Feb. 16th- Feb. 20th

It's been a fast and furious week here at Langston. Between the Bookfair, the pancake feed, and a four day week, it has been busy! Here is what the Langston Artists have been up to this week:

Kdg.- Kindergarteners have been reviewing Functional Art (art that a person can use for something) vs. Art for Art's Sake (art we just look at and enjoy). This is a pretty high-level concept, but the students really seem to grasp it well! We will continue reviewing and next week I will assess their understanding. We have finished the candy jars and are moving onto Party Hats! Their party hats will use their knowledge of line, shape, color, and pattern. We just need to add tassels on the top and the strips to fit around their heads!

1st- First graders have been continuing to learn about shelters and how they keep us safe and happy. We have been creating details in our tree houses and adding patterned wallpaper. The students have been practicing following directions in order to draw the branches. Next we'll add actual texture in the form of leaves! When we finish, the students will share with the class what is in their treehouse and the various details.

2nd- Second grade students have been reviewing warm and cool colors this week. We are in the process of making a monster painting using warm colors. Warm colors are generally used for things that are alive and breathing, like a monster! It's great seeing how creative the students get with their monsters. Next, we'll make Cool Color Robots!

3rd- Third graders have finished up their Zentangles and are now learning about different portrait viewpoints: frontal, profile, and 3/4 view. The students also learned about Pablo Picasso and Cubism. Cubism often uses multiple portrait viewpoints, so it's a perfect tie-in. We'll be making Cubist Animals this week and next. I'll have pictures up next week-- expect some colorful and fragmented mammals :)

4th- Fourth graders are finishing up painting their grotesques, wrapping them in newsprint, and taking them home. The black-silver paint really added to their stone quality! Now we are continuing with our Jasper Johns Collagraph. A collagraph is a type of printmaking in which a printing plate it made from cardboard, string, foam, and other found materials. The students have proposed a composition to me and a partner at their table, and then started making their collagraph printing plates. The students have been very excited about this-- one student even made a collagraph outside of class after learning how to make one!

5th- Fifth graders have been slowly but surely finishing glazing their donuts. They should be coming home next week! Now we are beginning a Fantastical Maps lesson. Students have been learning about the history of cartography, types of maps, features of a map, and have looked at the artwork of Allison Murray Whittington, who creates pirate-esque fantasy maps of imagined lands. Students have begun brainstorming what different aspects they would like to include in their fantasy maps. In the mean time, here are some pictures of their finished Lakota Winter Counts.