Lesson Plan: Perspective

How do you teach perspective? Here is an image of an in-progress lesson of perspective that I was working on with 5th grade. 

Here is how I teach perspective...I make it a unit!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day 1: Introduce Perspective with PPT...show images of how to make a box 3D, photography and perspective, 1 point perspective vs 2 point perspective, Da Vinci's last supper, etc. A nice overview of the horrors to come! Mwhahahah

Have students put shapes into perspective...such as a box, a circle, a rectangle, a star, and a triangle.

Day 2: Review perspective powerpoint, review how to put a box into perspective. Show them how to make block letters, and students practice putting their name into perspective. They can color it when they are finished. (I use a block letter "cheat sheet" that I created for the students who struggle with block letters)

Day 3: Final review of perspective. Introduce city project. Students need to make at least 5 building in perspective for their city. Creativity and detail is key to making their city interesting!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I like teaching perspective this way because it gives students multiple days to try to "figure out" perspective. On the first day a lot of students think that making a box is easy...until they try it and get really frustrated! I try to help as many students as I can...but I can't reach everyone that first day and a lot of them give up early. But on day 2, we use perspective in a different way with letters, and then some of the people who didn't get it before suddenly get it! Also...some people who had it lose it with the more difficult letters. By the end of this unit, 90% of students can put 5 boxes into 1 point perspective.

Traffic Light and Artopoly

Time for another classroom management post. Now that you know about "show me the Mona Lisa" I'd like to introduce you to my traffic light!

The traffic light works not only as a visual reminder, but as way to play Artopoly! Here are the rules:

1. The traffic light determines their behavior/sound level.
• Green Light: You can talk in a normal inside voice
• Yellow light: You are being warned for being too loud or unruly! Whisper until you have earned green light again!
• Red light: Stop! You are too loud! Silent art for 1 minute, or longer if the class can't follow the traffic light. Sometimes I even have the class put their head down until they can be quiet and under control.  They can move back to yellow if they work silently!
2. AFTER cleanup (this is key! Sometimes its the only way I can get the kids to clean up) and everyone's head is down, I will roll a giant dice.
3. Whatever number I roll, their pin moves on the board. Each pin is labeled with their grade, and teacher...for instance 2M.
4. Sometimes they land on prizes such as radio day, switch seats day, etc. If they make it the whole way, EACH student who didn't get their name written on the board gets to pick a prize out of my treasure box.
5. **I only roll the dice if they are on green light! If they end they day on  yellow light "they have to go slow" and only move 1 spot. If they are on red light, they don't move at all**

This game was a BIG hit with all grade levels. Even my "too cool for traffic light games" six graders would whisper if they went to yellow light. My best classes even made it to the treasure box twice. Between "show me the mona lisa", the traffic light, and the artopoly game, I was able to somehow control my classes! The kids love this game!

My artopoly game was inspired by this pintrest post. However, I am not a huge fan of Monoply and I wanted a more whimsical "candy land" like feel!

More assessment!

Here is what my assessment looks like for older students, grades 4-6th.

We talk a lot about self assessment and reflection, and how it makes us grow as artists. Believe it or not, I get really honest self-assessment scores...nobody ever just gives themselves all 4s! Next year I am going to add a visual rubric poster  in my room, to help students remember to color in their art completely, take their time, etc.

Assessment

Here is what my assessment looks like:

 

Sorry that the image is a little blurry! 

It took me the whole school year to get to this. I tried quizzes, artist statements and rubrics, but I combined them all to make this! Here is how my assessment works. 

1) All students, k-6 write an artist statement.

2) Older students 4-6 complete a self assessment (not shown)

3) Students glue this to the back of their art, and turn it in to me!

4) I complete the rubric and add a comment. I put it in my grade book, and it either goes up on the wall or goes home!

The pros to kind of assessment is that it is all in one place, easy for an administrator to find, and it is attached to the art for the parents to see. The cons is you can't read the artist statement while it is up on the wall.