I’m starting a new project today at both the middle school and the high school. In groups of 2 or 3, they are being asked to create posters for the high school play, “School for Nerds”.

I began today’s class by showing overheads of posters for Amadeus, Hairspray, and Grease. I led a discussion about how the design of the posters gives messages about what the plays are about. I asked whether students would laugh, cry, or be scared if they went to see the various plays. I asked how the designers created unity, and how color communicates a message. I defined graphic design as “artistically combining text and images.”

I told students they would be graded on the following:

• group work – How did the students cooperate together to create a unified vision?
• individual work – How did each individual contribute to the project? (I will be asking for a written response from each student)
• originality
• craftsmanship/completeness – Was the design well planned and executed? Does it include all of the required elements?

Here are the steps of the project:

1. Create four thumbnails. You can divide a 9″ x 12″ sheet of newsprint into four sections. Draw in the general shapes of the text and images. Stick figures are not allowed.
2. Choose one thumbnail and refine it larger on 9″ x 12″ newsprint paper. Do a detailed drawing of the image(s) and write in all the text as it will appear.
3. Do the initial layout in pencil on an 18″ x 24″ sheet of white drawing paper.
4. Paint or otherwise create color on the poster (markers, crayon, colored pencils, oil pastels, etc.)

I wrote on the board all of the details of the play that need to be included on the poster:

• an appropriate illustration
• the name of the play (”School for Nerds”)
• the location of the performances
• my phone number for more information
• the performance dates and time
• “produced by the [high school name] drama department”
• ticket prices

I also read the description of the play’s plot from the publisher’s website.

I asked students to turn in their four thumbnails tomorrow at the end of class. Some problems have arisen that I’ve tried to address, I hope adequately. One group of three formed, then “kicked” a member out because he did not agree with the vision of the other two. I told them that once they formed the group they cannot kick a member out. They need to create designs that everyone in the group can agree on. By the end of class I did not see them begin to cooperate yet, but I reminded them that their grade is based partially on their ability to cooperate together.

Many students wanted to do the project alone or in a group of four. I did not allow this. This is a great and rare opportunity for me to incorporate some group collaboration into an art class. The kids need to learn how to work in a team. If they can figure out how to do it now when they’re children, they’ll have a much easier time of it when they are adults.

I love working alone. I prefer it. I’ve always hated working in groups, primarily because I was usually the one doing all of the work. My teachers never seemed to monitor our progress or assess whether everyone was contributing.

But I have to admit that nobody works in a vacuum. People who work easily and harmoniously with others enjoy greater successes in life.

First and second periods at the middle school had great discussions, and behavior appropriate for their ages. Many students in first period was especially excited that the drama class might end up using their poster design.

Third period was a nightmare. Most of them seem to hate sitting for lecture or discussion. Many of them were acting like they were much younger than they are. Consequently, discussion took forever because I had to keep waiting for students to stop talking over one another. I got some students to start raising hands to be called on, but then they would say something far off topic.

I started writing names on the board of students who will be asked to stand outside, but then that started becoming a game and a source of mirth for them. I said that if this method does not correct the behavior, they will experience referrals to the Principal pretty quickly. I’d do a crapload of detentions, except that my schedule across both schools does not allow me to keep middle school students in for lunch or after school. And of course the middle school does not have a formal detention time with a dedicated staff member like the high school. My options for consequences here are rather limited. It sucks.

UPDATE 3/7/07
Numerous students had to be reminded to leave room for text on their thumbnails, and to show me at least the block shape the text would take on each thumbnail. A couple of students tried to get away with stick figures. I had a few replace “School for Nerds” with “School 4 Nerds”, or wrote letters backward. For clarity, I asked them to correct these variations.

Most students have now completed the four thumbnails. A few have even completed the second draft on 9″ x 12″ paper. I stipulated the following requirements for this step:

• images in full detail
• show values: light and dark areas
• all required text with careful lettering

A couple of the second drafts had the text all crowded together with no clear distinctions between types of information. For example, the place would go onto a new line and then the performance times would finish that line and begin another. I guided students to give each piece of information its own space.

Because it is the end of day three and most students are still working on step two (or even step one), I expect to carry this project over into next week.

I will have them complete a rubric like this one, except not just about themselves but about the other members in the group as well. This will give them the opportunity to report on students who did not carry their weight in the project. I had one student at the high school come to me mid-class yesterday and ask if they could “switch groups.” Her group had already finished step one so I said no. I asked her why, and she wouldn’t tell me. I suspect it was because the slacker in her group was looking right at her as she spoke with me at my desk. I will tell her privately today about this rubric, and encourage her to tell me now what’s going wrong with her group (if only to confirm my suspicion.) I will introduce the rubric on an overhead tomorrow at the beginning of each art class. The students will complete it after the posters are all complete. I will consider how group members scored each other when assessing the final grade for this project.

UPDATE 3/13/07
I adjusted the due dates to reflect how far along the majority of students were coming. I asked everyone to have the “refined draft” done by last Friday, the penciled 18″x24″ done by Monday, and the final colored version by Wednesday. I will allow some time at the beginning of Thursday for those last stragglers, and then I will have everyone complete the rubric.

