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.

Getting to Know Me: Dec the Board Lesson

We're now a few weeks in the school year and I thought I would share my favorite Get-to-Know-You lesson for middle school.  There is just so much I enjoyed while working on this lesson,  the enthusiasm of my students, the knew things I learned about each of them, and their creative

Hallway Display

designs.  I used this lesson as the first lesson of semester two last school year; at my previous school, the middle schoolers only had art for a semester, so I saw almost all new students in January.

This lesson took about three full 50 minute class periods to complete.  It extended the entire week because of going over the syllabus, classroom procedures, and general icebreakers. The students and I created a skateboard with basic shapes using the step-by-step approach with the entire classroom. I stressed the details while drawing the skateboard deck, pointing out the axle, what it did, and why it was important.  We even had a short discussion on flat head and Phillips screwdrivers when "attaching" our axle to the deck. To personalize the deck, I required the students to include three things about their self.  As they brainstormed and worked on their rough draft, we looked at images on deck designs for skateboards and how each skater tends to personalize their deck with either their own artwork, stickers, and logos.  

A basketball enthusiast deck

On my example in class, I included my name, which spurred a lot of interest with graffiti lettering. For the students who wanted to use graffiti style font, we visited Graffiti Creator, a website that allows you to type in your word or name and it turns it into a graffiti font. The cool thing is, the students can add decoration on the site to their letters such as paint splatters, drips, and they can even adjust the size of the letters.

This student used Graffiti Creator.

I think this lesson was successful because I got to learn more about my student's including their skill level they were coming into art with.  Everyone who saw the art hanging in the hallway complimented it, stating how unique the assignment was. I'm not teaching at a PK-4 elementary school and I think with some alterations, this could be a fantastic end of the year project, perhaps focusing on what they'll be "skating" into for summer fun.   

Below is the basic lesson plan outline of what we did. It is in a simplified version of what my previous district mandated us to use. I hope you enjoy this lesson I've shared in your own room.  I'd love to see results!  

Happy dabbling!

Title: Dec the Board: All About Me                 Grade: 6-8                  Class Periods: 5

Elements of Design: Line, Shape, Color, and Value
Principles of Design: Balance, Contrast, and Emphasis

Materials & Resources:
Previous student work                         Teacher demonstration/work          
Sketchbooks/rough draft paper           Skateboard Deck Images
Drawing paper (16" x 11")                    Black Construction Paper (18" x 12")
Rulers                                                   Pencils
Colored Pencils                                    Scissors  
Glue

Objectives: 

• Knowledge:  Vocabulary-The Elements of Design, The Principles of Design, Art, Artist, Medium/Media, and Deck. Students will know how to create a visual representation of their self.  Students will use their knowledge and visual information from the decks to create a strong community bond.  Students will be able to define their vocabulary terms, as well as link terms to real examples. 

• Understanding: Students will understand how the Elements and Principles of Design can be found in everyday events.  Students will understand the different demands different art mediums have.  Students will understand that art is a universal visual language. 

• Do: Students will be able to identify Elements of Design used to create their deck. Students will be able to create a successful visual representation of their self.  Students will be able to identify similarities among peers to make community connections.   

Assessments: 

• Pre-Assessment- Students will create a list of the following information to prepare their rough draft: self portrait, what you like to do in your free time, what you would like to become, picture of your family, favorite food, favorite sport/activity.  The teacher will then create a class dialogue on how many different ways a person can represent objects.  After the demonstration, the students will begin drawing a rough draft of their chosen characteristics, and will finalize with at least three.  
• Artist Reflection-   Students will be asked to write a reflection of their work.  Students will describe the image that they created through the use of the Elements of Design and how the subject successful conveys a clear message about their joys of life.  Students will state what parts they feel were successful and which needed more attention.  The students will then provide examples of things that they learned throughout the course of the assignment.
• Final Presentation- Students will present their Decks to their groups and look for community similarities.  The project will be graded with the use of a rubric that covers the objectives and learned techniques that were taught during this lesson.  When the students finish with the projects, a written artist reflection will be required for final submission as well as a self-evaluation with the student-self evaluation form.  After their personal statement, a class critique will be held to strengthen each student’s ability in talking about their work and supporting their aesthetic decisions when making art. 
• Project Review- Students will review vocabulary with the teacher and peers during class periods as well as through the creation of their work.  The students will take written notes for individual review during the course of the assignment. 
• Exit Cards- 
• Tuesday- Why is it important to explore other options for images for your final draft? Or do a rough draft?
• Wednesday- What are the elements of design? 
• Thursday- Do you consider yourself an artist? Why or why not? 
• Friday- What is the importance of creating a community? 

Learning Activities: 5 Day Project

• Day 1- Students and teacher will go over syllabus, classroom expectations, and materials.  Students and teacher will start the process of developing a sketchbook and portfolio, outlining the semester.
• Day 2- Students will create a list of things that represent who they are and what they like to do. The teacher will then create a class dialogue on how many different ways a person can represent objects.  The teacher and students will review skateboard deck images to further ideas and discussion of demonstrating their self artistically. Students will complete their rough draft.
• Day 3-Wednesday- Students and teacher will review the vocabulary and assignment requirements.  The students will then finish their rough draft if not completed from the previous day. Once the students have finished their rough draft, the students will begin working on their final draft. Students should be able to complete the drawing portion of this assignment today.
• Day 4- Students will complete the drawing portion of their final draft if not completed from the day prior.  With teacher approval, the students will begin applying color.  The teacher will circulate among the students focusing on guiding students with their work.  

Lesson Closure:

• Day 5- Students will complete the color aspect of their final draft.  After the color has been completed, the students will then cut out their deck and glue it to a black piece of construction paper for display. Students will then fill out a student self-evaluation form and artist reflection.  Once all of the drawing has been completed the teacher will gather the students for the “building foundation” community activity.  Students will turn circulate their room, grouping themselves with peers who have created a deck with similar characteristics.