Unit on Georgia O'Keeffe

Miss Liza Camhi

Art Unit

Georgia O’Keeffe

Grade: 5th

# of lessons: 3

Art Resources: Artists in Their Time Georgia O’Keeffe by Ruth Thomson, examples of pueblos and adobe homes in photographs, photographs or actual animal skulls, examples of Georgia O’Keeffe’s flower paintings, pictures of flowers, and teacher products.

Art Materials:1 sheet of white 9”x12” paper per student, watercolors, water cups, pencils, paintbrushes, glue, 2 sheets of 8”x8” white paper per student, 1 11”x14” sheet of black paper, cups of glue and water mixed together, oil pastels, and 1 11”x14” sheet of white paper.

Objectives-

Student will:

- create a multimedia southwestern landscape

- create an observational collage and pencil drawing of a flower

- create a painting of animal bones of flowers

- learn about the process of collaging- use various watercolor techniques

- shade using a pencil and create a grayscale

- draw using oil pastels

- learn about the life and art of Georgia O’Keeffe

- work in groups and individually

Interdisciplinary Connections: Science and Social Studies

Vocabulary: Georgia O’Keeffe, still life, landscape, Southwest, grayscale, shade, and adobe.

Lessons: The unit will consist of the following components:

A. Multimedia Adobe Landscape- Each student will paint a watercolor sunset on 9”x12” sheets of white paper. The student will then draw adobe homes using oil pastel.

B. Georgia O’Keeffe Flower Study- Each student will create an 8 square grayscale using pencil on strips of scrap white paper. Student will share a photograph of a flower with a group of 3 students and individually draw/shade a flower composition on 8’x8” white paper in pencil. Then he will redraw the outline of his flower composition on another 8”x8” white sheet of paper and collage with tissue paper scraps. Student will mat his work on 11”x14” black paper with glue.

C. Flower and Bones Painting- Student will draw in pencil on 11”x14” white paper a skull and a flower from studying photographs. Student will paint the picture using watercolors.

Closing a Lesson

One of the parts of lesson planning I struggled with most is the daily closing. My solution for this has been to review art history facts that go along with the lesson and discuss the procedures for the next step of the lesson. If you have any other suggestions you can email me at LCSC1980@aol.com or post them to the blog.

Here's a great lesson for fall or Thanksgiving. It can also be used for health cross-curricular activities.

Miss Liza Camhi

Art Lesson Plan~Veggie Heads

Grade(s): 3rd

# of sessions: 3

Art Resources:~ teacher’s example, examples of Renaissance art, paintings by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, and visual aide.Art Materials: 1 sheet of 11”x14” white paper per student, pencils, black markers, and crayons.

Objectives- Student will: ~

*learn about the art of Giuseppe Arcimboldo.
*create a portrait made of drawn fruits and vegetables.
*use crayon, pencils, and black marker to create his/her portrait.
*learn about proportion.

Relation to life/Why this lesson is important: Considering Arcimboldo is a contemporary of the Italian Renaissance artists the student will learn about the importance of being unique and how artists have used their creative ideas to change art. This is also an introduction to proportion.

Interdisciplinary Connections: History, Health, and Science

Vocabulary: Giuseppe Arcimboldo, proportion, and Renaissance.

Procedure:

Day 1: Show students examples of Italian Renaissance art such as Mona Lisa or the Pieta. Discuss that Renaissance means “the best” as applied to art. Students will participate in a discussion about portraits by Giuseppe Arcimboldo (“What are these pictures of and how can you tell?” “What makes these portraits unique?”). Teacher will explain how Arcimboldo used fruits and vegetables to create a portrait. Student will view teacher product and go over the steps of the project. Student will watch teacher demonstrate how to layout his composition and add the fruits and vegetables. The teacher should start with a simple circle and ask students to help him/her think of fruits and vegetables to fill in the features. This is when the teacher should start going over proportion. The students should understand to pick fruits and vegetables that are similar in size and shape to facial features. Student will draw his portrait in pencil on white paper.

Day 2: Review vocabulary and art history.~ Student will trace his drawing in black marker. Once the tracing is complete the student may color the portrait in with crayon.

Day 3: Review vocabulary and art history.~ Student will finish coloring his composition with crayon. Student will cut out his mask and hand in.

For more picture of Arcimboldo's work check out:http://www.abcgallery.com/A/arcimboldo/arcimboldo.html

Art Books I Reccommend

I love to read to my students as a way of teaching them art history. Here are some really cool books, and I'll share with you how I use them.

