VCET Leadership: Using Studio Structures in the Kindergarten Classroom

This year my professional focus will be implementing the Studio Structures in my kindergarten classroom and adapting some of the segments for assessment. I realize this will take preparation,  planning and critical professional review in my role as teacher.

Setting the Stage: Next week, I will investigate ordering 4 student easels for my class. I want to use them as an information center, a creative communication tool, an opportunity for arts exploration for the students in my class and a visual signal for me to use Studio Thinking in my teaching practice.

Goal 1: Demonstration - Lecture
Our introductory unit, titled "All About Me," takes place the first week of school. The first day, I will introduce myself using the painting center. We will talk about the use and care of the materials. The end result will be a picture of their teacher. It will be displayed with the self-portraits my students create in a gallery format on a bulletin board in the classroom.

Goal 2: Critique
After my demonstration, I would enstablish a forum for critique using my self-portrait as the example. Students would have the opportunity to discuss their responses to color, style and finished product and create class guidelines for the critique process.

Goal 3: Students -at-work
After two days of practice, one with me and the second with my Instructional Assistant (IA), I would open up the Arts Center to students. Volunteers would be solicited for the critique process that would follow class guidelines.

Goal 4: Exhibition
Student self-portraits would be presented in our classroom gallery. We would learn to interact as artists with each other by viewing the exhibition as a class of art appreciators. (this would be an opportunity for teacher/student assessment).

Goal 5: Stretch and Explore
The next time we would use the art centers would be for our Community Unit. In the Demonstration-Lecture stage, I would address the properties of a scene in contrast to creating a single person. Students would have the opportunity add multiple people into a city setting. They would explore adding markers to their toolbox. Again, it would be teacher modeled and student/teacher critiqued.

Goal 6: Reflect
Students would be given the opportunity to reflect with the teacher and a peer on their community scenes of multiple people (this would be an additional opportunity for teacher/student assessment).

Goal 7: Develop Craft
As student responsibility grows more tools will be made available to use. Students would be given additional materials to work with, i.e., oil pastels, colored pencils.

Goal 8: Engage and Persist
In this level, I would ask the question, "How can we use our art center to show we understand science or history?" After discussing ideas, students would be given a challenge relevant to our curriculum, like picturing Columbus or drawing the inside of a pumpkin using a real pumpkin.

Goal 9: Envision
Students would be given opportunity to expand their artistic presentations through creating dimentional artwork, like puppets for a class play or a sculpture from recycled materials.This would be the scaffolded step for Wake-up and Read. Students would be able to effectively teach their families puppet-making at the Wake-up and Read event because they had hands-on opportunities to explore the process in the classroom.

There is no limit to possibilites for the use of these Studio Structures. Feedback welcomed!