Teaching with Social Distancing

It just occurred to me that I should be adding my new teaching video experience to my blog.  I've been so caught up with my own learning curve trying to discover what method is going to work best for me to connect with my students.  I used the video setting on my iPad to first record my enrichment lessons.  It worked great and I was happy with the results until it became time to post the videos to another source.  What a nightmare that became.  At that point I was posting onto Class Dojo because nothing had come from our district to give us a common platform, yet.  It was easy enough to open Dojo and record right into the platform however, transfer the video to my 2nd school became an impossible task for me.  I came up with a solution but it was not the best.  I used my iPad opened up into Dojo for the second school and recorded the video from my computer.  Truly, not the best results but I was able to transfer the video.  I also can't seem to transfer those video to this format. 
So this experience led me to looking for other options.  I downloaded Adobe Spark and used it for week two.  This works really well, easily attaches to both school platforms because I have easy access to a link and the quality is great.  What I did not love is that it is a slide platform that streamed into a video.  So, I checked in with a few of the video gurus that we follow as Art Teachers and the overall recommendation was to use iMovie.   It is now downloaded and that is where I will go today as I prepare for tomorrow's postings.  My district is now using Google Classroom as our teaching mode, too.  Watch for posting of all my teaching videos week by week.  I'll get this and who knows what type of teacher I will become on the other side of this all.  It's a whole new world!!! 

Rethinking the entire process!

Back in August, Nic Hahn from Mini Matisse posted a video on critique and feedback from Ron Berger at Presumpscot Elementary in Portsmouth, Maine.  The video was the story of Austin's Butterfly.  She encouraged her followers to both watch the video as well as share it with their students.  I have share it with all my students grades 1 - 5 with terrific results.  Here it is if you haven't yet viewed it for yourself.

This is how this video has restructure most of my teaching for this year.  To begin with, all my students are regularly reminded to "see like a scientist".  They draw what they see not what they know.  This week we began observational drawings in 3rd and 4th grade and students immediately began to assist one another with positive critiques and to talk about changes they would make with their next drafts.  I love the impact one short video has had on the way my students are thinking about their art making.   I am challenged to expect more from my students and recognize that I can encourage them to grow this year as artist as they also challenge themselves to improve on their skills and to cast aside the "I can't" mentalities of the one time lesson.

One of our first attempts have been observational drawings of a harvest still life and a skeleton.

4th grade Harvest Still life

4th grade student Harvest Still Life

3rd grade Skeleton Drawing

3rd grade Skeleton Drawing

Cartooning and books on the last day of school

It's impossible to really introduce a new lesson in the final week of school so I traditionally turn to cartooning videos to end the year with a fun activity.  This was the last day of school.  I only had Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade students.   In Kindergarten, we read and discussed the book One by Kathryn Otoshi.  This is a fabulous book about using your voice and peer interactions.  Written very simply, even the youngest student understands the message of speaking up for yourself.  My students love the book and in some classes, begged to read it twice.  On the second reading, they chimed in as I read.

2nd graders enjoyed the Veggie Tales Video How to Draw.  Here are a few pictures of them happily at work creating Bob the tomato and Ms Blueberry.

First grade students drew along with Ed Emberley's Squiggles, Dots, and Lines.  My copy included an instructional and promotional handout.   I always photocopy it for the students to follow along with.  It is a challenge for them to keep up with the video.

So that concludes yet another school year.   The end is always bittersweet but I have to admit, I was really ready for a break.  Hope you are enjoying a much earned summer vacation  as well!