One thing I should have emphasized in my initial lecture/discussion is the importance of arranging text so that individual ideas are clearly separated. I mentioned in my last update how this was a problem. Many students are cramming it all together, and I take the blame. I should not have assumed they knew instinctively how to arrange information clearly.

I hope I made the right choice in making this a group project. It seemed ideal, but often one or two group members are sitting idle while one is drawing, lettering, or painting. In some cases the group is phenomenal and everyone’s painting at once. This is rare. I guess the real question is: is it okay for students to remain idle for periods of time in my class? I debate this with myself all the time. I always feel like I’m not doing my job if a student is not working on something artistic at all times in my class.

At the end of the project, each student will get a Grade Sheet with their project grade broken down as follows (each worth 10 points):

March 5: discussion and begin thumbnails
March 6: four thumbnails
March 7 & 8: refined 9”x12” draft
March 8 & 12: 18” x 24” in pencil
March 13 & 14: 18” x 24” in color
Group Work
Individual Work
Originality
Craftsmanship and Completeness
——————————-
Total Points / Percentage / Letter Grade

UPDATE 04/01/07: Student Work

Here are the four posters the drama class chose out of a selection of 40 posters. The drama students were not told who designed what before they voted. Their top choice, the first one below, was made by 8th graders. The remaining three were by high schoolers.

I am adapting this unit from a project on dickblick.com: Painted Accordion Books (2006). We will begin by creating personal symbols on Tuesday. I expect this total project to take two to three weeks, as it involves the design of a symbol, painting of two canvases, and assembling the canvases, paper, and other pieces into a book.

While this is a wonderful lesson page, I can provide a lot more guidance than dickblick.com’s page offers, such as information for ordering the correct amount of materials, and pitfalls that can occur with inattentive students. I have reprinted dickblick.com’s instructions and material list on the left, with my commentary on the right.

I’ve added a preliminary component: that of students creating their own symbols. I have included an image of my demonstration symbols/logos below. I will add updates as we continue this project.

Here are my personal symbol thumbnails for demonstration:

UPDATE 2/20/07, Day One:

Most students took to the idea of creating a personal symbol with enthusiasm. Almost all of them took advantage of the books for research, and many began rough ideas for their thumbnails. At the end of tomorrow, they should have four thumbnails, and by Thursday they should have final symbol designs completed.

UPDATE 2/22/07, Day Three:

Most students had all four thumbnails completed by the end of the period yesterday. I turned them back today, some with questions. I spoke with some of the students, asking them to make more careful drawings or explain if or how the designs were unique. A few students copied right out of books and expected me not to be able to tell the difference. I graded thumbnails based on time, effort and originality.

At the beginning of class today, I reminded students of the final design requirements (above.) I also told them the final design should be at least 2 inches by 2 inches so I could see it well, and no more than 4 inches by 4 inches so it would fit on the cover of the book. During the last ten minutes of class today, I went around to each student and asked him/her to explain how the final design represents them. A simple initial letter was not enough – I asked them to tell me how their design of the letter represented them in some way. A few students had no answer for me even though they had been reminded of that requirement at the beginning of class. Most students were able to talk at length, however. These ones had clearly put a good deal of thought into their work. I am grading final designs based on time, effort, originality and ability to convey how it represents the student.

UPDATE 2/17/07, Days Four and Five:

Yesterday, I had everyone paint the backgrounds for the book covers in acrylic paint. I asked them to paint all the way around the edges too. I told them they could use whatever colors they wanted, but when they paint their symbols they will need to have contrast. So, dark background, light paint for the symbol. Light background, dark paint for the symbol. The symbol no longer needs to be in black on white. However, if the background is too busy, the symbol probably won’t show up well. Also, the two covers don’t need to be painted the same, but the students need to think about unity.

Today, students are painting the symbols onto the front covers. A long while ago, I found some carbon paper for typewriters at an estate sale. It dates back to about the 50s. I took the opportunity to explain what it was used for in the past. Then I described how they could lightly tape it to the top edge of their front cover, then tape down their drawing over it. Using a number two pencil, they press firmly over the lines of their drawing to press the carbon onto the canvas surface. This will not work if the background color is too dark. Mechanical pencil leads are not strong enough, so use a traditional wooden pencil.

For the acrylic paint, I purchased 8oz plastic squeeze bottles from dickblick.com. These are awesome. They help the students put only small amounts of paint on their palette. Students tend to think they need much more paint than they really do. You may want to keep on eye out and guide them when they are pouring themselves paint. The hardest part is for me, when I try to get old, thick gloppy paint from the half-gallon containers into the necks of the smaller bottles. A funnel may help but not much, since the paint is very thick and doesn’t like to let air bubbles come up through it.

