To continue our conversation about shapes, the fourth graders are moving into a project based on designing shapes for a paper patchwork quilt. I began class by reader the first part of Valerie Flourney's book "The Patchwork Quilt" about a young girl who continues the tradition with her grandmother. Students then answered questions in their sketchbooks for their do now. They brainstormed why people have made patchwork quilts for centuries. I showed students images of quilts hanging in the Philadelphia Museum of art and we discussed the shapes, symmetry, and overall thought process behind these geometric art works. We then had a brief discussion about polygons, and watched a very catchy song/video about these closed, 2D shapes. Students used the remainder of the class to experiment with the tangrams again to create and record polygons of their own.
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The fourth graders missed their last art class due to Yom Kippur, so this past week I had them review the big ideas introduced last time. Students filled out a review card about symmetry and positive/negative space. If they had not yet made their paper cut outs, students used their original sketch to complete their project. Those who finished their work last time, used a set of tangrams to build symmetrical designs. They then copied their designs into their sketchbook and drew and labeled the line of symmetry.
Last week the fourth graders were able to put those sketchbooks to use and they planned out their symmetrical positive/negative space project. We discussed symmetry as a type of balance in regards to the principles of art. We also discussed positive space as the main idea and negative space as the background and left over "scraps" between the shape of the main idea. I asked students to think of one symmetrical thing in nature and use their sketchbooks to draw and plan their artwork. Some students were able to move to the next phases of building and cutting their final design.
Job well done! The fourth graders have had a bumpy schedule the past two weeks, for wonderful reasons. Two weeks ago, one class was canceled due to the annual Peace Walk around the neighborhood and this past week, another class was cancelled due to a special assembly where our school was named a National Blue Ribbon School!
In one section, students were able to finish up their inside cover/ labels for their sketchbooks and they continued to color in their front cover designs. Some students even began a still life of symmetrical fruit, to warm up for our next project. Meanwhile, another section did an amazing job catching up and sewing their books in one class period. More information on the National Award is found below: www.gse.upenn.edu/news/penn-alexander-school-receives-national-honoribbon |
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