Collage Art in Miss Britta's Class

Keeping with our theme of African-American history and culture, this week the students learned about collage art made by African-American artists.  They saw and discussed artwork by Howardena Pindell, Amalia Amaki, and James Denmark.   The kids talked about possible themes and meanings of the images and contemplated feelings the art evoked. The students were then encouraged to create their own collage images that reflected them.

Student Feelings on Diversity in Cultural Arts Class

Last week in Cultural Arts we continued our discussions about the importance of Diversity.  The students read a short poem about the world without variety and discussed their feelings as a class.  They then provided their own conclusion to the statement: "We need many different colors because...".  The sentences are as varied as the students themselves!

 Common Core Standards addressed:

K-12.1 Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes; 

K-12.2 Using knowledge of structures and functions; 

K-12.5 Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others; 

K-12.6 Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.

cc.sl.4.1; cc. l 1.1

'How Comics Are Made' with the SuperReaders!

Learning About Diversity with Cultural Art Class

This week in cultural art class the students learned the word "Diversity".  We discussed the meaning of "diversity" as well as how it applies to the students and the world around them.  The students also discussed the presence of diversity and segregation in the past and present.
The students created self-portraits to reflect on their own identities and illustrated their own LEGO characters to convey how differences make us unique and special.  In the case of the LEGO characters, many children chose to portray recognizable characters to them, however it was discussed that even though all characters are different, they all work as a team as an excellent example of diversity.

Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!

In the class Connecting the Dots the students practiced their reading and writing skills by reading the popular children's book Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and drawing a corresponding picture with a sentence to summarize the book.  The class recognized and discussed the ways we respond to people and in paying attention to the way you respond.

The Coconut Daughter

This week in cultural arts we read the African folk tale The Coconut Daughter and discussed the meaning of themes, morals and symbols.  The students then painted pictures of what impacted them from the story.  Some chose to paint portraits of the main characters, some illustrated where the story took place, and some depicted the dramatic conclusion!

Solar panel cars with S*T*E*A*M*!

The 4th and 5th graders of Family Focus are currently participating in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) program. Over the past few months, the STEAM program has been diligently working to create solar panel cars. The students have completed their cars' framework and electrical wiring, and are currently working on the cars' exterior design.