Student 1:

A very intelligent boy who is particular about his artwork. He likes to have a whole table to himself and not sit by anyone. When engaged in an art project he is very focused and likes to think for a while before the next step in his artistic process. Whenever he would come up with a new idea he would get very excited.

 

Student 2:

This student was engaged in the first class but in the following classes was disengaged in the art projects. He likes to hug his best friend in the class and goes up to people to tickle them. He brings his toy lizards to class to play with.

 

Student 3:

This boy is a huge fan of the Avengers. He would usually bring action figures to class or his Avengers video game. All of his creations were inspired by superheroes. When talking to him about his art, he would always have a smile on his face and sound very enthusiastic. 

 

Student 4:

This student doesn't talk but he is always engaged in what he is creating. He is artistically talented and created beautiful artworks. He never needed help and was more than capable of creating on his own. 

 

Student 5:

This girl always has a smile on her face and a bright personality. She always created projects that involved her favorite things, for example, she recreated a concert of her favorite pop star Taylor Swift. She giggles a lot with one of the paras who assisted her in creating.

 

Student 6:

This student is a sweet girl who uses a wheelchair and doesn't talk but smiles and responds by shaking her head. She has motor disabilities but is still capable of holding a paintbrush. When making art, I would ask if she wanted to use a certain color and she would nod yes or no. Then I would put a paintbrush in her hand and bring whatever she was painting closer to her.

 

Student 7:

A very tall boy who is goofy and always tried to pull our name tags off. He would always look around the classroom and walk around. We would usually have to initiate his artmaking by putting a paintbrush with paint in his hand, then he would make marks.

 

Student 8:

This student is a boy with glasses who would always ask me to sit with him and help. He is very talkative and always asked me if he would see me again. One time he told me that I looked "cool" and it made my day. He is very thoughtful and always thanked us for teaching the art lessons.

 

Student 9:

A quiet boy who would repeat whatever we would say to him in a few words. He used a lot of paint in his projects and liked to mix colors and apply thick coats.

 

Student 10:

This girl is silent and usually watched her para create the artwork. We got her to participate by putting clay in her hand and when she added it to her creation we cheered her on and she clapped. Her favorite snack is cheez-its which were included in some of her art projects.

 

Student 11:

This boy is very active in his movements and always carries around a magazine. He liked to throw things and grunt which resulted in expressive mark-making in his art when given a paintbrush dipped in paint.

 

 

Throughout this class, we provided students with a variety of 2D materials including paper, foam paper, markers, tissue paper, fabric, cardboard, and acrylic and tempera paint. We also provided 3D materials such as model magic clay, rocks, pipe-cleaners, buttons, beads, googly eyes, and yarn. We included paint brushes, scissors, glue sticks and hot glue. Students made meaning with their artworks by including their interests, imaginations and favorite things. For example, we had a project to create a diorama of their favorite place. We also included a project where students got to create an imaginary creature.

 

 

This classroom had a section with tall tables for artmaking and a section with more space. We were always in the artmaking section and this allowed students to get messy and search through a wide range of materials to create with. For accommodations, we set up a shorter table where two girls liked to sit at.