After completing several projects with my first and second grade students, I began to fear that I was falling into the “cookie cutter” realm of art teaching in which every student’s project ends up looking the same and to get that result, everyone walked through the same steps. I found the prep for these projects to be much more strenuous, because I have to think of every single step in advance. Many teachers have a knack for doing this and can still maintain excitement for the project, but I don’t seem to have this ability. This was kind of an epiphany for me. I kept telling myself that I needed to have every single aspect of a project worked out before students do the project. I can’t be caught not knowing what I’m doing! The epiphany for me was that this way of teaching completely goes against everything I am as a teacher or more accurately, as a teaching artist. Simply put, the fun is in the not knowing.
I came to this discovery through a recent proj ect my first and second grade students completed. The theme was Trees—Fiction or Non-Fiction. The planning and preparation was put into the students’ hands and minds. As a result, they had to act as a working artist might by walking through each step of the creative process. I simplified the steps so that they coul d easily identify and understand them. In assessing their work on this project, I focused most of my attention on how they understood and carried out the process, not the end result.
The project unfolded in the following creative steps:
1. Brainstorm/Think—Students were divided into groups. Each group was given an art reproduction that depicted trees. The artists we looked at included Van Gogh (Mulberry Tree), various works by pastel artist Wolf Kahn, an illustration by Eric Carle, and a stylized tree by Gustav Klimt. Each group was asked to describe t he tree in their image. They also had to determine whether the tree in their image was Fiction (pretend) or Non-Fiction (realistic). In addition, they had to describe the setting of the image—where the tree is growing. We then created a word wall of ideas as each group shared their findings. We discussed the results of our brainstorm and concluded that artists depict trees in very different ways. They each have their own personal style.
The transition from the Brainstorming Stage to the Planning stage required a lot of teacher modeling of what brainstorming really looks and sounds like. Imagining something from nothing doesn’t always come naturally. For example, to get students to think outside the box, I told a little story to help get ideas going. I asked them to imagine that they had just woken up and looked out into their back yard and saw that a funny looking tree had sprouted over night and it was growing macaroni and cheese! What would that picture look like?! Or imagine a tree that came to life! Etc. Etc. After several stories like that, they were bursting with ideas and excitement and couldn't wait to get going.
2. Plan/Sketch—Students were given pre-made planning sheets to plan out their own depiction of a tree or trees. They answered the same questions considered in the Brainstorming stage.
Is your tree fiction or non-fiction?
Where is your tree growing?
They were also given several media choices based on the materials they were familiar with at this point in the school year—Oil Pastel, Collage, or Both. Lastly, they had to draw a sketch of what their tree would look like and what details th ey would add to depict the setting they chose.
This is really where most of the control was given to students. I gave them the framework, but the plan was their own. This worked amazingly well as a tool for differentiation as well. I am a firm believer in meeting every student at their level. By asking them to plan and sketch from their own ideas, I was given a much more accurate sense of where they stand in their visual and artistic development. If they were simply copying my example or guided drawing from the board, this wouldn't give me a very true reading. The students that are further developed were able to work more independently which freed me up to help those who needed a little more guidance/coaching as they got started. The fact that everyone’s plan looks very different is also great because no one feels like they’re weird if their tree doesn’t look exactly like their neighbor’s tree.
The transition from Planning to Creating:
The challenge here was to remind students that the sketch they created in the planning stage is what they would reproduce to create their final project. Younger students don’t get this at first because they’re used to the immediate gratification of drawing something and being done. We talked about the difference between making small changes to your idea but not completely changing your idea between the planning and creating stages. Some did change their ideas but they clearly had thought about their reasons for doing this. It wasn’t just an arbitrary choice.
3. Make/Create— At this point in the project, students were ready to gather their materials and what I call “project paper,” or the nice paper they use to create their final project. I prepared a wide array of choices in different sizes and colors. Students ended up using 2 or 3 class periods to work; although, it was clear from the beginning that we would work until everyone finished so they didn’t feel rushed.
To account for differences in working speeds, students were provided materials to make a tree sculpture while others were still finishing. They could also make a second tree drawing or collage.
4. Share and Reflect.—after everyone finished working, we shared our work in a class Art Show. I split the class into two groups so that one group was the audience for the other group. We talk about asking thoughtful questions and giving kind comments.
When all was said and done, the most rewarding and eye-opening part of this project was that I gave up my almighty teacher control and allowed students to guide themselves. I had always written about this, and talked about it, and dreamed of what it might be like to do this, but I had never really, truly been able to do it. Well, I did it, and I lived to tell the tale.
Not to mention the fact that students did an amazing job...
