The room code of an art teacher

I have a room code.  I've had a room code since I started my final student teaching internship and I've kept it everywhere I've gone.  Even during the two times when I shared my room, I kept to my code, and let those around me know about it. The code: To never horde supplies in amounts where my room is nothing but piles.

During my my last internship, I was placed at a high school for one semester and the teacher had two large connected classrooms giving him about 2,000 square feet easy.  It was difficult to adjust to the room, because it was poorly laid out.  There were unorganized supplies in random closets, brand new supplies mixed with old, rarely if ever used supplies, there were speed bumps that interrupted traffic flow, and the storage of student work was often difficult.  I would often go in for several hours on the weekend to finish grading and to just sit and imagine how I would change the room to make it more efficient and conducive to making art.  This process of focusing on foot traffic, grouping supplies, and re-imagining storage gave me the skills I needed to be a successful art teacher.  I believe that the reason I've been successful has been because I have worked hard to lay a solid foundation with my room space.  Having a room space that is well-grounded has helped me eliminate problems with transitions, material distribution, clean up, and student interaction.  My room space is the first step I take when I come up with routines such as clean up or lining up too.  Your room dictates the type of environment and energy your students will be making art in as well as how your routines will flow.

Panoramic view of my new room mostly setup.

Now, I am a firm believer in leaving a place in better shape than when you arrived.  As a great student teacher, I reorganized my host teacher's kiln room, throwing center, and organized glazes and slips by firing cones.  I haven't been back to my host teacher's room since I left after graduation so I'm not sure if what I did was maintained, but I like to think it was.  If anything, the experience in working with a difficult space helped give me develop the skills I so highly value and incorporate in my teaching life regularly.

Sharing a room can also add to the difficulty of maximizing the space.  The teacher or teachers you're sharing a room with all have a different teaching styles, different needs, and different supplies.  My first teaching job was a .6 position just outside Detroit and I shared my room with the Mandarin teacher.  She was a very nice woman, but the urban teaching environment was very difficult for her to manage and there were a lot of cultural misunderstandings too.  Because she taught two classes in the morning, I taught three classes in the afternoon all of which were back to back, allowing us 5 minutes to change the room from a Mandarin classroom to an art room, we had a lot of problems.  The second year I was teaching at this school I was given a room to myself, which allowed me to make it an art room and focus on the space I needed for efficient flow and creating a good work environment. My teaching subsequently improved because I wasn't fighting my layout.

My second teaching location was in a K-4 elementary art room just outside of Grand Rapids.  At this
school I was a .3 art teacher and shared the room with two other art teachers.  It was nice to have an actual art room this time, but there were some difficulties in managing the space.  After my day and a half of teaching was complete for the week, I had to tear down my expectations, artwork examples, and make sure my students had left supplies in the order they were found.  It was a lot of extra work to put up and tear down your room in a matter of 48 hours.  I really streamlined what I needed the students to see. One of the teachers I worked with was very organized and particular about how clean the room was and the other was much more messy and cumbersome with supplies.  There were days I came to work only to find a mess left in the sink or all over the counter with the drying rack full which only added to my morning workload of preparation.  Needless to say I survived, even when the construction paper package was partially opened (a huge pet peeve of mine), I survived and established my own routines with what I was given with my room layout.  Teachers are great at making do with what they have.

Now I'm still in the same district but I moved buildings.  I'm now a .7 art teacher in another K-4 elementary school and have my entire classroom to myself.  It's a gorgeous room, with some large, gallery style track lighting on one wall, a large kiln room with ample cabinet storage, a paper storage room, and lots of cabinets.  I do wish there was more flat storage built in but overall that is just a small problem that can eventually be fixed.

Random things found in the storage room.

If you have ever had to move to a new building or even a new classroom within your building, its a lot of work.  Its even more work when you have one week to do it and the room you're inheriting is from your messy and cumbersome peer who spent 30 years in that room.  I should have taken more pictures of the room before I started making changes and cleaning, but there was that gut reaction of panic to start right away and not miss a moment as school was starting seven days from when I got the keys to my room. But to paint the picture of how much stuff was in this room, the retired art teacher took between one and three pickup truck loads of stuff to her house daily the whole month of June,  two to four loads of trash to the dumpster each day, and even had to rent a 10' x 20' storage unit for the stuff that didn't fit in her house. I even helped one day in June and took a few books of her hands and there was still so much stuff.

