I have been trying for many years to get my students to use the word medium correctly. I have tried this in elementary and in middle school. In both settings students continue to ask, "What do you mean when you say medium?" So this year in my room I'm going to have 'monster mediums' on the wall. These monster mediums will highlight each medium that is used in the classroom. I will have each artwork labeled as if it was in a museum. This way students will not only learn what the word media means but I'm hoping they will be able to understand how to read the label in a museum better.
My plan is to introduce each Monster to my students throughout the first couple weeks of school. I plan to show them that image of each monster at the beginning of class and we will discuss the medium that the monster is made out of. I'm hoping this will form a routine for my students as they enter my classroom and possibly a fun and exciting game for them.
The next several posts will be me introducing the monster. Let's get started with my first introduction.
This is Kray. Kray is always worried about something. The top three things Kray worries about is what he will eat for lunch, who he will play with on the playground, and what book he will pick for bedtime. Kray is 8 1/2 years old. He's really good in P.E. class and his favorite thing to do at home is Knit sweaters. He has eight older brothers and one younger sister. He shares a room with all of his brothers, and his sister gets her own room. Kray likes sharing a room because he feels safe with this brothers in the room.
I'm so excited to introduce my newest adventure. I'm calling it Bit-O-Bio. This is going to be my new 'Moster Medium' or '#ProcessPigs'... This year I'm concentrating on Biographies of Artist. What do I mean by all that... Let me share.
Several years ago I gave a presentation at the AOE (The Art of Education) online conference on Monster Mediums in my classroom. Feel free to view it below but basically, I wanted my students to know that the word medium means "materials used in an artwork". I would introduce them to a 'monster' hanging on the wall every week. Then the kids would guess the medium of the monster and because this was our daily warm up, every student was able to use the word medium in their normal vocabulary by the end of the year.
I did the same thing with Process this last year. Check out any of the many videos of #ProcessPigs that I created. Students K-5 were able to talk about the 'process' of their own artwork in a sophisticated way by the end of this year because it was part of our daily 'cool down' in art class.
This next year I'm tackling Art History... As you might have caught in the video above, this was part of my long-term goal. If you have been watching my Instagram account, you know that I'm working on these paintings of Artist. They are my own style and I'm loving ever minute! I plan to create a video for each artist. These videos are going to be 2 to 4 minutes long giving some highlights of the artist life. I will be hanging the artist image in my classroom and each week as the students come in, I will have the video play at the start of class. As a wrap-up at the end of class, I will quiz students about what they have learned.
I have just completed my first Bit-O-Bio, A Bit of a Biography. Of course, I had to do it on Bob Ross... anyone who knows me, knows I love this dude! In the past, I have been asked if I would sell my Monster Mediums or #ProcessPigs... I would love to, but I would have to quit teaching to make the beautiful works of art. This time, I have made my images and videos digital so I can share them with anyone else who would like to implement a little more art history into their classroom. I will be adding new artist throughout the summer. I am selling them on TpT (Teachers pay Teachers). This is what you will get if you buy a Bit-O-Bio.
I have made a video introducing the artist. This is a short 2-4 minute video with kid-friendly language. It highlights some 'kid-interesting' facts. I draw the story in the recording so it kind of shows drawing process as well.
I took a picture of the key images and formulated some review questions. My plan is to show the image to my kiddos so that they have a visual prompt as well as a verbal question. I will give these as students are lining up, or maybe for a brain break. I plan to also have these posted outside my room for teachers to use as they line up to come into the classroom.
The images are what have been feeding my creativity this summer. I love the fact that I have been able to think about these great Artist, research them, and create a simple explanation to share with my students. The process of these paintings has been so much fun because I'm learning how to use photoshop yet I am still being true to my hand skills with watercolor and drawing. I also feel that I'm being true to my 'style' of drawing. I compare these artworks to ones I did even in high school and I see lots of similarities.
So, check it out! I hope you can use them, and if not, I'm having a blast getting ready for my student this fall!
I started my Featured Monster of the week (well actually I'm on a 6 day rotation so it's a bit more than a week). Anyway, in the hallway I have the monster and their bio. The kids can visit this monster and get the answer before class... or show their classmates later in the week after they have art. I wanted to make this interactive so you can see the pick paper can be lifted to give the answer.
As students enter the room they will see the monster highlighted on the wall as well as on my screen saver. I read the bio to every class and ask them if they know the medium. It has been really great to see all levels really relate to this activity. It only takes about three minutes as students are trickling in from bathrooms and so forth. I'm really happy with this activity thus far.
How am I going to keep up with this? I already have all the bios done (click here). The monsters are hanging and the arrow is ready to be moved around. The bios are printed off and the screensaver images are saved on my desk top. I also have all the mediums for under the pink sheet printed off. I wanted to assure that I was consistent with this big project. I really was intentional in setting myself up for success!
