As you get ready for the upcoming school year, consider fresh strategies to establish a positive and productive art room environment that will stand the test of time.

How do you handle unexpected behaviors?

Before we dive in, let’s touch on the most common aspect of classroom management—student behavior. Unfortunately, behavior problems have increased across the board. It’s important not to take them personally because there are many shifting factors outside of the art room walls. Even the art teacher with an arsenal of effective strategies will run into an inevitable disruption. Do your best to create conditions that promote positive behaviors and address undesirable behaviors quickly, consistently, and appropriately.

Follow these four steps to manage challenging behaviors:

1. Prioritize safety.
   If a student is a danger to themselves or others, take immediate action. Remove dangerous tools, the student, or other students from the classroom as needed. Often, a private conversation and a break in a calm corner can help. Reach out to your professional school counselor and administrator for extra support and to keep them in the loop.

2. Share your calm.
   Human beings are social creatures. Adopting another person’s words, attitudes, and actions is an instinct embedded through mirror neurons. Respond with a calm voice and kind words to students who are dysregulated or disrespectful. Your calm demeanor can help de-escalate the situation and set a positive example.

3. Address causes, not just behaviors.
   All behavior is a form of communication. Students who behave inappropriately may not know how to communicate unmet needs. Build strong relationships to identify if these needs are social-emotional, academic, or physiological and provide a safe space for students to talk about them and ask for help.

4. Show a path back to success.
   Some students may struggle to recover from a poor choice. When they are calm and ready to listen, provide clear, concrete steps to help them return to learning.

Arrangement of the Space

You can set the stage for success before your students enter the classroom. Think carefully about how you arrange furniture and how students will flow through the space. Many conflicts occur simply because students do not have enough personal space or they don’t have clear access to what they need.

Bookmark Art Room Makeover for creative ways to arrange your classroom with lots of attainable DIYs!

Use these three strategies to optimize your space:

1. Cluster tables or desks in pods to facilitate collaborative work.
   This also opens up floor space, providing multiple pathways around the room.

2. Create a calming corner to help students cool off.
   Include fidgets, posters with visual cues, and activities such as neurographic art to aid students in self-regulation.

3. Assign spots or numbers for smooth transitions.
   Number spaces along a side counter to designate spots where students will line up when they exit your classroom and where they can keep personal items during class. For secondary students, number tables or art supply kits to streamline the moving parts of a bustling studio!

Routines & Procedures

Students often have very limited time in art class. Their schedule may put them in the art room for an hour or less per day or per week. Strong routines build efficiency to maximize that time. At the start of the school year, invest in teaching key routines such as entering the classroom, cleaning up, and lining up. Show and tell students what you expect and then have them practice, much like a fire drill.

Watch Run the Art Room for several videos packed full of tips and tricks to add to your classroom management toolkit.

Try these four routines to keep your classroom running smoothly:

1. Build art history exposure and post a student-friendly artist bio from FLEX Curriculum for students to look at, read, and discuss at the beginning of each class.

2. Bring some fun using games like Teacher vs. Students.

3. Use consistent phrasing to cue routines, like “Projects, supplies, sanitize!” This quickly prompts students to store their projects, put away tools and materials, and then clean up.

4. Incorporate a few fun call and responses to garner attention.

Organization

Art teachers juggle countless tasks from storing hundreds of pieces of artwork in all stages of creation to managing supplies for multiple mediums. Plus, the art room can become a dumping ground for well-meaning donations. It can be daunting to keep track of and keep up with everything!

Don’t miss Artfully Organized for tips, tricks, and hacks to bring order to your art room.

Here are two tips for staying organized:

1. Label everything.
   Labels on the outside of cabinets, boxes, and bins tell everyone what’s inside without having to open something up. Including a graphic with text helps English language learners and struggling readers. Take your labels to the next level by including a photo of how you want the materials stored when put back correctly. Use a label maker, purchase pre-made ones, or make your own for free with masking tape and a permanent marker!

2. Name tables and other landmarks in the room.
   Naming a table after a color or an artist allows you to address groups of students sitting together and quickly organize their work. Rather than passing out papers individually, give each table a folder so works-in-progress are easy to collect and distribute. Name large furniture pieces in the room so students can have fun identifying which drying rack you want them to use.

Instructional Delivery

The wonderful part about art is that it’s so hands-on. Think about how your instructional approach reflects this hands-on aspect. Engaging students through a mix of interactive demonstrations, visual aids, and step-by-step explanations can minimize distractions and confusion.

Consider these three strategies to keep students productive and engaged during instruction:

1. Flip your classroom to harness technology.
   Embrace Gen Alpha’s tech familiarity. Allow them to use devices to navigate slides, videos, and other resources for self-directed learning. As an added benefit, when students can self-pace their learning, it frees you up to circulate the room more.

2. Use movement breaks to promote focus.
   It’s increasingly difficult for students to have the stamina to be still and focused for a full class period. Build in opportunities for students to get up and moving. Invite students to come to your table for a quick demonstration or to highlight a peer’s success.

3. Provide incentives for whole-body listening.
   Individualized feedback can motivate students to stay focused and attentive. Some classes may benefit from stars on a chart, marbles in a jar, or other forms of tallies to earn an incentive.

Expectations & Accountability

Establish clear communication and expectations for routines, processes, artwork requirements, assignment instructions, and more. This tells students what you’re looking for so they can be successful. Reward students who meet or exceed your expectations to build motivation and momentum. When more students have positive experiences in art class, it’s infectious and sets the tone for the whole class! Soon, small extrinsic motivators will grow into pride and self-discipline. When an expectation is not met, quickly address the issue and point out any natural consequences to foster accountability.

Here are three low-cost, high-value reward strategies:

1. Give students “keycards” when they demonstrate responsible care for materials. Keep a cabinet of special art materials that students can access when they turn in their keycards.

2. Distribute a “help pass” when students show kindness above and beyond expectations. Let them redeem the pass for an art room “freebie,” such as skipping cleanup for one day.

3. Pass out awards such as a certificate, sticker, or a handshake to recognize achievements.

Remember, successful classroom management isn’t just about rules and consequences. It’s about creating a positive and supportive environment where all students can thrive. Establish routines, set clear expectations, and consistently reinforce positive behaviors for a successful and fulfilling school year. Experiment with different strategies and find what works best for you and your artists. The time and effort you invest now will allow you to focus on what you do best—inspire creativity and nurture a love of art!

What is your favorite classroom management hack?

How did you successfully manage a challenging behavior in your art room?

The post Art Classroom Management Systems to Set Up Successful Behaviors All Year Long appeared first on The Art of Education University.

Get your students to redefine art on day one through a powerful discussion with the activity and prompts below.

Come with an open mind.

Art is a universal language with many mediums from painting to sculpture to so much more. But what medium goes too far and is outside of the bounds of art? For example, if a mechanic is an artist, is the car their artwork? One of the beautiful things about art is that it’s very subjective. Keep an open mind so your students’ minds stay open, too! Showing you’re excited to hear their ideas and thoughts will encourage them to take more risks and feel safe contributing. Plus, you never know—you may discover something you’ve never thought of yourself!

Compile a variety of artists and artworks.

Gather a large variety of images to challenge students’ notions and the societal norm of “what art is.” Include famous artworks they probably have seen in pop culture or other classes like Vincent van Gogh or Edvard Munch, more post-modern and contemporary pieces like Marina Abramović, architectural marvels, a breadth of media, and more. If you’re feeling brave, you can even include a photo of something you’ve made so that students can get to know you! Be mindful of students’ prior knowledge and backgrounds and strive to include images that will resonate with as many students as possible.

Here are some images to include to prompt deeper discussion:

• New shoe designs
• Fashion trends
• Performance art
• Cars
• Props from popular shows
• Graphic design
• Household items
• Books
• Interior design
• Movie stills
• Engineering and architecture
• Comics
• Trash

Set up the discussion as a game.

A powerful discussion about what art is is probably more enticing to us than to students. Make the experience fun and game-like by playing for a prize, playing in teams, or having a neat buzzer they can push when they have an answer to contribute. Making it a game can relieve any pressure and allow students to team build. You can even ask them if this game is art because you created it and they are interacting with it!

Establish guidelines.

Begin by acknowledging each student’s diverse perspectives in the classroom. Highlight that every opinion matters and follow through by affirming contributions during the activity to establish a foundation of trust and openness. There is no right or wrong answer! Write this note on the whiteboard as a friendly reminder for all.

As the discussion progresses, encourage students to let their curiosity guide them. If a particular piece of art or topic interests the students, take time to talk about it more deeply or research it together as a class. This flexibility intellectually stimulates the debate and helps build a strong class culture early in the semester.

