Mr. Pendl's Teaching Portfolio

 I began teaching in 2021 by opening a few centers, one of the first was the "Art Trap."  This was intended to be a one-person station with a constantly evolving array of provocative art items. The art trap was modest, but proved to be extremely popular, especially with the boy crowd.  Experimentation with tubes and tape quickly evolved into a makeshift weapons factory, and chaos ensued.  Rules had to be set. With its evolution, the "art trap" became the "3D center," since the actual idea behind the art trap was left behind and a project-wide medium was introduced.  Students 1st grade through 6th grade regularly return to the sculptural possibilities of the 3D Center, dealing with the varying amount of supplies (while supplies last!) and problem solving of joinery.  It is continuing to evolve and change daily, beginning to merge with the Painting and Fibers centers.

Tempera Painting, Day Two  Background: We have opened the tempera painting station after most other studio techniques and practices are in place, practiced, and automatic.  The intent of the painting station is to allow a conservative use of paint while encouraging experimentation and repeated use of paint, brushes, and grounds.  In the first day of painting we cover procedures, care of art materials, and encourage an open-ended experimentation with color.  This lesson narrative describes the middle and end of a 3-5 class period unit. After students have one day of experimentation on cardboard or painting paper, they place their paintings on the drying rack to dry for the next week.  When they return, they are introduced to contemporary artist Tim Okamura.  Tim is a Japanese-Canadian painter living in New York. Tim paints people of color, primarily women, in his paintings.  These paintings are rich in texture and carry emotional weight, his compassiona...

 Elementary School Lesson: Slab Fish in Clay In 2019,  I was given the opportunity to design and teach a clay lesson in Fox Prairie Elementary School in Stoughton, WI.  The 2nd and 3rd grade students were tasked with planning, creating, and responding to the lesson's major objective: the mastery of physical texture and simulated texture definitions and concepts.  Simulated texture is often referred to as "visual texture," a more relatable subject-specific vocabulary term which I intentionally chose for this lesson. The lesson lasted four days, each day having a specific objective in mind.  Day one, we had a discussion about fish and introduced some terminology.    I researched the fish that populated a lake that borders Stoughton, Lake Kegonsa.  We began talking about those fish both as a class and in a small "turn and talk."  We had a good time describing exactly what a fish texture was, as some students felt that fish were "slimy," while so...