I'm still organizing and labeling things.  Sometimes I catch myself grouping like items in one cabinet only to finish and then decide they need to be moved over one cabinet more.  My room and I are still trying to figure one another out.  My computer and teacher zone are a constant mess because of the way the technology requires my desk and I am still mulling over my student table arrangement decision.  The more time I spend in my room, the more I am able to pinpoint what I need to fix.  Which, when you've been in your classroom for 10 hours and every counter space is filled with paper and miscellaneous supplies, that overwhelming feeling creeps up on you and you can't focus beyond the need to get the basics taken care of.

The supply closets & Ben sorting paper.

For me, the basics were to organize my dry goods (what I call my paper storage and dry art materials like crayons and colored pencils), go through my paint and organize it, establish a free choice/time area, create easy artwork storage, and an area to turn in artwork.  I'll admit, there were times I came home in those seven days and cried.  I cried because of the amount of cleaning and organizing I had to do and I cried because I was missing my old building with my teaching peers.  My mom and step-dad came up one day and helped me setup my tables, bulletin boards, posters, and even organized supplies. I had a fellow art teacher friend from college stop by and take a few things off my hands.  It was amazing some of the things we found in there.  As you can see by some of the pictures, it was an interesting endeavor. Ben spent several nights with me sorting paper and grouping like items.  He wasn't keen on doing such tedious tasks as sorting paper by color, shape, and size, but he did it for me anyway.  Ben thinks I'm a bit neurotic about those things and that they really don't matter, but for me I need to have it done to think clearly. It was good quality time together talking and listening to jazz as we sipped smoothies.

Overall, I've made it through twelve weeks of classes with everything rolling pretty smoothly.  My room still has some areas that ail me but I keep looking for solutions.  What I'm happy to announce is that I'm still keeping to my code even in my new, larger room, with vintage goodies.  Layout is important and something I'm always questioning and reflecting on.  I hope you enjoy some of my before and after photos of my room.

Happy dabbling.

Catch Up Day

I have been very preoccupied the last few months.  My last post was ages ago and did not involve much of about art education as I glossed over a quick visit to Detroit and family raku firing in the backyard.  So many things changed this summer that I have just now started to swim instead of tread water.

This weekend was my first weekend off in a very, very long time and I have truly been playing catch up.  Since July, I have done required wedding planning with my mom (apparently she doesn't find my procrastination productive), thrown together a last minute bachelorette party (long story), attended various family gatherings including a meeting of 'The Parents' and a grandmother's 85th birthday, taught a two week ceramic course to middle school students in the middle of a Michigan Forest, bottle fed and raised two abandoned kittens, moved to a different building in my district, cleaned out and prepared my room seven days before school started, did some major house projects, created and presented two professional development sessions at the state art teacher conference, and then spent some time in Texas getting my good friend married.

Now, this was just the big stuff that happened.  I have completely by passed all the little things that absorbed my weeknights till the wee hours of the morning. You're probably reading this and thinking, "Sounds like a normal Tuesday" but for me, its been a few years, really college since I have had this many working hours and on the least amount of sleep possible.  The nice thing about being this busy is that I appreciate my partner and life even more than before and it gets my creative juices flowing.  I have finally had the burst of creative thought I needed to start writing and illustrating my children's book.

So since today is my first day off in about three and a half months, I'm using it as my 'Catch Up Day', which is a technique that I use with my students in my classroom. I think scheduling a catch up day is an important skill to teach children.  Taking the time to reflect and realize you need some time to focus on projects or tasks that are unfinished I think makes them more independent.  I share stories with my students about how I schedule a 'Catch Up Day' for my own artwork and sometimes even life in general. It's good for them to see that going back to a project that isn't finished isn't going backward, it's revisiting those skills we learned and reaffirm our ability to use them.  Plus, lots of students need to develop some grit and the ability to stick with something even if they aren't good at or like it. The students are always enthusiastic about a 'Catch Up Day' because they think I say 'Ketchup'.  I am thinking about making a cute ketchup bottle that says 'Catch Up Day' like I'm sure you've seen on Pinterest.

