Germs! Problem-Based Learning Project

The school nurse wanted to promote the message that everyone can take steps to stay healthy and keep germs from making us sick. In my art classes, we asked the driving question: How do artists and designers create artworks that communicate health awareness?

Here are pictures of the process:

  Wash Your Hands Video!

Dia de los Muertas

What a fun month we had creating artwork inspired by the Hispanic cultural holiday, a Dia de los a Muertos! Students in the art class connected to other school subjects in this drawing and mixed-media unit when they made art inspired by Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican and South American cultural holiday celebrating their ancestors. They drew a skeleton (science) and a symmetrical skull (math), learned about an hispanic cultural tradition of Mexico and South America (social studies and Spanish) while listening to latin music!

Students posed in symmetrical living sculptures...

Third grade students working on their Dia de los Muertos art.....

21st Century Skill Building

The last week of school, classes constructed and deconstructed a temporary tabletop structure. This activity gave students practice with the 21st century skills of Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Communication. Students worked together in groups to build a collaborative design using the same amount of space and materials. They brainstormed ideas, compromised methods, negotiated failures, practiced manners, and presented their work to their classmates. The procedures entailed a lot of give and take throughout the process; some groups worked more efficiently than others! During the discussions during the final critique, students shared their challenges and rewards. Then, all the products were dismantled for the next class

LEGOS and ipads

Students love creating LEGO sculptures, both individually and collaboratively, and photographing them with the ipads to their Artsonia.com on-line portfolio!