Provide a foundational definition of art.

Start by sharing Webster’s definition of art which states, “Art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” This is a pretty lengthy definition, so it can be helpful to break it down into more manageable words or phrases.

Foster deeper thinking by expanding on student responses.

The first days of school can be daunting and trying to get students to talk in front of their peers can be even more so! It can help to have questions on hand to get thoughts flowing and prompt conversation.

Use the following questions to help students elaborate:

• What do you feel when you look at this piece?
• What story is this telling?
• How was this created?
• Did someone make this, find this, or design this?
• Can everyday objects be art? Why or why not?
• Do you think this is beautiful? How?
• Does this provoke thought? What does it make you wonder?
• Is this useful?
• How does this piece compare to something you consider art?
• If you don’t think this is art, what would you add or change to make it art?
• How does this challenge your view of what art can be?

As you facilitate this activity, there are many ways to keep the dialogue going beyond the first day!

Here are our essential tips for a successful open-ended discussion:

• Remember that you matter.
  When you are passionate and knowledgeable about the artists and artworks you discuss, your excitement will become contagious. Choose artists that resonate with you so your interest will be genuine and students can learn a little bit about you.
• Map meaning.
  As the discussion progresses, take notes on the board. This visual mapping helps solidify the concepts discussed and shows that you value all contributions. For example, if a student says a sneaker is art because of its color, write “color” on the board.
• Take notes on a seating chart.
  As students talk, jot down notes about each student’s interests so you can remember and get to know them!
• Include silent students.
  Many students may not feel comfortable participating verbally. This doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t care or don’t have opinions. Allow students to write or type their opinions for you to read aloud. Provide color-coded cards or signs for students to hold to signify their answers. For example, green cards can represent they believe the image is art and red cards can represent that it’s not art.
• Wrap up strong.
  End by reinforcing that art has no right or wrong answers. Emphasize that the Elements of Art are like the ingredients that go into cooking a dish. There are guidelines, called the Principles of Design, that are like the instructions in a recipe. However, true chefs eventually move from following a recipe to making their own culinary creations! This openness and flexibility are what make art diverse and fascinating.
• Do exit tickets.
  Provide a few minutes for students to reflect on the conversations and activity. Students will write their definition art. These are fun to keep and compare with their future end-of-year definitions!

As art educators, we have the privilege and responsibility to open our students’ minds to the boundless possibilities of creativity. Engaging in discussions about what constitutes art can help students appreciate art and artmaking for years to come. It also encourages students to think critically, express themselves, ask questions, and feel valued. This activity will help build strong connections, cultivate a vibrant classroom climate, and celebrate creativity in all its forms! Embrace this opportunity on day one to redefine art with students and inspire them to see the world through a bigger lens.

What is your definition of art?

Share how you get students excited about art on the first day!

The post How to Engage Students on Day One by Redefining Art appeared first on The Art of Education University.

Keep reading for advice and tips to revamp your classroom management after a break to finish the year strong!

Reflect on and evaluate your current systems and routines. 

Take a moment to reflect on your classroom management. Think about what systems worked and what adjustments to implement moving forward. After a break, art supplies are often disorganized, misplaced, or depleted.  Reorganizing and replenishing art supplies will allow students to access what they need for projects. Additionally, remove extra or unwanted art supplies to create more space and proactively prepare you for the end of the school year.

Get started and level up your systems with these downloads:

• Fill out the Classroom Management Reflection to pinpoint where you may need to make adjustments.
• Post the 40 Student Cleanup Jobs checklist for early finishers to assist with classroom care.

Check out these resources for art supply systems and organization:

• 3 Simple Steps to Reassess and Reorganize Your Art Supplies 
• How to Make Good Use of Extra and Unwanted Supplies in the Art Room 
• Budget Labeling Systems for the Art Room (Ep. 1)

Refresh your physical space. 

While getting a brand new classroom space is a wish, refreshing your existing space can make you feel like you have a whole new room. Breathing new life into your studio does not have to be extensive or complex—it can be as simple as hanging up a pile of artwork that never made it to the gallery wall or swapping out a few anchor charts. Guarantee smiles and joy to returning faces with a new display. Select one or two easy tasks that will make a big impact!

Here are resources to help you reset your art space: 

• 5 Tips to Redecorate and Reorganize for Back to School 
• 27 Ways to Design an Inviting, Functional, and Flexible Art Room 
• 4 Quick & Budget-Friendly DIYs to Upgrade Your Art Room 
• Makeover Your Art Room to Start the New Year with a Fresh Inspiring Space 

Encourage collaboration and cultivate connection. 

The community and relationships of your classroom are just as important as the systems and routines. Many students lack the daily social interactions they get from school during long weekends or breaks. Encourage students to reconnect with cheesy icebreakers and team-building activities. Incorporate warm-ups for social-emotional check-ins. For more ways to foster laughter and discussion, play games or introduce challenges.

For activities, games, and collaborative opportunities, check out the resources below: 

• How to Help Your Students Learn to Talk to Each Other Again 
• 6 Exhilarating Classroom Management Games You’ll Want to Play in the Art Room 
• 8 Warm-Up Activities To Support Classroom Management and Calm Starts to Class 
• 10 Neat Ways to Group Students in the Art Room for Collaborative Projects

Keep up your art teacher energy!

Positive and enthusiastic energy has a big impact on the classroom environment. Teacher energy is contagious and can dictate how students feel and experience class. The majority of your students will be eager to see your smiling face! If you greet them at the door with a huge grin and peppy greeting, they’ll be more inclined to do so back. However, remember that some students may be dealing with or processing things we are unaware of. It’s a good reminder that giving the benefit of the doubt and being kind, even if they don’t seem responsive back, can go a long way.

Check out the resources below to help preserve your art teacher energy:

• How to Effectively Save Mental Time and Energy Using Circles of Control 
• How to Make a Personal Studio to Preserve Your Creative Energy
• Embrace A Word of the Year: 10 Phrases to Focus Your Priorities
• How to Preserve Your Creative Energy by Being Intentional With Your Calendar

There are so many routines and systems in the art room because of all of the artwork, supplies, and tools! Coming back after spring break can feel like even more of a juggling act than usual. Each day tosses in more balls that you need to keep in the air, such as art show prep, art contests, mid-year supply orders, and advanced course portfolio deadlines. It’s okay to let the balls drop, pause, and regroup. Decide what you need to keep on your plate, remove, or adjust. Select a couple of small improvements you can make to your classroom to spruce it up. Revive connections through discussion prompts, games, and challenges. Protect and harness your art teacher energy by exuding smiles and prioritizing a few intentional goals. Before you know it, the end of the school year will be here and you’ll be proud of how you made the most of the last few weeks with your students.

How do you regroup after spring break?

What is a student-favorite activity perfect for post-break? 

The post Advice for Effective Classroom Management in the Art Room After the Break appeared first on The Art of Education University.

Harvard Project Zero states the eight studio habits of mind are as follows: 

1. Develop Craft
2. Engage & Persist
3. Envision
4. Express
5. Observe
6. Reflect
7. Stretch & Explore
8. Understand Art Worlds

Establishing these habits develops a classroom culture that values the artistic process. Moreover, students can continue to shape their art process even after completing their artwork. For more about the SHoM with practical application and resources, check out the Studio Habits of Mind in the Elementary Art Room Pack in PRO Learning. Although designed for elementary, it provides helpful overviews of each habit and several activities that will transfer well to high school.

Keep reading to discover 12 activities designed for high school early finishers. These activities will keep students engaged in continuous learning!

1. Construct a sticky note wall of Mini Masterpieces.

Display students’ creativity in a public space on a wall of Mini Masterpieces. Mini Masterpieces are sticky note drawings based on prompts. The smaller size is less daunting for students to draw on. Use provided prompts or adapt them to connect with what students are currently learning in your classroom. In addition, simple drawing prompts can help stimulate art creation and overcome the tendency to overthink. These finished masterpieces may even spark new inspiration for larger projects!

2. Supply students with coloring pages and Finish the Picture worksheets.

Contrary to popular belief, high schoolers love to color! As mentioned above, students often get into the habit of overthinking and then they get stuck. Academic course loads can be overwhelming for secondary students so activities that encourage a flow state are a welcome change of pace. Try coloring pages and Finish the Picture worksheets to spark new inspiration. Connect these activities to your curriculum by requiring specific shading techniques or color schemes. 

3. Recycle scrap paper and old artwork with a bookmark station.

Repurpose old artworks and scrap paper into bookmarks to reduce waste and allow students to create functional art! This activity encourages environmental consciousness and an opportunity to design. Bookmarks also make perfect gifts or inventory for an art club fundraiser. Cultivate positive community connections and donate them to the local library or retirement center.

