Let's Get THINKING!!!

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• Over the next couple of weeks students at Greenwood Elementary are going to be encouraged to get "Thinking" about ART.

  This will be an ongoing journey throughout the year. 

  We will be asking questions like...

  What is Art???
  Where is Art???
  Who MAKES Art???
  How is Art Made???
  What do I THINK about Art???

  What QUESTIONS do I have about Art???

  Since Art is obviously happening in our Art classroom this assignment/ project is more about what's outside our Art room.

  I want students to begin looking for Art at home, outside,  at the park, at the mall, EVERYWHERE!!!

  Then much like "planking" students should take pictures of themselves "Thinking" about art.

  The Thinking pose is modeled after The Thinker, Auguste Rodin's famous bronze cast sculptures. (as seen in our class bulletin board)

  Here are two pictures of me "Thinking"

   

  (Rodin image from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Thinker_Musee_Rodin.jpg)

  
  

  Join us in Thinking!

  
  

  Have INSTAGRAM?

  Post Thinking pictures to #Thinkaboutart @GWDES_Arts

  and be sure to follow GWDES_Arts to see lots of other fun things happening around our art classroom.

  
  

  http://instagram.com/gwdes_arts
    

  
  

  I am excited to see where this project takes us as we really DISCOVER ART though thinking! 
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Looking at Art

A few years ago I just couldn't leave Target without this Thought Bubble White Board, and I finally found a use for it that I like.

Now I can display artworks and allow students to choose appropriate descriptors. The more they search for words that work the more they will see in the artwork itself.

This ties in nicely with a little game I like to play called "Tell Me what You See".
I often play this with my students when looking at a new work of art. The First phase of art criticism is Observation. In this game students are asked to tell me what they see in as close to one word as possible. For the artwork above students might call out words like "rain", "buildings", "dark", "glow".... I think this is a fun way to get students to notice something new in art without having to point it out to them.  Ultimately the more words they come up with the more the students SEE.

What the Thinker, Thinks

What the Thinker, Thinks 

I am always inspired by Auguste Rodin's, The Thinker. 

My students love this iconic work. After all it came to life in Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian. 

This past school year I hung this artwork near my classroom door and changed the quotes coming from the thought bubble.

For this school year I plan to put up a larger "Thinker" on a bulletin board.

I am going to start the year by having The Thinker, think about different artist quotes. 

Then I would like to have students white what they think...

Around my new classroom

While most teachers are celebrating the end of another school year, I find myself feeling like this year flew by faster than any other. Only in my new classroom a little over two moths, June 11th seemed incredibly early to pack up for summer.  Maybe being the second time I packed up this school year has something to do with it....

I decided to take my time and take pictures I packed. 

Here are some of my tips and tricks for classroom management, 

just little things that help my classroom run smooth, and make it more FUN!

Table Leader Bins

Each month a different group of 5 students have a chance to be the Table Leader.
This is a job that my students are excited to have.
Responsibilities of a Table Leader: 
- Check the bin at the end of each class for 5 of each thing and refill as needed.
I keep Pencils, Erasers, and Scissors in mine.
- Help delegate jobs at cleanup
- Help out when called on to pass out other supplies

Refill Station

This is where student go to find refill supplies for their table bins.

You know the feeling...

It's the end of the day.

Your tired!

You walk around to clean up your room,  gathering the random crayons, pencils, sharpies, ect. 

that have found their way next to the sink, on your desk, and under the the tables.

UGH...

The last thing you want to do is go through each box and 

figure out who is missing the red violet crayon.

Keep things out in the open

I like to keep as many supplies as possible out in the open and out of their boxes.
I think by allowing students to see the supplies, and get them themselves it promotes a
sense of ownership and responsibility in the art room.

Tip: Get the crayons out of the boxes!!!

It is way easier to clean up misplaced supplies at the end of the day and
by separating them by warm and cool colors you are reinforcing basic skills everyday.

 I used to hate "free draw". It seemed no matter how talented a student, they just couldn't resist the urge

to pick up six crayons at once and scribble. AHHHHH.....

I now know that with clear expectations and lots of options for creative expression

free draw can work and well.

Free Draw and Clay Station

This space for students to get their own free art supplies if  they finish a project.
Here are some of the things I keep in my FREE station...
How to draw books
blank drawing papers
Copied Art activity pages
Bins full of older art supplies (of course they are color coated)
"DRAW IT" cards with quick prompts to help inspire ideas
Paper Plates
Puzzles
Modeling Clay

Who doesn't love a world map?

