Fifth Grade Maccabee Drawings

This week in art, the fifth graders had some special guests visit from long ago and far away: Maccabees! The Maccabees (a.k.a. Rashi faculty and staff in costume) posed as drawing models for the fifth graders, who employed their strategies of using proportion and perspective to capture their form and details to create realistic drawings. They will use these drawings to create sculptures using armature wire and plaster.

Second Grade Portraits 2015

Second graders looked at self-portraits by Andy Warhol, Rembrandt, and Van Gogh. They observed how these artists used their creativity to create a wide variety of styles of self-portraits. To create their self-portraits, the second graders drew on black paper with pencil. Then, they used Elmer's glue over their pencil lines, so that when it dried it created the bold black outlines. The color comes from chalk pastels, which the students mixed and blended to create new, vibrant colors.

The portraits look amazing all together in the hallway. They created a beautiful welcome for all of the grandparents and special guests on Generations Day, and they were also featured at a special Rashi-hosted event for the Boston Jewish Film Festival.

                                      

Andy Warhol, 1967

          Vincent Van Gogh, 1889

                                                                      Rembrandt, 1660

Kindergarten Self-Portrait Collages

Kindergarteners created these lively collages after looking at and discussing a self-portrait print by Andy Warhol and a collage by Henri Matisse. We talked about what materials the artists used to create their artwork and how the materials affected how the work turned out. Kindergarteners noticed the bright, loud color in Warhol's work, and I pointed out that sometimes you can tell a lot about a person from their self-portrait- Warhol loved attention and parties!

We talked about what kinds of shapes you could use to create a self-portrait, such as an oval for the head or a triangle for a nose. I demonstrated how to use glue sparingly in order to take care of the art materials. I also reinforced basic scissor safety and skills such as turning the paper when you are cutting a circle. 

  

A Tour of the Art Room

Welcome to the Art Room!  Our bright and cheery displays are outside the room and right across from our fifth grade neighbors.  The entire length of the hallway outside the art room is full of kids' work on vibrantly colored bulletin boards.

                                

When students enter the art room in grades 3-8, the first thing they see is the board and the Rashi core values on the wall.  The board contains detailed directions, reminders, and project information.

In grades K-2, students enter the room and sit on the rug for the first 5-10 minutes of class for class discussions about famous artists and works of art.

Students are assigned to a table, and switch seats three times a year. Each table is named for a famous artist that we learn about in the course of the Rashi K-8 curriculum. All tables have basic supplies such as markers and pencils. Materials for the projects are displayed "buffet-style" on a table at the center of the room and students take turns getting their supplies.

                            

                            

If students finish early, they can check in to the "Sponge Center" to soak up extra time. This center for anchoring activities features drawing books, artist biographies, stencils, and free-drawing supplies.

During messy units, smocks are always available for the students! 

                                 

  

I had a little too much fun making this poster.

We are very lucky to have three big sinks for washing hands, supplies, and tables. Learning how to use and to take care of art materials and tools is a significant part of the Rashi art curriculum.

                           

At the end of each class, we wrap up and students receive feedback on their transitions, engagement, cleanup, and listening skills. The Smiley Spectrum system- chart shown below- allows them to earn points, or "wows" and when they earn seven, we have a Messy Art Day, with three choices of messy art activities including splatter painting, marbling, and paint blowing.