4. Create a fidget corner or mindful area.

At the elementary level, these areas serve as great calm-down spaces. The good news is that high schoolers enjoy them too! Use a fidget corner as a calm space to work on puzzles or a speed cube, or build with plastic building bricks. Like the coloring page idea above, this area offers students a much-needed mindful moment in their busy academic day.

5. Delegate students to help around the classroom.

Delegate tasks to maintain the studio space and teach students responsibility and teamwork. Many middle school and high school students love to help sort paper, hang artwork, or wash paintbrushes. These tasks promote ownership in the classroom and help complete your to-do list.

6. Select a list of photo prompts.

Use photo prompts as an early finisher activity for mess-free mobile art creation. Just like the Mini Masterpieces drawing prompts above, you can use a pre-made list or adjust it to incorporate the current seasons or holidays. In addition, photo challenges are a fun way to get students’ creativity flowing. Watch the video below for a way to implement and collect photos for a digital scavenger hunt.

7. Collect old magazines for a collage corner.

Dedicate a corner or space to collage creation with piles of old magazines and newspapers. Students can use these materials in their sketchbooks, visual journals, or new artworks. Secondary students love making collages and creating unique juxtapositions with images. For ways to spice up your students’ collage practice, watch The Basics of Collage Pack in PRO Learning. 

8. Add an origami station. 

Magazine paper also makes a great alternative to origami paper because it’s colorful and thin. Students who love to build and work with their hands often love this paper-folding process. Origami not only allows for hands-on exploration but also teaches patience and craftsmanship. Host an ongoing challenge to see who can compose the smallest and largest origami creations!

9. Establish habits of visual journaling.

Visual journaling is a great tool to foster critical thinking skills like analysis, examination, evaluation, and reflection. They are a way to document the art process for secondary-level students’ portfolios. If you teach advanced courses such as AP or IB art, students are most likely required to work on and submit some form of a process portfolio or sketchbook. After an artwork is complete, the remaining class time is a prime opportunity to wrap up incomplete journal pages, add a few more to synthesize learning, and brainstorm fresh ideas for the next artwork!

10. Assemble an inspiration corner.

Put together an inspirational corner of art books, FLEX Curriculum artist bios, and social media trends in the art world. Break the monotony of screens and go old school with a library of physical resources students can flip through and explore. Invite students to contribute to this space to foster a sense of community. When students don’t know where to start on a project, you can also send them to this corner to jumpstart the ideation process.

11. Design a school community grid. 

Use the grid drawing process to create a large-scale community artwork. This approach can be a fun way to include the school community by making portraits of teachers or students of the month. Stylize the portrait to break it down into simple shapes and values that will be straightforward for students to replicate on their own. Break up the portrait into a grid and blow up each individual square before printing. Label the squares and provide corresponding blank squares of paper. Once all of the squares are complete, display the mural for the school community to see! 

12. Encourage collaboration with an interactive community artwork.

Why stop at your school community? Keep the fun going with your local community! Create a large-scale community artwork using white butcher paper. Ask local businesses or organizations if your students can create a custom banner for an upcoming event. Then, draw a large-scale black-and-white line drawing for your students to color. Depending on the event, you can swap this process—your students can create the line drawing design for the community to color in! 

Early finisher activities are a great way for students to embrace the SHoM from the start to finish of class. The activity options provided above can all align with specific learning objectives if needed. Your secondary students may surprise you with their willingness to put down their devices and dive into these activities! However, if you are looking for a small boost of motivation, you can assess the activities with participation, self-assessment rubrics, or extra credit. Make every minute of class count in your art room with plastic building bricks, recycled artwork, pads of sticky notes, AOEU’s complimentary downloads, and more. Once you establish the SHoM in your classroom, your students won’t want to leave!

What are your favorite early finisher activities for the secondary art room?

How do you encourage a learning-centered environment and culture in your classroom? 

The post Unplug with 12 Innovative Early Finisher Activities for the Secondary Art Room appeared first on The Art of Education University.

Art teachers are constantly navigating how to work with students who learn and create at different paces. Developing a system for early finishers in the art room is crucial to making every minute in the art room as creative as possible. Whether you’re looking to refine your existing early finisher system or build it from the ground up, there are a few things to consider. Get started with the ideas below, and for a deeper dive, watch the Methods for Early Finishers Pack in PRO Learning or tune into the YouTube episode of Artfully Organized, featured below.

Streamline your early finisher system to enhance artistic output and learning. Make strategic changes to your approach for a more dynamic and purposeful structure. 

Effective early finisher systems require deliberate planning, ingenuity, and sensitivity to the diverse needs of your budding artists. Implement an approach that balances accessibility, engagement, and time management to nurture student creativity and productivity long after they wrap up an assignment. Optimize your system with the three considerations below.

1. Create a system that is easy to access, explain, and refresh.

Ensure students can readily access the materials and instructions without additional assistance. Keep the setup organized and labeled to allow for independent navigation. Design a system that enables you to easily swap out activities without re-teaching or re-explaining the procedures.

Make your early finisher activities visible, accessible, and manageable with:

• Posters
• Menus
• Stations

2. Add speedbumps to encourage students to spend time on their work.

Incorporate “speedbump” activities into your standard end-of-project procedures to encourage students to invest ample time and effort into their artwork. Students are more likely to spend time on a project if there are extra steps required to check for “quality control” like craftsmanship. 

Ask students to complete one or all of these speedbumps:

• Peer Feedback: Ask a friend what you can do to improve your work.
• Clean Up: You left no trace of your artmaking on the table or floors.
• Writing Assignment: Complete an exit ticket to capture your learning.

3. Provide activities based on the remaining class time to reduce mess and stress.

Tailor your activities to correspond to the amount of time remaining in class. This will ensure students engage meaningfully without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. Offer a standard selection of 3-7-minute, zero-mess activities for shorter time frames. Reserve extended activities with more components for longer periods. Track the minutes left on a visible timer so students know which activities are available.

Add these quick, mess-free early finisher activities to your list:

• Practice upcoming skills with drawing packets.
• Free draw on dry-erase boards to save paper.
• Read a book from the classroom library.

Consider the three aspects above to help you thoughtfully orchestrate a conducive environment for your early finishers. Now that you’ve established an intentional system, it’s time to expand your activity repertoire. 

Make every moment count in your art room with these early finisher activities perfect for elementary students. Nurture ongoing creativity through project extensions, drawing, art enrichment, technology, and creative play.

Project Extensions

1. Add extra steps to the project.
   Experiment with diverse color schemes, unexpected textures, or alternative materials after completing the main task. Plan an extra step for every project.
2. Set up a project with related content.
   Prompt students to create new artwork using the ideas, themes, or techniques they recently discovered. Predetermine the extension project or let students independently explore.
3. Engage artists in a long-term side project.
   Introduce ongoing art endeavors for students to work on at their own pace, such as artist trading cards (see below) or an original comic book. These passion projects engage students in artmaking that interests them.

Drawing

1. Curate drawing prompts.
   Instead of “How to Draw” books, students craft their own creative prompts and organize them by themes in binders for other students to access.
2. Compose structure-free drawings with choice boards.
   Students generate imaginative ideas by pairing prompts with visuals. You can integrate themes from your curriculum.
3. Collect a bag of objects to draw.
   Gather pinecones, shells, sunglasses, geodes, or reflective objects in a bag. Students pull an object from the bag and draw the mystery item.
4. Enhance a contour drawing with string.
   Challenge students to do blind contour drawings of objects or classmates. Glue string over the contour lines.
5. Add a spotlight for shadow drawing.
   Set up a spotlight on the edge of a flat surface. Students place a group of objects in front of it and then trace the shadows of the objects on their page.
6. Print various Roll and Draw sheets.
   Provide a selection of Roll and Draw game sheets to dictate compositions. Include blank game sheets for students to create their own around a theme.
7. Supply Finish the Picture worksheets.
   Give students a drawing sheet with a mark, shape, or partial drawing. Challenge students to incorporate the element into a completely new drawing with a background.
8. Distribute stickers for a Stickermania Draw Fest.
   Supply a sticker sheet with 3-5 medium-size stickers. Add stickers to a sketchbook page and create a background or composition to integrate them.
9. Facilitate optical illusion practice.
   Explore optical illusions with how-to guides. Practice each step to create an illusion. Then, incorporate it into a large design with color and value.
10. Foster collaboration with a school mural.
    Set up a large sheet of paper for students to contribute small drawings or elements. Over time, it will become a unique and evolving artwork. Display it in a prominent spot as a collaborative mural.

