This is a 16 week flexible art class that is great for middle school artists of all levels, no experience is needed. I teach via "tell, show, do and feedback" which is very similar to the "gradual release" model used in schools. Each month there will be a theme or central focus for the projects that the students create, all tied together using National Standards for Visual Arts (if from outside of the US, I can share with you your countries national visual art standards if needed). Feedback is crucial to the learners experience both in the receiving of praise and criticism from me and their peers through the use of digital gallery walks. Students will participate in art critiques with their peers by offering what they did well and how they can improve. I will share a video each week and use edpuzzle so that students are interactive with the lesson, while they are creating. Edpuzzle allows questions to be embedded into videos shared on the platform. Students will have an introduction into the history of movements, artists and then create art from that movement.

January/February: History of Animation 
Week 1: Kaleidoscopes (students will need a paper tube, paint, a reflective surface like aluminum foil/mirror/mylar, dowel, drawing paper, pencil/eraser, markers/crayons/colored pencils)
Week 2: Phenekistoscopes (students will need paper, pencil, colored pencils/marker/crayon, dowel, pin, scissors)
Week 3: Flipbooks (30 pieces of 3x5 paper or index cards, colored pencils/markers/crayons, pencil and eraser, binder clip)
Week 4: Digital flipbooks (students will need access to an app like flipaclip)
Week 5: Claymation (students will need modeling clay or playdough, and  either flipaclip or stopmotion studio)
Week 6: 2 D animation with Blender (students will need Blender a free digital animation program)
Week 7: 3 D animation on Blender (students will need Blender)

February/March: Sculpture
Week 8: Name Sculptures (students will need drawing paper, glue, paint or markers to add designs, cardboard, scissors)
Week 9: Pinatas (students will need papier mache paste/recipe will be provided, newspaper scraps, balloon, paint)
Week 10: Faberge Eggs (students will need a chicken egg, pin, found objects to add legs/decorations: plastic silverware, glitter, gems, cotton balls etc, paints.)
Week 11: Soft sculpture (students will need a variety of felt pieces, needle, thread. We will look specifically at Claes Oldenburg and his use of everyday objects being made into sculptures).
Week 12: Clay work (students can use air dry clay, or oven bake clay a recipe for salt dough will be provided. We will look at a brief history of clay sculptures and students will make their own personal sculpture piece). 

April:
Week 13: Collage (students will need paper, markers, pencil, eraser, magazine clippings)
Week 14: Mixed media art (students will need a variety of found objects to create their own mixed media art piece)
Week 15: Mixed media journaling. (students will need their sketchbooks, and a variety of found objects, paint/markers/crayons/colored pencils, glue, scissors
Week 16: Recycled material project (students will learn about the recycled art movement, using cardboard, oil pastels, glue, and other objects to create a mixed media project).

Please Note this is a flex class, meaning students will have access to videos weekly and will be required to post their art on the message board so that they can participate in the gallery walks.