Final Post

I just want to say that this is my final post. Doing this blog was a great opportunity to reflect on art. I learned a lot about myself and how much I actually do enjoy the arts!

Christmas Performance

I would like to comment on the performance at the Christmas potlatch. I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed doing it. I was great to see everyone so festive and enthusiastic. I thought that we all did an awesome job, even though we forgot some of the words...its been a while! I think that our cohort set an awesome example for next year because even though we were not perfect, we committed to what we were doing and that is one of the most important parts about performing.





I had not done a performance like this in a very long time, but I found it refreshing. For the most part, the audience seemed to enjoy it, even though we had a lot of songs. And I must say that the videos were great! Rob and Mike did an awesome job. Every cohort needs guys like those two!

Art Gallery

The opportunity to go the art gallery again for another tour was great. I really enjoyed what they had planned for us. The glow in the dark art was awesome and a lot of fun. I thought that is was interesting how they incorporated art that was not typical. Painting on your hand can be art in itself even though it is not permanent. I also liked how it tied into the art display where the artist used glow in the dark paint to photograph himself. I actually found that art display quite creepy, but I enjoyed that activity that went with it. I also really enjoyed that other art display that they had with the 3D effect that the layered photos created. The art activity that went with it was also really neat. it was fun to use a picture of yourself and then place it on a background that didn't necessarily fit the picture. It created a really neat effect. I would love to try and do that with my students one day if possible. Overall, the day at the art gallery was a lot of fun and very informative. I think that it is important for teachers to be aware of what is out there for their students. The art gallery is a great resource for teachers and I can't wait to take my own class there one day!

Creative Drama versus Performance Drama

I would like to comment on the dramatic skits and pantamimes that we did the other day in class. I thought that the activity was actually quite fun and I enjoyed watching what the other groups had come up with. Everyone's presentation was different and there is definately a lot of creativity floating around.

When I initially heard what we had to do I got nervous and anxious. Drama has been a bit of a stumbling block for me over the years. I love to watch it, but doing it is a completely different story. It took me back to grade 7 when we did improv type drama in the classroom. I was incredibly shy back then and it was very hard for me to get up in front of the class and do the drama thing. Ever since that point, I have always considered myself bad at drama. It is a label which I am sure that many other students share as well. I liked the idea of not forcing participation in drama as was mentioned in the textbook. Give the audience a role to play so they are still engaged, but not every student should be forced to do improv until they are ready.

I have gotten over my fear of drama to a certain extent, but it still something that makes me uncomfortable. I hope to change that for the students that I will have. My plan is to start small and build up to more extensive drama so all students get a chance to feel comfortable expressing themselves through dramatic experiences.

Backstreet Boys!

I went to the Backstreet Boys concert that was in town over the weekend and it was a great time. It reminded me of being a young teen again and the music that I was OBSESSED with (I totally wanted to marry Brian...). I would spend hours listening to their CDs, singing along, dancing and daydreaming. I won't go into more detail because I would just end up embarassing myself. The point is the Backsteet Boys have played a huge role in my musical history as you might call it. I even remember the first time that I saw them on the TV. I was in elementary school and being babysay. The music video came on and me and my sisters and the babysitter argued over who we thought was the cutest one.

I think that as teacher to realize how big a role popular music can play in the lives of their students. It is valuable resource to tap into because it can engage the students. If one of my teachers would have mentioned anything about the Backstreet boys back in the day, I would have been all ears. I plan to use this technique in my class because it shows the students that you care about what they are interested in. I do realize that this must be done within reason as not all music is really appropriate for the classroom.

Overall I am glad that I went to the concert. I think that concerts are a great way to relax and have some fun and let go of any inhibitions that you have about singing out loud. I belted out the songs that I knew (and surprisingly I still remembered all the words) and didn't worry about what the people around me thought because everyone else was doing the same thing. I think that we should all celebrate our musical pasts, even if it might be a bit embarassing now!