When Pigasso Met Mootisse by Nina Laden- I have an entire unit I do with Picasso and Matisse. I use the book to kick start the unit and explain the relationship between these two artists.

One Day In Japan with Hokusai by Julia Altman- This book is filled with gorgeous illustrations and many of Hokusai's most famous works. I would use this in May during Pacific Islander month to accompany our fish sculptures, printmaking, and paper weaving kimonos.

Pablo Picasso: Breaking All the Rules- This book is part of a series based on written reports by real kids that were published. Kids love this book, and the fact that it was created by someone their age. I have one on Matisse as well.

Drawing Machines

Check out this site to explain drawing machines. It's a great way to combine technology and art. If you are teaching perspective and doing grid work you could discuss with your students many of the machines on this page such as the Perspectograph which was used similar to how we use grids in art education classes today.It also ties into proportion, Durer, and Da Vinci. Another idea is to see if your students could build something similar to one of these machines and use it for a work of art. http://www.acmi.net.au/AIC/DRAWING_MACHINES.html

Valuable Holiday Art Lessons

A lot of teachers do holiday projects like turkey hands, Christmas tree ornaments, and handmade valentines. I say why not push the boundaries and make holiday art REAL ART. Why not learn about Grandma Moses and make (paper) quilt pieces that depict family around the holidays? Instead of just coloring hearts on Valentines, why not make handmade paper hearts and learn about a process? I've added one of my lesson plans I do on Velentine's Day that incorporates printmaking and the artist Jim Dine. For the printing plates I laminated 11"x14" white paper sheets.

Miss Liza Camhi
Art Lesson Plan
Jim Dine Monoprints
Grade: 1st -5th
# of sessions: 1
Art Resources: examples of Jim Dine Heart series and teacher product.
Art Materials: one 8”x10” sheet of white paper per student, monoprint plates , tempera paint, water, and brushes.
Objectives-
Student will:
- create a monoprint in the style of Jim Dine.
- learn printmaking methods.
- create a monoprint of a heart.Relation to life/Why this is important: This lesson teaches students printmaking methods which they will continue to learn in middle school and high school.
Interdisciplinary Connections: N/AVocabulary: Jim Dine, Monoprint, Pop Art
Procedure:
Day 1: Teacher will introduce examples of monoprints made by Jim Dine. Teacher will discuss how a monoprint is created. Teacher will demonstrate how to create a monprint. Student will paint tempera on monoprint plate. Once heart and background are created, student will press paper onto plate and pull off. If they were not successful on their first attempt, they will repeat the process until they have created a successful monprint.

Glaze and Bisque Firing at the Same Time

During one of my student teaching placements I did a bisque/glaze firing. The students had glazed their greenware with underglazes and two coats of clear glaze. If you want to do this in order to save time and electricity here are some suggestions:
1. The clay pieces are best flat and small, like tiles. This way they dry quickly and if they break, are less likely to stick to the walls/shelves of the kiln.
2. Place the pieces on stilts so they do not stick to the walls and shelves of the kiln.
3. Instead of firing with the glaze on, you could do a bisque firing and paint the bbisqueware with watercolor and Krylon spray for a shiny seal.

Artsonia.com

I was recently made aware of this amazing site for student art. You can post pictures of student work in an online art museum. Parents can go online and see their child's work and post comments. Parents can also purchase keepsakes such as mugs, t-shirts, teddy bears, etc. with their student's work printed on it and 15% of the money spent goes back to the school. I can't wait to use this site! It's http://www.artsonia.com/

Components of a Lesson Plan

I'm attaching the lesson plan created by Madeline Hunter. This is the lesson plan model used by many school districts, often the steps of this plan are asked about in interviews, and many colleges have adapted it.
http://template.aea267.iowapages.org/lessonplan/

An Easy Way to do Papermaking

Papermaking with a large group can be tough in terms of supplies and mess. So this is my advice. Make the paper pulp for the students before they lesson and store it. Demonstrate how you made it for them when you start the lesson so they can understand the process. Rather than use screens, which you would need many depending on the class size, have them press the pulp into shapes and add inks to color. You could also have dried flowers and textiles for your students to press into the pulp.

