Theme: Music

Music was the last theme that my high school students worked on before spring break when EVERYTHING changed.

I don't think I know anyone who doesn't like music. Everyone can find a style they like. In addition to March being Youth Art Month, it is Music In Our Schools Month so it seemed like a good time to make connections between the arts.

Here is the slides presentation that I used to go over the big ideas:

The big questions for this unit were:

How can artists visually express music?

and

How can color convey feeling?

After the discussion, the students warmed up by using 10 minutes* to capture the feeling of a song in a nonobjective painting. The majority of students wanted to keep working so they spent the rest of the class period on the task. I let the students listen to the song of their choice using their personal device or headphones and their school computer.

Students had choice of media.

Eventually, students came up with a plan for a project inspired by music that they could complete in about 2 weeks.

This student painted on old records and then riveted them together to form a wall hanging.

The inspiration for this experimental painting came from the title of the sheet music. I have a couple of old sheet music books I rescued from being recycled.

This painting was inspired by Weezer's Island in the Sun

These two friends made paintings the complement each other.

This drawing was by our Italian exchange student who really loved to draw. I like how you can see where she erased on the left side.

Here are the Visual Arts Standards and Graphic Design Competencies we addressed through this unit:

Songs in the Key of Art Assembly

Greg Percy visited my schools on the last Friday in April to present his Songs in the Key of Art assembly. It was so much fun! I was able to get a substitute that day to play hostess. We started the day off at my intermediate school where I chatted with Greg while he set everything up, tested sound equipment, etc. I had an idea of what to expect from the assemblies after watching a few YouTube clips and I was not disappointed. The assemblies were an hour long but it flew by since it was not an hour of just sitting politely. Several songs were interactive- student groups were called to get up and "cha cha cha", volunteers got to play air guitar, and others got to pose as the pair in Grant Wood's American Gothic. Admittedly, at this point in the year, the majority of my 6th graders were "too cool" to look like they were having fun. I think they were determined not to have fun and participate. That's why I thought it was so funny to watch them obviously trying not to smile at the American Gothic parodies Greg showed during that song. I was also glad to see that some of the 6th graders were getting into the fun even though the "influential"students were watching them.

 After the first assembly, we ate lunch with my principals and our librarian before heading to my primary school to get ready for the afternoon assembly. The K-3rd students were PUMPED! They had so much fun and at that age, they weren't afraid to show it. I've played some of the CDs in Art class since the assembly and they get excited all over again, responding like they did in the assembly and continuing to work on their dance moves.

If you've ever thought about trying to set up a Songs in the Key of Art assembly, I encourage you to go for it! I really think the rate was pretty reasonable considering Greg had to fly in for the show. If you have questions, he is really good to work with. As far as how I secured funding, I wrote a grant. There is a foundation that raises money to fund special projects for teachers in my district. All I had to do was write about the project I was proposing and how much it would cost. I included a lot of information from the Songs in the Key of Art website, how I thought it would get students even more excited about music and art, and even included state standards that the assembly would help meet, such as finding connections between the visual and performing arts.

Greg Percy is coming!

I'm really excited that in one week, Greg Percy of Songs in the Key of Art will be visiting my schools! Last fall I wrote a grant to a foundation that raises money for my school district and they were really excited about the idea. We originally tried to find a way to benefit all the elementary students in the district but with 7 schools there were just too many students and too many bussing issues to be feasible. I wanted to make sure that the students would be familiar with some of his songs so each grade worked on a lesson that tied in to a different song. The pictures in this post are from the bulletin board at my primary school. I apologize for not checking the quality in my rush to get pictures after school!

I made a guitar for each song/grade and wrote part of the lyrics to explain. 

The Red and Yellow Blues...

 Secondary Samba...

 From Matisse to You...

Tints and Shades (can't remember if this is the real title, but it's the concept!)

I can't wait to write more about this and share some pictures after the visit next Friday!