Art Class Syllabus

Overland Trail Middle School

Teacher: Megan LeSage
mlesage@sd27j.net
303-655-4041
Course Description:
This course will include beginning, intermediate, and advanced concepts in Art
through an exploration of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture. My goal is for
students to develop a strong interest in, appreciation of, and passion for the world
of Art and the many perspectives and cultures it encompasses. There is
something in Art for everyone, and my hope is that each student will find
something in this course that inspires his or her life.
My teaching philosophy is that all students can be artists; Art is like anything
else: the more you practice, the better youll become!
Historical figures, movements, and techniques in Art History will be examined
using various media, and will involve the incorporation of literacy, numeracy,
and technology.
Students will learn to use art as a form of communication and expression, and
will learn to analyze and critique art based on rules of composition and use of the
Elements of Art and Principles of Design.
Each quarter, there will be a theme that has been aligned with the curriculum
from other core classes, such as Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, or Science.
All of the assignments completed in Art will relate to an interdisciplinary theme.
Please see the OTMS Art Websites to see how the Art curriculum is aligned to
other content areas each quarter, and to access Power-Points and assignments for
all projects:
6th Grade Art:
http://otmsart6.weebly.com/
7th Grade Art:
http://otmsart7.weebly.com/
8th Grade Art:
http://otmsart8.weebly.com/
Assignments are subject to change in accordance with time limitations;
sometimes students will need more time on projects than expected, and
sometimes students will work faster than expected, leaving time for additional
assignments or projects. Furthermore, I reserve the right to alter the curriculum
at any time during the course should different learning opportunities arise, such
as prospective field trips, visiting artists, or other events.

Art Class Supplies:

*Pencil(s)
*Sketchbook
*Ruler
*Elmers Glue (Optional)
*Colored Pencils (Optional)
*Watercolor Paints (Optional)
These supplies will be kept in the Art room for the duration of the quarter (and
will be returned at the end of the quarter).
Your sketchbook should have at least 70 pages of 8.5x11paper to keep in the
Art room. This can be a sketchbook with plain pages or a spiral notebook with
lined pages.
Students can purchase spiral notebooks from me at any time during the year for
25 cents per notebook (even if it is for another class!). The money received goes
to re-stock notebooks only.
Please write your name on all of your supplies.
If you cannot obtain any of these supplies, please contact me in person or via
email and these items will be supplied for you.
Always bring a pencil and planner to class; we will be drawing almost every day,
even during painting and sculpture assignments, and there will always be a daily
objective to record in planners.

Homework:
Any artwork completed outside of Art class (and not for a different class, i.e. a
Social Studies project) can be turned in for extra credit.
I like to encourage students to draw as much as possible, because the more they
draw, the more they will develop their artistic skills, so any extra artwork will be
awarded extra credit points.

Writing and Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a very important part of the creative process, and a
variety of brainstorming skills will be taught in this class.
All brainstorming will be graded using the Writing Rubric on the
following page of this syllabus, and will be part of the weekly participation
grade.
Brainstorming will be graded based primarily on participation,
originality of ideas, and the organization of ideas into a cohesive plan.
Students will not be graded on the basic grammatical constructs such as
spelling and punctuation as the point of writing and brainstorming in
Art class is to cultivate IDEAS and learn how to organize those ideas.

Electronics:
Students are welcome to bring their personal electronics to Art class for
research and personal music purposes only! Students MUST bring
their own headphones if they want to listen to their own music while
working on their projects.
***However, if a student is using his or her technology inappropriately or
in a way that is disruptive to his or her own learning or to the learning of
others, I reserve the right to confiscate the technology for after school
pick-up in the front office.***
***Students bring technology to class at their own risk; the school will not
be held responsible for any damage to student-elected technology that
occurs during class.***