UPDATE 3/05/07, Days Six and Seven:

On last Wednesday, students finished up the painting of background and symbol on the book covers. Last Thursday, they did all of the assembly of the book. I left it up to them how they would tie the book closed. I showed them a few techniques I had devised. The goal was to assemble it so that the book would stay closed on two opposite sides when secured. I gave students up to two 16″ pieces of colored twine each, up to two glass globs each, and as many beads as they liked. I still had many plastic beads left over from the Nicho project. A few students still needed time to finish up on Friday, which is fine since it’s our free draw day anyway.

By the way, I would not have used the colored masking tape again. It does not stick well enough to last. It peeled up in damp weather. I thought it might be more sturdy and sticky like duct tape, I guess. It is best used to tack the twine down inside the book cover, where the paper will be glued down on top of it anyway. So it did not need to be fancy colors; any old masking tape would have worked.

A few students did not check to see if their books would close correctly before doing the last step of gluing the paper down. Most of them figured it out, however. It was a very good design problem to give them.

Any students who were done before others were encouraged to write, draw or paint on the paper inside their books. Many did this. I let them put whatever they wanted so long as it did not break school rules.

Overall the project was a great success, and more popular with my students than the nichos. There could be several reasons for this. Perhaps most significantly, is took less time to achieve the final result. It also took far less step-by-step instruction from me (partly because they had already learned some necessary skills on that previous project.)

UPDATE 3/14/07
Here are some photos of student work.

Four thumbnails for the personal symbol:

Two very different final symbols from two very different high school students:

Several final books from the high school:

UPDATE 3/31/07

I almost forgot to include this. It’s my final book cover with my personal design:

My 7th period art class at the high school is the most difficult to manage (as is the 3rd period at the middle school.) These two classes are my largest, so it’s understandable that they are more of a challenge than others. Each additional child invites a potential behavior problem. Also, one child who may be easy to work with on his own may become a demon when he is with another. This occurred with two boys in 3rd period who joined us a month or so ago. The first boy was fine until the second one arrived a week later. Now they egg each other on.

In drama today, we finished blocking the school play. With the time remaining, I asked the students to write a reflection on the blocking process. How was the experience for them? Were students cooperating well? If they were director, what would they have done differently? I asked them to be honest. Of course they would not be marked down if I did not like what I heard – so long as they thought analytically and offered suggestions when criticism was given. I’ve read a few so far and I’m very pleased with their repsonses. Many of them thought I was too controlling as a director, and I didn’t listen to their suggestions enough. I’ve worked a lot in theater, and the first thing you learn is to be quiet and pay attention to the director. The director calls the shots and will ask actors for suggestions if he wants, but usually does not want them shouted out to him. Nevertheless, it was useful to hear what teenage student actors thought should happen.

Now I’ve got an idea to try on 7th period art. I’m going to stop everything and have them write one page, double-spaced but at least two paragraphs on the following topic:

“How can we maintain a classroom where everyone enjoys art, gets all the assignments done, and follows the rules? Give specific suggestions.”

Then I might even try some of their suggestions and have them write or talk about whether the suggestion worked.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

UPDATE, beginning of 7th period.

Wow, everyone seems pretty engrossed in writing on this topic. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that students enjoy being asked what they think. Of course, there are those asking about why it has to be two paragraphs instead of all one huge one.

One student said when he arrived (and saw the topic on the board), “what if I already enjoy art, do my assignments, and follow the rules?” I made sure that the students wrote about how we could achieve that for everyone.

We all know the excuse “the dog ate my homework.”

I’m going to start posting the excuses I actually hear (often repeatedly) in my classes. For any new teachers, keep your ears out for these.

Lame Excuse:
I base daily points on whether a student has worked diligently toward a project’s goals throughout the entire period.
Me: “What have you done today?”/”What are you working on?”
Student: “I had something I was working on, but I threw it away.”
Nine times out of ten, if you ask him (it’s always been a male) to retrieve the thing from the trash he will refuse to. This is due to the fact that he was lying.

Lame Excuse:
Sometimes, a class simply refuses to quiet down and listen. Then I have to single out one student, usually the loudest, to bring to his/her attention that his/her behavior is unacceptable.
Me: “I just asked everyone to be quiet. Why are you still talking?”
Student: “Well, everyone else is still talking, why aren’t you telling them to stop talking?”

I came across this blog entry today:

Foundation course final essay

The year-long two-evenings-a-week Foundation acting course I’ve been doing was all over a couple of weeks back. The final task was to write 1,000 words about how the acting, movement and voice classes had affected our final performance. It was asking a lot to stretch the words “not a lot” out that much, so I made the essay more general and tried to be as balanced as possible. What had been worthwhile and what had felt like a waste of time?

[More...]

This is very useful information for a first-year high school drama teacher. I remember thinking back on my college acting classes and feeling like many of the exercises are just dumb.

I’ve also noticed that my students prefer to be humorous in their improvisation games. I rarely get anyone trying to be dramatic or poignant. I’m going to beginning asking for that from time to time. I’m warming up to the idea of coaching students while they are in the middle of an improv scene.

It’s very interesting to read a critique of a serious acting class which echoes some of my experiences. It also enlightens me to some of the errors I may be making, or ideas I can use.