During our first week, we wanted to get to know the students have them use art as a form of identity. We did so by exploring a variety of mediums to create a hand that represented different aspects of themselves. The intended outcomes were for students to communicate their personal characteristics and interests, or their identity, through the use of physical expression. We used a variety of media, including pastel, watercolor, marker, colored pencil, paper, feathers, string and scissors. In today’s art exploration students, we want students to use these different materials to create a piece that represents themselves, while also representing the larger community.

     During this class, the essential understanding that students are working towards is personal interest exploration through color and imagery, in order to use art as a way to communicate. The teachers want to see what the students will use to reflect their own interests and hobbies. It will also show the understanding of the different chosen art materials. When the pieces are assembled in the end, it will show how every person in the class makes up a diverse community, as each person has unique interests, but we can all find common ground. 

     The intended outcomes started with the ability to process a prompt and respond to it by using color and imagery to describe themselves, use symbols to express personal interests, investigate the expressive qualities of art, use a variety of mediums. The final products were used to be a voice, whether or not the students use verbal language, and build self-efficacy to see connections between individuals as well as make up a larger group, the community that is the ArtAbilities 2-D class.

     Besides art techniques, students practiced a variety of other skills. One major skill practiced was being able to express themselves to their classmates. This lesson also taught motor skills with the use of various different mediums and tools. This practice also required the use of creative skills and imagination to come up with the content each student wanted to include in their piece. 

     In the photos above, you can see students demonstrating these skills. You can see the though processes and development of their ideas, as well as how the expressed themselves in their final product. You can also see the use of multiple materials and tools such as cutting with scissors. You can see that students demonstrated the intended outcomes by successful creating works that portrayed elements of themselves in creative ways. 

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