Teacher Commentary The Art of the Book Spruance Elementary, Philadelphia SLC: Arts Based Curriculum SLC Teachers: Marlene Gold, Leslea Herman, Sylvia Pelta School Phone: 215-537-2514

Unit of Study Summary The Art of the Book unit gave students an opportunity to study a variety of children's book illustration forms, media and artists. Children read books illustrated by collage, photography, pop-ups, scratch art, painting, quilting, pen and ink print making, pencil drawing, watercolor, and mixed media. The purpose of the unit was to extend the Links to Literacy program of the Northeast Cluster to the third and fourth grade SLC. The art focus of our SLC was continued by creating art centers which encouraged and allowed the students to explore a variety of art media in order to illustrate their own writing. The art kit/centers each contained books representing a particular type of illustration, as well as art materials needed to represent that art form. Also included in the kits was information on various illustrations, how-to books, assessment rubrics, and reflection forms. Each kit was the basis for an art center and was circulated among the third and fourth grade classrooms (some were also used in first and second grades). Students used the kits to explore various art forms, become familiar with their use, and recognize the techniques when they were seen in other books. They also gained recognition of specific illustrations, such as Chris Van Allsburg, Barbara Cooney, Faith Ringold, Brian Pinkney and others. After completing a piece of writing, the children chose an art form to illustrate their work. Written pieces were peer edited, and final editing was done in conferences with teachers. Students, peers, and teachers evaluated the students' work, with equal weight given to each evaluator. Reading, writing, and visual arts standards were used for instruction and evaluation (see attached form). Completed student books were placed in a classroom library to be shared with classmates and were also read to students in lower grades. What should students know and be able to do? School District of Philadelphia Standards: Writing Summary #3- Write in a variety of forms including journals, essays, stories, letters, plays, poems, and reports, using figurative, descriptive, literary and technical language. Visual Arts Standard #1- Understand and apply art media, techniques, and processes. What were students asked to do? Each student was to work with a kit and write their own story in the style of an author/illustrator. A 'pencil drawing' kit was used for this activity. The students were fascinated by Van Allsbwrg's The Mystery of Harris Burdick, a mysterious book of twelve pencil drawings, each one an illustration for a story which has "disappeared." The reader is challenged to write the missing story based on the picture, title, and caption. The students each chose one picture about which to write a mystery story. The student chose "The Mystery of the Seven Chairs." The caption of the drawing read, "The fifth chair went to France." The illustration was of a nun flying in a chair in a French cathedral. The student's work was assessed using a writing and illustration rubric. What story does the work tell? The student wrote a very creative and lively piece of fiction based on a kernel of information. Her writing not only shows imagination and creativity, but also reveals the personality of the writer. She established a good frame for the story and showed clear progression to the conclusion. Details, descriptions, and characters were fascinating. She created an unusual "warlock," who had the power to create earthquakes. The warlock also enjoyed tricking people, and so invented magical chairs that have human characteristics: feelings, dreams, and the ability to act and speak ("They didn't eat but they had a mind of their own."). She engages the reader by withholding a piece of information until the reader tells a story in exchange. Throughout the writing, the reader can clearly hear the voice of the author. The ending of the story seems a bit rushed and could have been more developed. The work generally shows good grasp of the conventions with only minor spelling and usage errors (possibly typos). In the course of writing the book, the student learned to word process in the computer lab, and the final copy was easy to read. On most items of the writing rubric, the student scored 3--the highest score. The illustrations were creative, detailed, and enhanced the story (earning a 3 rating), however they were simple line drawings-little evidence that she expanded her knowledge of the use of shading, three dimensionality, or perspective, thereby rating a 2 in that area. How can your analysis guide further instruction? While the students were successful in their writing and illustration process, we felt that our assessment rubrics did not truly reflect or inform their work well enough. They need to be redesigned to be more explicit, supportive and connected to the standards. We are learning, too.

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