Subs with Suitcases

In the Classroom: “Antique” Maps

subswithsuitcases — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:45:50 +0000

Anne Phillips subbed for a 4th grade class at Burnsville Elementary School. Students had been studying maps and geography, learning to identify the seven continents and beginning map skills. She had some high quality linen paper that had gotten wet, She soaked the paper in tea to stain and discoler the paper for an “old world” feel. She also rolled the paper and scorched the edges. each student got a sheet of this paper to make a map. using rulers, the students divided the paper into fourths. Then they measured again and divided it into sixteenths. By using this grid technique and displaying a world map (also divided into sixteenths) on an overhead projecter, students learned a new tool to help keep their drawings in scale and perspective.

She passed out examples of beautifully creative maps that contained whales, compass roses, and other artistic details. Some maps were fantasy maps, like Harry Potter and Peter Pan’s Neverland. Other maps were accurate, artistic representations. She showed the students how to draw a simple compass rose and asked them to create their own world maps that contained the seven continents and four oceans.

In the Classroom: Tap, Tap, Tapping

subswithsuitcases — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:25:21 +0000

Anne Phillips subbed for a kindergarten class at Burnsville Elementary School. Students had been learning about the five senses and during her sub day they focused on sound. Using large washers and string they made homemade tap shoes. She instructed the kids how to tie the washers on the string – and was very impressed with how few kids needed help with this step! Then they tied the string to their shoes and went on a sound adventure. They walked down the normally quiet halls. They walked on the sidewalk and noted the sound difference. They walked on the grass and discussed why there was no sound. Later, she put on some Sheryl Crow and they danced away to “Soak Up the Sun.” The kids LOVED this activity. They wore their tap shoes all day long and eventually had to do some repairs with tape.

In the Classroom: Scented Playdough

subswithsuitcases — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:17:35 +0000

Anne Phillips subbed for a kindergarten class at Burnsville Elementary School. Students have been studying the five senses so Anne focused on the sense of smell for her sub day – and made scented playdough for the students.

She made 6 colors and scents: chocolate, mint, banana, orange, cherry and grape using Koolaid, cocoa powder, mint extract and banana extract. She asked the students to sculpt a Halloween monster with their clay.

In the Classroom: North Carolina Maps

subswithsuitcases — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:07:26 +0000

Anne Phillips subbed for a 4th grade class at Burnsville Elementary School. Students had been studying geography (especially North Carolina geography) and map skills. Anne gave the teacher some clay before her sub day so that students could make their own relief maps of North Carolina, showing the coast, piedmont, mountains and major rivers. The maps then had a few days to dry before Anne’s sub day. Anne came in and helped the students paint their maps. They used tempera paint and she showed them how to mix the primary colors to get the colors they wanted. They painted the coast green, the piedmont yellow, and the mountains orange – with blue for the ocean and rivers.

In the Classroom: Clay

subswithsuitcases — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:51:20 +0000

Pat Benard subbed for the art classes for two days at Mitchell High School. Because Pat is a clay artist, the teacher planned a unit around when she would be subbing so they could take advantage of Pat’s unique skills. Art 1 students learned how to construct a human figure in clay, and Art 2 students made teapots with handles and spouts – an advanced skill to do well!

In the Classroom: Word Art

subswithsuitcases — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:36:47 +0000

Anne Phillips subbed two days for a 6th grade class at Bowman Middle School. Students had been reading and studying Where the Red Fern Grows.

One the first day they researched vocabulary from the book and she showed them some examples of word art and poetry art. Some students came up with mountain lion shapes, coon hounds, red ferns, raccoons, a kneeling praying man, etc.

On day two, students filled the silhouettes with rich vocabulary from the book. Using pens and colored pencils they created their own unique word art.

In the Classroom: Animal Cells

subswithsuitcases — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:20:40 +0000

Pat Benard subbed for a 7th grade class at Harris Middle School. Students had been learning about the composition of animal cells. She gave each student a Google image of an animal cell and instructed them to use it to make a collage using fabric, beads, buttons and other materials. By making a collage representation of an animal cell, students focused on various components and how they fit in a typical cell.

In the Classroom: Landforms

subswithsuitcases — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:10:28 +0000

Anne Phillips subbed for a 5th grade class at Burnsville Elementary School. Students had just started learning about landforms so she created an art lesson inspired by that. They talked about how water travels from higher elevations to lowere elevations. They discussed the prominent landforms of North Carolina – mountains to piedmont to coast – and discussed the affect water has on landforms (erosion, canyns, rivers, etc.).

The art lesson began with an introduction to foreground, middle ground, and background. She asked students to create landforms and landscapes using this technique. She brought in several examples of artwork to illustrate this concept for inspiration. Each student received a large piece of light blue construction paper. They divided their paper into three areas, then did a simple sketch of their landforms, concentrating on perspective and depth. She brought in a vast collection of papers with different textures, patterns, shades and colors for students to cut and paste onto their sketches. They used various overlapping papers to represent streams, waterfalls, canyons, mountains, hills and plains.

In the Classroom: Cherokee Masks

subswithsuitcases — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:56:04 +0000

Anne Phillips subbed for a 4th grade class at Burnsville Elementary School. Students had been studying the Cherokee in Social Studies. She divided the class into the seven Cherokee clans: Paint, Blue, Wild Potato, Bird, Long Hair, Wolf, and Deer. She had researched the clans and brought examples of each clan’s mask. She gave each group information on their clan (including their clan color) and they made their own clan masks.

Each student got a piece of tag board that they used to cut their mask from. They sketched their mask and used paint in their clan color to decorate it. She showed students how to cut the tag board to transform their 2-D paintings into 3-D masks.

Some clans added hair, feathers and ears to their masks as well.

Some students were initially disappointed at being “stuck” in the Wild Potato Clan or the Paint Clan were excited once they read some of the cool facts and important roles regarding their clan.

In the Classroom: The Treasure of Lemmon Brown

subswithsuitcases — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:51:13 +0000

True Kelly subbed for an 8th grade language arts class at Bowman Middle School. Students had been reading The Treasure of Lemmon Brown by Walter Dean Myers and True connected an art activity to this book. She brought in a large, metal tree. From the branches of the tree, students hung their affirmations of what they considered true treasures from their life experiences. They decorated envelopes with images representative of honor, peace, joy, and other positive wishes for the world at large. Inside the envelopes they incorporated in their own descriptive words explanations of the treasures they chose to honor.

The tree remains in the room as an installation.