Art Enrichment

1. Exchange artist trading cards.
   Design small artist trading cards (ATCs) to swap with peers. Make one to take home or make one to leave for another student!
2. Feed into the folding craze with origami creations.
   Provide origami paper and instructions to create various paper sculptures or animals. Allow students to take their creations home or contribute to a large-scale collaborative piece.
3. Collect stamps to create repetitive designs.
   Set out stamps and ink pads to create designs. Enhance the compositions with color.
4. Experiment with texture plates.
   Introduce texture plates and stencils. Experiment to see how they add depth and visual interest.
5. Create a mood board to describe feelings.
   Identify a specific emotion or theme and represent it with a mood board.  The mood board can be a collage of images, colors, and words.
6. Set up hula hoops for weaving collaborative textiles.
   Transform hula hoops into giant circle looms to collaboratively practice fundamental weaving techniques. Explore how to teach this skill in the Basic Weaving Techniques Pack in PRO Learning.
7. Create friendship bracelets.
   Explore the craft of jewelry making! Design and make unique pieces using beads and string to share with friends.
8. Introduce fashion design with outfits of the day (OOTD.)
   Print appropriate models for students to draw outfits on. Add fabric swatches, ribbons, and sequins for students to cut and paste onto their designs.
9. Engage your students in art history with an Art History Remix.
   Inspire students to replicate famous paintings with a unique interpretation or modern spin.
10. Instill artistic behavior with cleaning tasks.
    Create a list of tasks to choose from to practice responsibility and ownership, both facets of the artistic practice.

Technology

1. Film a stop-motion animation.
   Use materials like paper, scissors, glue, or playdough to create scenes. Snap photographs and compile them into short stop-motion films. Explore stop-motion techniques in FLEX Curriculum’s The Art of Stop-Motion Animation Collection.
2. Simplify animation with interactive flipbooks.
   Supply sticky notes or cut scrap paper to make a flipbook depicting sequences or stories. Students can film their flipbooks to animate their work.
3. Collect props for art history parodies.
   Recreate famous paintings in real-life parodies using available dress-up materials and props. Capture the scene by taking a picture of their reproduction.
4. Introduce coding concepts with pixel art.
   Color in squares on graph paper to create pixelated designs or make a digital version. Discover more basic coding ideas in the Introducing Coding with Art Collection from FLEX Curriculum.
5. Curate YouTube art tutorials for your students.
   Offer a selection of art tutorial videos for students to watch. The Art for Kids Hub is a great channel to start with!
6. Spread positivity with poster messages.
   Design posters with positive messages to explore composition and lettering. Print the posters and hang them in your classroom.
7. Create digital DIY coloring sheets.
   Utilize a drawing app to create personalized digital art coloring sheets. Digitally share designs or print them out!
8. Send on a virtual scavenger hunt.
   Search for artworks matching specific criteria, such as abstract, still life, or contains multiple patterns. For detailed instructions, see the Virtual Scavenger Hunt Lesson in FLEX Curriculum.
9. Snap themed portraits in pairs.
   Provide props and supplies to curate characters and make quick backgrounds. Students collaborate to arrange themed portraits. Document with a photo.
10. Combine gaming and art with PBS Kids Art Games.
    Explore games that integrate artistic thinking, imagination, and creation with various known and loved characters. Learn how to structure this and other activities in the Methods for Early Finishers Pack in PRO Learning.

Creative Play

1. Set up a sensory table or bin.
   Tap into the sensory needs of your youngest learners and open a sensory station. Add sand or rice to give students a tactile, stress-relieving outlet.
2. Provide magnetic shapes for mosaics.
   Create mosaics using magnetic materials to explore patterns and designs.
3. Decorate wooden craft sticks.
   Pre-draw designs on craft sticks. Students match pre-drawn patterns, create their own patterns by arranging the sticks, or draw their own sticks.
4. Explore playdough.
   Provide playdough, rolling pins, wood or plastic clay tools, cookie cutters, and small toys.
5. Paint objects in ROYGBIV colors for a rainbow sort.
   Gather diverse objects of various colors. Students sort them into rainbow sequences to enhance color recognition and organizational skills.
6. Prepare clipboards for beading practice.
   Clamp pipe cleaners onto a clipboard and give students a bucket of assorted beads. String beads on the pipe cleaners to practice fine motor skills.
7. Collect items for found object sculptures.
   Accumulate found objects such as buttons, cardboard scraps, and bottle caps. Construct small sculptures using these items.
8. Create a Makerspace for design challenges.
   Issue challenges to integrate design thinking and pop culture. For five tips on how to set up Makerspace activities, review the Methods for Early Finishers Pack in PRO Learning.
9. Furnish your room with assorted building manipulatives.
   Provide blocks, magnetic tiles, marble run kits, interconnecting pieces, and other similar toys. Students construct and manipulate to foster spatial awareness and critical problem-solving.
10. Stock up on art games and puzzles.
    Introduce games and puzzles for a fun way to reinforce skills like color theory or imaginative drawing.

Restructure your early finisher system and add to your arsenal of activities with the lists of ideas above. In doing so, you will transform spare moments into opportunities for continued artistic exploration in your art room. Long-term side projects, Stickermania Draw Fests, hula hoop weaving, stop-motion animation, and magnetic mosaics all serve as catalysts for deeper creativity and skill development. Establishing an early finisher system will make your classroom run smoother and the artmaking will continue until cleanup. Get ready because you won’t hear the “What do I do now?” question anytime soon!

How do you structure activities for early finishers in your elementary art room?

What new early-finisher activities will you add to your classroom?

The post 46 Early Finisher Activities to Boost Creativity in Your Elementary Art Room appeared first on The Art of Education University.

Have you ever had a student who was absent from class more often than present? If the answer is a resounding “yes,” you’ve got yourself a student with chronic absenteeism! According to the Department of Education, students are chronically absent when they miss 15 days or more per school year. With one in six students across the United States chronically absent, most teachers in the U.S. encounter this issue every year.

When students are chronically absent, it can be very difficult for them to catch up and succeed in art class, especially since art units and projects can last several days or weeks. Frequently absent students usually have to make up work from every class and art class is usually low on the priority list. However, there are ways to proactively hinder chronic absenteeism. You can also implement effective systems to support students when they return to art class. Keep your artists from falling behind and save yourself from added stress by employing the strategies below.

Before we dive in, check out how Paula Liz and other art teachers like you organize work for absent students!

Here are seven proactive strategies to curb chronic absenteeism.

1. Make the art room a place students want to be!

If students enjoy coming to class, they are more likely to attend regularly.

Try these three tips to make your classroom a place to look forward to:

1. Align art projects with students’ interests, experiences, and cultures to increase engagement.
2. Be genuinely happy to see your students when they arrive at your door! Greet them, ask them how they are doing, and call them by their name. When they are absent, tell them you missed them in class!
3. Incorporate brain breaks and games to make art fun and different from their core classes.

2. Establish clear expectations.

Students need to know what you expect from them when they’re absent. How will they find out what they missed? How many days do they have to make up the work? Do you expect them to catch up on sketchbook assignments or daily bell ringers? There should be no surprises regarding expectations around missing work. Be sure to set these expectations at the beginning of the year and continually review them so everyone is on the same page.

3. Collaborate with parents and guardians.

When students miss class, communication with their parents or guardians is vital. Caregivers and families can be a huge support in ensuring work gets completed and students come back to class as soon as possible. It also shows administrators you are doing everything you can to help. While it may take some work up front, make an email template you can customize and send out when students are absent. Include your expectations, missed assignments that week, and how they can assist you in supporting their student. Select one day a week to BCC all parents of students who were absent. Parents and guardians will appreciate you taking the time to keep them informed.

4. Put assignments online.

In today’s age of digital technology, you probably already have this one set up! All you need to do is make it a little more geared toward your chronically absent students. Make sure your website or digital platform is set up by day so students can easily find what they missed. Your platform can include step-by-step video or photo tutorials, links to resources, and short videos or written instructions. For advice on how to implement online tutorials, check out the Pack, Flipping Your Classroom Basics, in PRO Learning.

5. Set up an area for absent students.

In your classroom, have an area dedicated to papers and supplies absent students will need when they return to school. If the area is easily accessible and you or a responsible student helper are able to maintain it, absent students will be more self-sufficient with their makeup work. Also, make it a part of the established class routine for students to grab the items when they come back after they’ve been gone.

Here are four systems to get chronically absent students caught up.

When a student who has been away from school for a while returns to the classroom, they’re probably overwhelmed with the amount of catching up they have to do. As a teacher, you’re probably eager to get them caught up as well. Discover four systems below that you can implement to minimize everyone’s stress levels.

