Creative Process as a Lesson Planning Tool

Apply what you just learned about the creative process, and the activity and
discussion we just did. Pick a project you’d like your students to create and plan
what the steps in the creative process should look like to get the kids to
successfully create it. This is a formative assessment so this will allow me to see
what we still need to work on. No grades should be given during a formative
assessment.

What is the intended project supposed to look like? (Describe what it is and what kind of art
materials you’d need. What does the final product need to look like?)

In my kindergarten classroom, we would be making individual handprint trees and then putting
them all together to create a classroom forest. We would need construction paper, scissors,
glue sticks, paint, and paintbrushes.

Step 1: Imagine and Generate (What could you show the students to get them thinking about
the artwork? How will you introduce the project? What themes could be discussed?)

I would create my own tree with my own handprint and then show the class. I would talk about
how this is me, my individual tree, then go on to explain that we are a classroom that works
together like a forest. We are in a close community and belong like a forest of trees. So, we will
all put our individual trees together to make a classroom forest for everyone to see. You could
also talk about bullying and how you address it as a bystander. Students can point to the
classroom forest and say something like, “that was not very kind, we are a classroom forest and
in this all together.”

Step 2: Plan, Prepare, Explore, and Focus (What exercises, techniques or mediums could you
have the students practice with to get them ready for the project? Are you assigning any
planning time for sketching? If so what/how many?)

This would be a beginning-of-the-year activity for the students to see where they are at with
scissor skills. We would have some practice using scissors first then introduce paint. We would
talk about how to use paint and specifically how to use paint for this project.
Step 3: Develop and Make (What are you demonstrating, how long will the students have to
work on the piece, how might you guide them through the completion of the piece? What
other assistance might they need?)

This project should not take students very long and I would walk them through the steps. We
would start by cutting out the tree trunk and then gluing it onto a bigger sheet of paper. We
would then line up and I would help paint their hands so they can print their handprint onto the
bigger sheet of paper above their tree trunk. I think this project will take around 30-40 minutes
to complete, depending on the skill level of using scissors and behavior in the classroom using
art materials.

Step 4: Evaluate and Present (How do you intend to evaluate the work? How do you intend to
exhibit the work? How will students know when they are done? What criteria will it need to
have?)

Students will know they are complete when they finish printing their hands and then wash their
hands. Once every student's hand is printed, then we will let them each dry. After the art is dry,
we will put all the individual student's trees together to create a forest. I would post the entire
class art (forest) somewhere in the classroom.

Step 5: Reflect (What kinds of questions could you ask the students in order for them to
reflect on what they’ve learned? Will this be done in a large group, small groups, one-on-one,
or as a writing assignment? Why did you choose this kind of reflective activity?)

I would have the students come back together on the class rug and we would talk about what
we made. This would be a large group discussion as they are in kindergarten. I would ask them
why they think we made the trees, why did we make our own and then put them together,
what does it mean to be a team or work together, etc. I would choose this type of reflective
activity because I think explaining and talking to younger students will help them to understand
exactly why we did this artwork.