My teaching practicum this year included a number of responsibilities that prepared me for a full teaching role. The biggest responsibility was to plan, write, and implement lessons to teach students the foundations in visual arts. I structured my units to cover elements of drawing, painting, 2D design, and 3D sculpture.

Initially I used my mentor teacher’s lessons to teach students about creating value using different shading techniques in drawing. I also used my mentor teacher’s lesson on the color wheel to transition students from the drawing quarter into the painting quarter. Then I began to use my own lessons to teach students about various color schemes and painting techniques, developing composition with 2D design, and manipulating space with 3D sculpture.

I used the Massachusetts arts curriculum framework to shape my lessons. The five standards I was required to address are as follows: methods, materials, and techniques; elements and principles of design; observation, abstraction, invention, and expression; drafting, revising, and exhibiting; and critical response. By the end of basic study in grades 9-12, my students were expected to demonstrate knowledge unique to the visual arts, demonstrate an ability to create a variety of artwork, demonstrate knowledge of the processes of creating and exhibiting their artwork, as well as demonstrate the ability to analyze their own artwork and the work of others.