Some Financial Tips for A New Teacher

Yay! All your hard work has paid off, you have job, retirement pention, and more work than you could have ever imagined. On top of that, you're not making a lot of money. If you're like most new grads starting out, you have debt. College loans, moving expenses, and credit cards have mounted up before your first paycheck. Don't worry, you're not alone. It seems like most, if not all, new teachers start out like this. Here are some tips I have picked up along the way:
1. Don't get into the habit of spending more than you can spare. Create a budget. The first few months may be really tight, but so what? You're so busy lesson planning and catching zzz's in between you don't really feel like going out and spending.
2. Curb celebratory spending. You may be making the most money you've ever made, that doesn't mean you should spend your first summer off in France travelling on a credit card or buy a house that you can't afford, but "is a really good investment."
3. Start putting away in a 401(k), 403(b), or Roth IRA as soon as you can. Even 20 dollars a paycheck is worth it.
4. Pay off credit card debt as quick as possible, with our new credit accounts the APR is usually pretty steep and the interest will add up.
5. Don't get me wrong, if you can own rather than rent do it by all means, it is the best investment of your life.
6. Save receipts from your college courses, moving expenses, and classroom shopping. Use them for your tax return.
7. I read this book and highly reccommend it. Suze Orman's Young, Fabulous, and Broke. Check out her site at:http://www.suzeorman.com/

Discipline Based Art Education in Motion

I gave an excellent description of DBAE in a previous post: http://hiartteacher.blogspot.com/2007/11/some-interview-questions-and-answers.html
So how do you incorporate DBAE, state standards, and possibly national standards into the same lesson plan? First of all the standards and DBAE are intertwined. Many standards have art history, aesthetic, criticism, and studio components. So as long as you know your state standards you should easily be able to make the connections. (A good interview Q&A)
In my lessons; when I first introduce a new artist I give some background on the artist's life and the period of his work. Many times I will read from an art history book like the Mike Venezia series. http://www.mikevenezia.com/mikevenezia/ I also show and discuss a major work by the artist. That can be the art history and part of the criticism/aesthetics sections.
Throughout the studio process I am looking for a similarity in process or technique as the artist we are studying in my students' works. I am always giving feedback and comparing/contrasting their work with the exemplar. That is a second aesthetic and critical component. Lastly when I grade, I do so with my student there and we discuss what was successful and what was not, that is the last critical component.

OOOOOOH...He said a Bad Word!!!

This is one of the best tips I ever received. If a student says a bad word and you catch him, or he confesses, make him call his parents/guardians right then and there in the classroom and say it to them on the phone. If you make this your policy and let it be known, the kids will be too scared to say bad words in your classroom.

The Kiln is a Disaster!

What do you do so when you open the kiln it doesn't look like a grenade went off and destroyed all of your projects?
1. Do not hollow a closed ceramic object, that's just asking for it.
2. If something is very thick create a hollow area that comes through one end of the clay object.
3. Let your green ware dry at least five, if not a week before firing.
4. Teach your students how to properly wedge, that means not pounding it into oblivion!
5. Set the first firing for one-two hours so to let the moisture out, the second for an hour, then let it run for the final firing.

What if you do have an explosion?
1. Get all the large pieces of pottery shards out with your hands and throw them out.
2. Have a custodian come in and vacuum out the remaining small pieces and dust. The dust is highly toxic.

Classroom Management Tip

Don't just call home with negative reports concerning a student, make positive calls as well. This fall I entered my students in 3 contests. I called home for every student I wanted to enter (which was literally about 65 phone calls). In doing so the parents became excited about the art program at our school. I began meeting many of the parents, as they would stop by to say hi and check on their child. I also had some extra supplies trickle in. So it was definitely worth it and any opportunity you have to call home about something positive-do it!

Mike Venezia

I am sure that many experienced art educators are familiar with the Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series but for those of you who new to the profession-start collecting now! I find these books so valuable in teaching art history and criticism to my students. The books are elementary-middle school aged appropriate, few have any nudes, and they have great cartoon illustrations that excite the kids. If you are not an art teacher, he also has a series about the US Presidents and Famous Composers. You could literally create a whole curriculum based on his books. There are 48 in the artist series alone! For more information check out:http://www.mikevenezia.com/

What Should I Leave for a sub?

