Filming for the music videos

The fourth grade students have been creating sculptural work to film in their stop motion videos.  They have the limitation of only having four colors of clay, but many of them have been able to mix these to create more possibilities.  They have been working on communicating through this medium, which entails new challenges for them such as sizes, details, permanence, and weight.  What works on paper does not necessarily work with clay.

 

When it comes to communicating through photography, though we have been studying it for a while, animation is different, and perspective becomes everything.

Composition in video is not the same as composition in photography, and for students to learn more about this language we have collaborated with Mr. Leonte, who has been teaching and reviewing it with students in drama class.  

Students use "backdrops" to hide unwanted distractions in their videos, such as art room tables, lines on the floor, their classmates, etc.

Space is tight, and students work closely together: sharing spaces and materials, giving feedback, and simply appreciating each other's creative ideas.

As a group, we talk about what constructive criticism is, and how feedback should be given and received in the art room.  During the artistic process, it is important to stop and evaluate our work before it is "finished".  We look at each other's videos and give suggestions, compliments, and questions; this helps artists reflect and always keep growing.

Weaving!

Weaving is a fantastic skill to teach third graders not only for their fine motor skills development but also as a way to problem-solve and develop their spatial skills. 

Students experimented with short pieces of yarn and string before being taught how to weave:

Some students had not made these kinds of crafts before, and some did have some prior knowledge.

To get a better feel of their understanding, we had a class discussion with 3A Commit and made lots of connections.

We also did a See Think Wonder routine using realia: real weavings I have, made by artisans in Guatemala and Mexico.  And we learned some related words.

Students were taught basics of how to weave, and given some freedom to problem-solve on their own. 

Some students were very quick to catch on and start experimenting with colors and textures.

 We talked about how to join different yarns.  Some students were creative and came up with their own ways, and some chose to learn about knots and other techniques which I taught them, shown below.

    

We worked with different kinds of yarns and strings, students really enjoyed working with yarns that had special textures and colors.