TIGER ARTISTS LESSON PLAN/PRESENTATION REFLECTION Name: Carly Boyd Tiger Team: #4 Title of Lesson: What our objects

mean to us Museum Exemplar: Mississippian Effigy Pots Part I (before) Present a brief description of lesson. Students were asked to bring in an object that was important to them. We began class by circling around the floor introducing our objects and ourselves and why our chosen objects were important to us. A presentation was then given about what makes an object a cultural object. We then proceeded to a tour at the Museum of Anthropology. The tour began with a review of the past TA lessons and continued to the Mississippian Effigy Pots. Next, students were shown photographs of modern cultural objects where they participated in a discussion of why they were important in modern times. The class reported back to the classroom where they began their effigy inspired pots using characteristics of their chosen objects. Students manipulated cloud clay over a chosen base to best represent their objects. After complete, students were asked to write a mini-artist statement reflecting on their learning experiences throughout the Tiger Artist program. State instructional goal(s) of lesson in behavior terms. Tell what you expected the students to know and be able to do at the end of the lesson? Identify what a cultural object is and what makes an object valuable to cultures based on all Tiger Artist lessons. Compare and contrast cultural objects and modern cultural objects. Understand the purpose and importance of effigy pots in the Mississippian period and how they incorporated certain characteristics into their pot making. Reflect on their own objects to use characteristics to incorporate into their own artmaking. Successfully manipulate cloud clay to create a vessel that represents their object. Complete a mini artist statement by expressing their learning experience of cultural object lesson. What did children already know related to your goal(s)? Students were aware of what a cultural object is from past Tiger Artist lessons. Students easily identified selected modern cultural objects and were able to discuss why they were important in modern time. Students were able to express why their chosen object was important to them. Students were able to successfully manipulate the cloud clay by mixing colors, designing base forms, and including characteristics of their objects. What resources did you use and refer to in planning or during presentation? MU Museum of Anthropology & MU Museum of Art & Archaeology Cahokia Mounds Timothy Pauketat and Nancy Stone Bernard Motel of Mysteries

Part II (during) What did students learn? Provide evidence of student learning. How would you assess them? After the in class presentation of cultural objects and museum tour, I feel that the students all developed a great understanding of what makes an object a cultural object. It was evident that they understood how the Mississippian period used characteristics of desired objects in their effigy pot making because students were able to replicate that act in their own artmaking. I think this understanding was made evident in students through their process of the object brainstorming activity, museum experience, and manipulation of medium to represent their objects. The discussion of cultural objects and modern cultural objects allowed for a smooth transformation of the Mississippian pots, to the pots they were about to create. Assessment on this project would be most successful through their reflection statements. Did some students have difficulty participating in the activities? If so, what did you do to make it possible for them to participate? Overall, the class was very cooperative throughout the entire day. All students were eager to participate in various discussions throughout the morning. As for artmaking, there were a couple students that struggled. Those students we really had to push and encourage them to continue with their pot. There was one student that forgot to bring in his object, which seemed to set him back and create difficulty. Luckily, Mrs. McConnell was able to pull him aside on the way back from the museum and talk to him one-on-one, where they reached a decision of an object he was going to work with. This was huge for us, because we were able to continue our lesson plan and stay on task while he was being helped. There were a couple students that had a hard time getting started with their projects, but in the end created awesome work. I spent most of the artmaking time with one student, because she was struggling most out of the class. I really had to push her to keep going so she could have a completed project by the end of class. Evaluate student questions/answers/participation What ideas did the students share during the lesson? Students were very open in sharing why their chosen object was important to them. Initially, students were shy in discussion during the cultural object presentation, but were able to define what a cultural object is based off of their past Tiger Artist lessons. The students seemed like they most enjoyed the discussion of modern culture objects that we held in the museum right before we presented the effigy pots. Did students share ideas that stretched/challenged their classmates? The class consisted of various ages, so the older students were obviously able to express more challenging ideas and deeper discussion. Overall, the class worked very well together. They got a long during discussion and by the end of the day students were helping their classmates out with their projects. It was very enjoyable to see students helping each other. Did student questions display higher level thinking skills? For the most part, we had to challenge students in higher-level thinking more than their peers. The beginning presentation may have used too complex of language for the students, so that was mainly where their questions sprouted. They seemed to have gotten discouraged by our