My rule of thumb is this, leave 5-6 simple lesson plans that a non-artist could teach. The lesson plans do not have to be filled with rubrics, standards, etc. unless your administrator asks for that. I just write down the materials, resources and procedures step-by-step. I keep the materials very simple such as cut and paste, drawing, coloring-nothing messy and nothing to build. I personally have not had much success with having subs teach my lessons, so beware, they are often better off doing something special with the students for that day. Along with the plans I leave a teacher exemplar, any copies, any books, and all the materials necessary together on my desk. I also leave a schedule, my lesson plan book with their lessons added into it, and a sheet regarding classroom management/procedures. I hope this helps.

A Great Lesson to Introduce Kindergarteners to Art Class

My kindergartners are some of my favorite students. They are so cute and sweet, but when it comes to art they don't have much experience to draw from. They are not independent to start off with so I created this unit to give them the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the art materials and to become independent works.
Miss Liza Camhi
Art Unit
Art Materials and Processes
Grade: K
# of lessons: 5

Art Resources: mystery boxes, teacher products and visual aide.

Art Materials: modeling clay, clay, scissors, glue, paint, paintbrushes, water containers, water, poster board, yarn, texture materials, hole punchers, paper towels, cotton swabs, construction paper, white paper, and crayons.

Major Goals/ N.V. State Standards addressed in this lesson:
1.0 Students know and apply visual arts media, techniques, and processes.
2.0 Students use knowledge of visual characteristics, purposes, and functions.
3.0 Students choose, apply, and evaluate a range of subject matter, symbols and ideas.
5.0 Students analyze and assess characteristics, merits, and meanings in their own artwork and the work of others.

Objectives- Student will:
-create works of art in a variety of media
-learn an art vocabulary that relates to art media and processes
-experiment with a variety of art processes
-create works of art in a variety of subject matter

Relation to life/Why this is important: Student will gain basic knowledge of how use a variety of art media in the classroom.

Interdisciplinary Connections: N/A

Vocabulary: clay, model, texture, collage, paint, paintbrush, texture, drawing, design, pendant.

Lessons: The unit will consist of the following components:
Las Vegas Poster- A group of four students will create a poster of Las Vegas landmarks. Students will draw in crayon on 12”x24”paper and reference photographs of local landmarks.
Texture Collage- 4 mystery boxes will be passed around the room. The student will stick his hand inside to touch the mystery object and then will describe how it feels. Student will then create a collage of different materials with different textures. Once the collage is complete, the student will paint over the materials so they blend with the background.
Winter Landscape Painting- Student will create a painting using white tempera paint on light blue paper. Student will create a sense of space in his painting by dabbling paint on lightly at first with a crumpled cloth, then adding more paint as he creates layers. Student will use the cotton swabs to create snowy trees.
My Best Pendant- Students will draw two circles. Student will draw inside of the two circles a picture of himself when he does his best in crayon. Student will cut out the two circles, glue them together, and punch a hole. Teacher will add yarn to hang the pendant on.

Assessment: Las Vegas Drawing will be graded on participation by E,S,N. Others projects will be graded on and E,S,N scale with a rubric.

My Favorite Plan for Behavior Management-Positive Reinforcement

I've had classes and individual students who were extremely challenging. One bad apple can ruin the bunch, when the bunch is constantly reacting to the bad apple. This idea was given to me by one of my mentors when I had a very difficult class.Behavior Lottery- You need to have raffle tickets at hand and little prizes from the dollar store work great. Tell the class you would like to do something very special today with them, because they are some of your favorite kids. They have to earn the raffle tickets based on behavior, staying on task, and following procedure. The better they are, the more raffle tickets they earn, the more likely to win a prize. You want to show them the prizes they could earn to motivate and grab their interest. As you give them raffle tickets (which you can print out from the web for free) they will write their names on them and drop them into a jar. Once they are cleaned up at the end of the period shake the jar and pull for the raffle, I do about three prizes/winners a week. The kids all clap and are thrilled for their classmates. I write the winners down and if they ever win again before everyone else has had a chance, they can pull for the raffle winner instead of me.This idea has worked for double classes in which several students do not get along and it was total mayhem, now these classes are some of my favorites.

Bruce Blitz Videos Rock!

So Wednesday I had a runny nose, yesterday my ears were so clogged I couldn't hear, and today the classroom spinned. I didn't want to leave early, so instead I popped in a Bruce Blitz cartooning video. The kids laughed and were mesmerized by his drawing skills. I got through the day and the kids had a great time!

Student Teachers Hired

Last fall we had two student teachers come out to Vegas to student teach at our school. Both were offered a job and their own classrooms when they had completed the student teaching program. Check out this opportunity through your college program!

