Unified Arts Report 2010-11
Grade One
Trimester Three
Maple Avenue/ Bartlett Elementary School
Art: The visual arts make contributions to the education of young people that extend beyond their intrinsic value. Not only do the arts enhance the learning environment in important ways, but research shows consistent and positive correlation between learning experiences in the arts and enhanced student achievement in other aspects of the curriculum (except from SAU 19 Visual Arts curriculum)
We have been working with shape, form, and texture during the last trimester. We have made clowns from big stars, learned about weaving, discovered how to identify spring peepers, and then constructed one in 3D. We studied robins; their colors, song and habitat, and made a puppet style one on her nest. We learned a lesson from the book Rainbow Fish, and recreated a page from the story. We also saw how sunflowers have been a favorite of artists (even young ones). Have a happy, healthy, creative summer!!
In May, we spent all of our time learning to sing “This is my Country.” This was the song that the children sang at the Memorial Day assembly. In class we focused on singing with good tone production, diction, and breath support. The students did a great job and they sounded wonderful.
Unified Arts Report 2010-11
Grade Two
Trimester Three
Maple Avenue/ Bartlett Elementary School
Art: The visual arts make contributions to the education of young people that extend beyond their intrinsic value. Not only do the arts enhance the learning environment in important ways, but research shows consistent and positive correlation between learning experiences in the arts and enhanced student achievement in other aspects of the curriculum (except from SAU 19 Visual Arts curriculum)
We have learned more about shape, positive and negative space, and color in our third trimester together. Projects have included: Fractional shapes; integrating math into art. We integrated science into weaving in the shape of wild NH animals. We reviewed hot and cold colors in a challenging graph paper flower shape, and enjoyed crayon resist in a sunny day project. Have a happy, healthy, creative summer!
Physical Education: “We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.”-Unknown
We started the trimester off finishing our dance unit. Here the students explored a variety of movements with their bodies to a number of different styles of movements. One of their favorite activities was to visit “Club Maple” and free dance. After dancing, we moved into rock climbing. The students really began to challenge themselves on the wall this year. The Eagle’s nest challenge was a favorite of theirs. We followed rock climbing up with learning more about Frisbees. The second grade spent time during this unit working on their throwing skills, but focused more on catching. More and more of the students began to grab the disc with one hand, rather than trying to do the “pancake” catch. We followed Frisbees up with another summertime favorite, Jai-lai. This is a great activity that works a lot with hand-eye-coordination. The students have made tremendous growth in their skills and ability to catch and throw with the Hi-Li scoops. This is a fun summertime activity that they would love to play with family and friends. After this unit we moved into volleyball, which is another team sport where the students learn the basic skills and rules to play. Our main focus in this unit is communication, and they did a great job working in teams and talking with each other. When we used our “Dinosaur Ball” the students had a blast! We finished the year off with our Frisbee unit. Here the students learned the proper technique to throw and catch a disc with a partner. It has been a pleasure working with your students and I hope you have a safe and active summer. Now “get out and play!”
Music: “Music is an essential part of everything we do. Like puppetry, music has an abstract quality which speaks to a worldwide audience in a wonderful way that nourishes the soul.” –Jim Henson
This trimester has been great in the second grade. A main focus this part of the year has been on dynamics. Students got to sing a great song called Piano Forte. Through singing and moving to the song, the children were able to learn all of the Italian words for sound that is loud, medium, soft, etc.
In May, we spent all of our time learning to sing “Thankful for the U.S.A.” This was the song that the students sang at the Memorial Day assembly. In class we focused on singing with good tone production, diction, and breath support. The students did a great job and they sounded wonderful.
For the last few weeks of school students have been singing and moving to various silly songs. It has been a great year in second grade music class, I look forward to seeing all of the children again next year in third grade!
Unified Arts Report 2010-11
Grade Three
Trimester Three
Maple Avenue/ Bartlett Elementary School
Art: The visual arts make contributions to the education of young people that extend beyond their intrinsic value. Not only do the arts enhance the learning environment in important ways, but research shows consistent and positive correlation between learning experiences in the arts and enhanced student achievement in other aspects of the curriculum (except from SAU 19 Visual Arts curriculum)
We have spent the third trimester together studying the way shape is used in art.
First on the agenda, however, was the drawing of figures, half-sized and dressed in the Colonial period to coincide with Goffstown’s 250th Anniversary celebration. They were displayed, along with a piece of writing at our Night of Literacy and the Arts. We learned about the artist Henri Matisse who used paper cut into shapes in much of his later work. We created an underwater scene in his style. We revisited the concept of negative space, and created an interesting tangled vine picture. With the project, students were able to apply what they have been learning in math class about division. We then worked with the math inspired art of MC Escher, especially his puzzle-like tessellations. What an impressive job the kids did on this project! Have a happy, healthy, creative summer!
