"The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create." –President Barack Obama.
My k-8 art students are motivated and appreciative when they are able to create art that opens up a new way of thinking for them.
My students are from the largest, highest poverty and most diverse k-8 school in the state of Oregon.
Close to 200 students come to art every day. By the end of the year, close to 800 receive art education in my classroom. These students are excited to have the opportunity to learn about and create unique art. Many students have not had an opportunity like this outside school. Many of these students have never even owned a box of quality crayons.
My Project
My students need 8 packages of Sharpie fine tip markers and 2 boxes of Paper Mate medium point flair markers. My students will use Sharpies and Flair pens for various projects throughout the quarter.
One project that my 3rd through 8th graders will do is create Pop Art Candy Sharpie colored drawings using empty candy boxes as their "still life" model. This lesson focuses on art history (Pop Art movement), still life drawing, and precision. Another project they will do is the Sharpie Rotational Symmetry Project. Students create this by rotating their names on square paper eight times and coloring in the patters. This project teaches about symmetry, pattern/repetition, and color theory. Another project is the Mexican Folk Art Sharpie colored foil project. My 7th and 8th graders will use the Sharpies and Flair markers for many projects including Zen Tangles, one-point perspective and two-point perspective drawings.
My students, who don't normally have this opportunity, will get the chance to use quality art materials to learn and explore new techniques of self-expression.
I believe their newfound creativity will open doors for them cognitively, leading to higher problem solving and higher academic achievement. At the present, having these art supplies will keep them excited, happy and engaged in their projects.
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