One of the most challenging things I've found teaching elementary art is managing those students
who do not complete their work on the day that I plan for them.  When you teach over four hundred students, managing the coursework can be difficult.  How do you organize student's work between four sections of one grade level? What happens when one student works consistently slower than the rest of the class because of a learning challenge, extreme focus, or absences?  This is probably the biggest problem I struggled with last year, my first year teaching elementary art. So since moving to a new building and having my room to myself, once again, I made it one of my top priorities to be more diligent with keeping students up to date on projects.

I think I'm a pretty organized person, and teacher overall, however we all have our shortcomings and this was one of mine.  I created several methods of helping the students manage their own artwork and for me to have small check points to ensure they are completing their assignments.

Like when I taught middle school, I created a Turn-In Center for my elementary students.  This is where I have students turn in work and fill out self assessment sheets.  I have two plastic Steralite drawer containers that can hold 18" x 24" paper.  One of the drawers is labeled 'All Done' and the second drawer is labeled 'In Progress'.  At the end of the class period when artwork was to be completed, students place their completed projects in the 'All Done' drawer and those that did not finish put their work in the 'In Progress' drawer.  At the end of the day, I go through and sort out the classes, a little more work than some would be willing to do, but it helps me take note of who is finishing their work and who is not. I place the completed work into a class folder. The class folder holds a manila folder for each student.  We use the manila folder as a portfolio for each student's finished work.  At different times throughout the year, I'll have students pass work back with the portfolios and we put all completed work inside there. This keeps me organized for when the annual art show comes along and students have to pick out artwork and write an artist statement with parent volunteers.

Middle School Turn-in-Center bulletin board.

When we are working on projects that take two or three days and are 2-D, I store the work in construction paper folders that correspond to the table colors for quick work of passing out artwork.  I take those pieces that were placed in the 'In-Progress' drawer and review them.  I make note of who didn't finish and why, looking for any correlation from previous assignments.  Then, these works are placed in the class drawer where the table folders and portfolios are stored.  They are kept separate from completed pieces.  When I start to see there is a lot of unfinished work, I schedule a 'Catch Up Day' for the class or classes that needed it.  Those students who are finished with all their assignments are given a small art project that they can take home with them such as origami, making a tetrahedron, or even small weaving assignments.

Middle School Turn in Center table.

The images pictured here are of my current turn in system, as well as the turn in system I used when I taught middle school art.  I think these are both good starting spots for anyone who is challenged by late work and gathering completed assignments.  If anything, I hope it gets you thinking about how you organize your completed projects and handle unfinished ones as well.  Now onward to my own very long list of 'Catch Up Day' projects.

Happy Dabbling.

Optical Illusions for Elementary

One of my favorite parts of being an Elementary Art Teacher is the excitement and joy the students have when they come into my classroom.  I feel like a mini-celebrity. Now don't get me wrong, not every kid loves coming into my classroom; I have those students who choose to do the opposite of what I suggest, cry when they make a mistake, or just use the time to socialize.  But the majority of my day is filled with students who show the desire to make and learn from me, which has been a new experience coming from an urban middle school.

Sometimes when coming up with ideas for projects and different ways to teach a concept, I purposely look for the hook.  How can I get the students excited for the project? Seeing their reaction to new materials, mediums, and skills just doesn't seem to ever get old.  It definitely keeps the repetition of teaching the same lesson several times a day interesting for me.

I decided to challenge my third and fourth grade students with a project that I did with my sixth graders the year before.  When comparing my elementary students at my new school with my middle school students at the old school, I would say that the elementary students are just as advanced as most of the sixth and seventh graders I taught in regards to their ability to follow directions, create interesting ideas, making connections to subject matter outside the art room, and a good portion of their motor skills. This new project was to create an optical illusion.

The optical illusion project was an assignment that one of my pre-internship teachers, Brenda, taught her students while I was teaching with her.  It was an easy project with several steps, combining basic skills the students learned over the course of their few weeks in her class such as composition, value, color blending, and using a ruler.

