Week 4, 3/5, The Book of Kells

This week's lesson was Jess's but because she was sick I took over for the day. We visited Ireland and explored the book of Kells. After an introduction of where we were, what we had done the week before, I presented a powerpoint on the book of Kells. The students were then asked to create two works of art. The first was picking an animal that had meaning to them, using the first letter, and incorporating the animal as the letter or in the letter. Showing my example and a brief demo of oil pastels, they used that media to create their letter and animals. After a snack, and when they were finished their letters, I showed another example and then asked them to make the cover and back pages of their own Book of Kells. We will bind the book with paper for them to keepand use as they wish. They used scraps of paper and glue to collage a similar feeling of the Book of Kells which included borders, repetition and decoration.

Even though it was a hectic day and could have been more organized (as usual) I felt like the students enjoyed what they were doing. This was another repeat of animals as a theme, and I was impressed with their reasonings for choosing their animals and how they incorporated them into their letters. The collaged pages also turned out well and had the same elements as the Book of Kells. I think they liked the variety of papers and some students chose to make more pages for their book, actually making a story.

I was very happy that I was able to properly conclude the class this time and felt it was a great way to see what the students had learned, asked them what they thought about the oil pastels and about their choices. The examples were great ways for students to see how they could complete the assignment, and showed how you can take one idea, like the very complex Book of Kells, and simplify it.

Next time I need more organized stations of other activities for the students to do and some guidelines and explanations (I put of a fort and it got out of control). I also need to document more and just be more organized with the materials and make sure I have enough materials for students (we were low on glue sticks).