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Winslow Homer |
Visual Arts Lesson
Teacher Reflections by Allison Villani
My overall experience of teaching the Weatherbeaten lesson was good. I like bringing an artist into focus, then looking at other artists’ work with the same theme but in different styles. I also liked that students did not use the same materials to create their landscapes as Homer used in Weatherbeaten. It prevented copycat work and eliminated pressure to create work that looked like Homer’s painting.
Our students truly enjoyed the focused study of Weatherbeaten. I loved the fact that I had a classroom teacher partner willing to discuss the painting with her students, and so enthusiastically! Writing about Weatherbeaten in the classroom helped with the art room discussions of the painting, and allowed us to focus more time on art making because the students were so familiar with the painting. Writing was also good for the students, because not all students participate in class discussions. When students are writing individually, they have more time to reflect, to take into account what others have said, and to form their own opinions. It is more in-depth and therefore much more thoughtful, which is important when they create their own art. One of the most important skills I hope to instill in my elementary art students is how to be thoughtful in their work—how to think about their work and to pay attention to details. When students are thoughtful, it shows. Whether it is in their writing or their artwork, viewers recognize, appreciate, and respond to thoughtful work.
Clear objectives and criteria are essential to a successful project. This lesson was successful because the objectives and activities of the language arts and visual arts classrooms overlapped and worked together. Conversations and work in both classrooms was acknowledged and built upon in the other settings, and each of us reinforced the work the other teacher was doing. I would like to think that after this experience, my classroom teacher partner and I could work together again with a different artist. I would also like to try to have an in-depth focus on one artwork or artist for all my classes.
The formative assessments I used (class discussions, peer review, and written self-evaluations) allowed for different voices to be heard. Some students were reluctant to speak up in a group discussion, but had very eloquent comments on their own evaluations. Some students who were often not serious while working during class offered up some insightful comments during group discussions. While it is tricky to spend meaningful time with each student in a 45-minute class, teacher observation and feedback is a necessity.
I felt at one point after students had been working on their collages for a while, that they were losing steam. In hopes of changing the pace and motivating them to continue, I decided to have an in-progress critique. I find this helpful during lessons that take a longer time to complete. By doing this, students can see what everyone is working on and be inspired by it. We talk about what is going well and why. Students who were struggling pointed out work they found interesting and hopefully were motivated by it. It is also nice for students to hear admiring comments. It is similar to a pep talk, really. By stopping the class, looking at the work in progress, and discussing what is happening, it changes the pace of the class by letting everyone pause, take a breath, and get recharged. Students get good ideas from each other, and as the teacher, I like to see the work as it’s happening and I enjoy hearing what students have to say about it. It lets me know what they are thinking.