We have had such a good time learning about the Monsters in Mrs. Hahn's room and their Mediums! To see all about the Monster Medium project, click here. This monster is our last. His name is D.J. Mix. Most of the time we try to guess the medium in class... but today I'm going to tell you what it is... It's MIXED MEDIA. Mixed media is when you use lots of mediums to make one work of art. The only problem is, I don't have a story to go with D.J. Mix... That were you (Hassan Elementary Students) come in.
Fill out the following Google form to write a story about D.J. Mix. We will be picking stories to share with the rest of the class. I can't wait to see how creative you can be!
If you follow my Pinterest Board, you would have noticed among the 13,000+ pins, a large amount of pigs being pinned. You might remember last year at about this time, there was a bunch of monsters being pinned... That was to prepare me for my Monster Mediums that are hanging in my room right now... and the pigs are preparing me for next year...
I'm excited to introduce you to #ProcessPigs ! This is part of my Summer Goals for 2015. I will be creating pigs with many mediums and many different processes. I will be documenting the process and again, having the students learn about each pig created throughout the year as a warm-up. The goal is to have students understand the what the word process is, but more so, to let them become excited for trying different process in art.
My friends would laugh at me pinning or picking pigs as a subject. I grew up on a farm and I'm not really an 'animal person' as you find in the suburbs where I live now. I have friends who dress their dogs up, bring them to Starbucks, and let them sleep with them at night. I have NO problem with this in anyway, shape or form... it's just so not me. I enjoy the love people have for their animals. Anyway, why pigs? Because it starts with 'P'. I don't have to be in love the the subject to be in love with the process.
Last week I offered an opportunity for all Hassan students to participate in their very own Monster Medium. So far, I have had some GREAT Monsters handed in. I will display the monsters from Oct. 13th- Oct. 31st. This is an optional opportunity however, I have been impressed with all the participation. I have some very talented students!
This was on the back of their frame that they brought home. (click here)
This is Granny. Granny is 103 years old. She is very proud of her age. She lives a very active life. Some of the things that Granny likes to do and her spare time is ride her longboard, skydive, go to rock 'n roll concerts, and karate. You can find her every Tuesday morning at the monster café eating her favorite breakfast. She loves to have a chocolate milkshake, two scrambled eggs, and three pieces of French toast.
The last two years I have celebrated February with a series called #Crush. This February I would like to continue my #Crush celebration but this time I'm going to crush on Mediums. See every week since the start of school all of my elementary students have had the same kind of warm up as they enter my classroom. They come in and I introduced them to a new Monster Medium. The purpose of the warm-up is to get students to 1) understand the what the word medium means in Art. 2) To help them recognize different media use and techniques 3) To create some routine fun-- yep, you can have a system set up to have fun. :)
I'll highlight the Monsters a bit more in March when we have brackets to vote for our favorite Monster Medium. This month, I'm going to #crush on different Media. Here is my schedule. I think it would be fun to hear what your favorite lessons, uses, or techniques are with these mediums. I'll be sure to share some of mine as well! Hashtag your shares with #Crush and tag me on Twitter with @MiniMatisse and on Instagram with @MiniMatisseArt. Something to look forward to this month.
Let me introduce you to Paisley. Paisley is a scientist. She spends all of her time thinking. She thinks about space, she thinks about our environment, she thinks about how to make things better in our world. Her brain is always working on something. She only stands 2 beat, 4 inches tall but her big personality makes up for her lack of height. Even though her brain is always thinking about science, her humor is amazing. You can't help but smile when you're in the room with paisley. She is known for her quick witted nests and creative jokes.
Today on Everyday Art Room I'm sharing how we have so many things to cover as Visual Arts Teachers, sometimes it's hard to know what to focus on. For many years now, I have worked on one small aspect, one concept, and made it so big that ALL students will know that term or that idea or concept for the rest of their lives.
Here is a little more about the Monster Mediums! (Click Here)
Want to see more about the Bit-O-Bios?? Here ya go!
Or how about Process?? Is Process what you want your kids to truly understand?? Here's how I focused on that small concept in a big way. Check out my Process Pigs by clicking here.
Tag me on social media to share what concept you are focused on this year. I would love to see what you are doing to make that small idea into a Big Deal in your classroom!
This is Edward Hopmaster. Edward is a very advanced architect. He designs homes for monsters all over the world. He gets his inspiration from nature. The rich and famous monsters of the world live in the buildings he has created. On the weekend Edward enjoys going fishing. He loves going out on the lake with his little boat and fishing from morning till night. Edward has two pet cockroaches. Their names are pepper and salt. He feeds them only candy. He thinks this makes them so sweet.
This is Alejandro. Alejandro has been a nurse at the local hospital for 15 years now. He is extremely caring. People who are sick or hurt come in and see him and he always makes them feel better. He does funny things to make his patients laugh. Sometimes he dresses up like a clown. Other times he shows them magic tricks. On the weekends Alejandro likes to walk his 14 dogs. That's right I said 14 dogs! Alejandro and his 14 dogs live just outside the city. They have a large piece of property where all the dogs can run and play.
