Art Teacher Work Sample

By: Kristie Keenon

Grade: 3rd

Subject: Art

Date: 4/13/2009

Contextual Factors:
The Community
The Elementary school is located in a Chicago western suburb. It
is an affluent community with a rich cultural diversity that
exists within a very small population. The schools are
recognized to be excellent and it seems that a majority of
households are college educated. The student population is
mainly Caucasian followed by Black and Hispanic with very few
other ethnicities sprinkled throughout. Most students, coming
from college-educated parents, pride themselves in their
knowledge and aspire to go to college; based on conversations I
overheard.

The School
As I stated above, it is known for its excellent schools. All
classes have no more that 20 students to 1 teacher, and if it is
above that the teacher has an aide. There is a total of 453
students with an almost 100% attendance rate. A strong sense of
community and communication with parents is strongly encouraged
and practiced. It is also home to a Golden Apple educator.

Classroom
The classroom is a warm and inviting environment with art
supplies strategically placed throughout the large space. There
are plenty of windows overlooking the tree-lined street that the
school sits on, and the teacher opens a couple of them everyday
no matter the weather to promote a "flow" through the classroom.
There is a long narrow storeroom where there is a kiln as well as
shelves holding a rainbow of all sizes of opened and unopened
packages of construction paper, glue, markers, etc. The walls
are decorated with posters of art from different genres and eras
with accompanying text. The teacher has a seating chart for all
of her classes and there are 8 table-groups that are labeled by
colors and shapes. Each group has a "tote" that belongs to their
certain color/shape; the "tote" holds glue, crayons, markers,
scissors, colored pencils and a ruler and if the students cannot
find what they need in their "tote" there are extras around the
room where the students know; the students know where everything
they would need is located. There is also a cabinet with decades
worth of newspaper that the students keep neat and use the
newspaper frequently.
Assessment Evidence:
After dividing the student work into four groups proceeding pre-
assessment to reflect achievement levels, one student is selected
from each group to represent the achievement level of each
group.

Assessment of:
Student A (High):
Was quiet, kept to self for the most part, understood the project
in its entirety and went to work. Took pride in task and
contemplated ideas before executing them.

Student B (Medium):
Was a little more social than student A, but still had an air of
independence. Had a good grasp of the instructions as well and
used some of the paper sculpture techniques demonstrated. Worked
at a fast pace focusing more on the final result instead of the
process and craftsmanship.

Student C (Low):
Was very social particularly with immediate surroundings. Spent
a majority of time trying to impress peers and didn't have an
affinity for art.

Instruction: Implications of Contextual Factors:

The lesson was designed to be used during one class period and to
incorporate a snippet of language arts. Students were to
construct a monster using construction paper that had nose, eyes
and a mouth and employed at least one paper sculpture technique.
The monster was to be described using 2 adjectives such as
"grumpy" and "hairy."
Students have learned some paper sculpture techniques in a prior
quilling lesson and have some knowledge of adjectives and
shapes.
Students will have a more in-depth knowledge of adjectives, paper
sculpture techniques and shapes. I think this project will be a
fun activity that the students will enjoy.

Standards:

STANDARD: Understand the sensory elements,

IL.25.A organizational principles and expressive qualities
of the arts.

STANDARD: Apply skills and knowledge necessary to

IL.26.B
create and perform in one or more of the arts.

NAEA.VA.9- CONTENT STANDARD: Choosing and evaluating a range

12.3 of subject matter, symbols, and ideas

Objective(s)& Assessment
Students will be able to:

-define the meaning of an adjective and choose 2 to use in

his/her artwork.
-create a monster that reflects his/her adjective.
-use paper sculpture techniques

Assessment
Rubric
Exceeded Met Did not meet Comments
expaectations expectations expectations
(5 pts) (4 pts) (3 pts)
defined the
meaning of an
adjective and
chose two to use
in his/her
artwork. (1, 20%)
created a monster,
which reflected
his/her adjective.
(1, 20%)
demonstrated an
understanding of
basic and organic
shapes. (1, 20%)
used paper
sculpture
techniques. (1,
20%)
worked well
independently. (1,
20%)

Students’ strengths
Student A:
Displays a strong work ethic and a sense of pride in work. Work
consistently shows attention to detail and an obvious use of
proper instruction. Sketchbooks and other projects show
creativity, simplicity, harmony and balance. Surroundings are
not distracting, though there is social interaction.
For the lesson I led, the final product mirrored previous work.
The adjective monster created was a very aesthetically pleasing,
simple, well-balanced monster using good craftsmanship and
execution. All the requirements were employed without overdoing
it: paper sculpture, a geometric shaped face, eyes, nose and a
mouth. The monsters reflect the adjectives chosen and other
factors used exceeded expectations e.g. cursive writing, skewed
placement of shapes (purposeful), etc.

Student B:
Previous work shows followed instruction. Creativity and
expression is unique. Social and takes others' opinions very
well, often seeks others' opinions and uses their suggestions.
The final pieces for my lesson were also very pleasing and
creative. Used many of the paper sculpture techniques, fulfilled
all the assignment's requirements and adjectives properly
describe his monster's expression.

Student C:
A lot of creativity and thrives on his social ability. Fulfills
assignments quickly and gets a lot done. Has a unique expression
and is very confident with the decisions made.
Monster was a creation that very much fulfilled personal idea of
what was wanted, not so much of what was asked.

Students’ weaknesses
Student A:
Follows directions to extent that instead of critically analyzing
works aims to please the teacher. If less eager to please the
teacher, work would grow at a faster pace. The monsters could
have used more aspects, but I like how they incorporated all the
requirements and went beyond while keeping it simplistic and
pleasing.

Student B:
Also very eager to fulfill the assignment and please the
teacher. Ideas are creative, but they border on copying what is
seen from the teacher. Also works at a fast pace ignoring
craftsmanship.

Student C:
Failed to follow all of the directions due to concrete ideas.
Had to be pushed to expand personal ideas and did not use any
paper sculpture techniques even after suggested. Did not fulfill
the requirements.

Possible Explanations
Each student is very creative and expressive and have there own
way of working and learning. I believe Student A is introverted
and insightful and Student B is very extroverted eager, Student C
follows the beat of his own drum; all of them however, are at the
age where they want to please the authority figure.
Reflection and Prescription for Next Steps to Enhance Student
Learning
If I were to teach this lesson again to 3rd graders, I would
begin the hook with an introduction to adjectives instead of
jumping right into the book. For 3rd graders, they are beyond a
simple storybook, but if they had a notion in their head of where
the lesson was going and preset task to notice the adjectives
sprinkled throughout the book, I think they would be more
engaged. For younger grades, I would keep the hook as is.
I would also drill in the specific steps of the lesson as well as
the procedure of obtaining materials; there was a little
confusion as I dismissed each table to gather their materials. I
would cover the procedure and then ask for understanding from the
students by asking questions of their responsibilities in the
project. When the class and I made collaborative lists of
adjectives, I asked them to choose from those lists; in another
lesson I would have allow them to choose their own adjectives as
long as they coincided with emotion and appearance.
Another tricky aspect was the clean up. I didn't allow enough
time for this and I didn't realize how messy it was going to be,
there was paper all over the floor. So, I would leave more time
for clean up and make the students each clean floor around them
at the end.
As far as delivery, I need to make my voice range more in tone to
encourage more enthusiasm from the students and maintain more
classroom management. I found it difficult not to get caught up
and as excited as the youngsters, I would benefit from having a
more authoritative presence. I am used to dealing with students
on a more personal and friendly level and I definitely need to
work on being a teacher more than a friend.
Student A
Student B

Student C