Here is how I peak student interest in geography though art.
by pinning artists, art movements, traditional crafts, flora and fauna, ect. , as you teach them,
students quickly see
that ART IS EVERYWHERE!

Classroom Management
I use a simple method of flipping letters.
It's basic, 3 strikes and your out!
If (and it doesn't happen often) I have to flip all 3 letters we go into The Quiet Minute.
One of my former coworkers gave me this one. The quiet minute is where students must stay silent for an entire minute
and use that time to get reinvested in what they are doing. 

Pin the tail on: Facial Proportions 

Using sticky tack and dry erase markers it is easy to demonstrate correct facial proportions.
I like to keep the blank face hanging, with the features in an envelope, and allow students to practice and play.

Broken Crayons?

My students love this.
It is amazing how the tub fills up over the course of a school year.
Student's often ask what I am going to do with them and I love to hear
 what ideas they have to "bring the crayons back to life".
My plan is to make new rainbow crayons for prizes.

Keeping track of students

Let's get real... We see a lot of kids and it is impossible to memorize the needs of each one.
Especially now that I am meeting all new faces.
This is the binder I use to keep all important student information in one place.
It is easy to grab for fire drills, flip to quickly when I need to move seats, and check health concerns.
It is also easy for substitutes to use.
It is organized by grade and color.
What's inside:
Rosters
Seating Charts
Table Leader Chart
Health concerns by class
Notes concerning behavior and behavior plans

Loosing Supplies

I like to be a good sharer but my supplies always seemed to disappear.
By having a sign out I can keep track of what I loan out and when I get it back.

Collaboration made easy

Table cards and Mix-it-up Sticks are just two of my quick and easy methods of mixing up  students.
I have also used decks of cards, shape cutouts, and markers.
The more visible the more you'll use them.

I hope you find some of these ideas helpful. 

I love finding new ways to manage my classroom so please share what works for you!

I will be sure to post more as I set up my classroom for next year. 

Let’s MX IT UP (Assigning Groups for Classroom Collaboration)

Using these sticks is a great way to get students into organized, even groups, pairs, or teams, for classroom assignments and activities.

This is an idea I got while attending the SAS course. The professor made a set that used math symbols, numbers, letters, moths, days of the week, and more. 

When I made my sticks, this morning, I wanted them to make them work for my classroom set up.

My Mix it Up Sticks

Here’s what I did…

I used 5 different colors of popsicle sticks (I had to paint the purple). The five colors correspond to the table colors in my Art Room. 

I used numbers, artists (from my curriculum), types of line, shapes, craft goodies, and more to finish my “Mix it Up” sticks.

Here are just a few ways the sticks can be used…

ž To get students into table groups – Pass out sticks at random or as kids walk in the door. Students go to the table that matches their stick. (In the past I have used color cards to do this.

žAssigning a table leader or spokes person- pass out all the same color stick to the matching table. Student with a number _____ is the table leader.

Getting into groups

Pass sticks out at random

žFor groups of 4 – find the people who have the same 2 shape (Star= free choice)

žFor groups of 3 – find the people who have the same craft goodie as you

žFor pairs- find the student who has the same artist as you

žFor large groups of 6-7 – find the people who have the same type of line

žFor splitting into 2 teams – use letters A and B

Troeg and Olive would not move
 until I snapped a photo with them in it.
Such attention hounds !

Classroom CRAFT WARS

Another great motivator presented in the SAS class was “T4T”

T4T (Trivia 4 Time)

When we did this in class we answered silly trivia such as tv theme songs and top 10 lists to earn minutes out of class early! Whoo hoo!!!! But that’s not happening in our classroom obviously.

So here’s how I’m brining it back

WILLOW LANE CRAFT WARS

 

I have been watching Craft Wars and loving this idea of giving my students random materials and seeing what they could make in an allotted amount of time. 

So here is my plan.

Students work to earn time though T4T. 

We will answer trivia questions related to our topic of study.

When students earn 40 minutes (the length of a class period) we will have a Craft War day.

I will put out a box of materials, present a challenge, table leaders will run to the front and grab materials. Tables will have 25 minutes to complete their craft.

We will critique/ judge them at the end and choose a winner!

Think of the 21st century Learning and Innovation skills being utilized here!

CREATIVITY

INNOVATION

PROBLEM SOLVING

CRITICAL THINKING

COMMUNICATING

COLLABORATING

Not to mention the positive classroom motivation. 

Challenge ideas

have materials like a table cloth, plasticware, paper plates... and have students make a picnic basket

have recycled materials like bottles, cans, tp rolls, butter dishes... and have students build a bird house

I would love to hear your ideas!