Rememberance Day

Rememberance Day is an important day for teachers to recognize and discuss in their classrooms. My grandfather was a fighter pilot in World War II for the United States Air Force and was in the battle of Midway. I am proud of what he did for his country and for me. Students need to be aware of why they have freedom and that other people have given up their lives in order for us to have that freedom. They should know the meaning behind the poems that they recite and hear. I believe that war is something we should educate our children about so they are knowledgeable. As a student of history, I think that it is important to recognize the people that have made the present possible. We should honour them with that moment of silence and teach our children to do so as well.

There are several way that I might do this in my own classroom. I would love to read a story to the students that talked about soldiers and war and the experiences that they had. Also, depending on the age and maturity of the students, you could also watch a video or movie on war and then discuss it. This rememberace day I watched a couple episodes of Band of Brothers. I really enjoy that mini-series because it starts out with the actual veterans talking about their experiences which provides background information for the episode. I love the personal touch that it adds becauase it reminds the viewer that these characters were real people who actually fought and died for their country. Something like this could be used in the classroom to get disucssion going and it could be used to inspire writing or art activities as well.

I also went to see the Passchendael movie when it was released here in town. I actually remember writing a paper on that particular battle when I was in grade 11 social studies. I remembered watching a documentary on it and being horrified. I felt that this was something that we should remember because so many people suffered horrible conditions and violence for a few kilometers of muddy ground. This is the main reason that I wanted to see the movie. I really enjoyed it, and I felt that the battle scenes were very well done, although grusome. I think that it is great that Canada is finally preserving out history on film. So many American battles have been made into movies and almost nothing of our own history so I believe that this was an important step.

UNBC Art Show

I really enjoyed my experience at the Art Show. I thought that all of the displays looked great and everyone seemed to be having a good time. At first I was unsure of how I would pick the pieces for the art show becuase I did not want any students to feel left out. I considered doing it randomly or having the students vote, but at the same time I wanted the students who clearly put in the most effort to be able to go. In the end I picked the five art pieces based on the criteria that I had laid out during the lesson. I eliminated any that were not finished, any that did not use the ruler to get straight lines and any that did not outline the lines. I also took into consideration neatness and overall effort. The top five were clear at that point so I annouced the winners and the students were all happy for the chosen students. There was no negativity expressed by any of the students. During the art show, all five of the students were able to come with their parents. All of the parents expressed enthusiasm about the event. They were all happy to be there and the students were proud to have their work displayed. I think that they also enjoyed looking at other art work as well as participate in the art corner. Overall I thought that the art show was a great way to bring the community together to celebrate art.

Vanishing Point Art

This is the example of Vanishing Point art that I made as an example for the students when I taught the lesson during practicum. I made the example so the students would have a visual idea of what the project would look like when they were done. I also modeled the art on the chalk board for the students. We talked about vanishing points and 3-D shapes and did some visualizing before starting. I had the shapes drawn on the board before the lesson started. Then I showed them how to connect the sides/corners to the vanishing point. As I drew the lines on the board the students got really excited. They loved the effect that it created! I had a bunch of attribute blocks available for the students to trace. I thought that worked great, and for the students who wanted more challenge, they drew stars and similar object for which there was no tracer. I would definately do this art project again because the students loved it and the finished results were very attractive.

Michael Mitchell and HOJA

During my practicum we had two cultural presentations that involved music that the whole school participated in. Michael Mitchell (who I refered to earlier because I liked his Canada In My Pocket song) came into the school and performed some of his songs for the students. All the children really seemed to enjoy the performance and most knew a lot of the words already. Even the grade 7s were involved and singing along. The same was true for the HOJA group that came into the school. The HOJA group consisted of three members and no musical instruments. One member mainly provided the beat while the other two did the vocals. I thought that they did a great job and the students also really enjoyed it. The group used a lot of familiar songs as well as some more recent songs that the students would really relate to. I thought that having these guys in was a great idea becuase they provide the students with role models in the arts. The group members were all young adults (20s) and it showed the students that they could be successful if they practice and have a passion for music and the performing arts.