Having just finished this lesson, I've been doing some heavy reflection.  My 3rd and 4th grade students have been more successful than my 6th and 7th grade students in some ways and in others have been lower on the totem pole of success.  This project took much longer than I had anticipated partly because they were stuck on their rough draft idea and partly because I only have them for an hour once as week so by the time they build up momentum, it's time to clean up.  There were minimum tears when strips of paper got lost or someone glued their piece upside down, but the students and I both survived and made some pretty nice art in the process.

The optical illusions are now hanging in the hallway in preparation for conferences this week.  As cool as these pieces of art are, they are difficult to photograph and attach to bulletin boards.  I found myself having to use multiple staples in each piece of art, mainly stapling in the fold creases to try and keep them as accordion shaped as possible.  Hopefully these images will give you an idea of how they look in person.

Happy dabbling.

Title: Optical Illusions
Grade: 3-4                Class Periods: 3- 60 minute Class

Elements of Design: Form, Color, and Texture
Principles of Design: Emphasis, Movement, and Contrast

Materials & Resources:
Previous student work                                                    Teacher demonstration/work Images/books on optical illusions                                   Rough Draft Paper                    
White Drawing Paper 10" x 8"                                        Misc. Paper 8" x 20"
Crayons                                                                             Rulers
Glue                                                                                   Scissors
Pencils

Objectives: 

• The student is able to describe and identify an optical illusion. 
• The student can create an optical illusion by utilizing cutting and folding skills.
• The student is able to measure accurately with a ruler, draw and cut straight lines.

Learning Activities:  3 Day Project

Day 1:

1. Show and discuss optical illusions.  Introduce the project by showing examples and give an overall demonstration of the creation process.
2. Students  should begin to come up with ideas for their optical illusion.  I like to have students choose either two objects that go together like peanut butter and jelly or two objects that don't go together like a dog and a cat.  Have the students practice drawing their object or subject matter.
3. After the final draft is complete, have the students draw their final draft.  Each object/subject they chose gets its own piece of 8" x 10" white drawing paper.  For example the dog would be drawn on one piece of paper and the cat would be drawn on the second piece of paper.  Discussing composition in regards to negative and positive space is helpful to get the students to fill the paper 
4. After students have started the drawing of their final draft, demonstrate value application and blending of crayons to enhance the visual interest of their artwork. 
5. Allow the students to begin applying value to their artwork. 

Day 2:

1. Review information about Optical Illusions, value, composition (negative/positive space).
2. Allow students some time to finish the color application part of their assignment.  
3. As students get closer and closer to finishing the color application portion start demonstrating how to use a ruler. Show the students how to measure one inch marks at the top of their drawing and the bottom.  Connect the top and bottom notch to create a straight vertical line that breaks the drawing into one inch strips of paper.  Have students do this on the back of their drawings as it won't damage their art if they make a mistake. 
4. Have students label one picture A and one B with each strip getting a number after the letter.  For example, picture A would have strips labeled as A1, A2, A3 and so forth. This helps identify missing or unidentifiable pieces.

Day 3: 

1. Review Optical illusions, how to use a ruler accurately, and demonstrate the next step of the assignment.  
2. Have each student cut their two drawings into the one inch strips they measured  from the previous class. Put each picture back together like a puzzle so the drawing is facing up.  This eliminates pieces from getting glued upside down.
3. Students should combine both drawings by alternating one inch strips.  An example of this would be A1, B1, A2, B2, A3, B3.  Do this until they reach the end of their pictures.  The strips should be glued next to each other not overlapping one another.
4. Using the 8" x 20" sheet of paper, have students use just enough glue to attach each strip in the order above to the paper.  Too much glue will result in a super stiff piece of art and the students will not be able to fold the artwork when the glue dries.
5. It is best to fold the artwork when the glue has dried a bit but you don't have to. Have students do an accordion or fan fold in between each strip.

Assessment:

4.0 - The student understands and can make an optical illusion by using a ruler and value without help. They can help another student or teach a friend.

3.0- The student understands and can make an optical illusion by using a ruler and value with minimal help from the teacher. 

2.0- The student needs help from the teacher to make an optical illusion by using a ruler and value. The student needs assistance when identifying and describing an optical illusion.  

1.0- The student is dependent on help from the teacher to complete an optical illusion by using a ruler and value. The student needs assistance when identifying and describing an optical illusion.   

