Improve Literacy and Language Skills Through the Visual Arts!
Help me give my students quality acrylic paints that will allow them to mix appropriate and realistic colors for their paintings, as well as gesso to improve and stabilize the surface of our material.
My school serves a rural population, with 52% or more qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Budgets are small, but our dreams are big! Our school is one of very few in the state to offer a year-long visual arts program in grades 6-8, rather than the typical 9 week course.
My students are driven to learn about our community, as well as the world outside of our charming little town.
My art class provides a hands-on approach to learn through actual production and experimentation. We learn about geometry through perspective drawing. We learn about history and ancient civilizations through our art history lessons. We improve literacy and language skills through verbal and written art/artist critiques.
My Project
If I ask you to name your favorite three artists, you will likely list "the ninja turtles" like so many of my students. The wonderful work of artists like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael are often highlighted in the public school art curriculum. I would like to encourage my students to honor the work of the Masters, while also having a healthy curiosity and appreciation for artists that are alive and working to create wonderful things NOW.
We will research and write about modern artists, putting ourselves in their shoes and then creating an art piece of our own in the style of this chosen artist.
Our school has set a goal of improving the literacy and language skills of our students. The research and creative writing component of this lesson will encourage continued progress toward this goal while also enriching our visual arts curriculum. Acrylic paint is one of the more expensive supplies that we use each year. With recent budget cuts, providing materials like this can create quite a challenge. I feel that it is important that students mix their own colors and use quality materials, so that their final work is age appropriate and something that they can be proud of. Your donation to this project will support our visual arts program while also supporting our school goal to improve student literacy!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Hennington and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