1. Understand the root causes.

There are many reasons why students miss school for extended periods of time. They or a family member could be experiencing health problems. Students may have instability in their family or living situation, mental illness, or unreliable transportation. Unfortunately, sometimes students are victims of bullying at school or may just have an extreme dislike for school. Sometimes students will tell you their personal reasons, and other times, they’ll want to keep it private or talk to someone else. Either way, always approach the topic with empathy because you never know what students are going through. Listen to their concerns about their chronic absenteeism, try to understand their perspective, and offer appropriate solutions where you can. Put them in contact with other adults who can support them, like their administrator, the school counselor, or a peer mentor. Let them know you are here to help, even if it means just being a listening ear!

2. Plan flexible lessons with adjustable deadlines and digital options.

Is it more important for students to turn in an assignment on time, or is it more important they take the time to learn valuable skills and turn it in late? When students repeatedly miss deadlines and aren’t given an opportunity to catch up, they are more likely to give up on the rest of the school year.

Students with chronic absenteeism get overwhelmed when there are long projects to complete. Relieve the pressure by offering alternatives. Can a shorter project allow them to demonstrate the same skills they would need to complete the longer project? If yes, plan ahead with a few scaffolded variations so you don’t have to scramble to come up with a revised assignment on the spot.

One of the biggest difficulties art teachers face with chronic absenteeism is having to teach the same lesson over and over again to the students who missed the original. Recording all of your lessons and demonstrations may take a little bit of setup time, but once it becomes a part of your normal routine, it becomes quicker and easier. Your students will have videos they can watch on their own time while you carry on working with the rest of the class. Work smarter, not harder!

3. Create individualized catch-up plans.

Not all students’ circumstances are the same, so a specific catch-up plan for one student may not work for another. Work with the students individually to create a plan that outlines their missed assignments, timelines for completion, and any additional resources or support they require. Download the catch-up plan below to streamline the process.

Download now!

4. Establish peer tutors.

Peer tutoring has many benefits for both the tutor and the tutee. When students teach their peers, it reinforces their own understanding of the concepts and gives them an opportunity for leadership. The student they are tutoring gets to make connections with their classmates while they learn. The teacher is able to monitor the tutoring session and assess both of the students’ understanding of the content.

Addressing chronic absenteeism requires a proactive and empathetic approach from art teachers. Create a welcoming environment, establish clear expectations for absences, and formulate engaging projects and lessons. If students have more frequent absences, collaborate with parents or guardians and offer flexible assignments and deadlines. Make sure you have a plan for success within the classroom once students return to school. Create individualized catchup plans and a special storage area for absent students to increase ownership. Record and put assignments online and establish peer tutors to free up your energy and attention during class. By implementing these strategies, students can catch up on missed assignments and not miss out on their artistic growth!

What is still challenging for you when students miss class?

Share a strategy that has helped you handle student absences.

The post 5 Strategies to Overcome Chronic Absenteeism and 4 Effective Systems for Art Room Catchup appeared first on The Art of Education University.

Try these nine methods to build your students’ resilience.

1. Cultivate a growth mindset.

A growth mindset is key to building resilience for both you and your students. If students believe they can do the task in front of them, they won’t let challenges stop them. To build this mindset, encourage students to celebrate failures and look at mistakes as opportunities for growth. Reiterate you expect failure because it’s a part of the learning process. Model this as you troubleshoot issues in the classroom and in your artwork demonstrations. Dedicate a wall to “failures” or artworks that didn’t meet student expectations.

Here are four ways to model a growth mindset:

1. Use growth mindset language and switch negatives to positives.
   Instead of saying, “I can’t do this,” say, “I can’t do this yet, but I will keep trying.” Instead of saying, “This is hard,” say, “I will practice this.”
2. Show students the artwork you make, even when it doesn’t turn out great.
   Students need to know you view failures as an important part of your artistic process too! Post them on the “failure” wall for students to ask you about.
3. Share your struggles and how they’ve helped you grow.
   When students are struggling, it can seem hopeless. Frame struggles as learning experiences to remind students that good can come from their current situation and they won’t feel frustrated or disappointed forever.
4. Lead by example.
   When doing demonstrations, it’s tempting to try and cover up mistakes to preserve your appearance as an expert. Instead, point out things you could have done better and make adjustments. Show students you don’t let mistakes get you down or prevent you from moving forward. It conveys to students you don’t expect perfection but perseverance!

If you want more tips on how to cultivate a growth mindset in your classroom, check out the Pack, Growth Mindset in the Art Room, in PRO Learning.

2. Carve out time to set, meet, and reflect on goals.

Finishing a big art project can be daunting and discouraging! Ask them to set SMART goals focusing on their strengths and interests. Then, guide them as they break down their broad goals into actionable steps. This will help them track their progress and experience small wins along the way.

3. Teach problem-solving and decision-making skills.

If we want our students to be analytic thinkers in art class and beyond, we need to help them develop these skills. Teaching students how to scrutinize options, evaluate consequences, ask for advice, and examine risks is giving them the practical skills they need to be resilient.

These three methods teach problem-solving and decision-making skills:

1. Give students ownership over their artwork.
   When students have ownership of their artwork, they are invested because they have put in the time, effort, and energy to make something that reflects them and/or something important to them. They will care more, making them more likely to push through rigorous decision-making. They’ll also find decision-making easier if they’re working on a topic about which they are knowledgeable and passionate.
2. Conduct reflective discussions.
   Ask open-ended questions to get students thinking about why they made certain decisions and to determine what decisions to make in the future. Sometimes students just need to verbalize their options to determine the best choice to make. Encourage them to articulate their thoughts and reasoning as much as possible. This will help develop automatic internal and meaningful reflection as they encounter new challenges on their own.
3. Promote collaboration.
   Collaborative projects provide opportunities for students to problem-solve and make decisions collectively. This can relieve pressure while honing communication skills. Working together allows students to explore different perspectives and approaches to problems that they wouldn’t experience if working on their own.

4. Encourage risk-taking.

How often do you let students freely experiment without it impacting their grades? Students are more likely to express creativity and try new mediums or techniques when they know there are no negative consequences to trying and failing. However, if their efforts don’t turn out great and their grade takes a hit for it, they may not want to try something new again. Being willing to try again after failure is a hallmark of resiliency!

Support risk-taking using these two methods:

1. Allow students to experiment with materials.
   Before students undergo larger or long-term projects, make sure they have plenty of time and experience with the mediums they will be using. Assess this time based on participation or the number of experiments instead of skill or medium competency. If there are no safety concerns, let them try all the ways to use the materials, even if it’s the wrong way. Ask them what they learned and how they got to that conclusion. They may even come up with new styles and techniques by pushing the medium’s boundaries!
2. Showcase artists who use mediums in non-traditional ways.
   Experimenting with materials to create unique styles is risky and it may not always pan out. Showcase artists who successfully use unique methods or mediums. This will encourage students to think outside of the box and keep taking risks. Introduce them to unconventional artists like Cai Guo-Qiang, who uses explosives and artificial intelligence, Tony Scherman who paints with wax, and Olafur Eliasson who uses natural elements like light, water, and air to intensify his installations.

5. Provide opportunities for leadership.

Giving students leadership roles within the classroom is a wonderful way to build resiliency. It makes them feel trusted and it gives them an opportunity to showcase their talents and skills. When students have clearly defined roles, they can’t shirk responsibility. It’s on them to fulfill their duties or they will face natural consequences. Just be sure to make the leadership roles manageable and purposeful so students feel empowered and are set up for success. One way to do this is through Project-Based Learning, which provides real-world experiences, collaboration, and opportunities for leadership.

6. Make critiques supportive.

Critiques are naturally nerve-wracking. Students get nervous about sharing their art, opening themselves up to criticism, and even just talking to each other! When critiques focus on what students should improve or do better, it can make students uncomfortable to participate, or worse, want to give up on their art. Focus on the positive and ask students to do the same. Teach students to proactively frame negatives as “I wonder” statements. Then, reframe any discouraging feedback and evaluate how it could improve the artwork. Done right, critiques help students learn to persist in the face of criticism.

If you need more guidance on hosting successful critiques, watch the Pack, Critiques at Every Level, in PRO Learning.

7. Share the experiences of famous artists and guest artists.

It’s easy to imagine artists as people who only create masterpieces. Students need to know how even the most successful artists encountered challenges and turned them into triumphs. It gives students artistic role models who will inspire them to keep going!

