KELCI ELLIS

ITE 326
9/9/17

READING RESPONSE
4. After reading Cornett (2011, pp, 162-163), describe the aesthetics of your ideal classroom
that integrates the visual arts into the curriculum. Why are the aesthetic components of
your classroom important to you and your students in creating an environment that uses
the arts to enhance teaching and learning?

Cornett stated, The images that enter the brain become the basis for the images we create and
the people we become. Children need to see beautiful images (Cornett, p.162). Creating a
classroom environment where multiple types of art are displayed in various ways promotes
higher level thinking for students. Just as modeling helps students to learn, displays of art help
students to open their minds. The aesthetics of my ideal classroom would include an abundance
of color schemes that complement each other and promote relaxation.These colors may include
soft blues and purples. I would also want my classroom to be visually pleasing and inviting with
students artwork carefully placed around the room at the student's eye level. These aesthetic
components are important to myself and my future students because it creates an environment
that is welcoming, perhaps open to new ideas, and promotes creativity.

8. Cornett (2011, pp. 171-173) makes suggestions for art discussions and art making for
students in grades identified as early primary K-2, primary/intermediate 3-4, and upper
grades 5-6. She also includes another brief discussion on differentiating instruction (pp.
172-173). Think about what you are planning to teach in your visual arts PowerPoint and
Lesson Plans, and describe how you can incorporate some of these ideas into your own
work with your elementary students as part of the lessons you are planning for your
students.

I am still unsure what exactly I will be teaching for my art lesson plans this semester but
Cornetts suggestions helped me to get my brain rolling. Cornett suggested for K-2 students,
They like bright colors and may prefer abstract or simplified representational art (Cornett,
p.171). I am thinking of possibly teaching the students about warm and cool colors, and how to
mix colors to create other colors. Another point I want to keep in mind from the reading is that
my directions should be kept short and I should supervise student work by coaching them, and
letting them experiment with various art tools.

10. Cornett (2011) says that energizers and warm-ups are used to ready students mentally
and physically for creative problem-solving (p.179). She lists numerous energizers and
warm-ups. Select three energizers or warm-ups that you would like to include in your
teaching. You may be able to include specific warm-ups in your unit plan that you are
going to write. Describe in detail how you would guide students through each of these
experiences. This is similar to what you need to do when you are writing your lessons in
your unit plan to describe what students will do.

The energizers and warm ups that Cornett listed on page 179 were very helpful in the
planning of my unit. One warm up I will use at the beginning of a lesson will be scribble and
doodle. I will have all the students at the carpet while I give instruction. I will tell the students
that there is a blank paper at their desk and we are going to use it to get grounded and ready for
our art lesson! The students will be asked to return to their desks and fill the paper completely
with different kinds of lines, dots, and circles of all shapes and sizes. I will encourage
overlapping and for the students to work at their own desired paces. Before letting them return to
their seats I will model different kinds of lines, as well as shapes, and sizes.
I may also incorporate the See-Feel-Think-Wonder warm up into one of my lessons. I
may show students an abstract piece of art, possibly created by Picasso, as long as I can directly
relate it to the lesson. Students will be sitting in a circle on the carpet and observing the piece of
art. I will ask students to tell me what they see, feel, think, and wonder when they look at the art.
I will provide students with visual sentence starters such as, I see I think I feel I wonder..
I will also model a few of these for them. I will then use this warm up as an introduction into the
lesson.
Lastly, I was thinking about using the Art Walk warm up in one of my lessons because
the students will already be familiar with a form of this. For my science lesson I will be having
the students go on a nature walk and use their five senses to make observations. To begin a
lesson on using colors, textures, and shapes to add detail I could use this warm up. We could take
a short walk to the school garden and students could note or take pictures of different colors,
textures, and shapes they see in nature. We could then return to the class and try to add those
details to our abstract artwork.

11. Cornett (2011) includes a section on teaching art concepts and elements. She suggests,
pairing these ideas with best practices (p. 181), from Chapter 6. Select one of these
instructional strategies and use your own words to describe step-by-step how to create an
engaging experience for your elementary students. This is similar to what you need to
include in a lesson plan to describe the instructional strategies that focus on what the
students will do and what the teacher will do.

