Post 7- The Arts Bridge Experience

Hello everyone!

This has been such a great experience for me this semester. I got to meet a bunch of amazing new people and learn so many new things. I'll forever be grateful for this program for what it did for me, and the students and teachers who are a part of it. I wanted to go over a few of these moments that occurred during this time.

Impact

The biggest source of impact for me was learning just how to integrate art into Core classes. It was tricky trying to solve this problem but I had great assistance from my teacher, Miranda Schoenfeld, and my mentor Cindy Clark. Luckily for me, the subject I was trying to integrate and bridge was one of my favorite topics: Social Studies. We had the children learn about the Ancient Greeks, Maya, African tribes, and Japanese cultures. We also learned about a current culture and tradition during our Dia de Los Muertos activity. The students grew in understanding about these cultures and traditions and in art as well.
This experience will impact my life for the better, helping me to understand how to integrate art with any subject, and learning to do this so that it is fun and educational for students.

Changes

The biggest change I noticed was in the students creativity and confidence. On the first day of class, they were nervous to get started on their assignments. They hesitated because they were worried that their pieces wouldn't look "good". This confidence in not making perfect art, but art itself grew over the weeks. I am so happy to say that by the last class, when I threw an assignment at them, they simply tackled it and begged for more time to finish. It was very gratifying and exciting. And mostly this had nothing to do with me as a teacher, or the other teachers or assistants involved. It came from them, and that makes me incredibly happy.


I learned a lot this semester. I learned how to integrate art. I learned how to build a students confidence in their work. I learned to work with other teachers in forming and planning lessons. I learned to ask for help from my support system of teacher and mentor. But most importantly, I learned how to teach art in such a way that will inspire and excite students. I'm very grateful for this program, and am so glad I got to be a part of it.

To the students at Vineyard Elementary, Miranda Schoenfeld, Cindy Clark, and everyone in the Arts Bridge Program: Thank you!

-Amber Arnoldsen

Post 6- Leonardo da Vinci

This past Friday was my last time teaching at Vineyard Elementary. It was bittersweet. I've grown close to these students and to their teacher who has been so helpful and awesome and engaged! I just wanted to say thank you to all of them! They were so great and hardworking.
For my last lesson, the students were getting into the middle ages in Social Studies. To understand one area of this time period in particular, we chose one artist from the Renaissance to talk about. Of course, we chose Leonardo da Vinci. After learning briefly about his life in the middle ages as a painter, sculptor, botanist, anatomy expert, scientist, and architect, we focused on mainly his inventions.
They learned that in his later years, da Vinci worked for France developing weapons for their army. He came up with early concepts for the helicopter, airplane, tank, and crossbow. We looked at these blueprints to discover his thought process. We identified that for each invention, there was a problem he needed to solve. With the tank, it was getting people onto the battlefield without getting hit. It's basically a moving turtle shell. With these thoughts going through their heads, I passed out a problem to each group. They were given this problem, then told to create an invention to solve the problem, painting a blueprint as a team. They were so creative!
Here's an example of a problem: There is a boy who likes to go play with his Frisbee in the park after school every day. Pretty often, the Frisbee will get stuck in a tree. He can't get them down however, because he's afraid of heights. So he can't climb the tree, or bring a ladder. Invent something that will help him get the Frisbee down without making him go up!
The solution the students came up with for this problem was something they called the "Super stick" it was a glove with a pole coming out and a hand on the other end. This pole was thirty feet long, and could fold up neatly in their backpack. The hand on top could flex it's fingers by doing those same motions in the glove down below.
My goal for this lesson wasn't for the students to create working inventions. I wanted them to stretch their creativity muscles. I wanted them to brainstorm and work in groups and create. And they did so well! At the end of the time, each group presented their invention to the class and answered questions about them.

 These guys were working on a rapid fire snowball maker!

This group made a backpack rocket that could carry a tired girl and her Great Dane home after a walk.

 Here is the group who made the super stick!

                           

     And these students were making a backpack 
                                                                                         bear repellent for nervous campers.

Here are several groups presenting their inventions to the class. They all did so well!









I just wanted to say again how much I appreciated these students. They worked so hard and stretched their minds in great ways! And to their teacher, Miranda. Thank you!
I'd also like to express my appreciation for everyone in the Arts Bridge program. You all made this so fun and fulfilling and possible! Thank you for everything!
-Amber Arnoldsen

Post 5- Ancient Mask Cultures

A few weeks ago, we did one of my favorite lessons! I've used this in my own teaching dozens of times, so it was fun to use this lesson plan that I know students love.
They were learning about Ancient Cultures at the time in their Social Studies classes. To help highlight the ideas of the similarities and difference between cultures, we learned about masks around the world. We learned that in ancient Greece, the people used masks for the theater. They used them to play a bunch of different characters. They also used them to amplify their voices as the mouths were hallowed out to make an echo so that people higher up in the amphitheater could hear them down below.
Next we learned about one of the masks from old Japan. Specifically the "Oni" mask. These masks were pattered after one of their mythological monster's, Oni. We would call them giants or trolls. The village elders would wear these masks to keep the villages safe from other monsters.
For the ancient African mask, we learned that they were primarily used for religious ceremonies, namely gaining strength before a hunt. Each design would translate to something different. Like the red coloring meant bravery. And dashes down the forehead were for intelligence.
Lastly, they learned about the Ancient Maya masks. These were used as portals. The king would wear them in the temples to access other worlds and speak to the gods. They were brightly colored, and the more detailed a mask was, the more power it had.
Once we had learned about different masks, the students were then asked to create their own masks using watercolor paint and paper plates. Miranda, their teacher, and I commented to one another that they had never been more quiet during an assignment as they were during this one. They were so intent and excited and focused! It was really fun to see. And I was really glad that I had brought a lot more plates then were needed, because almost all of them made two. Several students made five or more. I really liked introducing them to a concept and then letting their creativity take them where it would.

