Art 309
"Thinking About the Future", a Five Week Lesson for 1st Graders
"Saturday Art Lessons" ran from 9am-11am for five Saturdays and culminated in a show displaying students' work at the end of those five weeks. Myself and four co-teachers taught a lesson for seven 1st graders, which covered the topic "how do you see yourself in the future?" and explored this topic through clay, fashion design, photography, and collage. At the end of the five weeks, each student took home a clay frame containing a collage photo they took of themself, as well as the paper clothes they designed and wore for that photo.
This unit plan was centered students' "futures personas", with a focus on:
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Future careers / what people do for work
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future homes and workplaces
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Current interests and future goals
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imagination and play
Lesson plan can be accessed by clicking on the image.
Slideshow can be accessed by clicking on the image.
Unit Materials
Teacher Examples
Description: (Left to right) Clay frame painted in acrylic paint, paper "butterfly wings" colored with marker, collage featuring "photo" (illustration).
Rationale: Each example expresses that when the maker wants to grow up, she wants to be a butterfly. This example was used to illustrate to students that any idea can be realized using the taught methods of the unit.
Student Work
Reflection
PTS (2013) Standard 7. “Assessment- The competent teacher understands and uses appropriate formative and summative assessments for determining student needs, monitoring student progress, measuring student growth, and evaluating student outcomes. The teacher makes decisions driven by data about curricular and instructional effectiveness and adjusts practices to meet the needs of each student.”
What went well: Throughout the unit, my co-teachers and I did very well with classroom management- from structuring lessons to dealing with bad behavior. Lessons were also very engaging and enriching for students, demonstrated by their final pieces, as well as positive feedback/reactions from the students themselves.
Challenges: There were issues with parent communication, specifically regarding the needs of students, which made it difficult to plan ahead and make accommodations for students. This unfortunately didn't ever get fully resolved, but was an important learning experience for what may occur in the field.
What I would do differently: Transition periods are difficult for younger learners, and as a result I would change transition periods to make them more structured.
What I learned as a teacher: I learned a lot more about creating lessons for younger learners, as well as the benefit of templates for this age group. Using templates for clay projects proved to be a time-saver, as well as a good tool for students. They could still customize the shape of their frame, but were given a template in which they could trace directly onto the clay, which made creation go much faster and allowed students to focus on clay techniques rather than the outright assembly of the project.
PROFESSIONALISM, ADVOCACY & LEADERSHIP: PAL 1 (2 submissions)
IPTS (2013) STANDARD 9 - Professionalism, Leadership, and Advocacy - The competent teacher is an ethical and reflective practitioner who exhibits professionalism; provides leadership in the learning community; and advocates for students, parents or guardians, and the profession.
Description: Attended University Galleries artist talk for Rafael Soldi's "a moon, a peephole, an explosion, or a flashing memory" on September 18th, 2024.
Rationale: I went to Rafael Soldi's artist talk and listened to him explain the meaning behind his works.
Evidence: https://galleries.illinoisstate.edu/exhibitions/2024/rafael-soldi/
Description: Attended "Food for Thought" Reception at Milner Library on October 29th, 2024.
Rationale: I went to the "Food for Thought" Reception and listened to each artist describe their works and their process.
Evidence: Photo taken next to the poster.
PROFESSIONALISM, ADVOCACY & LEADERSHIP: PAL 2 (2 submissions)
IPTS (2013) STANDARD 9 - Professionalism, Leadership, and Advocacy - The competent teacher is an ethical and reflective practitioner who exhibits professionalism; provides leadership in the learning community; and advocates for students, parents or guardians, and the profession.
Description: Had work featured in the show "Class Culture".
Rationale: Collaborated with fellow artists to set up, display, and take down a collaborative art show.
Evidence: Photo taken with other featured artists.
Description: Designed poster to be displayed and sent out for an upcoming event.
Rationale: Created a poster for "Class Culture", using graphic design and print knowledge.
Evidence: Poster featured to the right.