Bring these three resilient artists into your curriculum to inspire your students:

1. Louise Bourgeois
   Not only did Louise Bourgeois persevere through traumatic experiences like the early death of her mother and immigration to a new country, but she also worked hard in the patriarchal art world for recognition.
2. Frida Kahlo
   Frida Kahlo faced numerous physical hardships after a bus accident. However, neither her physical pain nor the emotional hurt from her tumultuous relationship with Diego Rivera could stop her from creating powerful art!
3. Claude Monet
   In spite of his current fame, when Claude Monet started his career, art institutions and critics shunned him. He was even told his paintings looked unfinished and lacked skill! He pushed through and became one of the leading artists of the Impressionist movement.

8. Document the artistic process.

When students document their process, there is more intentionality around stopping to notice progress. Plus, students are able to go back and see how much they’ve accomplished. Snap progress photos and pair them with a short reflection that captures what is going well and what they would do differently. Let them use their digital or physical process journal as a personal place of reflection and encouragement. They can also record peer tips or guest speakers’ motivational quotes.

9. Celebrate effort and progress.

Recognizing when students complete small steps is as important as recognizing when they make fantastic fully-realized artworks. Strive to consistently give students positive feedback and celebrate growth. Students will develop resilience when they can see the importance of their progress, even if their art does not yet meet their expectations.

Although celebrating small wins is important, it’s essential to recognize you do not need to celebrate everything and everyone at all times. Be strategic and intentional and praise students when you see them do something difficult or complete an action step. Part of building resilience is learning to push through and do the hard things, even when they don’t want to and even when no one is watching. Over time, this builds integrity and character around their daily work and commitments.

Use these three methods to strategically praise progress:

1. Celebrate milestones.
   Remember those goals your students set? Make sure students break them down into smaller steps or milestones. This way, even if they never reach the big goal, you can measure and celebrate their growth along the way.
2. Review portfolios.
   The ultimate way to prove to students how much they’ve grown is by incorporating regular portfolio reviews. A few times throughout the school year, ask students to pull out their portfolios and choose the artworks showing the most growth. Participate by pointing out growth they haven’t recognized yet.
3. Conduct pre- and post-assessments.
   Pre- and post-assessments aren’t just for art teachers—they’re also for students! Even if students don’t feel like they’ve mastered a technique or medium, they can compare their pre- and post-assessments to see how much they’ve accomplished!

Resiliency is an important life skill students need to succeed not only in school but also in life. While there isn’t one quick way to instill resiliency in students, you can foster it over time. Employ intentional methods to cultivate persistence, like modeling a growth mindset and scaffolding goal-setting and problem-solving skills. Encourage risk-taking and embrace mistakes as part of the learning and artistic process. Provide opportunities for leadership and allow students to take ownership of their artwork. Keep things positive by celebrating intentional effort and progress and keeping critiques constructive. Before you know it, your students will start flexing the resiliency muscles they’ve gained!

How do you build your students’ resilience in the art room?

What art projects would you do if your students boosted their resiliency?

The post Building Student Resiliency Skills: 9 Ways to Nurture the Ability to Thrive in Adversity appeared first on The Art of Education University.

Communicate with Parents

Communicating with parents and caregivers can be stressful. While we cannot control how others respond, we can make sure we are respectful, tactful, and honest. To help you frame your conversations well and foster strong connections, we have plenty of tips and resources to help! Explore the two complimentary downloads below and start the year building authentic connections with your families.

Encourage meaningful conversations at home about art with this helpful handout. Make tons of copies and send them home at the beginning of the year or with students’ first batch of artwork! It provides prompts for parents to give specific comments or ask deeper questions. It also shows students that art can bring people together.

Download the resource HERE!

Have this resource on deck as you near first-quarter progress reports or parent-teacher conferences. This is a way to increase communication around students’ grades without putting more work on your plate. Instead, it teaches students to take ownership of their grades and assignments and brainstorm their own plans to move forward.

Download the resource HERE!

Communicate with Students 

Understanding students can feel like a piece of cake some days and like pulling teeth on others. While we can’t guarantee it will be easy every day, we can provide you with resources to set you up for success when it comes to communicating with your new artists. Set clear expectations and create a positive learning environment right from day one. Remember, small gestures can make a big difference in building trust and rapport! Let’s make every interaction count with the four downloads below.

The next two downloads are perfect for the first day of school! Start younger students or beginner artists with My Ideal Art Class Experience. This handout collects valuable student information such as what they like and dislike about art class, what they’d like to learn, and goals they’d like to accomplish. The Artist Inventory is another sheet to help you get to know your new students. It is an editable PDF so students can type directly on the form. This questionnaire goes a bit deeper and asks questions about hopes and fears, home life, and how the student identifies.

Download the resource HERE!

Download the resource HERE!

Part of relationship building and communicating with students is letting them care personally about you. As you learn more about your students, make sure you share interesting things about yourself too. A few days into the year, switch things up and surprise students by asking them to take a quiz about you! This will show how much they listen to you and it can open up fun conversations.

Download the resource HERE!

No matter how strong your relationships are with your students, occasional behavior challenges are inevitable. Be proactive and have these Art Room Think Sheets on hand! This guided exercise allows students to reflect on what happened and why, and determine their own appropriate consequences. It shows them how their actions may have affected others. As an added bonus, it provides student-generated documentation!

Download the resource HERE!

Communicate with Administration

Open the channels of effective communication with school administrators. It can be intimidating to talk to principals because you don’t want to bother them or you’re unsure of how to approach them. Remember, administrators want to help but often get caught up in chaos once school is in full gear. Take a deep breath and tap into the confidence you exude in front of your students! Be an art teacher leader and advocate for your program and artists. Start with a quick elevator pitch, or thirty-second spiel, to introduce you and your students, the need, and how their support will benefit the school. Pop your head into their office during your planning period or stop them in the halls when they’re doing their rounds.

Here’s an example of an elevator speech to a middle school administrator:

Good morning, [insert name]! I know you’re new to the school so I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. I’m Rebekah Hower, the art teacher, and I’d love for you to stop by anytime to see what the students are making this year. I love ceramics and seeing the students touch clay for the first time is such a fun experience. Right now, we have plenty of clay but could use glazes to add color, professionalism, and functionality to their projects. The students would love to be able to drink out of the slab mugs they make! Do you have 30 minutes this week for me to stop by and discuss the art budget? I will email you a proposal today so our time will be as efficient as possible and you can make an informed decision!

Follow up on your elevator pitch with the promised email and proposal. Download the editable letter below and attach it to your email to save you time and energy!

Download the resource HERE!

Communicate with Local Artists

Bringing in local artists encourages creative collaboration and boosts inspiration. Of course, you want to bring these benefits to your students this year! Finding artists, getting necessary paperwork taken care of, and booking a slot on the calendar can take time so it’s important to start networking now. But where do you start? Check out the download below for 1o Ways to Find Local Artists Willing to Work With Your Students and then apply the templates and tips in this article to initiate conversation and establish meaningful connections.

Download the resource HERE!

Communicate with the Community

Local artists aren’t the only ones in the community worth communicating with! Reach out to local businesses and organizations for outreach opportunities, service hours, and other partnerships. An easy way to bolster your art program’s supply stash is to ask for donations. Ask the local hardware store for scrap wood for sculpture bases or a doctor’s office for outdated magazines for collage work. Save time with the template below; customize it for the local businesses near your school and specific ways they can contribute to the art program. Then, don’t forget to thank them and invite them to the art show at the end of the year!

Download the resource HERE!

So there you have it, fellow art educators! We took a journey through AOEU’s archives and bolstered your communication toolkit. Effective communication can be tricky due to many factors. These downloads are valuable because they take the “how” out of the equation, giving you extra time and energy to focus on the content of your message and relationship-building. Bookmark this page or print them all and post them near your desk so you remember to use these handy resources. Best of luck creating connections that will make your art program shine this year!

Which download are you most excited to use this year?

What questions do you still have about communicating with parents, students, local artists, administrators, or the community?

The post Colorful Conversations: 9 Fantastic Resources to Enhance Communication in Your Art Room appeared first on The Art of Education University.

In addition to games, there are a ton of other unexpected activities you can do on the first day of school. Watch the First Day Activities Pack in PRO Learning for more ideas. If you’re feeling brave, break out the art supplies and dive into artmaking on day one with these five ideas.

Below are 10 ideas to get to know your students on the first day of art class and break the awkward ice.

1. Participate in a design challenge.

Step into the semester with a creativity design challenge. Use random supplies you have left over from last year, provide a challenge, and then let students collaborate and experiment. For example, challenge students to create a wearable hat that functions as a straw. Provide staples, paper, tape, and scissors. Students work together to create prototypes for a functional hat. Then, they share their flops and gains with the class. Doing a challenge on the first day will show you which students are leaders, hard workers, focused, innovative, and more. Hear more art room hacks from high school art teacher, Matt Young, in the video below.