Classroom Management Tip

With names getting more creative and harder to pronounce these days when you get stuck on a name just say “Wow this name looks super cool, but I’m not sure how to pronounce it.” The kids whose names are tough will appreciate the compliment rather than the mispronunciation of their name.

Help for Writing Rubrics

The first time I was asked to write a rubric I had no clue what one was. I was told to research them and write one for a lesson I was planning. Luckily I have to parents who are teachers and were able to guide me through. If you don't have teaching parents here are some websites to help you out.
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php creates rubrics for you, and has specialized art rubrics
http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/ creates rubrics for you
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/assess.html#rubrics the ultimate rubric site for any teacher-links to external websites about rurics

Classroom Management Tip

The first day of school have your rules and procedures posted. Go over them, practice them with the kids. If they can get up and can move during procedures like practicing the fire drill, clean up, line up they will pay better attention.

Rousseau's Jungle Lesson

Miss Liza Camhi
Art Lesson Plan
Rousseau Jungle Drawing
Grade: 3rd
# of sessions: 3

Art Resources: Virgin Jungle by Henri Rousseau, Jungle animal pictures VA, and teacher product.

Art Materials: one 8”x11” sheet of white paper per student, rulers, pencils, erasers, and crayons.

Major Goals/ N.V. State Standards addressed in this lesson:
1.0 Students know and apply visual arts media, techniques, and processes.
2.0 Students use knowledge of visual characteristics, purposes, and functions.
3.0 Students choose, apply, and evaluate a range of subject matter, symbols and ideas.
4.0 Students understand the visual arts in relation to history and cultures.
5.0 Students analyze and assess characteristics, merits, and meanings in their artwork and the work of others.

Objectives- Student will:
- create a drawing using organic shapes and line.
- create a drawing using pencils and crayons.
- learn about the art and life of Henri Rousseau.
- create a drawing in the style Henri Rousseau.

Relation to life/Why this is important: Student will learn how artists use their imagination in order to create their artwork. Student will learn how outsider artists taught themselves to create art with no formal training.

Interdisciplinary Connections: History and Science

Vocabulary: Henri Rousseau, Outsider Art, pattern, and organic shapes.

Procedure: Day 1: Teacher will introduce Virgin Jungle by Henri Rousseau and discuss subject matter and elements of art. Student will discuss how they can tell the painting is not completely realistic. Student will play art history game by arranging facts about Henri Rousseau in order with the classmates at the table. The teacher will call on students to help create a class outline of Rousseau’s life using their art history facts in order. Student will review jungle animal VA. Teacher will demonstrate how to sketch a jungle composition on white paper. Student will sketch jungle scene in pencil and begin tracing in black. Day 2: Student will review vocabulary, Virgin Jungle by Henri Rousseau, and teacher product/visual aide. Student will finish tracing sketch in black crayon. Student will begin coloring in drawing. Day 3: Student will review vocabulary, Virgin Jungle by Henri Rousseau, and teacher product/visual aide. Student will finish coloring his drawing.
Lesson Criteria

Criteria
Excellent
Satisfactory
Needs Improvement
Student drew at animals in his jungle scene.
Student drew one or more jungle animals in his jungle scene.
Student drew one or more jungle animals in his jungle scene, but could have been neater.
Student did draw a jungle animal.
Student drew a jungle scene.
Student used ¾ of his page to draw his jungle scene.
Student used ½
of his page to draw his jungle scene.
Student used less than ½
of his page to draw his jungle scene.
Student created a frame for his jungle scene.
Student created a colorful, neatly colored frame for his drawing.
Student created a frame for his jungle scene, but could have been neater.
Student did not create a frame.


Behavior
Student demonstrated listening to and following directions in class.
Student demonstrated listening to and following directions in class by knowing how to complete the assignment.
Student demonstrated listening to and following directions in class with little need for repetition of directions.
Student did not demonstrate
listening to and following directions in class by needing several repetitions of directions.
Student was respectful to his peers and teacher during lesson.
Student was respectful to his peers and teacher during lesson by not disrupting the class.
Student was respectful to his peers and teacher during lesson with few disruptions.
Student was not respectful to his peers and teacher during lesson with several disruptions.

