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Art I
Course Syllabus
2014-2015
Teacher: Megan Fiechtner 308-530-4598 mfiechtner@mcstryon.org
Office: Elementary School
Office Hours: 7:30-8:00 am and 11:20-11:40 am
Art I
Course Description and Purpsose: Students will create, respond, present and analyze many works of art including
their own. Students will learn about art history and how world history can influence the artists of each time
period throughout history along with recognizing the human experience the artist wanted to represent through
their artwork. They will be able to apply critical thinking to many different aspects and perspectives in order to
gain understanding of how and why a piece of art was created.
Course Materials:
Notebook (Student provided)
Writing pencil (Student provided)
Sketchpad, drawing graphite pencils, graphite eraser, paint, paintbrushes, canvas, construction
paper, worksheets and handouts will be provided by the school.
Course Objectives:
1. Students will develop and apply ideas, knowledge, and skills to create, respond to, present, and
connect art with the human experience.
2. FA 12.2.1 Students will use the creative process to formulate a plan and implement aesthetic choices in
artwork.
3. FA 12.2.2 Students will use the critical process to develop and defend a logical argument supporting a
contextual response to a work of art.
4. FA 12.2.3 Students will integrate and apply presentation knowledge into life experiences.
5. FA 12.2.4 Students will synthesize understanding of contemporary, historical, and cultural context in art and
life.
Classroom Rules:
Be On Time:
From time to time you will be late and I understand. In this classroom, if you are late you owe
me time after school. I will give you one get out of jail card per quarter, but I keep track of
them and the payment is 10 minnutes after school. Those detentions need to be made up by
Friday of the week that they happened or a referral sheet will be turned in.
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Respect:
Show respect to yourself, your classmates, and your instructors.
Be Prepared:
Please come to class prepared to learn. To do this, you will need your pencils, eraser, pen,
notebook, paper. I will supply the drawing materials, e.g. (sketchbook, drawing pencils, eraser,
etc.)
No Put Downs:
Please remember that everyone is here to learn. I ask that no one use put downs in my
classroom. Colorful language will not be tolerated and school policy will be enforced.
No Outside Distractions:
This is a simple rule. Cell phones, iPods, PDAs, and pagers need to be turned off and not in use
at the school. If there is a problem with this is will be turned over to the appropriate
administration and a referral sheet will be turned in.
You are allowed to drink water in the classroom as long as it is in a closed container.
Course Requirements:
Daily Art Exercise: Each day we will do a daily art exercise which will be done in the sketch book
that will be provided to you at the beginning of the year. These will be due at the end of class
and will be worth 10% of the students final grade.
Research Papers: The students will be doing four research papers. These papers will be 1-2 pages
and will be composed of the students research upon their favorite artists, favorite art time
period, favorite medium to work with and a piece of art that intrigues them. These papers will
be required to be in MLA format and have a bibliography. There will be a research paper due at
the end of each quarter and it will account for 20% of their final grade.
Multicultural Assignments: Students will be required to do one multicultural project per
semester. The student will be researching a different culture to discover what art is prestigious
in that area, why it is so famous, who the artist is, and what medium did he/she use and what
inspired him/her to create the artwork. The student will be asked on each project; why the
student chose that culture, what human experience have they gained from learning about
another culture, and how the artist expresses the culture through that piece of artwork. These
assignments will account for 20% of the students final grade.
Artwork: Students will be composing and producing their own artwork according to the
knowledge they have gained from class and research. We will be doing four projects. One oil
pastel painting, one acrylic painting, one drawing, and one piece of artwork using the medium of
the students choice. These will be the remaining 50% of the students final grade. Full
participation is required. Grading will be based on effort put into the artwork, utilization of color
and art tools, and creativity.
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Grading/Evaluation:
Your grade will be based on attendance and the completion of daily assignments. You will also be graded
on various papers, projects and artwork assigned during the school year.
1. Attend all classes. To earn the grade that you want and to increase your ability you
need to be present for every class.
a. No grade will be earned for assignments that are late.
b. If you must be absent, consult the syllabus and contact me for the assignments,
exercises, or projects so that you will be prepared when you return to class.
2. Complete all assignments. Many of our daily exercises will be guided learning or group
work. No assignments will be accepted if they are incomplete. Indicate your first and
last names, date and what the title of the project or exercise is on all assignments.
3. Come prepared to class and expect a daily exercise. Research papers and other projects
will be announced in class.
4. Daily exercises will be assigned and turned in daily.
This class will respect IEP grading scales
The districts grading scale will be used:
Grading Scale:
100-93 A
92-86 B
85-78 C
77-70 D
Below 70 F










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