All students then learned about how a few contemporary artists use animals as inspiration in their art. People have represented animals in their art since the beginning of time, and in many different ways. 
Fourth grade students also learned about a way quarantined pet owners used a cardboard box to turn their pet into a dinosaur. I shared a way that my own kids and I used silly faces we drew and then used as we photographed a cat. 

With another Friday with no school, 5th grade did not have art class this week.

Next week, 3rd and 4th grade class time will be considered a work day. I will be checking in to make sure students have at least started their project. They will have an opportunity to continue working, ask questions and get feedback. I will also assign their project assignment during class so that they can turn it in when it is ready. Gather up those supplies, start making your art project, and I will see you again soon.

As art students are now ready to begin a new project, we will continue to follow a 4 week schedule, but our weeks no longer coincide (for the most part) with a month. 3rd and 4th grade students started their next project this week. As 5th grade did not have class the week before spring break, they participated in their M-ART-ch Madness activity this week. For the remainder of the school year, 5th grade will now be following their own schedule. We do not have school the next two Fridays, so their next project will be introduced on Friday, April 16th. 

This week I introduced our art making schedule and our theme to each 3rd and 4th grade class. 

The theme for our project will be the same for both grade levels, with some differences between the two grades coming next week when I introduce their choice boards. At this point, I have more ideas I would like to share with them than time remaining in the school year so our current theme has two different topics. 

Students learned about the element of texture (the way something feels, or appears to feel) and Zoo Portraits. To see a fun project including animals dressed up as people, click here. Students then each had the opportunity to share with the class what their favorite animal is. 

That is all for this week. Next week will introduce their choice board, which includes some more inspiration and ideas before it is time to officially start a project. I look forward to seeing everyone again next week!

In honor of March Madness, remote students participated in an activity in art class where artists and their artwork faced off head to head. Students learned about each artist and viewed a select group of their work. Students then voted for their favorite between two using the poll feature in Google Meets. The first round started with 8 artists to create a final four. The final four faced off in the championship round until 1 artist was crowned the champion. 3rd and 5th grade students looked at Contemporary Female artists and 4th grade students looked at Contemporary Street artists. Maya Hayuk is a female street artist and was featured in both groups. Each round was harder than the last and it was a lot of fun to see which artist each class crowned their winner. 

The winners were as follows:
3A: Maya Hayuk
3F: Mademoiselle Maurice
4A: Maya Hayuk
4B: 1010
4D: DaLeast
5G: Mademoiselle Maurice
5I: Mademoiselle Maurice

3rd and 4th grade classes did this activity the week before spring break and 5th grade classes just did it the week after spring break. 

This week in Virtual Art Class we started by reviewing important information from last week:
Turning in an art project:
To turn in a completed art project, two things must be complete in the Google Doc assignment (located under the Classwork tab in Google Classroom): take a picture of the finished art project, answer 6 questions for the monthly review (talking about how students used their heart, hands, and mind to work like an artist).
Reminders for how and where to turn the assignment in are posted in the stream. Link to video here: Turn In Assignment.

We devoted the majority of class this week to finishing February art projects and turning the assignment in. Students who had their assignment already turned in had the opportunity to play WhatchamaDRAWit, which is a fast-action, fun-filled drawing game. All you need is an imagination, a pencil and a piece of paper to play. This month prompts are recorded in a video which is posted in each Google Classroom. Find the prompts for this month here. Students could also free draw or color during class if they had their assignment turned in.

So that is a wrap for our work for the month of February. ​February projects are due by the end of the school day on Friday, March 5th. As a reminder, turning in an assignment late is better than never. As always, I have filled with joy with what I have seen students completing at home. Next week I have a special activity planned for 3rd and 4th grade classes. There is no school on Friday, so 5th grade won't have their live art meetings next week (and no assignments beyond turning in their February assignment). 

We started this week with a remote learning day on Tuesday (2/16), and videos were posted in Google Classroom for students who had art class that day.
This week we started class with reviewing our schedule for February and the theme of the month (color). Students learned about the technique of blending colors and how it can be done with different media. This technique is something that they can use in their own work this month, but it is not a requirement. No matter what, learning about techniques is a way to learn and grow as an artist.

We then looked at some examples of artwork that are inspired by a color wheel and that use specific color schemes (primary colors, secondary colors, warm colors, cool colors, neutral colors, analogous colors, complementary colors). ​I then showed students their second option for making art.  

3rd Grade students learned about contemporary artist Chris Uphues.

4th Grade students learned about artist Andy Warhol and the style of Pop Art. 

5th grade students learned about the annual Doodle 4 Google logo design contest and the role of Doodlers at Google. 
​
Next week, class time will be considered a work day. I will be checking in to make sure students have at least started their project. They will have an opportunity to continue working, ask questions and get feedback. I will also assign their monthly assignment during class so that they can turn it in when it is ready. Gather up those supplies, start making your art project, and I will see you again soon.

Then, I introduced the monthly theme. This month all grades are focusing on the element of color. Next week, when I introduce a technique (our Tips and Technique week), and I will introduce their choice board. Each grade level will have two choices in ways that they can be engaged in art class: work with the theme, which is more independently with materials they have at home, or work on a second option. More information about those specifics will come in class next week. If any art supplies are needed, they can be requested and arrangements can be made to get them to students. ​

We ended class by talking about color schemes to get the creative juices flowing on how they could use color in a project. 

​That is it for our theme for art making this month. Next week will include some more inspiration and ideas before it is time to officially start. Have a great long weekend!

This week in Virtual Art Class we started by reviewing important information from Week 3:
Turning in an art project:
What: to turn in a completed art project, two things must be complete in the Google Doc assignment: take a picture of the finished art project, answer 6 questions for the monthly review (talking about how students used their heart, hands, and mind to work like an artist).
Where: the Google Doc assignment is posted under the Classwork tab, under the January topic.
How: reminders for where the Turn In Assignment video is located.

We devoted the majority of class this week to finishing January art projects and turning the assignment in. Students who had their assignment already turned in had the opportunity to play WhatchamaDRAWit, which is a fast-action, fun-filled drawing game. All you need is an imagination, a pencil and a piece of paper to play. This month prompts are recorded in a video which is posted in each Google Classroom. Find the prompts for this month here. 

So that is a wrap for our work for the month of January. ​January projects are due by the end of the school day on Friday, February 5th. As a reminder, turning in an assignment late is better than never. As always, I have been impressed with what I have seen so far and I look forward to seeing more as assignments continue to be turned in. Next week we will start a new month of instruction for February.