2. Play Pictionary.

Play this classic party game to observe how students interact and see what foundational drawing skills they have. Prepare by writing or printing silly nouns on slips of paper and place them in a container. Break the class into small groups or play as a whole class. Select a student to grab a noun and illustrate it. The first student who guesses correctly gets to go next.

3. Draw a hybrid mash-up.

Introduce a game called Hybrid Mash-Up—a game guaranteed to ignite creativity and be an art room favorite. Just like in the previous game, prepare a bowl of nouns on slips of paper, like Mona Lisa, American Gothic, sneakers, and pizza. Select two students to each take a noun. The pair has to work together to incorporate both nouns into one drawing. For example, if students choose the Mona Lisa and sneakers, the students could draw the Mona Lisa wearing sneakers. The possibilities are limitless!

4. Curate statements for a round of Mother May I.

Many middle and high school students may be hesitant but give this game a shot. It’s a great game for teachers and students to get to know each other. Make a list of statements that resonate with student interests. For example, statements could include: I rode the bus to school this morning or I have never taken an art class before. Line the students up along one wall. If the statement applies to a student, they take one step forward. This exercise shows students commonalities among them.

5. Construct an “All About You” sculpture.

Prepare strips of paper in every color of the rainbow and share a paper-folding menu. Each paper manipulating technique represents a characteristic. For example, all students whose favorite class is P.E. will accordion fold a strip of green paper. When all the techniques are complete, each student will take their paper components and compose a sculpture. This artwork is another way to show students what they have in common.

6. Complete a coloring page.

Coloring pages are easy and relaxing on the first day of school. Plus, many students really enjoy coloring! If you’re feeling creative, design your own coloring sheet or search the internet for one. The coloring sheet can represent your school mascot and community or it can illustrate basic art supply procedures.

7. Start a game of Telephone.

A game of Telephone can quickly get twisted and tricky, but that’s the point and students love it! Compile a list of acceptable statements for the game. Great statements for the first day can cover class procedures or fun facts about you. Line students up and let the first student whisper one of the statements to their neighbor. Each student whispers the statement to the next in line. The last person in line shares the statement out loud. Sometimes, the statement stays exactly the same throughout the whole line. Other times, the statement evolves into something totally different! This activity can also illustrate how quickly gossip can spread.

8. Go on a scavenger hunt.

The first day can be full of sitting and rules. Shake things up and get students moving around the studio! Take photos of important stations or spots in your classroom. Print (and laminate!) them. Cut them up into smaller pieces, like a puzzle. Each table will get a puzzle to assemble. Once students complete their puzzles, they find the corresponding station or spot in your classroom. Go over what each station is, how to use it properly, and why it’s important. For a simpler scavenger hunt, grab a complimentary download.

9. Design sketchbook covers.

We love the allure of a freshly bound sketchbook and many of our students do too! Whether you make them or buy them, sketchbooks are art room gold. Sketchbooks are special for our students because they are uniquely theirs, and they work hard on them all year. It creates a visual memory of their year with you! Allocate time to design covers that reflect individual interests and include block or bubble names. This is a great way to get to know your students as you circulate the room. See how Sarah Krajewski makes and stores student sketchbooks in the video below.

10. Fill out a student survey.

Let students share their interests with you before locking in lesson plans. This can help you determine your students’ level as you plan for the year. You can ask them if they’ve taken an art class before, what art supplies they’ve used, and what they’d love to learn this year! Surveys don’t have to be boring tests. Make an interactive sheet and ask students to fill in their favorites, like the All About Me worksheet.

The first day of art class can be intimidating for both you and your students. Coloring pages and moving hands through silly, low-pressure drawings usually shake off the back-to-school jitters. Here at AOEU, we have you covered with great resources for easy art activities and projects on the first day of school to get you creating more and lecturing less. Build relationships over creativity design challenges and games while also setting expectations. While it’s easier said than done, don’t stress about your big “to-do” list—it will be there tomorrow. Carve out space to be present with your students to start the year off right.

Here are three more back-to-school articles to guide you through your first day:

1. 3 Steps to the Best First Day
2. How to Plan Your First Day at the High School Level
3. How to Make Your First Day of Teaching Middle School Art a Blast

What does the first day of school look like in your art room?

Share a student-favorite design challenge!

The post 10 Fun First-Day Art Room Get-To-Know-You Activities appeared first on The Art of Education University.

Keep reading for genius options to reimagine both teacher examples and leftover student art!

To keep or not to keep? What are the pros and cons?

Many art teachers are proud to be the hoarders of the school. We tend to collect random objects because we might use them in the future. Many of us tend to look at leftover work and agonize over keeping it or throwing it away. Let’s emphasize this first: do what is best for your situation. If there is not enough room, don’t feel pressured to keep artwork. Or, if you have lots of room, don’t feel pressured to throw things away because you see someone else filling the trash can at the end of the year.

Here are three reasons to keep artwork:

1. Reduces waste.
   Throwing away artwork contributes to unnecessary waste. Find new ways to use the artwork to promote sustainability.
2. Records student and teacher growth.
   Save artwork over time to reflect on both your and your students’ progress.
3. Inspires and motivates in the future.
   Repurpose artwork as a teaching tool or display it in galleries to motivate students to continue exploring their artistic abilities. Sharing samples can also save valuable planning time for other art teachers in your building or district.

Here are three reasons not to keep student artwork:

1. Reclaims valuable space.
   Create more space in your classroom for supplies and other materials.
2. Protects student information and privacy.
   In some cases, artwork may contain personal information or sensitive material. It may be appropriate to dispose of the work.
3. Makes room for more relevant works.
   Some artwork may become outdated or lose its relevance over time. Get rid of the artwork to make room for fresh projects and ideas.

Let’s look at 24 ways to reuse teacher examples and left-behind student art from this past year!

Once again, the main goal is to do what works best at your school, in your classroom, and with your students. We will share creative ways to use and repurpose artwork below, but don’t feel boxed in by these ideas! Experiment and tweak as you see fit.

1. Decorate the school’s halls, classrooms, or library over the summer.
2. Donate the artwork to local hospitals, nursing homes, or community centers to brighten up the walls.
3. Hold an art sale or auction to raise funds for art supplies and equipment.
4. Gift artwork to family members, friends, mentors, or favorite teachers.
5. Store the artwork for future exhibitions or competitions.
6. Use the artwork as a resource for future lessons or projects.
7. Cut or tear the art to use in collages.
8. Post a digital archive or presentation on the school’s website and social media accounts.
9. Laminate the art for colorful and unique individual or whole table “messy mats.”
10. Collaborate with local businesses to showcase students’ work in public spaces.
11. Use the artwork as part of a traveling exhibit to share with other schools or community organizations.
12. Create a scrapbook of the students’ work to commemorate the school year.
13. Cut small strips out and laminate them to form custom bookmarks for your library.
14. Compose a permanent installation or mural on school grounds.
15. Organize a trade or exchange program with other art teachers to share ideas.
16. Offer the artwork as prizes or incentives for art contests or challenges.
17. Rip the art into pieces to use for colorful papier-mâché.
18. Cut the art into strips to make paper weavings.
19. Fold the pieces into cards, write encouraging notes in them, and drop them off at a local hospital or nursing home.
20. Include the art in an online art course or tutorial.
21. Roll the art into long “coils” and hot glue it onto a board to form a relief or wrap it to form a vessel.
22. Tear the artwork into pieces by color and blend them into paper pulp to create new paper.
23. Cut the artwork into long triangles and roll it into paper beads for jewelry making.
24. Add photos of the work to your professional teaching portfolio.

The end of the school year is a time to reflect on the artistic accomplishments of your students. Their artwork is a unique representation of their creativity and dedication. While it can be tempting to throw or pack it all away, there are many rewarding ways to give old artwork a new purpose. For instance, brighten up a community space, inspire future artists, gift the artwork, or pass it along as a prize. Consider the ideas above for your leftover student art to maximize what you have. Who knows? You may just find a new way to continue the creative process even after the school year ends.

Do you toss or keep artwork at the end of the year? 

How have you creatively reused leftover artwork at the end of the year?

The post 24 Genius Ways to Use Leftover Student Art at the End of the Year! appeared first on The Art of Education University.

Processing your students’ artistic growth with them is essential in building up their growth mindset. Students need to see that their brains can learn from failure and change accordingly. The belief in failure as a necessary component for learning is foundational to a growth mindset, and art class is the perfect place to cement this. You can instill a growth mindset in your students and make their learning evident by reviewing their artistic journeys from the beginning of the year until now.

Art is particularly helpful in developing a growth mindset because failure riddles the artistic process. Your students have been building their growth mindset without even knowing it! Elementary students need a little extra help to see it, though. Incorporating visual and discussion-based strategies with written activities helps your artists, from shortest to tallest, see where they started and how it’s going now.