0.0-  The student is unable to create an optical illusion by using a ruler and value even with a teacher's help.  The student does not understand nor can they identify and describe an optical illusion.

A Cupcake Party: An Introduction to Wayne Thiebaud

I am a 3-D artist.  I went to school to study ceramics.  I was the studio tech for both the ceramic and sculpture studios.  My 3-D skills have led to me remodeling sections of my home and building furniture for it. It is what I am passionate about. I love the tactile touch and ability to manipulate materials to create.  Because 3-D art and the process of making 3-D work is so important to me it is something I want my students to experience.

I have been teaching for three years now.  Most of the art teachers I have met along the way have had a 2-D background as their focus.  Even when I was in my art ed cohorts my peers were mainly 2-D students.  I would be begged by my peers and professors to create lessons to present and share that were sculptural or clay based.  I didn't mind sharing those ideas that I had but I always felt like I was being jipped because I wanted experience teaching a 2-D lesson prior to teaching in the classroom.

As I got into my first classroom (I shared it with the Mandarin teacher, so it wasn't really mine yet.  I got the room to myself the second year I was at that school which made a huge difference in my teaching) I felt absolutely panicked.  I'd been making pots most of my college career with a sprinkling of painting, drawing, printing making, and color theory here and there. I can draw and paint but it always felt like this foreign land to me. So I sent emails to peers, scoured Pinterest, and eventually dug my way out of the resources to develop lessons that were solid. Not all my lessons were successful.  Some failed because of extenuating circumstances and outside factors.  I had lessons that had been fantastic, yielding beautiful work and a classroom of engaged learners in the rural, middle part of Michigan but were complete flops in the urban setting of Detroit.  I had lessons that crashed and burned because students weren't at the developmental level that I had expected them to be.  But while I was testing out lessons and getting a feel for teaching art, I noticed just how expensive 3-D materials are!  It all made sense to me now, looking back at my elementary and high school art experience.  We created mainly 2-D projects to save money.  I admit paper is expensive but you can service a lot more students for the same price as clay and glazes for one project.  Even tools are expensive. This was something I never really thought about while in college.

Which brings me to my focus here, I'm now teaching elementary art.  I did some pre-internship work at the elementary level and subbed for two weeks in an elementary art room but that was the end of my art teaching experience.  Prior to my new job, I was teaching middle school art 2 miles outside of Detroit starting right after I graduated. My student teaching experience was even at the high school level.  I did have some experience running a before school care program for K-5 students where we did arts and crafts but that was different from a classroom setting.  The students had a different mindset, even I had a different mindset.  So now that I have been teaching elementary art, I've had to step back frequently and think about all the skills one must have mastered to use a stapler, roll paper, and measure with a ruler.  Basic skills that I have taken for granted as an adult, artist, and previous middle school art teacher.  This frequent reflection I feel has helped improve my teaching.  I feel like my learning targets are more easily managed by students and my process of giving directions has improved as well.

So all of this comes together with my last project before the New Year with my students.  My birthday is Christmas; December 25th, 1987.  Every year I look back at previous birthdays and holiday experiences and I always seem to remember being forgotten, having to do extra chores to get the house ready for guests (though my siblings didn't have to work at all on their birthdays), or being given one gift to service both occasions .  Even Ben, my soon-to-be husband forgot my birthday while we were dating one year and bought me a bag of M&Ms...very romantic to say the least.  I feel a little childish knowing that these experiences still bother me.  I mean, at 26 I should be over this by now right? But I'm not.  So this year I decided that I was going to teach a lesson that celebrated my birthday and it was going to be a 3-D lesson. What better way to celebrate my existence than doing something I love with the students I enjoy so much...plus kids are always so excited!

I made a quick presentation on Google Drive about Wayne Thiebaud for the class with lots of images.  My three months of teaching elementary art has taught me to keep my talking short and not to overload them with facts like middle and high school students.  We discussed a little about Wayne Thiebaud and looked at his paintings.  I told the class about my birthday situation and how I wanted to throw a party for myself at school so my students could be part of that celebration.  This made them all excited.  We created cupcake sculptures modeled after Thiebaud's Four Cupcakes of 1971.  I did see a lesson similar to this at the Michigan Art Education Association Conference this past November, but I didn't spend the money on the fancy frosting ($14 for about a pint of foamy paint--not going to go far if you have a class of 27) I just made my own.  The recipe is at the bottom of this page!

