Hello everyone!
My Prim-Ed books arrived in the post yesterday, and to say I was excited is an understatement. There’s nothing like the crisp smell of new books to brighten ones day! I ordered four books, Prim-ed Art, Prim-Ed Comprehension, Prim-Ed Help with Maths Homework, and Prim-Ed Science I will review the Art book first. I ordered Book D for ages 8-9, or 3rd to 4th class. I chose this particular class grouping because I feel art gets that little bit more detailed as you move up past 2nd class, and it’s not as easy to find ideas on-line for the upper primary age group.
I cannot believe I didn’t discover this book earlier. It would have been a life saver during teaching practice! The book begins with the teacher notes. It tells you exactly what you need for each lesson in the book. I plan to stock up on art supplies over the summer so by September I will have all the materials necessary to cover each lesson.
The book comprises of a teacher’s page, which is essentially a full lesson plan from beginning to end. It also breaks the project down into manageable chunks, as some projects take a few weeks to complete. For example, one may take three weeks, and the book tells you what to cover in each of the three weeks. Anyone starting into teaching practice in September/October- this book will plan all your art lessons for you!
It then shows a picture of completed art project ,a student task sheet and a student reflection sheet. The children complete the reflection sheet, stating which parts they enjoyed/ didn’t enjoy etc. It also contains a task assessment sheet, which the teacher completes.
Next, are two pages about the colour wheel. If like me, you’re not sure of your tertiary, intermediate colours etc then this will be of great assistance to you!The back of the book contains several templates to use as part of the projects if you choose.
The book also gives discussion points, to stimulate conversation and lead the lesson. The book includes projects on all different themes, which is handy if you are a thematic planner! It also bases lessons on artists, such as Monet.
I think this book would be useful for teachers who are lucky enough to have their own classes, as there are thirty lessons planned for each week. As a substitute teacher I think it’s brilliant because I find teachers always want you to cover art! All you have to do the night before is to pick the necessary materials from your art box ( just in case they don’t have them in school), pick your project and you have a perfect lesson! It is useful for student teachers too as it is one less lesson for you to plan! It’s done for you!
I am sure you can tell just how excited I am over this book, I can’t wait to use it in my summer camps! I find searching for art projects on line to be counterproductive sometimes. Yes there are some great ideas out there, but it takes so much time to thrall through all of them. There’s a lot to be said for having everything in the one book when you need it.
The Prim-Ed website is down tonight but I will post a link tomorrow for you all.
I hope this helps those of you looking to buy books for September, let me know if you would like me to review the other books I bought. : )
Múinteoir Valerie
http://www.prim-ed.com/webshop/root/Visual-Arts/Primary-Art
P.S: For any book geeks like myself, the pages are really shiny and of great quality-you know the ones!And it’s only 9.95!!
[pb_builder]