vocabulary. There was one student, in particular that was very conserved in class discussion, but displayed very high level thinking skills in his actual artmaking. How did you decide to use student ideas during the lesson? As stated before, our original idea of a cultural object was perhaps too complex for most of the students to understand. Through class discussion and reference of why their objects were important, we were able to form a class defintion of what a cultural object is. Did you evaluate each students answer and work in a nonjudgemental manner? Since students work were representations of objects that were important to them, they were able to create meaningful artwork. For this reason, I think we all were able to evaluate all the work in a nonjudgemental manner. Each students work was very unique and a great representation of their objects.

How did you manage/organize the whole-class into discussion, demonstration, studio, closing? I feel that we were able to successfully mange the whole class throughout the entire day because students were very engaged in the lesson. By referencing their objects throughout the lesson, students were able to keep a close connection to their objects and the discussion, demonstration and studeio work. At first we all took turns in a circle discussing what our objects were and why they were so important. I think forcing the students to introduce themselves and their objects allowed for the students to feel more comfortable to participate in discussion for the remainder of the day. We allowed students free time to look around in the museum which got a little out of hand, but once we noticed we gathered them back for the next discussion. Demonstration of the project was very short and to the point. All of the students circled around as a demonstrated how they could manipulate the cloud clay. They all were invested in the different ways you can use the cloud clay. Studio work was successful for the most part as well. There were a couple students that seemed to play with the cloud clay at first, but once we got them to focus on manipulating the medium they stopped. Students were given plenty of cloud clay and space to create their work. The closing portion was a little hectic I think because it was the last day of the program and parents started to show up a little early. Students were more focused on adding last minute touches to their pots than completing the artist statements. We were able to get their (besides one student) pictures taken with their objects, pots, and vests and their certificates before they escaped! Part III (after) Was/were your instructional goal(s) appropriate? How did you meet the needs of all of your students? I feel for the most part our goals were appropriate for the class. As mentioned before, our original idea of cultural objects was probably too complex for the range of ages our class was made of. Although this was an obstacle at first, we were able to form a better definition that all students were able to understand and they created superb work. The needs of all students were met, because they were all able to individualize their discussion, ideas and thought process with their own objects. With a good student-teacher ratio we were able to give one-on one attention to those students that needed extra help or ideas. Were your directions clear?

I think our directions were clear for students seeing the final products of the day. The brainstorming worksheet allowed for students to put thought into special characteristics of their objects, which helped tremendously when it came to creating their projects. Any questions that the students did have, we were able to clarify. I think overall the students had a great understanding of cultural objects and saw the connection between the Mississippian Effigy Pots and their artmaking. What worked and why? I feel that our lesson was so successful due to our planning and sequence of events throughout the day. We had a presentation of cultural objects, then took the students to the museum to see the objects, compared modern objects with historical objects, viewed the effigy pots, then proceeded into artmaking. Students were able to understand what we were going to be creating during the studio time. The demonstration worked very well too. I kept the demo short so I would show them what they needed to know and not lose their interest or allow for distractions; just enough time for them to get inspired on how they would manipulate the clay. What did not work and why? During the museum, the students were given free time to roam and look at different objects. This seemed to be organized chaos. The students were starting to get very active about the room, instead of viewing objects. The beginning presentation could have been more successful too. The vocabulary we used was a little over their heads, so they became very discouraged. We were able to fix this, however. I think we had the idea that the class would have a better understanding built from past TA lessons. We should have used simpler wording and ideas that all of the students could have understood. Explain any changes you would make with regard to: Procedures you implemented. The conclusion artist statement at the end was not as successful as I imagined for it to be. The students needed more time to focus on their statements. Materials you used. Cloud clay is an awesome material to use for students, especially the ages that were in our class. Students could easily manipulate the material in unique ways. The only problem we had was some packages of clay seemed to be very dry. Fortunately, we had plenty of clay to open new packages if needed. Questions you asked. The biggest change would be to ask questions and create presentations with language that was appropriate for the students. Room arrangement. I saw no issues with the classroom arrangement. Students were able to have plenty of room to create their work. I think having the students spread out around the perimeter of the room, instead of groups, allowed for them to focus on their work and create fewer opportunities for distractions. Activities you introduced. I dont think I would change any of our activities. The students were all very cooperative in our discussions and could make the connections of the objects and their artmaking. Did you model effective verbal and nonverbal communication? I feel that we all effectively communicated with the students. Students learned and were comfortable communicating with us.

