Rule board

The 3rd quarter we revisited our classroom rules/norms.  Each student wrote their 3 most important rules on a notecard and posted them on my awesome giant bulletin board.  We grouped them by theme, you can see they mainly fell into 5 groups with a few outliers.  I think it visually looks pretty cool and helps the kids see what rules we all think are most important.

Setting Goals

After giving a course overview, looking at objectives and finished products, students set goals for themselves. I allowed students to choose a goal related either to art production or to their classroom performance I did a very simple goal sheet as an exit ticket which we shared and will post in our room.  Here are two 6th grade examples (with names strategically left off for sharing online).

Too much fun?

 My 5th and 6th graders played a version of the Surrealist game "Exquisite Corpse" (although we did not call it that!).  It was a blind collaborative effort where each students contributed part of a character's body but did not know what the previous section(s) looked like.  The purpose was to bond each table group and after we made the drawings we reflected on how we need to communicate and work with each other in the class to be successful artists.  They definitely enjoyed it, maybe a little too much.

 

RESPECT

I have only one rule in my art studio: RESPECT.

In table groups, we analyzed who and what we show respect to in the art studio  (teacher, classmates, ourselves, studio space, & art materials), generated a list of respectful behaviors, and illustrated what those behaviors look like. I am compiling each classes' ideas into a poster in the front of the room.  Another good beginning of the school year activity that builds student buy-in and gives specific behaviors to model (or avoid).

One group's poster

 

First day

I keep hearing the question "what do you do on the first day of school?"  On the first day, like most teachers, I divide my time between introducing procedures and getting to know my students.  This year, I opted to do a 4 part mini portrait as part of the get to know you segment.  The directions are as follows:

Fold a piece of paper into 4 equal squares and label each section with a number 1,2,3, and 4.
In section 1, write your name in a creative way
In section 2, draw a picture to represent your favorite subject
In section 3, draw a picture to represent what you like to do outside of school hours
In section 4, draw a picture that represents a person who is important to you and label it ( this picture does not have to be a portrait of the person, can be a symbol or object that represents the person).

I followed this up with a few reflection questions: Was there any square that was easy to draw or that you enjoyed drawing?  Was there any square that was difficult for you to draw or you did not enjoy drawing? Why do you think I choose this artwork for the first day of school.

It was easy and got great results! This artwork let know my students personally and also informed me of their strengths and weaknesses as artists.  I also appreciate that it allows me to authentically share a little about myself with my students.

Here is my example followed by some 5th grade student samples (my apologies if the pencil is a little too light):

 

What do you think? What do you or would you do on the first day of school? How would you complete your artwork if this was your assignment?

 

A quick note

In a word, my first day of teaching was fantastic. I met 4 great groups each with a different personality. Tomorrow, I will meet the rest of my students and I hope they are just as great as the classes today!