Mr. Sepulveda-Cloonan Art Dept.
Blue House-Curriculum Notes & Notices
2008-2009 school year.
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The 2008-2009 School year has brought with it many changes as the school system retools to meet the demands of city-wide curriculum restructuring and realignment. At Cloonan, that has meant a change in the number of contact hours that the art department has with students, from the previous 84 minutes (weekly double period), to a single period of 60
minutes within a 4 day rotation. The loss of an art position last year reduced the number of instructors from three to two. In practical terms, that has meant much larger classes and new challenges in classroom management, as well as a modifications in the implementation of the arts curriculum. With the added dimension of inclusion, implementing modifications and employing strategies for special needs students within a general art class, has also created new challenges requiring a broader scope of differentiation.
While we are always disappointed to see student contact hours reduced, we are pleased that Stamford continues to provide contact hours within the framework of State guidelines. Below, please find curriculum notes for the 1st quarter of the 2008-2009 school year. Parents are asked to provide their
children with an ample supply of pencils and erasers, and to encourage students to bring their artwork home. Occasionally, student artworks are retained for display in annual school or city-wide exhibits.
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The first marking period is an immersion in the fundamentals of drawing across a spectrum of mediums that include pencil, charcoal, pastel, and oil crayon. Students are taught taught in a sequence that begins with the simple physical mechanics of drawing (circles,ovals, ellipses), to the application of these shapes in creating more dimensional
physical forms. Techniques of shading, (the use of gradients in creating a 3-dimensional illusion) are employed throughout. Simple shapes turn into faces, and then bodies, while individual features are studied and practiced. Students learn the proportional structures and relationships of the face and body, preparing them for the culminating exercises of life drawing, which utilize student models as visual subjects.
Readings from Scholastic Arts Magazine, our monthly Arts magazine, will reinforce art lessons while providing historical context to class lessons. Presently, I am working to have a white board installed for facilitation of art history lessons and internet touring of galleries and Art museums.
Seasonal lessons and projects, as well as occasional interdisciplinary units, figure into the overall curriculum. Parents having expertise in any area of fine art or crafts, are invited to talk with and give demonstrations to our classes. Please contact the school to set up an appointment, or email me directly at my city email address (available from the school office).
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Second quarter studies will focus on the element of color; theory and application, with exercises in oil crayon, acrylic and tempera painting, in the context of grade-appropriate exercises. Units will cover the use of value-(tints and shades), and color wheel theory, (color mixing), proper care and use of tools.
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