Miss Art of Teaching

I've been collecting toilet rolls since early June! I recently asked my Year 8 helpers to cut all the toilet paper rolls into smaller pieces. Today, I set a new challenge for my Year 6 students (I see them once a week). They were asked to build anything with the pieces. Some spent the period planning and prepping, others got straight into gluing. They will have one more lesson to make their design. The best group will win a prize.

Visual Arts Year 6 Term 2 My high school offers transition lessons for our local primary school. Every Tuesday afternoon, our local primary school brings over their Year 6 students. The students are split off into groups to try a few taster classes. It helps prepare them for high school as they learn about the school structure and routines. Inside my classroom, they have been working together to make the 'What Lifts You' mural. Every student contributes by making a feather design. Resources that can benefit Year 6 students: Instructions:  What Lifts You Year 7 Term 1 Every year we start off with a Self-portrait unit with the Year 7 students. I decided to spice things up and use Snapchat filters on my students. We used the dog filter on Snapchat as it still allowed a reasonable amount of realism to be portrayed in their artworks. Students' artworks are now on display in the CAPA corridors. Resources that can benefit Year 7 students: Instruction...

Every year I try to make it to 'The Finders Keepers' market. The vibe is great and there is always a range of unique handmade goodies. The market features over 200 independent art and design stalls. The market sells a range of handmade pieces by amazing makers from Sydney. This year the 10th anniversary event was set at The Cutaway, Barangaroo Reserve.  Being an Art teacher, I love seeing what unique products independent labels are producing. At the same time, the products might be an inspiration for a new unit of work in ceramics, painting, jewellery design etc. I love walking around Barangaroo. Everything looks great! Except, I did not check the weather forecast and my shoes were flooded from the million little puddles. I also had to run to the nearest shop just to buy an umbrella!  I probably spent an hour walking around. My heart was set on buying 'earrings'. After cutting off my long hair, I realise that I was lacking some funky earrings. I ...

This morning I woke up at 6am, thanks to my trusty alarm setting on my phone. Both my partner and myself had forgotten to turn off the alarm. Over here in Australia we are trying to enjoy the start of Term 1 break. Thankfully, I wasn't too fussed about getting up early, as I wanted to do some marking before taking my dog to the vet. My dog is due for her dental cleaning. Marking in the morning seems easier. I only have 3 more essays to mark in my Year 9/10 bundle of Case Study. I still have my 3 x Year 7 classes and my Year 11 class bundles to tackle through so I guess there is no lazing around. After dropping off my dog at the vet (she gets picked up in the afternoon), I decided it was time to reward myself with a purposeful purchase. My ethical fashion purchase today has a lot of potential in a Textiles classroom or in any 'design' related classroom as the teacher can use this example to talk about 'The Design Process' and the steps involved. Besides be...

With the permission of my talented friend who made me a journal from scratch, I changed the front and back cover of the journal to suit my personality. I think I am falling in love with scrapbooking. I love the DIY factor. I simply used watered down PVA glue to attach the designs onto the journal. I changed the journal cover while my Year 7 students were quietly working on their self-portraits mixed media artwork. I love how my 4 x Year 7 classes have dramatically changed from being 'noisy' to now working quietly. They can monitor their voices due to the 'NOISE' signs that I made. I also have a student who is the 'shh-sha'. The shh-sha reminds students of the correct voice level if it is louder than usual. The NOISE sign works by flipping each letter (starting from E).  When letters are flipped, there are minutes written on the other side (E= 1 min, S = 2 min, I = 4 mins, S = 8 mins and E = 16 mins). The class needs to remain quiet for the entire duration. ...

I'm liking the crazy wallpaper in my classroom. It creates a nice backdrop for photos. It doesn't distract the students as its hidden between two big wooden bookshelves at the very corner of the room. The wallpaper is created by carefully sticking contact paper (for books) onto the wall. Above: Year 7 students are enjoying their 'Selfies' drawing unit. Above: Gave a prize out to a student today. Pokemon is still popular even though the app 'Pokemon Go' has died out. I spent my afternoon recharging by watching asian dramas. I find the best de-stress method is to watch some Cantonese drama, make some DIY project or go shopping.  I did manage to do some work as well. Made some study notes (a few pages long) for my Year 11 Visual Arts students who will be in exam period during Week 9 and 10. Above: A small section from the study notes file. I have been hearing art teachers rave about a new series on Netflix: 'Abstract: The Art...

My students got creative and covered a lot of areas in my room with the contact donations. We probably went overboard. Initially we only wanted to cover the shelves but seeing that my demountable is more than 40 years old and never had a face lift in it's time, we experimented. If the time comes and we get the funding to paint over it, then we can easily peel off the 'contact sticker sheet'. We still have a number of areas to cover but at the moment it covers a lot of old vandalism (before my time) and a hole in the wall.

I love the fact that I am presenting more in front of larger groups of people. It is training me to become more comfortable inside my introvert shell.  Above: Prepping for today's Year 7 meeting This year I am teaching Year 11 Visual Arts students. I rewrote the program and assessment tasks. The first unit requires them to make five artworks based on one sentimental object. Last lesson, they had trouble thinking of what was sentimental in their life. I brought in my own box of memories to help students understand what makes an object sentimental. I was able to capture the attention of all my students. It was exciting for them to see what kind of objects was being taken out of the box. I took this opportunity explain how a strong concept/narrative holds the attention of the audience. It was also a fantastic way for students to learn more about me and to see that I am more than just a teacher - I am a human being with emotions just like them! Above: Box decorated fr...

Latest updates Above: My personal assistant.  Above: The process of making everything requires patience. My dog is clearly displaying this. Above: I had an idea about a wall where students can grab post notes and write happy thoughts or a compliment to one another. I am trying to keep to my 'kindness' theme. The letters were simply made by cutting it out of different coloured A4 paper and laminating it in an A3 pouch. Above: I made a background to match my door display. I think the post notes will match the confetti. Above: Classroom job distributor. The roles are listed below: 1. Messenger 2. Books : Distributes and collects Visual Arts journals  3. Observer : Reports on behaviour 4. Clock: Time keeper  5. Play: Sets up projector and changes slides on PowerPoint 6. Notes: Hand out notes and paper 7. Setting: Teacher assistant  8. Contacts: Mark class roll  9. Rubbish: Help collect rubbish and make sure bin is not ov...