Charcoal Challenge

The next unit we got into was drawing with charcoal and chalk and using different materials to create different types of shading and texture. Mr. Angelis taught the first couple lessons to introduce the class to the new materials, the students started on some cylindrical drawing to practice shading. After they got in some practice, I came in early one day to make a sculpture out of cylinders for the class. I did that by suspending string and tying different sizes of cylinders in the middle of the classroom.

I did a couple demos to explain the challenge that came with drawing this sculpture. I had cut out pieces of paper to be shaped rather irregularly but I asked the students to disregard the negative space and continue their drawings as if there were no holes in the paper.

Then we let the students work independently on their drawings....

I think they enjoyed it

A Little Rest...

After the big project I taught, I had maybe two or three weeks that I didn't have much planned. Of course I help out where Mr. Angelis needs me with small demos, helping students and getting supplies ready. This meant that I had some time to reflect and think about what I can do to further the class. Communication was my key focus for my Senior Experience Project and that seemed to be going pretty well, although my class is quiet, I still get the feeling that they understand what I mean when I'm explaining certain concepts or ideas. I was intimidated by the chance that they had no idea what I was talking about and that my lessons would just be a complete bust, however they seem to work hard and listen to what I try to teach them. The students are very nice and I think the class is pretty fun, occasionally I'll bring in some goodies for them like munchkins or cookies just to get a head start to the day. However, my time of reflection soon came to an end when it got time to design their next project...

Results of the marker project

I'm very very happy with the outcome of the marker project, it feels good to see the results I was hoping for when I designed the project. Students seemed to enjoy it and their work showed dedication, thought and progress. The students had about a full week to a week and a half to work on their projects, once they were finished I asked them to self-grade their projects as well as fill out a couple short answer questions for my benefit. One of the questions was "do you think this project was taught effectively?" and the responses seemed to be good, student said they understood what we were looking for and that it was taught in a comprehensible manner. One of the things I worried about all semester was the way I could communicate what I meant so that the students understood me, and by the results of the questionnaire I think I did a pretty good job of showing and explaining what the project really entailed. Below are some examples of student work: