Hi everyone, my name is Stephanie Pereira. I'm a student at UMass Dartmouth that is so close to graduating! The last step of the Art Education program that I am in is to student-teach from February to the end of April. This step of my education is most vital. I get to experience first-hand how students learn art. I get to learn what works, what doesn't work and most importantly how I want to teach. Over the last three months, I have observed the classes, then helped out a little, then slowly starting teaching the classes on my own. For two whole weeks I taught my own lessons to all 21 classes. Phew!

I wouldn't have been successful in any of this if I wasn't learning from Ms. Moniz. She has really helped me start to become the teacher that I want to be. Noticing that I am shy, she pushed me to do a lot of things that I didn't know that I could do. Like speaking loudly across the room. That one was tough...but now I have no problem letting myself be heard. However, there is a lot more that I don't think could fit in this blog. I am truly inspired working with you. Thank you Ms. Moniz!

Most of all, seeing all these wonderful students everyday for about 3 months has really helped me verify that this is what I love to do!

- Sincerely, Ms. Pereira

Student Work

I was so excited while I was driving into work this morning just thinking about how I was going to be able to introduce my students to Line Ninjas.  I found this YouTube clip on a great blog by a very talented Art Educator in Minnesota.  Her site at www.minimatisse.blogspot.com.  Here she is using movement as an opportunity to teach line direction and styles.  The kids loved it!  They all took a pre-test last week to assess prior knowledge.  Most of them were unsure with certain vocab words like vertical and horizontal.  We will spend a few weeks practicing our Line Ninja moves, and then they will take the same test again to see if the exercises helped.  You can check out the link below and use it as an opportunity to practice at home.  Enjoy!

The comic book above was created by a South School second-grade student over the summer.  She completed this project simply because she loves making art...and she is incredibly good at it!  Each page is filled from edge to edge and carefully colored on a textured paper.  I am so impressed with her effort in completing such an in-depth creation.

Wasn't it just the end of June?  The summer may go by fast, but the first month of school is a whirlwind of activity.  I spent many days over the summer in my classrooms (yes- I work in three different rooms) trying to get organized for the new school year.  If students know where to find materials, then set up is faster and clean up is more effective.  It also increases their level of independence.  It's embarrassing to admit that the last day of school involved loading the closet until it looked like the photo below on the left, but after hours of cleaning I feel like I really conquered this beast.  Now, the real test would be to post another photo in a few months. 

Another closet that I organized was actually hidden under a chalkboard.  It housed a lot of supplies but didn't serve a real function.  Now it is home base for the student portfolios, class boxes for three-dimensional work, and class bags for smocks.  Last year, all of the portfolios were the same color.  When a student misplaced one, it meant searching through hundreds of other portfolios.  It hit me this year to color-code the portfolios by grade.  I guess good ideas are better late than never.