I've moved my blog

Hello Everyone,


I just wanted to let you know that I have moved my blog over to Wordpress. You can find it here: https://schmidty77.wordpress.com/  Please check it out for tips and ideas on teaching art, Design and Technology and my views/ideas on teaching in general. Don't forget to drop me a message.
Happy Teaching!!!!

Understanding newborn babies.

I came across this link and as a new dad found this helpful so I thought I'd share it. Priscilla Dunstan is a baby expert that seems to have cracked the baby language. She was featured on Oprah and this is the link to the YouTube video that describes the five sounds a baby makes and what those sounds mean. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PgkZf6jVdVg

I personally found this video very helpful. 

Enjoy and I hope it makes your lives a little bit easier. 

Mark

Perspective Architecture Drawing With Hundertwasser Influence

This year I decided to slightly change my perspective drawing with my yr 7 students. I decided to make all 4 drawings into a single A3 study sheet. I thought I'd try this 7 week project this way in order for students to be able to track and see their progress over time more clearly. We started the project by working on the title and looking at a brief PowerPoint on different types of buildings. The title being Architecture which naturally lead to the discussion of what is an architect? To which the PowerPoint of the many different types of buildings throughout the world came in useful to discuss these terms.

The following lesson then focused on the students drawing skills. I always begin by showing my one point perspective PowerPoint (http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/One-Point-Perspective-draw-along-tutorial-power-point) discussing the different types of views and types of perspectives. When showing the slide of student drawings I tend to ask my students if they think they can draw that good. Sometimes one or two will raise their hands. Most will think they can't draw very well. However by the end of this project when I ask the same question again many are pleasantly surprised on what they have learnt and were able to accomplish. 

The one point perspective drawing I often start by doing a mind map on the back of he A3 paper to get students use to the terminology and thinking about perspective. This is done in conjunction with the one point perspective PowerPoint mentioned above. Next I have the students divide their page into 4 sections. Then I begin the one point perspective drawing in the top left box and use the PowerPoint to walk the students though it. This drawing usually takes a couple of lessons to complete. I try not to let the student get distracted by trying to draw random things in their cityscape but rather to stick to the rules of one point perspective drawing. 

Once that is complete I then use the two point perspective PowerPoint to start the next drawing below the one point drawing. I find this drawing tends to go much quicker as the students understand the steps to complete process and I often find some students rushing through this drawing. Towards the end of this drawing I teach students how to break the rules by drawing circles and organic forms by first putting everything into a box that is in perspective. Students find this interesting tend to be very engaged. 

Next drawing in the top right I get the students to think about what their hometown might be like in the future. I then have them choose which type of perspective they liked the most (either one or two point) and have them then begin drawing their futuristic cityscape. I encourage them part way through this drawing to get up, walk around and have a look at others drawings to get an idea they might borrow for their own. 

Once the drawing is complete I then show them a brief PowerPoint based on the work of the artist/architect Hundertwasser. I get the students talking about his use of colour and shapes. I then have them begin adding colour into their futuristic drawings in the style of Hundertwasser. 

The final empty box in the bottom right corner I use for annotation. I provide a guide for students to use  in order to help them reflect upon what they have learnt and tie all of their drawings together with an artist. Below are some of the examples of this years drawings. I hope you enjoy and find these useful for your students. 

Mark 

Teaching children to read before school. Brillkids!

This post is a bit different to most of my others but it is still educational based. All of my other posts have been about my experiences teaching art at a secondary school level and the resources that I use. This post however, is about an experience I am soon going to start and my initial thoughts about it.
In a short two months I'm about to become a

Learning Diaries Part II

Howdy,

I just wanted to give a brief update to my previous post. I have been using the learning diaries with my year 9 students on their low relief sculpture projects for about 4 weeks now.

KwikSurveys: Free online survey & questionnaire tool

Hello All,
I am reaching out to this helpful community of Educational Professionals in hopes of getting some reponses to help me further my Masters Thesis on Exchange Programmes and their impact on students, schools and the community. It is a short 15 question survey which should take approximately 7 minutes. I would very much appreciate your help. If you would like to discuss this further I would be glad to hear from anyone whom has researched this already or whom has delivered a programme like this in their own schools.
Thanks
Mark
http://kwiksurveys.com/s.asp?sid=q37f8ryxiqvxkwu97941

Learning diaries

I just wanted to share with you my thoughts about learning diaries and my intended use in my upcoming project with my yr.9 art class to record their progress throughout.
Here is a link to