Post 4- Dia De Los Muertos

A few weeks ago, we did a Dia De Los Muertos celebration in our Arts Bridge class. We decided to do this instead of a typical Halloween activity to immerse the students in another culture and their traditions. This made them very excited I'm happy to say, and the Latino students were thrilled to share their culture.

I started off by showing them how to make a Day of the Dead mask, teaching that each color means something different when added to the mask. Red= life, purple= sorrow, yellow= the sun, and how we're all one under the sun, pink= happiness, and white= purity. The Day of the Dead celebrations are to remember those who have already passed on. They do this by making the deceased people's favorite food and bringing to their graves. They talk about these people and remember their good times. They dance and sing and eat food made only for those three days of the celebration. The students were asked to make their own masks, and then to create their own favorite foods. Lastly, we talked about the marigolds. Marigolds in Mexican tradition are removed of their petals. These petals are strewn through the streets to the place where you will have your party. This is so the spirits will be able to follow them and attend the gathering. It's a day to remember family both here and not.
I got a thrill watching the students who celebrate the holiday telling other students about different things they do. One boy in particular was ecstatic talking about the Pan de Muertos bread his mother makes every year. Two girls were wracking their brains to think of every delicious Mexican dish they could think of to make for their party. We all had a great time, and I can't wait till next week to do our next lesson!

Post 3- Ancient Greek Attire

This past Friday, we had a great time learning about what the ancient Greeks wore. They are learning about this ancient people in their Social Studies class, so Mrs. Schoenfeld and I came up with an idea to help them understand these people better in one specific way: their clothing. We talked about what kinds of clothes you would wear depending on the temperature, your gender, and your station. The students learned the different names for these items of clothing and their purposes. After learning about them, I challenged the students to recreate these costumes using only newspapers and tape. The results were amazing! (I will be posting pictures just as soon as all of my Media forms have been turned in)
We broke the students into six teams, each team choosing a different outfit to create on a willing live model. Four teams chose the male warriors outfit. The remaining two chose to do the engaged female outfits. This caused a lot of fun laughter when one of the models for these groups was an eager boy who thought it would be hilarious. One of the girls on his team even found a red wig to have him wear. The students worked very hard creating shields and spears and sandals (that went over shoes! Ha!) and breastplates and the hardest task: the plumed helmets.
After finishing our costumes, the students who were modeling stood up on the stage at the front of the room and we did a small assessment. I pointed out different items of clothing and had the students identify them by name.
I think this lesson will stick in their memory for years to come, and I'm so grateful to the other teachers and assistants in the class who helped it all run smoothly. This Friday we are going to be doing a Dia De Los Muertos art project, and I'm really excited!

Post 2- Autobiography

For the part few Fridays, I have gone to Vineyard Elementary school where I am interning with Miranda Schoenfeld. It's been an awesome experience so far getting to know the students, my teacher, and mentor. The lessons have gone well with only a few hitches so far. For our first lessons, we have the students create the covers of their autobiographies that they are writing in class. These will be shown to their parents on parent-teacher conference night.
For the first day of this project, I taught the students the value of simple lines. I started by pointing to myself, then to a cartoon drawing of myself and asked them what the difference was? They discovered the importance of picking and choosing just a few lines to crate cartoons, not every single one that exists. Like how drawing every single line on my face would make me look much older than I actually am. We were talking about emphasis and being selective. We also talked about expressions. And what different parts of the face are needed to create different emotions on our faces. I had them raise their hands and tell me an emotion. "Anger" was chosen. I have them all make an angry face, then had them look around at the other students sitting near, then I asked: "What is their face doing that makes them look angry?" We figured out it was the eyebrows turning down, the eyes squinting, the forehead creased, and the mouth turned down. I drew this combination on the board using just a few lines to complete the face. We did a few more rounds of this with the students giving me different emotions, us all making that face, and then drawing it on the board simply.
After this discussion and demonstration, the students were given the project: To draw their face on a piece of paper, taking almost the whole sheet to do so. They were also asked to pick an emotion to convey. Afterwards, they colored then and wrote their names. This took the whole class period.
In the second class, when I came back a week later, we continued this project. This time, we started the class with an activity called: The Ugliest Drawing in the World. They were given fifteen minutes to draw the ugliest face they possibly could. Some drew boogers, most added pimples, and warts and crazy hair. Several gave their poor drawings braces. It was hilarious! The students had a great time really releasing their creativity. And I think it solved a problem that my teacher, Mrs. Schoenfeld, my mentor: Cindy Clark, and I noticed the previous week: The students were very nervous about making good drawings. They weren't confident in their abilities and it was holding them back despite our saying everyone was doing great. Cindy suggested this Ugly Drawing activity to help them boost their confidence. It worked! Now, we can say when they are less than happy with their pieces that at least it's better than their ugliest drawing! That made the students laugh. After we finished this, we got to work finishing out covers. This was done by adding simple bodies below the heads, giving them a bobble-head feel that made them smile. They then colored everything in and the background.
It's been going great, and I can't wait till next week when we do a lesson based around Ancient Greece.

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