to gain an appreciation for Vincent Van Gogh, since he is one of the most famous artists of all time and only about 20% of the 4th graders had heard his name before. I introduced Van Gogh with the short cartoon video to the right. I then gave a brief overview of his life and career, and introduced the project. The students will be using Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" as inspiration for this project. They will be creating oil pastel flowers that encompass their own unique artistic flare!
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Displaying Artwork!
Displaying student work is so important! When student work is displayed, they become even more intrinsically motivated and inclined to do well. They love seeing their artwork and projects hung up in the hallway. They are proud and excited to have created that work.
My Number One Fans!
Here is a collection of student cards, notes, and artwork that I have received! I have a whole chalkboard dedicated to their creations and kind words.