The Arctic

A Unit Integrating Art and Science

Description/ Analysis:

Overall the unit was a success. The students learned a lot of new information about the arctic that would not have been covered in their science class.  Additionally, they exposed to  new art making techniques and mediums. The student learned how to create linoleum prints. They also learned various ways to enhance watercolor paintings. The students also persisted through the long and arduous process of collaboratively making bottle cap curtains. Although the unit was overall success there are many aspects I would change if I taught this unit again. The students had a difficult time using the tools safely while printmaking. Many students were distracted while carving their prints and nicked their fingers with the carving tools. The students also added many random and unintentional collaged items to their Northern Lights watercolor paintings.  About half of the students added personalized touches to their paintings, and the other half did not understand why we were making paintings of the Northern Lights because they had never seen them before and the Northern Lights had no impact on their life thus far. This made it difficult for them to be being personally invested in their paintings. The ones that did not originally connected to the Northern Lights in their paintings, were not looking forward to doing another project based on the Northern Lights. When it was time to collaboratively create Northern Lights curtains a few students choose not to actively participate. These students were not interested and creating a community project. I wish I found ways to get these students more invested.

Reflection/ Modifications:

After teaching all parts of the unit, I felt like it was a successful unit and I would do this unit again with a few modifications. I am confident that I conveyed higher meaning and purpose to all to the students, by using tangible concepts and skills learned as metaphors for larger life concepts. I repeated the importance of learning about the unknown, and working together to protect our world and promote/ manifest positive intentions around our actions. It is my job to reflect back on this lesson to make sure my instructions were clear and all my students are safe and engaged, while learning value life lessons.

When I noticed that more than one of my students had cut themselves using carving tools, I retaught printmaking safety and created a different seating chart. I demonstrated proper ways of carving several times and reminded them about safety every class. Some students had to take a break from carving until they proved to me that they could slow down and focus. In the future, I would emphasis carving safety in the beginning of the lesson and offer an alternative method of printmaking that does not include carving.

In the following lesson when I noticed that students were just arbitrarily adding  cut out magazine images to their Northern Lights paintings, I just let it continue and allowed the students to do as they please. In the future, I would address the class and remind them that their marks should be intentional when creating art. That it is okay to be loose and free when creating, but it is also important to slow down and think about what to add before adding it. I believe this disconnect and rushing through the paintings, made the students less engaged for the next lesson. On the contrary, many students were extremely engaged and invested in their work, and produced painting their were proud of.

The last lesson was the most complicated lesson of the unit. The student worked on this lesson for at least three weeks. Most classes consisted of puncturing holes in the bottle caps with needle tools. This repetition was hard for students and they got tired of doing the same thing over and over again to create a final product that they could not even take home. When the lesson went over three weeks I finally had to motivate the students to complete the project faster and my mentor teacher and I made a competition out of the project. We announced that the first team to finish their curtain, teach team member would get ice cream. The student then kicked it into high gear and the project came to completion. It was important for the students to learn how to persist through a project to completion and how to work with a group, but both of these skills the students struggled with. This project was hard to get through, but extremely valuable skills were gained. The students learned how different group members had different skills and it was important to recognize that all team members had different strengths.

Overall this lesson was very successful and can be modified to be improved in the future. I learned the power of repeating instructions as an educator and how far you can push 6th grade students to connect skills and concepts to higher meanings. I believe the students have a new appreciation  of the arctic and working together.