Week 3 ~ Reflecting on Reflection to Beth

A few years ago our district tried to mandate that all seven elementary art teachers teach the exact same projects at the exact same time. You can just imagine the furor! In the past I have danced around the curriculum guide, but now that the district has gone to standards based report cards, I feel more responsible for spending more time on the skill I am assessing. Most of the other teachers prefer one day projects which pretty much all end up looking the same. Mine, on the other hand, sometimes take all quarter.

Reflection
Here's a peek at the Standards for fourth grade. I am required to assess them two per quarter, in the order they are listed. It doesn't look as though they should seem all that daunting to teach, and prior to having to assess them, it was not.  If I can, I try to create a meaningful unit that encompasses both standards. I like to have time to work in some VTS, more time for experimentation and play, and plenty of time for the execution of a project. I find that if I spend a long time on the skill, there's no time for meaty investigation. Or, maybe that's just a mindset that I'm comfortable with. I have a great unit for third quarter. Sculpture just happens to be my favorite. Maybe I just need to reframe the dilemma and inspect my assumptions.