This was my first 3-D lesson with my students and they did a great job following procedures and rules  while making their art, especially with it being the week of winter break.  The first day I taught it, I hadn't anticipated the students having such a difficult time stapling bulletin board boarders on a cup.  I spent a lot of my time stapling for them.  This caused a way more down time for some students, which could have been problematic, but I was impressed with how they entertained themselves and kept from causing trouble (they drew faces on people they found in the newspaper we were using).  Other than that it went smoothly.  I went home that night, trying to figure out how I could improve the lesson so there wasn't so much free time for some students.  My solution: I implemented stations.  I made a name writing and teacher code station, a stapling station, a cupcake stuffing station, the frosting station, and a candle and sprinkles station.  For students that finished early, I found a How to Draw Olaf in 12 easy steps and posted it on the board and made that the last thing they could do.  Class went super smoothly, the room wasn't as messy as the day before and I wasn't worried about students causing trouble because they all wanted to draw Olaf.

When finished, I setup all the cupcakes in a display case outside of the library for all to see.  People loved them and were amazed at the supplies we used.  It was a real great moment for me to hear how excited the younger kids and parents were when they walked by.  I definitely feel like I'm making a place for myself at this school. It was very exciting for me to see how all the cupcakes turned out.  Some of them, I thought, looked pretty legit and almost edible.

Below you'll find a basic lesson plan format and the recipe for the frosting.  I hope this inspires you with your own projects and classroom.

Happy dabbling.

Faux Frosting Recipe

Title: A Cupcake Party: An Introduction to Wayne Thiebaud
Grade: 3-4                Class Periods: 1- 60 minute Class

Elements of Design: Form, Color, and Texture
Principles of Design: Emphasis, Movement, and Contrast

Materials & Resources:
Previous student work                                                        Teacher demonstration/work          
9oz or 5oz   Plastic Cups                                                    Images of Thiebaud's Work
Construction Paper Scraps (Various Colors)                  Scrap Bulletin Board Boarders
Staplers                                                                                Staples
Glue                                                                                       Scissors
Newspaper                                                                           Tape
Paint                                                                                      Shaving Cream
Sharpie                                                                                 Hole Punchers

Objectives: 

• The student is able to describe and identify a sculpture. 
• The student can create a sculpture utilizing form and texture.
• The student has an introductory knowledge of Wayne Thiebaud and Pop Art.  

Learning Activities:  1 Day Project

1. Show and discuss Wayne Thiebaud's artwork along with basic Pop Art and sculpture information.
2. Students  should write their name on the bottom of their plastic cup in Sharpie. 
3. Have students staple and fold the bulletin board boarders around the base of the cup.  The cup should be hidden by the boarder to create the look of a cupcake wrapper. 
4. The students should drizzle a little bit of glue on the inside of the cup.  Emphasize the importance of putting glue on the bottom and side walls of the cup to ensure the newspaper will stick. 
5. Crumple up a ball of newspaper, about the size of a softball and stick it in the cup so the top puffs out just a little.  If you can get the newspaper smooth on the top, it will make hiding the newspaper easier.
6. Apply the faux frosting to the top of the newspaper.  Emphasize the creation of texture to make it look like real frosting.  
7. Students can use hole punchers to create sprinkles from the scrap pieces of construction paper.  Students can also roll construction paper to create a candle if they wish.
8. Set aside to dry for at least a day and then display.

Assessment:

4.0 - The student understands and can make a sculpture utilizing form and texture without help.            They can help another student or teach a friend.

3.0- The student understands and can make a sculpture utilizing form and texture with minimal            help from the teacher. 

2.0- The student needs help from the teacher to make a sculpture utilizing form and texture.                 The student needs assistance when identifying and describing a sculpture.  

1.0- The student is dependent on help from the teacher to complete a sculpture utilizing form               and texture.  The student needs assistance when identifying and describing a sculpture.   

0.0-  The student is unable to create a sculpture utilizing form and texture even with a teacher's           help.  The student does not understand nor can they identify and describe a sculpture.