I think I may use the compare and contrast instructional strategy Cornett describes on
page 181. If I continue to do a lesson on abstract art I may bring in two pieces of art, one abstract
and one not abstract and engage the students in a discussion on comparing and contrasting the
pieces of art. I will start by displaying both pieces, then have students turn and talk with a friend
about similarities between the two. I will record students thoughts in a venn diagram. I will then
ask the students to turn and discuss with a friend differences they see in the pieces. I will try to
redirect discussions and get students to think about the elements, media, style and subject matter
of both paintings.
15. Describe the three artistic processes: creating, performing/exhibiting, and responding.
Share specific ideas about how you can engage your elementary students in these three
processes in a visual art experience that you design for them. Be specific. This is like
writing the instructional strategies in a lesson plan that focuses on what the students will do
and what the teacher will do. This is a skill you need when you develop the art slide
presentation and lesson plans.

The three artistic processes are creating, performing/exhibiting, and responding. Creating is
when students are given the opportunity to be creative and create original works of art. For
example, I could have students create abstract pieces of art using different types of media such
as, watercolor paint, sharpies, colored pencils, and markers. Performing and exhibiting is when
every lesson gives the students the opportunity to share their work through presentations, or
explanations. For this process I could create a gallery walk where the students all lay there
artwork out for the whole class to examine and each student describes what they see in the pieces
of art. Lastly, responding is when students are asked to use higher order thinking skills to
describe, interpret, and upon occasion, evaluate their own artwork and that of others. While
doing the gallery walk not only can the students describe their pieces but their classmates can
describe what they see in other students pieces. Each lesson should close with questions to guide
students in reflecting on their work.

17. Identify and copy selected benchmarks in three different grade levels that are directly
related to using the vocabulary of art. List some of the academic language with definitions
you think are important to help your students develop and use as part of your visual arts
curriculum as a K-5 arts educator. This is a skill you need when you develop your art slide
presentation and lesson plans in the visual arts. This is also directly related to discussing
the Academic Language Demands that is part of our unit plan format. (For a glossary of
visual arts vocabulary see the Appendix in An Essential Arts Toolkit for the Grade K-5
Classroom Teacher.)

Here are benchmarks from Kindergarten, Second, and Fourth grade that are directly related to
using the vocabulary of art.
Kindergarten: Benchmark FA.K.1.1: Use developmentally appropriate art vocabulary.
For this benchmark I think academic language that is important for my students to
develop might include the vocabulary necessary to name art materials such as;
clay, paint, crayons, markers etc. And also to name the appropriate elements, such
as:
Line: any image that consists of distinct straight or curved lines placed
against a background, without gradations in shade or color to represent
two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects.
 Shape:an enclosed space. Its boundaries are defined by other elements of
art such as lines, values, colors, and textures.
Pattern: is an underlying structure that organizes surfaces or structures in a
consistent, regular manner.
Primary colors: being red, blue, and yellow, these colors are a group of
colors from which all other colors can be obtained by mixing.
Second Grade: Benchmark FA.2.1.1: Use the element of space and the principles of
repetition and variety, with a variety of art media.
For this benchmark I think the students will need to be familiar with the academic
language, such as:
Space: refers to distances or areas around, between or within components
of a piece. Space can be positive or negative, open or closed, shallow or
deep, and two-dimensional or three-dimensional.
Repetition: refers to one object or shape repeated.
Variety: is a principle of design that refers to a way of combining visual
elements to achieve intricate and complex relationships. It is a technique
used by artists who wish to increase the visual interest of their work.
Varieties of art media: Examples: tempera paints, water color, oil pastels,
etc.
Fourth Grade: Benchmark FA.4.1.1: Use the elements and principles of art and design,
such as emphasis, proportion, complementary colors, positive and negative space, and
depth, to communicate an idea or mood.
For this benchmark I think the students will need to be familiar with the academic
language, such as:
Emphasis: an area or object within the artwork that draws attention and
becomes a focal point. Subordination is defined as minimizing or toning
down other compositional elements in order to bring attention to the focal
point.
Proportion: scale and proportion in art are both concerned with size. Scale
refers to the size of an object in relationship to another object.
Complementary colors: The three traditional sets of complementary
colors, as derived from the Red-Yellow-Blue color model, are red and
green, yellow and purple, and orange and blue. You can see them
positioned opposite one another on the color wheel.
Positive and negative space: Positive space refers to the main focus of a
picture, while negative space refers to the background. When used
creatively and intelligently, positive and negative space together can tell a
story using visual composition alone.
Depth: The apparent distance from front to back or near to far in an
artwork. Techniques of perspective are used to create the illusion of depth
in paintings or drawings.