Imagination Drawings

My First and Second Graders did some beautiful imagination drawings earlier this year I wanted to share. The students cut out circles form black construction paper. They randomly glued them down any where on a large white piece of paper and were asked to turn that into a place or a thing.

I have struggling in the past creating curriculum for younger grades that involves so much freedom. As a newer teacher it feels much more comfortable having students do step by step projects that I can monitor. This was a great a great low risk way to allow students to have artistic freedom with out me wanting to pull my hair out.

Name Art

I'm back tracking a bit to share with you the first lesson I did with 7th grade this year. Being new at school means that I don't know ANY of the students. I decided to start this year off with a round of name art in most of my classes. This helped me learn about my students and pick up a few names quickly. In 7th grade we took the letters in our names and changed them into objects that told something about us. It was really interesting watching students work on this assignment. This wasn't an easy lesson for everyone and I found a bunch of students get "stuck." When students had trouble coming up with ideas it was the perfect time to have conversions with them about what their interest are and brainstorm with them. Check out some of my students work below!

Picasso Guitars

Finally finished!! my 6th graders finished their Picasso Guitars just before thanksgiving.(took forever I know..I'm new at this still figuring things out as I go haha) I spent break brainstorming ideas of how to hang them up. I love the solution I came up with! The space I have to hang up my students work is small and has white concrete walls. Not very compatible with hanging 3-D art work. So I got some command hooks and dowels and made my own system for hanging up my students beautiful guitars! The picture on the left shows the hooks. They were not cheep but you can buy replacement adhesive for them so they can be reused. I would recommend this particular kind becasue the hook swings around and these hooks are very versatile. Below are some examples of student work! I htink they came out really well considering this entire project was a bit of en experiment. It's hard to tell some of the details and the 3-D element from the photos so I might take some more close up shots.

3-D Art

This post discusses a project that I introduced in previous posts :)

I'm still working on these 3-D Picasso guitars. This project is going to be trickling into
my posts as our progress keeps getting interrupted with school assemblies and picture day etc.

My students NEED structure. I knew that this project was going to be challenging becasue there were so many variables. I worked really hard to set my students up for success by giving them a very clear step by step guide of how to do the project. To the left you will see that I drew each step out for students. I also had this drawn on the board in color. In addition I demonstrated the steps and stopped between each step to check for understanding and review what came next. Would you believe some students were still saying "I don't know what I'm supposed to do next???"

I tried a new strategy today that worked out really well. I brought my Ipod and speakers into school and got some music I know my students love like drake, Beyonce, lady gaga. (I made sure they were radio edits). I gave my students the first direction and then turned the music on. After I assessed that most student had finished that step I turned the music off and gave my students step #2. Eventually the students got the hang of it. When the music goes off they stop talking and listen. It wasn't perfect I was still barking at some students to stop talking but it helped a lot. I think if I spend a little time explaining this freeze style art game it will be more successful tomorrow.

On another note storing 3D art is tricky!!!! I think I have come up with a good plan. I hate to admit this but I don't know all my students names. Its a real problem actually I'm working on it (I'm hoping its one of those teacher skills that comes with a few years of experience). It is always easiest for me to pass back work when it is pr-organized by tables. For example I pass back the Red tables work as a group. This is what I came up with. Each shelf is organized by homeroom. Then each section of shelf is organized by table. It's a little confusing to understand from the picture but it's almost like a spread sheet. Clearly I haven't put all the projects in yet. I hope this works :)

I would love to hear how you store your 3D art projects?? What do you do when they need drying time??


Can't wait to keep sharing about this project!

Tube-Free Toilet Paper

I recently saw this commercial.

Scott has come out with a tube-free toilet paper roll. My first thought was- O NO not one of my most precious art supplies!!!

In all seriousness it is a step in the right direction and I'm sure people will still buy normal rolls tube and all.

How many of your project include toilet paper rolls??

Trash Picking for Supplies

I will not let a small budget stand in the way of my students success. I have been planning a project that involves cereal boxes and toilet paper rolls. I sent a letter home last week and asked students to bring in one cereal box and one toilet paper/paper towel roll. I put a large box in each home room for students to collect these items. I took a peek in the homerooms on Thursday before I left for the week and I was disappointed by the number of boxes collected. I anticipate the project working best when each student works independently (I have been working slowly on sharing skills we are working toward a collaborative project but we're not there yet). I have been a little worried trying to collect as many cereal boxes as I can. I even hijacked some of my friends boxes but I just wasn't getting enough.

So I did what any art teacher would do. I looked up the recycling schedule and walked all around the area trash picking. HUGE SUCCESS!! I grabbed over 40 cereal boxes! and a number of assorted cracker boxes that could also work.

Now there is no excuse for my students to not be successful.

Added Bonus: I found a ton of box top for education! Not sure if my school participates but I will give them to a school that does.

Making personal connections with students

Once or twice a month teachers at my school have a meeting to discuss behavior issues. I'm really impressed with my fellow teachers. We only talk about specific behaviors and always say that when we discuss a students behavior we talk as if they are in the classroom. This really cuts down on unnecessary comments and to be honest it's much more efficient.

In particular one student was mentioned. He is very bright, very intelligent but does not always fully engage in class. One thing that teachers noticed was he is constantly doodling. He has talent and obviously really enjoys drawing. I decided I would go out and get him a little sketch book. I pulled him aside today and showed him the book. His eyes lit up! I told him he had to improve his behavior and if he did and his classroom teachers told me he had improved I would give it to him as a place to draw. I made it very clear that he had to earn this book as a reward. The classroom teachers agreed to find a time during the day he would be allowed to draw in response to class.

This might not be the perfect solution. And I know I can't fix every student by giving them gifts but it is important to find personal connections with students and find out what motivates and drives them. I will keep you posted on weather or not he earns the sketch book and if this actually had a lasting impact.