For the past weeks, I have been teaching PYP art classes online to our students in nursery through Grade 5/6 classes. In order to keep the number of texts down for the parents, I have chosen to create PowerPoints for each of my classes. Each PowerPoint includes one slide of instructions and vocabulary, multiple slides of images and relatable videos, one or two video tutorials, and specific instructions for turning in work. The PowerPoints are kept on my desktop in different colored folders. Each class is color-coordinated according to the day that I teach them which helps me keep track of incoming student work.
What’s important to me is not so much what the students might be reading in my PowerPoint, but the images and videos that they are looking at. I have been very careful to conduct lessons with materials that are readily available in the students’ homes: markers, paper, glue, tape, pencils, etc. I’ve also told both the students and the parents that they can use whatever materials they might have at home to create their artwork. This helps to lessen the stress potentially placed on the parents to go out and purchase a bunch of art supplies.
My lessons have been a mix of holiday projects (Valentine’s Day and Black History Month) and UOI projects. I have been very pleased with the lessons I have created and the bulk of information I have been able to find online. For the week of black history, I created a different lesson for each class featuring new artists that I had never heard of. This was very exciting for me, allowing for further research in my field, and helping me to transfer my enthusiasm for my subject into my lessons for the students. I also collaborated with Ms. Karla from Kindergarten 2 on a water experiment that I called Monet’s Garden. The students studied Monet’s artworks before decorating simple flowers, folding in the petals, placing them in bowls of water, and watching as they “bloomed” right before our eyes. It was magic!
The feedback I have been able to share with my students is incredibly thorough, analytical, and individualized. I have more time with online teaching to give specific and personalized feedback to my students, whereas in a normal classroom situation there are time constraints. But I have really enjoyed giving thoughtful written feedback to my students during our online lessons. And having a connection to the parents has also been wonderful. As a specialist, we never get to speak to the parents or hear from them. With online learning, I have a direct line to each of the parents and it is awesome! They are a huge support to online learning and I am so thankful for their participation!
Please find below several artworks from each grade. Enjoy!