The Internet Sites I LOVE for my Classroom

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/index.html for lesson ideas
http://www.crayola.com lesson ideas and worksheet activities for early finishers
http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/museumkids.htm?HomePageLink=museumkids_c
they have online interactive presentations on artists and styles
http://www.dickblick.com/ great sales on supplies and resources for the classroom
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/home lesson ideas and supplies
http://www.enasco.com/artsandcrafts/ supplies and amazing lesson ideas!
http://www.chihuly.com/chihuly.html streaming video of the artist at work and beautiful pictures to share
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2001/whatisaprint/flash.html a wonderful interactive presentation on various types of printmaking

Some Interview Questions and Answers that Could Get You the Job!

The questions you get asked in interviews can range from simple to hard pressing to just plain irritating. I got asked “You seem like a very serious person, how do you use humor in your classroom?” at one of my interviews that did not end up producing a paycheck. That was I’m sorry to say, was an irritating question. Ofcourse I was serious, I seriously wanted that job! Once I stepped foot into a classroom where I was running things my way I would be happy and lighter.
The question that got me my job was “Define DBAE.” I answered that DBAE stands for Disciplined Based Art Education which has four components: Art Criticism, Aesthetics, Studio, and Art History. I used all four components in my everyday classroom and curriculum. The interview rep said that was the best answer he had heard in four cities. So there’s your answer.

Some other good ones:

Q. What is your philosophy of education? A. You should have prepared this close to when you finished your degree. It should be the first page in your portfolio after your table of contents. Invite them to look at it, but also have the key points summed up in your head.
Q. What is your classroom management plan? A. Try to be positive in this answer rather than negative. Have some ideas of rewards you could give to students who are behaving, so the others want to get in line as well. I will have my classroom management tips posted soon.
Q. Why do you want to work for our district? A. Research the area online. If it’s urban you could say you want to work with a diverse group of students. If it’s suburban or rural have information about the community, art resources, and what that area is known for.
Q. What was difficult challenge for you during your previous teaching experience? A. Do not go with an experience that put students in harms way, you could get fired for, or makes you look foolish. Instead go for a more mildly challenging experience. For instance: “At one of my student teaching placements I had a group of students that was a strange combination. They would bother each other, sometimes to the point of a physical fight. I downloaded popular music from itunes that was class appropriate, and brought it with me to school. I told them if they were quietly working and not talking to eachother I would play the music. At first they rolled their eyes, but once they heard it was music they liked, they smiled and worked well together. I miss the group, we got very close after that.”
Q. How do use multiculturalism in the classroom? A. Have some lessons and examples of student work on hand that you can turn to. Mention that you don’t just do these lessons on holidays or celebrations, but all year round.
Q. If I walked into your classroom what would I see? A. There would be examples of student work , exemplars, and posters decorating the room. There would be activity centers with (fill in the blank) for students who finish early. The transitioning and management would run smoothly and my students would be on task.
Q. How do you use technology in the classroom? A. Have some examples of work by students where technology was involved. (I will be sharing with you links that I find useful in my classroom.)

I'm Scared to Move Away!!!!

I'll be the first one to admit that I was nervous about moving across the country to a place I had visited one weekend two years before. I didn't know anyone there, I had an itinerant position, and honestly, it was SIN CITY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was terrified. So here is what I learned:

1. If you do not have anything tying you to your current home ie.: family issues, spouse, significant other, children; you have nothing to lose. This is an opportunity, and even if you only stay a year, it's a year on your resume. Make the most of it.

2. Move to a big city if you can. More opportunities to make friends, professional networking, and things around town to keep you busy.

3. Check out www.roommates.com and see if there are any cool people you could share rent with. When I moved to Las Vegas I lived in a house with three roommates. While I am not living with them anymore, at the time it helped to have people to talk to on a social basis. When they got on my nerves I branched out and began making friends with some of my coworkers who are now my closest friends. They also help in terms of sharing furniture and rent, so if you're not sure you want to make this move permanent they can buffer in that aspect.

4. Tell everyone you know you are moving to such and such city. They may have friends, relatives, and other contacts that can help you. They may know of cool places to check out.

5. Go online and search for places that would interest you. Landmarks, museums, galleries, shops, sports teams, gyms, classes, and write them down. Once you do move start doing these things. Your social calendar will not be full, even though your professional one will be. To balance the workload and stress check out a class every week, go to the gym, see a play, whatever just do it!

6. Be outgoing and friendly with your coworkers. Introduce yourself and tell them where you're from. I did this with everyone I met. Eat in the lunch room with the other teachers. Ask them questions, like "What's the best shop for me to get new brakes on my car?" or "What gym do you go to?" You will begin a social dialogue with your colleagues.

