Philosophy, Goals, Expectations and Activities

The art program at The Blake Middle School is designed around the Minnesota State Standards for Middle Level (6-8th grade) art education. The standards represent the best thinking from national research, arts organizations such as the National Arts Education Association, National Endowment for the Arts, Museums and other arts educational organizations.

The standards tell us what students should know and be able to do. They are designed to help students do better work in school. They represent clear learning goals and set high levels of achievement for all students. The Art curriculum emphasizes the Create and Respond processes as students work through Bloom's Revised Taxonomy of creating, evaluating, analyzing, applying, understanding, and remembering at various levels of thinking.

Goals for 6th, 7th and 8th grade art

• use a variety of art materials, techniques, and tools
• use creative process for problem solving
• create original art
• appreciate, interpret, analyze the work of other artists and cultures
• develop writing and speaking skills through art

• asking good questions
• solving interesting problems in interesting ways
• making stories
• using proper vocabulary and techniques
• representing ideas in visual terms
• using intuition and critical thinking skills
• persevering when not knowing things for awhile
• paying attention and following directions
• making good choices
• establishing and using criteria to evaluate, categorize, and compare
• exploring multiple right answers

Expectations for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade art

• A safe and positive climate for the work of art depends on students following the "HARRT" citizenship code as a guide for respectful and responsible behavior in the art room.
• Homework, such as sketchbook assignments and written work such as personal reflections, reports, and artist statements will be completed and brought to class on time. Late assignments lose 20% off the first day and an additional 10% following the next two days, and receive no credit after the unit has ended.
• Communication is an important process. Whether students are communicating visually, speaking or writing, appropriate grade-level skills are expected. Listening to others, taking turns in discussion, writing clear and well-crafted sentences with correct spelling is expected.

Sketchbooks

• All students will receive a sketchbook for out-of-class drawing assignments and pre-planning sketches for their work in class.
• Sketchbook assignments help students observe, record and develop drawing skills with a number of different drawing tools and techniques.
• Students have sketchbook assignments for homework. These drawings and/or written assignments should take the student 30 minutes and can be completed over the course of a week. Students are responsible for keeping track of due dates.
• The sketchbook is used for the student's three years in the middle school. They are collected and stored in the art room from year to year. As the student completes their 8th grade art class their sketchbook is given back to take home! The sketchbook becomes a resource for looking at, creating, talking about, and writing about art.

Enrichment Activities

• Tutorial time is often used for students who have been absent or whose work process requires extra time for studio work. Individualized help in using an art tool(s) or an art process can also continue during a tutorial time.
• Art clubs and special interest art activities may be offered throughout the school year. This is available to all students, whether or not they are scheduled in art for the trimester!

The Blake Middle School Art Show

• In conjunction with the winter and spring band and choir concerts, student art work is displayed in the middle school commons area outside of the Bovey Chapel. Artwork usually remains displayed for a few weeks following the concerts. Make it a part of your concert evening to arrive early to view student work!

Moodle

I have created a Moodle page for students to use as a resource for studying, for enriching their learning, for adding to their notes, for keeping track of assignments, etc. Worksheets will be posted online for students to download and print if they misplace a worksheet. PowerPoint presentations, website URLs, and additional resources will be posted online so students can access them at any time. Please make it a routine to check the Art Department Moodle page regularly.

The key code for this Moodle page is "art" and will need to be entered when students visit the class page.

Occasionally, students will be asked to participate in discussions on Moodle as in-class or homework activities. This will allow for written documentation of participation and will give all students an equal voice on topics of discussion.

To get to the Moodle page, start at http://www.blakeschool.org. Click on the red Academics tab with the microscope. Click on the "Class Pages" link underneath the Middle School heading. Click on "Ms. Nagan," then click on "Middle School Fine Arts." Log in using your username and password that you use for your email. Then enter "art" as the pass code for this course when you are prompted to do so. When you see the Art Department main page, scroll down to the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade section to find appropriate links for your class. You can click on links, worksheets, PowerPoint presentations, activities, etc. within the course page. Just download and print!