Peer Teaching Lessons #9

Rachel and Hayley 

Rachel and Hayley gave a lesson on making crafts, but they also incorporated Mother's Day into their lesson!  We learned how to make bracelets out of old magazines and yarn that we could give to our mom's.  The first thing we did was cut out a heart and write things on there the finished the sentence  "I love my mom because...".    Next they showed us four different ways to cut our magazine strips that would make different beads.  I thought that was good because it gave us more opportunity to create a unique pattern for the bracelets  or you could have made a colored pattern as well.  For my bracelet that I made my mom I chose to do a pattern of 4 red beads, 1 white bead, and then 4 more red beads.  

An extension activity for this project would be to have the students research different cultures and maybe important colors or patterns to their traditions, and then show that in a bracelet   They would then have to give a short presentation of the culture they learned about and the meaning of the colors to their culture.  

Peer Teaching Lessons #8

Shannon and Charlie

This peer taught lesson was on clay, and it was really alot of fun!!  First we had to roll out clay so we would have a flat, even surface to to create our masks.  Next we got to design any shape for our masks to me, it could be organic or geometric; so I chose an organic shape!  Once we had our face cut out, we then had to use our scratch pieces of clay to make eyes, a nose and a mouth to put on our masks.  I made two eyes that were different sizes, a rectangular shaped nose, and a really big mouth!!  This was very fun because we learned about slip and scoring to help attach our eyes nose and mouth to the mask.  We had to divide the mask into four sections, and incorporate four different colors and textures on each part of the mask.  After we let our masks dry for a day, then we could come in and add the paint.  This type of class was awesome to work with because it did not need to be fired in a kiln, which sometimes you have to make very sure that you have no air bubbles or the pieces would explode, and also because it saves alot of time! 

A great extension activity with working with clay would be to have the students learn about a different culture and different pots they make.  I would have my students make different pots like pinch pots or coil pots and have them give a presentation on what culture they represented.  

Peer Teaching Lessons #7

Kelsey and Kara

This was our lesson that we completed.  Kara and I had to find a way to incorporate art into a Science lesson, so we chose to use trees to show the changing of the seasons.  We had the students trace their hands on brown construction paper to represent the tree trunks, and crinkle them to show texture in the trees.  Next we talked about warm and cool colors and which seasons they represented.  We then had our students decide if they wanted to make a tree to represent fall or winter, and they could use cotton balls for the snow and or clouds, or tissue paper to represent the leaves or the snow.  They had to make a landscape in the background, but still needed to have a emphasis of something in their project.  

The best part about this lesson was giving our class the opportunity to chose what they wanted to do.  They got to choose their background colors, which season, which medias to use, and any additions to their projects.  It really helped promote the students learning and motivation!  

Another extension activity you could have students do would be to write a short paragraph on why they chose that season.  It could have reason for the weather, the colors, maybe their birthday is in that season, or their favorite holiday.  It would be great to have the students practice their writing skills, and you could even incorporate some of their spelling words in the activity.  

Peer Teaching Lessons #6

Ellen and Meghan

This peer taught lesson was really introduced to us in a fun way to help us see the different diversity in our classroom.  We all had to stand up and they gave us different prompts, and if that prompt related to us we had to switch spots with someone who it also related too but if not we had to share with our partners why it did not relate to us.  

The next activity really showed that even though we can all be different, together we can create some pretty cool things.  Each person got to have a part in creating a 3 step creature! First we started out by folding a sheet of paper in to thirds.  Each person got to draw their version of a crazy creature's head and neck.  Then we folded that flap in so the next person couldn't see the head; we rotated papers around the room then we all drew the body.  Once that we completed, we again folded it in and passed them around so the last step was for everyone to draw the legs and feet.  This activity was great because it showed that we all could work together to create these crazy creatures, that none of them were alike, but they were all unique and different in their own ways.


The last project we did was create a crayon that represented us.  I made my crayon have the Super 8 Logo, since that is my full time job and NSU because I am a full time student.  I colored my crayon with my favorite colors, blue, green, purple, and pink and drew a picture of me on a beach because I love the ocean and sand so I can go tanning!  

An extension activity would be to have the students write a biography about another student in the class.  They would create a crayon based off their partner and then introduce them to the class at the beginning of the year.  

  

Peer Teaching Lessons #5

Ashley and Whitney

Whitney and Ashley really found an awesome way to introduce scratch art to the class through having us make mothers day cards!  We first started out with an index card that we had to cover with crayons all over the card.  The next step was to apply a mixture of black paint and soap to the top of our cards, and then Whitney dried them with a blow dryer while Ashley taught us different elements and designs of art.  Next we had to draw what we wanted the front and back cover of the card to look like, so we could transfer them to our black painted card.  We were given wooden sticks to scratch/trace off our design that we transferred over, so the crayons that we colored on to the bottom would show through on the top.  

On the insides of our cards we got to write a note to our mothers, thanking them for everything they do for us.  

Extension Activity:  This would be a great activity to have students complete at a 6th grade science level.  They would have to use scratch art to draw/create an animal that they learned about like a reptile, mammal, vertebrate, etc. After they created their animal, they would have to write 3-5 sentences describing the animal in detail and the different scratch techniques they used.   

Peer Teaching Lessons #4

Hannah and Justin

This peer taught lesson was really fun for us to step outside the box and have fun!  We were given the task to create a mask, similar to what some traditions different cultures may have.  Justin and Hannah did a great job modeling, and walking us through step by step through their presentations!
First we had to paint our masks either yellow, orange, or brown.  Next we had to determine what we wanted for our hair, and they provided many different medias and techniques for us to use.  I chose to use construction paper for crazy hair up top, pipe cleaners for right about the ears, and yarn to represent long hair in the back.    Next we had to design the nose and cut out the eyes and add any other details that we wanted.  For the final part we had to write down three things as to why we chose the things we did and how this mask represented us!  This would be an awesome way to incorporate a fun activity into a Social Studies class.  We could focus on a certain culture and learn about the many traditions and influential people.  Each student would have to chose one influential person and represent that person through this mask.  They would have to give an oral report on the person while wearing the mask, but also would need to describe how the mask represented that person and their culture.    

Peer Teaching Lessons #3

Jessica and Rebecca

This peer taught lesson was a focus on print making.  This was such a fun lesson because I have never done or even heard of something like this!  

We were told that we had to incorporate shapes, texture, and emphasis into these images.  We were given foam pieces that we had to stencil our images on to, by doing that it created an impression so that when we applied the paint and transferred it to our construction papers it would transfer our image.  For my images I chose a holiday scene with a snowman outside, and chose the letter K to represent my name with multiple geometric shapes.   

A great extension activity would be for the students to create their own news paper articles about their holiday traditions.  After they would type up their report, we would use the print making to have the students design a picture to represent their holiday tradition, and for the final step they would imprint their image onto their article.