Art Room at St. Albert the Great, Kettering, OH 45429 US - Curriculum Plans

Kindergarten:  Art Introduction

This is where their art foundation is built.  The highlights of the year will be bound into a Kindergarten Art Book, which will be sent home near the end of the year.  These will include projects that cover primary and secondary colors, patterns, texture, shapes, and other elements of art.  Like all of the classes, they will be introduced to a variety of media.   They come to art for one 30-minute class each week.  The three Kindergarten classes come to art on different days this year, with Mrs. Hartshorn's on Mondays, Mrs. Seubert's on Tuesdays, and Mrs. Hankey's on Thursdays.  
 

Grade 1:  This year's studies will include a drawing lesson that is derived from an art philosophy that anyone can learn to draw representational things if they learn to break them into the five basic elements of shape.  I believe this will help them in their drawing as the year goes along.  The 1st Graders also will learn about different painting styles, from the Impressionists like Claude Monet, to the beautiful flowers of Georgia O'Keeffe. They will also be learning about Leonardo DaVinci and his famous Mona Lisa, as well as the colorful artwork of Eric Carle. First Grade has Art class each Friday morning.
 

Grade 2:  The Second Graders' year in art will feature various art elements and artists.  This will include a color wheel lesson, a study of Van Gogh, and additional drawing lessons using the elements of shape.  They will also create colorful rainbow fish, and learn about form with clay polar bear creations. The Second Grade will come to Art on Thursday mornings.

Grade 3:  The 3rd Grade includes a variety of projects, covering perspective, symmetry, and complementary colors, to name a few.  We will experiment with form using modeling clay, introduce batik with paper batik, and incorporate a project with their study on Native Americans.  Art history will include projects on Paul Klee's abstract work, Mary Cassatt's pastel drawings of mothers and children, and Picasso's mixed-up portraits.  The Third Grade comes to art on Friday mornings this year.

Grade 4:  The 4th Grade will learn about dimension and form, using  a variety of materials. They will create cityscapes, and stuffed painted objects, among other things.  Art history will include lessons on Rembrandt and his use of contrasts, Norman Rockwell and his storytelling illustrations, as well as projects featuring reptiles and robots. Both 4th Grade classes attend art on Monday mornings. 

Grade 5: The 5th Grade will study expressionist art, such as Edvard Munch's painting, "The Scream," to create their own portrait in an expressionist style, and also will learn about the art of animation by creating flipbooks that can be scanned into PowerPoint for a very short animated film.  Their year in art also will include the jungle art of Henri Rousseau, and the use of  positive and negative space. The 5th Grade has art class on Friday afternoon.

Grade 6: The 6th grade will learn figure drawing this year, which will tie into a study of Edgar Degas and his famous paintings of dancers. They will then use wire, foil, and plaster wrap to create a three-dimensional figure of their own.  They also will use the work of Paul Cezanne as inspiration to create their own still life drawings in pastel.  This also is the year for paper mache, which will feature a new idea this year, and a study of cultural mola designs. The 6th grade comes to the art room on Monday afternoons.  

Grade 7:  The 7th Grade will learn about tessellations and the work of M.C. Escher, study the pointillism work of Georges Seurat, and learn more about drawing in perspective.  In addition, they will study the work of pop artist Andy Warhol, as well as working with embossing tools. The 7th Grade comes to art class on Thursday afternoon. 

Grade 8:  In their final year at St. Albert's, I plan to take the 8th Grade on a field trip to the Dayton Art Institute for its new show celebrating 90 years of service and treasures here in Dayton.  The 8th Grade also will create beautiful Christian symbol mosaics, cultural clay masks, and colorful drawings inspired by Pop Artist Peter Max. The 8th Grade attends art on Tuesday afternoons.