I'm working on introducing some new table jobs for my students. I'm excited to have some students help me explain the table jobs. I'm done with my monster mediums so now I have a featured Art Job or Procedure (clean up, free time areas, so on...) that I will address with every class as a warm up. This 6-day rotation will be Teachers Assistant.
This is Hannah and she is a Veterinarian. She has always loved animals and now as an adult, she get's to work with them all day long. She will come to visit animals on the farm and at the circus. She has a business where people bring their animals to her as well. She has some pets at home too, two cats and a dog named Nipper (don't get to close to him, he nips) and a bird named Petey. Hannah also has a large vegetable garden in the backyard where she grows tomatoes, zucchini, peppers and sweet corn. She also grows some beautiful flowers, just because she loves to stop in smell them right away in the morning.
Can you guess what medium Hannah is?
This is how Hannah was made...
I cut a foam ball in half and cover it with glue. I wrapped the yarn around and around the ball. I did the same thing for Hannah's face. I placed a knot at the end of the yarn and glued it down. I then wrapped the yarn around and around using glue to keep it in place.
I tried to use a lot of different textures for the yarn. It makes you want to look at it really close. I love fibers for this reason.
I wrapped cardboard for the teeth and placed them and the mouth on with glue as well.
Finally, I cut long stands and placed them on the board and gave it a little braid. She is upside down because Hannah's a little silly. If you look really close at the bottom of this picture below you will see some preplanning for my monsters. Even Mrs. Hahn has to pre plan her projects!
This is Latrina. Latrina is a dancer. She moved and shakes all day and even in her sleep. She's in high school now but plans to dance on a broadway stage someday. When she looks at the world she hears music. She taps her toe, she snaps her fingers, she smells the beat! Her mom and dad are proud of their talented daughter. This bubbly beauty is a popular party guest because she is nice to everyone. The whole school loves her because she is so kind to everyone around. Latrina is beautiful inside and out!
Well, it's back to school time... you know what that means? It's time to start thinking about mARTch Madness. That might seem silly to think about March when we are not even in September yet, but it's the drive to my 'warm-up' lesson this year. In the past, I have done Monster Mediums, Process Pigs, and Bit-O-Bios. These have all been a little warm-up for all the students and in March, we have a big celebration where students get to vote for their favorites. This year, I'm starting Studio Stories!
I have spent the summer looking for books that support the efforts of my lessons, books that promote the Arts, books that talk about BIG ideas that can be a jumping off point for my curriculum. I enjoyed every minute and found so many books!! I'm continuing my quest throughout the year.
I am collecting all the books, but if they are in my library, I borrowed them and read them so I would have the books available to my students at all times. I recorded them, I also created many lessons inspired by the books I found. I plan to share the books and lessons throughout the school year. I will be posting here as well as adding to this playlist on Youtube.
I will be using these books for this years mARTch Madness. Each book will be presented to the students at the start or end of class. This way they will get a little flavor of the books that we are studying. No, they will not be making a project inspired by each book... sometimes it will just be a few minutes of a story for my kiddos to hear. In March, we will vote for our favorite. 2018/19... Here we come!
This is Charlotte. Charlotte is a professional opera singer. She is known worldwide for her beautiful voice. At first some people don't understand her. They think because of her sharp teeth and her pointy horns that she might be mean. Charlotte is anything but mean. She is beautiful, she is strong, she has talent. Charlotte collects butterflies and has them flying around her house. She grows beautiful flowers so that they have a peaceful place to live. Every night she performs onstage. She has sang for kings and queens. She brings the whole audience to tears with her amazing voice.
Take a small idea, and make it big. Last year we talked about the word medium every day for our art warm up with EVERY class using the Monster Mediums. This year it's the #ProcessPigs.... We are really thinking about the word process, what does it mean? The definition that I'm giving the kids is 'How it was made'. Nice, simple, and hopefully will stick with them forever. We have introduced several pigs so far and the kids are loving the routine. When they come in, I say...
"Hey class, I have a #ProcessPig to show you."
The class says together
"Hey Mrs. Hahn, how was it made?"
This way they have to say the definition every time they come to art. It's become a bit of a joke for the kids. They laugh and giggle to say the words. If I forget to say my line... someone always reminds me.
This is Ghila. In Hebrew Ghlia's name means joy. That couldn't be closer to the truth. She loves to love. She loves her mom and dad, she loves going to school, she loves going to bed, she even loves eating her spinach. Ghila is a swimmer. Ghila has won many awards for swimming competitively. She swims in competitions since she was in fourth grade. She is now in eighth-grade and you guessed it loves to swim. You can't help but LOVE Ghila!
I'm so excited to announce that I will be presenting at the AOE winter conference. I love this conference. I always get a BURST of energy and ideas from it. It's quick and to the point. In addition, I have the honor of presenting, actually twice.
I will be talking about my Monster Mediums as well as co-presenting with Don Masse from Shine Brite Zamorano about my collaborations projects. I'm really excited to share about both. Come check out the other offerings on the AOE site.
