Over the course of the year students got handouts that explained assignments.
Side quests and art in the community
I believe students should have options of projects they can go back to when their primary project is overwhelming, they get stuck, or just need a break.
Monsters
I asked students to sketch 5 monsters and choose one to really dive into.
Encouraging reluctant writers. The animal illustrated here is from the Burgess Shale.
We did a lesson on word art and fonts.It’s important for students to reflect on their art. Some students were reluctant, but others gave thoughtful answers and provided me with feedback about what they enjoyed and what they learned.After demonstrating some analysis of comics and I had students check out a library book and write a book report on a graphic novel. This usually got them to write more words than any other assignment. The Memphis group and it’s fashion over function style served as an introduction to Postmodernism. I also showed a clip from “back to the future 2” I asked students to put art they found into one of these two camps and explain why they put them there.
The final project of art class was a “postmodern parody painting.” I asked students to recreate a famous piece but change something to make it relevant to them or mix in some pop culture. This was a project students could do in small groups if their canvas was large.
We saw many examples of these parody paintings, in ads and on commercially available posters, puzzles, mugs, bags, album covers, and phone cases. One of the things I was trying to get them to see was that art and design are all around us and there are influences from the old masters still relevant today.
Isaac and the Awkward Situations 