Nicole Drummond

This was taught to a group of 7th & 8th grade boys in a history class. The school we taught at separates boys and girls, and groups them 5th/6th grade and 7th/8th. Class sizes are around 12 students! They were learning about the Civil War in their class, so myself along with 2 other girls did a printmaking unit. We based it off of the idea of stamps— both the Stamp Act as well as postage stamps which were later used to commemorate important historical events (such as the Civil War). We then had the students think of an important event in their lives they would like to commemorate! Pictures at the bottom are some of the finished works, which turned out great! This unit taught me a TON as a teacher because I was the “leader” of my teaching group, so I really had to “step up to the plate” and direct/keep everyone on track. I feel like a much stronger teacher now because of this!

And, here is a basic overview of the unit! (Again, these students have NO regular art class!)

Day 1- Today we gave an introduction and had students both brainstorm ideas for their relief prints and then make a good, final sketch which would then be transferred onto their linoleum blocks. Looking back, it would have been a good idea to show the students some more examples of current postage stamps, as well as relief prints to get them more motivated.

Day 2- Today the students transferred their images onto their linoleum blocks. They took the sketch they drew, which was cut to the size of their linoleum, then traced over their outlines heavily, placed the sketch upside down on the linoleum and rubbed the back of the paper, transferring their image to their blocks. Then they outlined them in sharpie. We discussed how relief prints are made (cutting away the areas you want to remain white) and we planned out in groups of 3-4 what areas they should cut and what they should keep black. This is a very difficult concept for anyone beginning printmaking, so it was important that we took an entire day just to plan specifically where the students would cut/not cut. If they messed up they weren’t going to have another linoleum.

Day 3- This was my first day teaching. I began by showing the students examples of current postage stamps and we talked about why they were important things to commemorate (artists, musicians, important events, etc) and then we looked at some relief prints. We discussed things that made good prints (balance of black and white, taking up the whole image, variance in line, details, etc). This REALLY got the kids motivated (why we should have shown this on day one!) Then we began to carve the linoleum blocks (after a carving/safety demonstration). Speedball cutters are not to be used lightly, so I told the students if they did not follow the rules, we would give them styrofoam plates, pens and markers to make their prints like we do in elementary school.

Day 4- This day was supposed to be a day to have a quick midway critique so the students could give each other feedback on their prints so far. They made practice “prints” (rubbings) to see how their work was progressing. I showed them one of my prints I had done in three different stages, explaining why it is important to check your prints regularly so you know where to carve next. However, the “midway” critique took almost the entire period, so the students did not finish carving. For future- SHORT critique, one comment per work/small group critiques, then CARVE.

Day 5- Again, my day to teach. This was a day for students to print their images. However, since they were not done carving as we had planned, they had to finish carving their linoleum blocks, THEN print their images. Once the students saw the demonstration of printing, they ALL wanted to print. Due to a lack of supplies (3 printing stations, 2 brayers each, situated on three desks) the printing area got crowded very quickly! Ideally, in my own classroom, I would have enough materials for each student, and larger desks! Still, every student got at least one GOOD print (we talked about the amount of ink needed to cover the linoleum and how to tell if you are using too much/too little ink).

Day 6- Today we talked about signing/titling/editioning. We also had students trim down their edges (which got rid of most of the ink smudging!) and had a critique. For the critique we did something interesting.

• First a gallery walk of everyone’s work.
• Have each student write their name on a piece of paper. Ball paper up. Students stand up and throw papers around the room for 1 minute. Stop and open paper.
• The name you have on the paper is the person’s work you will critique.
• Arrange the students in pairs. Let’s say I am student A and my partner is student B. My paper says student C. My partner’s paper says student D.
• You then try to “sell” the work you are critiquing to your partner. I try to sell student C’s print to my partner, student B. S/he then tries to sell student D’s print to me!

The students LOVED all of this and it was great. We also had students write artist statements about their work! All in all, a great unit.

This is a unit I taught along with 2 other girls in September/October. These students do NOT have an art class normally, so while they were in 3rd grade, they are not as advanced visually as students would be if they had art on a regular basis.

With this unit we had to have a literacy connection, we did a mixed fall setting. The literacy connection being that we were creating a setting with characters. The unit lasted for 6 50 minute classes.

Day 1- We had students paint a tree, which would be the main character in their setting. This really let them use their imaginations. We showed them trees from Disney movies (what is the difference in the tree from The Lion King and Pocahontas?) as well as trees by Van Gogh and other artists. We played music for the kids as they worked and they were very quiet. They were excited to paint and because they were making something from their imagination, they had no hesitations. We talked about line quality and how to make our work unique.

Day 2- Today we did leaf printing on tracing paper. We talked about how leaves would show our viewer that our setting was Fall. We talked about art needing visual cues, and one way you tell that it is fall is through the leaves changing colors. We discussed how artists can use nature to create art. We did leaf printing (painting the leaves, then placing the leaves down onto paper) on tracing paper so that once the leaves were cut out, they would be opaque enough to see the tree paintings underneath. We wanted students to do this on a separate sheet of paper because it took them a while to make consistently good prints.

Day 3- Today we did observational drawings of fall objects which would then be used for lesson 4. We started with blind contour drawings which the kids LOVED and then we did observational contour drawings. When they were finished we had students trade objects and draw them from various angles. Originally this was to be lesson one, but it was WAY better as 3. The students already had a boost in confidence from painting their trees, so they were ok with drawing today.

Day 4- Today we started a 2-day lesson in printmaking. We did styrafoam print plate prints because they’re way easier to do with younger kids! You draw into a styrafoam plate with a pen to create indents, then you can use a brayer and ink or markers and water to create prints. This day we just had the kids make the plates, using the drawings they had done on the third day. They redrew their images onto a piece of paper, then taped them onto the plates and traced them, and made a few print plates each.

Day 5- Today the students printed their fall objects! We used markers and water. You use a spray bottle to spray the paper, color on the styrafoam with markers and press! It’s so quick and easy. The students traded print plates, used different colors and made tons and tons of prints. We talked about variance in prints.

Day 6- Other than the initial tree painting, everything else had been done on separate pieces of paper. Today the students cut the best pieces out and assembled them onto their paintings. We talked about composition and started with a small “game”. I had the tree painting I did laminated, and then laminated leaf prints, the print I made from the styrafoam plate, and my drawing and put double-sided tape on all of the “extras”. I had the students come up and practice arranging the pieces to create a good composition. We talked about eye movement and how one places the pieces can affect the piece. We talked about how even though the students made many prints and drawings, they were only to pick the best ones, or else they would completely cover their tree paintings! Some students finished early and began drawing other images into their pieces.

All of the work turned out great! There pictures are some of the students’ finished pieces. :) (Click the photos to view them larger!)