Physical Education: “We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.”-Unknown
The third grade started the trimester off finishing up their dance unit. During this time, they learned a variety of line dances and got to express themselves through free dance. Rock climbing was the unit the classes worked on. This individual activity is a great activity for students to be active in a non-competitive way. The students were really beginning to understand what it means to challenge their selves, without worrying about what their peers were doing. We followed this up with introducing lacrosse for the first time. Here the students learned about the rich history of the game and the local ties it has to New England. The students learned all about how the game is played today as well. They worked on throwing, catching, and cradling with the lacrosse sticks. This activity requires a lot of hand-eye-coordination and the students really did a good job with it. They especially liked the shooting activity and competing against their classmates. We are finishing off the year with volleyball. This is a great summertime activity that the whole family can get out and play. The students can show you how to properly bump, set, and spike the ball as well as give you the history of how the game came about. It has been a great year that went by in a blink of an eye. Enjoy your summer and remember to “get out and play!”
Music: “Music is an essential part of everything we do. Like puppetry, music has an abstract quality which speaks to a worldwide audience in a wonderful way that nourishes the soul.” –Jim Henson
This trimester has been great in the third grade. At the beginning of the trimester we finished our recorder for the year. The students have come very far in learning to read music using the recorder. Students should make sure they keep recorders and books because we have another recorder unit in the 4th grade.
In May, we spent all of our time learning to sing “American Every Day.” This was the song that the students sang at the Memorial Day assembly. In class we focused on singing with good tone production, diction, and breath support. The children did a great job and they sounded wonderful.For the last few weeks of school the children have been singing and moving to various silly songs.
It has been a great year in third grade music class, I look forward to seeing all of the children again next year in fourth grade!
Unified Arts Report 2010-11
Grade Four
Trimester Three
Maple Avenue and Bartlett
Elementary Schools
Art: The visual arts make contributions to the education of young people that extend beyond their intrinsic value. Not only do the arts enhance the learning environment in important ways, but research shows consistent and positive correlation between learning experiences in the arts and enhanced student achievement in other aspects of the curriculum (except from SAU 19 Visual Arts curriculum)
We have been studying shape, balance, and movement in art this trimester together.
The celebration of Goffstown’s 250th anniversary was first on the agenda. We created tradesmen’s signs, depicting the crafts of early Goffstown. Writing was displayed with the signs, to coincide with the Night of Literacy and the Arts. Circles and fractions were the catalyst for pictures that were comprised of the circle parts we made, a nice integration with math. Framing a piece of art and the use of “close ups” gave us an interesting abstract of a butterfly wing in watercolor. We rounded out the trimester with a fun stick figure and negative space project reminiscent of Paul Klee’s art. Have a happy, healthy, creative summer! I will miss all my art students, and I know they will enjoy art at the middle school.
Physical Education: “We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.”-Unknown
This trimester started off with the students finishing off their dance unit. During this time the classes learned a number of line dances as well as moved around the room during free dance. This unit is always one of the most popular of the year. The classes went from dancing at “Club Maple” to another favorite, our lacrosse unit. This unit improved their skills on throwing, catching, and cradling the ball with the lacrosse sticks. We followed lacrosse up with a couple different activities that teach the importance of nutrition. Their favorite activity during this time was “food fat attack”. This fast paced game teaches the direct relation between nutrition and physical activity. Through this activity, the students learned how to read and understand the nutritional value labels found on food packaging. Currently we are finishing the year up with our volleyball unit. The students got to play some small-sided games as well as get to use our “dinosaur” ball, which is bigger than them! I have had a great time working with your children over the last four years. It went by all too quickly. I wish each of them the best of luck at MVMS. Enjoy your summer and remember to “get out and play!”
Music: “Music is an essential part of everything we do. Like puppetry, music has an abstract quality which speaks to a worldwide audience in a wonderful way that nourishes the soul.” –Jim Henson
This trimester has been great in Music Class. We began the trimester by learning a song called “This Way we Pull Away.” For this activity the children were required to work as a team to create an ensemble. At times children were singing, playing xylophones, and dancing all at once.
Also during the trimester, children learned all of the different words that we use to classify the number of people performing at once... solo, duet, trio, quartet, etc. Ask your child if they can name all of the different sized performing groups up to ten people.
In May, we spent all of our time learning to sing “One Nation.” This was the song that the students sang at the Memorial Day assembly. In class we focused on singing with good tone production, diction, and breath support. The students did a great job and they sounded wonderful.
During the last few weeks of school, the children learned about how the larynx (voice box) works and how to classify different types of voices.
It has been a great year in fourth grade. I wish all of the fourth graders the best of luck in Middle School and I really hope many Maple Avenue students will consider joining the band, orchestra, or chorus in the Middle School.
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