Part IV Reflection As with any lesson, things do not always go as planned, but we were able to go with the flow and think on our feet as obstacles came our way. When we first got there we began to set up the room. We were focused on getting the computer ready for the presentations, the tables arranged, and the materials set out so the day would run smoothly. We decided to keep the tables arranged how they are for us on a daily basis. This would allow us to walk around the center of the room to help the students. In retrospect, I think this worked best to keep them on task and focused, instead of distracting their classmates across the table. We originally had difficulty with the computer, but thankfully got it going before students began to show up. As we were waiting on the entire class to arrive, we encouraged students that were patiently waiting to create nametags for their objects, if desired. As Sarah started the beginning presentation, students were discouraged with the high-level language we used. This was unexpected and we had to on-the-fly develop questions that they were able to understand and answer. While in the museum, we had gotten a little ahead of schedule. To stay close to time, we decided to allow the students free time to look at other objects in the museum. This was a great opportunity for them to view other objects they had not gotten the chance to look at, but didnt last long due to classroom management. Our final on the spot change was the class presentation of projects. We had believed we had access to their first weeks drawings and hats, and originally wanted to create a museum for them to present all of their work throughout the program. Prior to our week, we learned that this was not the case, so we chose to have a photo shoot of the students objects, cultural artwork, and vests that they had previously made. I envisioned this running more smoothly, but as parents began to show up, the students became frantic on putting the finishing touches on their projects. If we had more time in the end, we would have had the students focus on deeper reflections for their statements, but at that point it was time for the students to leave. This was personally my first experience of teaching students, although I wasnt alone. I was initially very nervous and anxious, but as things got started I became very comfortable helping and talking with the students. This was such a great experience for me. Our biggest obstacle was communicating in a language that the students could understand, and I think that is my biggest takeaway from the day was. Its so important to be able to communicate to your students on their level, and then try to push higher-level thinking. Not only was this the most important thing I learned, but it was also completely unexpected for me. I had not anticipated on what if the students dont understand?. We actually had one boy say to us at the begging of the presentation that he had no idea what we were saying. This was very eye-opening, but we thankfully were able to communicate on a level that all the students were able to understand and discuss. Another huge eye-opening experience for me was what these young children created. I spent a little time with my exemplar, but they absolutely blew my artwork out of the water. I never would have guessed they were going to create such dynamic artworks. Looking back now, I completely underestimated what they could create and I can fullheartedly say I will never do that again. Its amazing the creativity and imagination that students (of all ages) have. The three hours we spent with the class was honestly one of my best experiences at college thus far. I have always lacked confidence in myself and my future, but being apart of the Tiger Artist program has been such a great reassurance that I am in the right path for

my future. The time I spent with the students flew by, but I absolutely loved every second of it. I learned so much about myself, about students, and lessons. As nervous as I was, as soon as I started to get to know the students I became comfortable and it felt natural teaching, demonstrating and helping the students. I was not only proud of Anna, Sarah and I developing this lesson, but so incredibly proud of the students. They were able to make amazing work that was close to them, but held meaning connecting to the effigy pots. For the future, I need to remember that I am in the right place, and with time and experience I will become a great artist teacher!