I also loved when the one group member serunaded Sarah C! It was very entertaining ;)

Weaved Pumpkins

This was actually the last art project that I did during my practicum, but I am going to talk about it first. I got the students to weave black and orange construction paper together and then they glued on the outline of a pumpkin onto to create a weaved pumpkin. I thought that the lesson went great and the students really seemed to enjoy it. The class that I was in had a lot of students at various levels of abilities, but all managed to do the project with varying levels of assistance. I noticed that some students instictively saw the pattern while others needed a bit more guidance to make sure that their weaving alternated with each strip. In the end, the pumpkins turned out great and the display that it created looked awesome! I loved getting the chance to teach art and it is fun watching the children experiment. The students could choose to do either straight or wavy lines (or jagged in some cases)and in was interesting to see who chose which. In the end they all looked great and there was quite a bit of variety in terms of lines.

North of Ordinary

I really enjoyed the North of Ordiary assignment that we did in class. I have always enjoyed using my imagination and I loved the chance to use stretch my artistic skills. I had actually been planning on doing some artwork with pastels so that assignment came at the perfect time. I know that I used to love art and drawing when I was in elementary school, but when you get out of the habit it is easy to lose the passion for them. I have really enjoyed getting back into the habit of being artistic! I also really like how we had to join our north of ordinary drawing with someone else's and create a new picture. My picture consisted of a princess and prince in a castle. I partnered with Carly and she had drawn and map that had a desert in it so we combined our worlds by drawing my princess and prince riding on a camel in her desert. I think that this would be a great activity for children because it teaches them to compromise and collaborate with each other. Art shouldn't always be an individual effort because it can get students to interact with each other in new ways. I will definately take this lesson with my when I go into the elementary schools. (I also plan on getting the drawings on here soon)

"Canada in my Pocket" by Michael Mitchell

I thought that this song would be a great way to integrate music in with the social studies and language art curriculum. In grade 5 students talk about Canadian symbols such as the maple leaf or the queen and this song talks about a lot of that. You can also get the words so the students can sing along. This could be followed up with a lesson and numerous activities. I think that the song actually corresponds with a newer literacy unit that is available to teachers. Using this video would also be a great way to use technology in the classroom. I am not much of a singer and I think that this would be a great way to get the students singing in the class. It is interactive and it could be a lot of fun!

Emily Carr Website

Follow this link for the webiste:

http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/EmilyCarr/en/index.php


I found this wesite on Emily Carr when I was doing research for my unit. It is a great resource for teachers, as it has lesson plans, biographical information and pictures of her work and life. I am planning on doing a lesson about her work and I found this site very helpful, so I recommend it! She does a lot of great paintings of landscapes and it is also a good way to integrate aboriginal content as she uses a lot of totem poles and similar themes. I think it would be great for teaching brush stroke techniques in painting as well.

Bollywood Dance

I thought that I would include this clip as well because it shows a form of dance from another culture. Some students may be familiar with Bollywood and some may not. All types of dance should be encouraged and in order to do that students must first become familiar with those differnt types.

So you think you can dance, No Air

This is a video clip from one of my favorite shows. I am not a very talented dancer, but I absolutely love to watch dancing. These two dancers, Katee and Joshua were actually my favorites from the season. I think that this show is inspiring to many dancers out there and it gives many of them a shot at getting seen. I think that this could be something that students would connect with because it is familiar and it shows how amazing dance can really be. Introducing Joshua or one of the other guys from the competition might even give that extra motivational push to boys who might not be as enthusiastic about dancing. It shows that there are lots of different types of dancing and no one form is better than the others. I hope you enjoy the clip.

French Bullentin Board for Animal Habitats

This bulletin board was created by myself, Allison, Rod and Meg. It was for our French class and it depicts four different animal habitats and the animals that live in each. I found this project very fun to make even though it was a lot of work. Everything was made from hand so there was a lot of colouring and cutting and pasteing. All of the animals are removable as they are attached with velcro. The bulleting board is interactive as there are worksheets to go with it. Overall, it was a great way for me to explore my artistic abilities and to see the results when my I apply my creativity!