Draw-Bots, Version 2.0

After the great success of the previous lesson, we started to look at ways of creating drawbots using materials in the classroom. Here's a video of the results. 

 

This project also introduced students to using a design process journal that followed a process similar to the MYP Design cycle. Using the Notability app, students documented their design process, experimentation, and reflection about their second drawbot on the iPad. I'm starting to move in this direction with regards to recording process because I'm seeing greater student engagement with the process, and more learner autonomy as they work through the steps at their own pace. I'm also looking at how students can use these documents as part of their learning portfolio during student-led conferences.

Draw, Draw-bots! Draw!

Quite possibly the most fun I've ever had with an art project.

This unit tied in with the grade 4's unit on How The World Works. We were looking at electricity.

Presented with a pile of switches, wires, DC motors and coffee cups, students worked in pairs to design, build and "release" a drawbot. Each one ended up having its own character.


 

Notan Creatures

The current UOI for Grade 4s is looking at the impact of human actions on animals and their environment.

We started off by doing a short lesson to learn the cut-and-paste technique for making notan designs. The results were quite striking and got us excited about the next step:

Next, we created a large-scale design based on the animal the students had been researching. In their design, they had to incorporate four aspects: the animal, its environment, threats it faces, and future (imaginary) adaptations to that environment. Students created some interesting compositions. For many, this was the first time they thought about an artwork conveying a message.