If you are struggling to connect artmaking and a growth mindset for your students, here are some resources:

• Growth Mindset in the Art Room Pack from PRO Learning
• How a Growth Mindset Can Affect Your Teaching Career
• The Enormous Effect Language Has on Growth Mindset

Engage in these seven activities to help your elementary students recognize how much they have grown as artists and humans this year!

1. Repeat a project from the beginning of the year.

Repeating a project is a great way to visualize growth without relying on language. Choose a project you can effortlessly build into your curriculum. Self-portraits make great comparisons and offer the chance to incorporate various skills. Simply have your students create a portrait at the beginning of the year and recreate it at the end. Display the two side by side to show how much growth has occurred!

2. Assemble a growth portfolio of student work.

A growth portfolio highlights the artistic process over the product. This portfolio differs from a traditional one in that it consists of more than just the finished artwork. Include sketches, peer critiques, midpoint reviews, and other foundational documentation that brought about the finished product. Give a complete picture of how much work went into the art!

Start assembling digital growth portfolios today with these resources:

• “Utilizing Digital Portfolios (Ep. 325)”
• How to Use End-of-Semester Online Portfolios to Measure Growth
• “Digital Portfolios and So Much More… (Ep. 112)”

3. Collect formative assessments into an illustrated work log.

Consider interspersing written formative assessments with live and in-the-moment learning checks so that students can track with you. For example, assign exit tickets, sticky note reflections, or peer critiques, and have your students save these until the end of the year. Then, students create an illustration to accompany each one. For example, their drawings can show them learning the lesson, demonstrate their learned technique, or symbolize their learning.

4. Select a “Show and Tell” piece as the subject for reflection.

Encourage students to consider a piece of art they are proud of. Ask students to think about the process of making the work, the challenges they faced along the way, and why the artwork is successful in their eyes. Adjust the reflection format for the grade level. Try a Think-Pair-Share for younger students and a written reflection for older students. Then, have each student show their artwork and share insight from their reflection.

Help your students think about their art with these reflective strategies:

• “Encouraging Risk-Taking and Reflection (Ep. 094)”
• How to Reveal the Creative Process Through Reflection
• Use the Studio Habits as a Guide for Reflective Self-Assessment

5. Host a “Biggest Failure” award ceremony with prizes.

Time to celebrate those mistakes! Instead of choosing their most successful artwork, have your students determine one that was an epic failure. Ask your students to write about or discuss what they were trying to accomplish, where they went wrong, and what they will do differently next time. Each student then presents the artwork and failure takeaways. Vote as a community on the “Biggest Failure” and award simple prizes for first, second, and third place.

6. Curate a sketchbook gallery walk with your class.

What better way for students to see how they navigated their artistic journey than a look in their sketchbooks? Prepare for the gallery walk by having students tag three to five pages representing essential learning from the year or showing incremental skills growth. Then, set out the tagged sketchbooks and tour them as a class. Ask students to leave encouraging notes, observations, or comments as they go.

Make sketchbooks foundational in your art room with these resources:

• Making Elementary Sketchbooks Meaningful Pack from PRO Learning
• 5 Simple Ways to Use Sketchbooks in the Elementary Art Room
• How to Make Sketchbooks a Vital Part of Your Classroom

7. Connect growth beyond the walls of the art room.

You are not the only one seeing your students’ minds evolve and change. Your students have picked up new skills in all of their classes. Their character has also developed along the way. Collaborate with other teachers to celebrate all of the transformations you’ve seen. Incorporate work from other classes into these activities to provide a more holistic picture of your students’ growth!

You put in the hard work all year to provide your students with opportunities to fail and learn from their “mistakes” safely. In turn, they have taken what you have given them and run with it, developing their artistic skills and growth mindsets. The final step is to show your elementary students how much they have grown. Taking the time to process growth cements knowledge and learning in your students’ developing brains.

There are many creative ways to tailor growth processing to your students’ grade level. Try a visual method with your younger students, like comparing artworks from the beginning and end of the year. Integrate more written components, like sketchbook gallery walk feedback, as your students get older. Expand your reflection beyond the walls of your art class for a more holistic look. Whatever the activity, make it fun and really celebrate how far you’ve come together!

For even more ways to celebrate artistic growth with your students, try one of these additional strategies:

• 10 Trusted Rules to Promote Artistic Growth in Your Classroom
• 3 Practical Ways to Assess Student Growth
• An Authentic Way to Show Student Growth in the Art Room

How do you process student growth with your elementary students?

Which activity are you excited to try in your elementary art room?

The post 7 Ways to Process Artistic Growth With Your Elementary Students appeared first on The Art of Education University.

One day, I was organizing my flat files of old prints, postcards, and posters. As I was about to toss several in the recycle bin, my middle school students begged me to let them keep the images. They bartered with whatever they could to acquire one of the pictures. Intrigued by their excitement, I went through drawers, closets, and bins to gather anything I wasn’t using to create an incentive program for my students.

Keep reading to see how to create your own Art Yard Sale to motivate your students in four simple steps!

1. Collect yard sale items.

First, check with your administration and follow school policies around the distribution of materials. Look for objects in your class that take up space and don’t get used in your curriculum. Do you have an overabundance of certain donated supplies? Do you have old textbooks or art books?

Here is a list of items you can use for your yard sale to get started:

• Donated art supplies
• Extra pens, highlighters, pencils, and office supplies
• Teacher examples
• Posters
• Postcards
• Buttons
• Beads
• Scrapbook paper
• Folders
• Art books
• Pencil pouches
• School merchandise
• Key chains
• Previous student artwork
• Homework passes

2. Store items and select a yard sale location.

Simplicity is key—while you can create an amazing storefront, remember that this is a yard sale. Any basket, cardboard box, bin, or drawer will do for storing your items. Copy paper box lids work great for storing flat paper items. Come up with simple organizational systems to keep similar items together to make it easy on yard sale day.

Here are three options for where you can set up your yard sale:

1. A cart with items on each level
2. A countertop with items spread out on top
3. A card table or spare desks pushed together with items spread out on top

3. Implement your yard sale.

Implementing the Art Yard Sale is also simple! You control many of the aspects of the incentive program to fit your classroom situation and management style. You can make it as hands-on or hands-off as you want. Let students and parents know about this incentive ahead of time so the expectations are clear. Hang a poster of the incentive system to help remind students each class. And, who knows? Maybe some parents will send in donations to add to your sale!

Take some time at the beginning of one of your classes to explain the following:

1. How the Art Yard Sale works.
2. How often it will happen.
3. How students can gain points toward it.
4. What they can spend their points on.

Choose what currency to use for your yard sale and name it what you wish. If your school already has an incentive system, align with it to provide consistency for your students. Keep the currency easily accessible in an apron pocket, satchel, or pouch so you can hand it out as soon as you see the behavior you want to reward.

Currency can include any of the following:

• Dollars
• Tickets
• Points
• Coins
• Art Bucks

Choose how much to sell your yard sale items for. If you have larger or higher quality items, make them more expensive. If you want the yard sale to be more accessible for students, have lower-priced items available in the mix.

4. Tracking and accountability.

When it comes to reward programs, teachers never want to keep track of points, dollars, or tickets for each class and student. If the students are very young and unable to keep track of their points, streamline the system. The class as a whole can get the point if they are fulfilling expectations. Or, keep track of individual students by adding an extra column on your attendance sheet.

If the students are older, let them keep track of their points by physically giving them their currency. Make it known from the beginning that you will not replace misplaced or lost currency. This teaches them responsibility.

Offer ideas for where they can keep their currency:

• Pencil pouch
• Portfolio
• Binder
• Folder
• Sandwich bag

Brainstorming and sharing a new system is the easy part! Being consistent and following through as the weeks progress can be more difficult. Students pick up on what we prioritize. If we refer to the Art Yard Sale and reward positive behaviors daily, students’ buy-in will remain high in anticipation. Reminding students of the expectations and consistently praising the behaviors you want to see shines a spotlight on students doing the right thing. Plus, it’s a great way to keep your classrooms and closets from getting cluttered! As yard sales start popping up in your neighborhoods this spring, we hope one will come to your classroom too!

For more classroom management tips and tricks, check out these resources:

• Art Room Hacks | Quick Classroom Management Strategies (Ep. 6)
• Classroom Management Ideas That Just Might Work
• Managing the Art Room Graduate Course

What systems help your students stay motivated?

Share an unusual incentive that has worked for your students.

The post How to Implement an Art Yard Sale to Motivate and Support Students appeared first on The Art of Education University.