Grading:
20% Participation, 80% Assessment
A=90-100% B=80-89% C=70-79% D=60-69% F=below 60%
The +/- System will be applied to grades.
Each project will be graded on specific artistic qualities, such as composition, successful
application of media and techniques, effort, and conceptual components. Please see the
following page for a more detailed explanation of how I grade each assignment.
All projects must be turned in before the last day of the quarter. I will have an open studio
session once a week on Mondays from 3-4:30pm only for students who need extra
time outside of class to work on Art projects, although this may be subject to change.
Otherwise, open studios are specifically reserved for students who participate in National
Junior Art Honor Society. Any student who attends an open studio MUST have a safe
way of getting home at 4:30.
If students cannot attend any open studio sessions and cannot complete their Art projects
during the allotted class time, it is their responsibility to complete the assignment as
homework. They can check out art supplies to take home if necessary, or they can
schedule an appointment with me to come in before or after school to work on their Art
projects.
I will accept late work for full credit at any time BEFORE THE LAST DAY OF THE
QUARTER. HOWEVER, if a student chooses not to use the allotted class time to work
on the project, and chooses instead to socialize or be otherwise off-task, I will only
accept the assignment for .75 credit BEFORE grading (meaning the students work
would have to be A+ quality just to earn a 75% on that assignment)!
All artwork should contain content that is school-appropriate, meaning there shouldnt
be any blatant or suggestive content relating to gangs, drugs, violence, or other material
that is clearly not middle-school-appropriate. Failure to comply with this rule will result in
an automatic grade of zero for the assignment. If at any time a student is unsure of
whether the content of his or her artwork is school-appropriate, he or she should ask
Ms. LeSage before completing the artwork.
Students receive a participation grade each week that reflects how well they stay on task
during class, and how respectful they are to me, their classmates, and their supplies. All
students start the week with 100% of the participation grade, and as the week progresses,
they will either keep their 100% or they will lose points due to failure to stay on task or to
a failure to be respectful in the Art room. If they lose points at the beginning of the week,
they have the opportunity to earn them back throughout the rest of the week by
demonstrating extra helpful or respectful behavior toward classmates or by helping clean
up areas of the Art room that are not their direct responsibility. Friday is the last day that
participation points for the week can be added or taken away.
Due to the fact that I give students this kind of flexibility in my grading policy, you may
notice fluctuations in grades throughout the quarter.

5 Things You Will Be Graded

On for Each Assignment
(Each Assignment is Worth 100 points)

1. Composition (10 points):

*Did you consult the Composition Corner for tips on how to create an
appealing composition?
*Did you apply any of those tips to your artwork?

2. Craftsmanship (10 points):

*Did you take your time?
*Does your artwork look Museum-Ready or Art-Show-Ready?

3. Technique (10 points):

*Did you try to apply the specific techniques you learned about for this
assignment, such as those associated with certain movements in Art
History or certain historical figures in Art History?

4. Effort (60points):

*Did you spend each class period working hard and trying your best on
your artwork?
*Did you ask yourself, what else can I do to make this better? instead
of telling Ms. LeSage, Im done right away?

5. Originality (10points):

*Does your artwork look like the artwork of your classmates? Does it
look similar to examples shown in class? (I hope your answer to both
of these questions is NO!)
*Did you take your artwork to the next level by applying the same
techniques and media as others but doing it in a unique way with unique
images? (I hope your answer to this question is YES!)

Household Items to Send to the Art Room:

If you have any empty cereal boxes or other boxes constructed of a similar light
and thin cardboard, please send them to the Art room if you dont need them! We
will be making cardboard sculptures in several classes this year, and would prefer
to be green and recycle old materials.
Please contact me with any questions or concerns you may have; email is the
most effective way to get in touch, and from there we can schedule an
appointment to meet in person if necessary.
I very much look forward to this Art-filled quarter at OTMS!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Parents or Guardians, after you have read the syllabus, please fill out your
students name and sign and date on the lines and have your students bring this
part of the syllabus back to Art class for a participation grade (they should have a
1/2 sheet of paper for you to sign that they received in Art class).
Student Name_______________________________________
Parent or Guardian Signature_________________________________________
Date__________________