ArtSmarts



The Grade 7 and 8 classes at Devon Middle School were invited by our district to participate in an Arts Smarts project. Arts Smarts tries to incorporate art into other subjects and curricula, the idea being that students are more engaged when they do hands on activities and are able to create something as opposed to sitting at their desks listening to a teacher. Arts Smarts arranged for a local artist, Jennifer Krueger, to come into our classes over an 9 week period to teach our students how to paint. In grade 7 this was incorporated into an ecosystems unit where Jennifer encouraged them to paint pictures that would represent the biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystems they were learning about in science. In grade 8, Jennifer worked with our language arts teacher to paint the feelings and moods that the students felt were being expressed in the novels they were reading.

In both groups Jennifer first taught the students how to paint using latex paints on canvas. For their first painting, a representative image was used and everyone tried to paint it using the techniques and colour mixing skills they had been taught. For their second painting, students were asked to find images from magazines or websites that represented the idea (ecosystems for grade 7) or emotion (grade 8 language arts) they were trying to convey and then they had a chance to create their own painting.

The program was a tremendous success! Our students looked forward to painting every week, they were completely engaged and on task and they learned a lot about painting, science and language arts. Jennifer did a wonderful job interacting with the students. She was patient, consistent and of course very knowledgable and the students responded with their best work. To see additional photos of our students art work, please follow this link: Student Work.





[|More about the The ArtsSmarts Program]



About Our Artist - [|Jennifer Krueger]