Overview
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Currently, my first-grade students at Emerson School receive visual arts instruction from our on-site art teacher for one hour each week. She bases her lessons on the Michigan State Standards for Visual Arts, Music, Dance, and Theatre.
Before joining Emerson, I taught for six years in California, where we used the California Arts Standards for Public Schools. From 2012 to 2015, while teaching at Stevenson PACT Elementary School, our students received one hour of art instruction per week for one trimester, in partnership with teachers from the Community School of Music and Arts. Stevenson also had a program called Arts Focus, facilitated by parent volunteers with teacher support. This program allowed students to explore a single art medium in a multiage setting for a half-day each week during two six-week sessions. From 2015 to 2016, while teaching at High Tech Elementary Chula Vista, I collaborated with a full-time visual arts teacher who provided my students with three hours of art instruction per week for one trimester. From 2017 to 2019, while teaching at Cascade Canyon School, I worked with a full-time visual and performing arts teacher who taught my students 1.5 hours per week throughout the entire school year. |
All visual aids were created by Celeste Le Duc from CSMA.
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Arts Focus
Teams of parent volunteers planned and facilitated Arts Focus lessons in various art mediums, including collage, dance, drawing, painting, photography, performing arts, printmaking, and sculpture. Over three years, I supported parents in the stop-motion animation and ceramics classes. After each Arts Focus class, I asked students to write a reflection in a Google Doc to help them contextualize their learning.
Arts Focus Drawing Exemplars
In addition to written reflections, I also had students create a visual reflection using Google Drawings after each Arts Focus session. This approach further encouraged them to think critically about their learning experiences.