Making this move was the best decision of my life. I have great friends, my own place, and a job I adore!

Community Based Art Education

No matter where I've lived I've always taught community based art education with my students. This is a lesson from a school wide unit on Arts in Las Vegas. For this project I asked my students to create a new Welcome to Las Vegas sign for visitors to see on the strip. I did this project with my fourth grade classes and to get the "brain juices" flowing I asked them what their favorite place in Las Vegas is. I got a lot of responses with regards to the strip (Circus Circus, Adventuredome, Grand Canyon Experience, Mandalay bay Shark Reef), some were nation wide chains like Mcdonalds (which I would not allow), and then I started pushing them further. I asked them what their favorite restaurants were, what they do outside, what they do on the weekends. Through those questions I got many ideas that only locals in this area would know and would add diversity to the assignment. I showed them step by step how to measure the sign out on their paper (I could have made copies of the shape, but i thought they would learn more this way). Then they decorated their sign and drew a corresponding background, filled it in with color pencils. This one is my favorite so far. While it is the strip, the composition has a lot of information and is dynamic.

Glue Caps

I highly recommend these glue caps. They avoid over using the glue and they are easy to keep clean so the little ones won't stress when they can't get their glue out.http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product=3359

Some Student Work

Check out www.crayola.com/artexpo and scroll to see the artwork from Nevada. So far I am the only art teacher who has submitted artwork for this online exhibition. The work was created by my 3 art clubs.

How I Got my Job

I received my New York State Teacher's License in the spring of 2004. I immediately began the job search process. My college (Buffalo State) held an annual job search convention for teachers in downtown Buffalo. Districts from all over the country came in, interviewed, and made job offers. I stuck mostly with districts from New York and Texas, where I had family. I made some great progress with Syracuse City Schools as far as receiving a job offer. This was in the spring. Throughout the summer I applied to all the school districts in upstate New York, Texas, and Clark County School District. I checked the employment pages of the local newspaper and called back regarding positions at the districts I had applied to. I got very close to having a job in Syracuse at the beginning of the fall, but it fell through at the last minute. So then I scrambled to figure out how I could make a living and further my career.
I ended up living at home that year and running an after school program in a suburban daycare center where I had worked part-time during college. The pay was enough to keep me out of my parents' hair and they gave me a scholarship to begin my Master's degree at Buffalo State College. I was miserable, but making due.
That spring I had a terrible infection from the little ones and decided I had had enough of the daycare buisness. I would rely on subbing the next year if I had to. That summer I continued taking courses at Buffalo State College and resubmitted all of my applications. I had three interviews that summer. The first two didn't work out, the last one was a part time long term sub position at Alden Central Schools in their middle school. I got it, and I loved it! I was finally an art teacher! The only bad part was that in 13 weeks it would be over. When that stress began, Clark County School District sent out a hiring rep to Buffalo. I set up an interview. It took 10 minutes, and at the end the rep told me to pack my bags and say goodbye to my family. I crossed my fingers.
Two weeks later I was driving from the middle school to Buff State and my mom called me saying a vice principal from Clark County was calling about a position. I immediately called the hiring rep to get more details. It was a brand new school in Las Vegas, had a large population due to growth in Northern Las Vegas, and needed an itinerant art teacher full time. That evening the vice principal offered me the job, and that I began looking for an apartment.
I still teach at that school, I am no longer the itinerant. I have my own classroom and a great group of kids who I have grown with.

Who I am and How I Got Here

My name is Liza Camhi and I am an art teacher in Las Vegas. I have been teaching for 3 years in the Clark County School District and have been working with children for 8 years. I am originally from Buffalo, NY: which is where I earned my BFA in Painting at SUNY at Buffalo and my teaching license at SUC at Buffalo. I currently in the middle of my Masters program at UNLC in Curriculum and Instruction: Art Education.
Being an art teacher is an everyday challenge, passion, opportunity for growth, and can sometimes seem impossible. That is why I am creating this forum. As a new art teacher I have been through the uphill battle of the job search, the interviews, the cross-country move, teaching without a classroom, teaching in a multicultural urban setting, and dealing with behavioral issues concerning my students. I want to share the information I needed when I was dealing with these challenges with both new teachers and experienced art educators.
I will be posting my experiences, lesson plans and curriculum, stress management tips, job search information, and any other topics concerning art education.