Field Reflections
Observation Classroom:
I am a part of Mrs. Outkast's first grade class. I have seen some art integration within this classroom for my time in this field. The students must complete "Wordwork" packets each week, and the first page of that involves color-coding. The words for that week are in sentences, and they must color the word in the word bank, then with that same color--circle all the times it is in the sentences. So the integration of knowing colors and creating the patterns involved. The students also sketch the pictures for all the stories they write. They sketch before they even start writing. Then once they are finished writing they go back and color their sketches.
The big idea for the majority of their artwork in the classroom would be narratives, because those are the only kind of stories that they write. So they depict the stories that happened to them, and represent them the way they recall it happening in their head.
I think I would suggest more free drawing time. I feel that first graders need that unstructured time to just enhance their creativity. It would also help them master their fine motor skills of controlling their pencil or crayon or any medium they would be using. I also feel that if they had more room and time to illustrate their stories it would help them to see the importance of pictures and art. That would give them more room to express themselves they will fill it up, and that will hopefully encourage them down the road to do the same and not be embarrassed of their artwork for whatever reason.
I am a part of Mrs. Outkast's first grade class. I have seen some art integration within this classroom for my time in this field. The students must complete "Wordwork" packets each week, and the first page of that involves color-coding. The words for that week are in sentences, and they must color the word in the word bank, then with that same color--circle all the times it is in the sentences. So the integration of knowing colors and creating the patterns involved. The students also sketch the pictures for all the stories they write. They sketch before they even start writing. Then once they are finished writing they go back and color their sketches.
The big idea for the majority of their artwork in the classroom would be narratives, because those are the only kind of stories that they write. So they depict the stories that happened to them, and represent them the way they recall it happening in their head.
I think I would suggest more free drawing time. I feel that first graders need that unstructured time to just enhance their creativity. It would also help them master their fine motor skills of controlling their pencil or crayon or any medium they would be using. I also feel that if they had more room and time to illustrate their stories it would help them to see the importance of pictures and art. That would give them more room to express themselves they will fill it up, and that will hopefully encourage them down the road to do the same and not be embarrassed of their artwork for whatever reason.
Art Classroom:
Ms. Rooster was the art teacher I had the privilege of observing for this reflection project. The day I sat in for observation the class was preparing to glaze the pinch pots they had made in a previous session. The students knew the basic terminology for some of the materials. For example they knew the kiln baked all the moisture out of their pinch pots, and that it wasn't paint but glaze that they would be using on their sculptures.
Ms. Rooster was very straight forward with her directions, and lead the children to the right answers regarding safety and glazing instructions so that each piece would survive the next round in the kiln. Since she was on her "cart" that day, which means she came to the student's regular classroom with her cart of materials, all her directions and inspiration had to be verbal. She invited the students to create a pattern on their pinch pots, which is a technique that they went over in a previous class.
She was very encouraging and allowed the students to be as creative as they wanted but while still following the directions to ensure that the pieces would not break or get stuck in the kiln. The children fed off her energy, and you could just tell that the students enjoyed being able to show how creative they could be.
She was very clear in her instructions, and did not demand silence when they were actually glazing their pieces. She let them laugh and talk, which is something that I think helps people be more creative and enjoy art even more.
I could tell that Ms. Rooster had more experience with art and techniques than Mrs. Outkast did. The environment was more laid back allowing the students to be more creative, and the integration of vocabulary was present for the art class. Overall, I think that students would get more meaningful art knowledge through the art class. Art is only partially integrated into any of the subjects for the regular class time hours.
Ms. Rooster was the art teacher I had the privilege of observing for this reflection project. The day I sat in for observation the class was preparing to glaze the pinch pots they had made in a previous session. The students knew the basic terminology for some of the materials. For example they knew the kiln baked all the moisture out of their pinch pots, and that it wasn't paint but glaze that they would be using on their sculptures.
Ms. Rooster was very straight forward with her directions, and lead the children to the right answers regarding safety and glazing instructions so that each piece would survive the next round in the kiln. Since she was on her "cart" that day, which means she came to the student's regular classroom with her cart of materials, all her directions and inspiration had to be verbal. She invited the students to create a pattern on their pinch pots, which is a technique that they went over in a previous class.
She was very encouraging and allowed the students to be as creative as they wanted but while still following the directions to ensure that the pieces would not break or get stuck in the kiln. The children fed off her energy, and you could just tell that the students enjoyed being able to show how creative they could be.
She was very clear in her instructions, and did not demand silence when they were actually glazing their pieces. She let them laugh and talk, which is something that I think helps people be more creative and enjoy art even more.
I could tell that Ms. Rooster had more experience with art and techniques than Mrs. Outkast did. The environment was more laid back allowing the students to be more creative, and the integration of vocabulary was present for the art class. Overall, I think that students would get more meaningful art knowledge through the art class. Art is only partially integrated into any of the subjects for the regular class time hours.