We all know that time flies when you are having fun. So you can imagine how fast an art class can fly by! That's fine if you are a kid, but the art teacher has the daunting task of fitting so many things into the space of a short art class, then having the students cleaned up, lined up and ready for the next class to come in and start it all over again. That's why small changes can make a big difference when you are repeating your procedures several times a day. So I'm giving you a sneak peek into the classroom at Brown Elementary to see how Ms. Murdock keeps on schedule in style!
1) Have Materials Organized by Grade
Being ready for 5 or more different lessons in a day is quite a challenge. Having a designated place for handouts and materials that are prepped is key. This is also a great time saver when students are absent and need a handout from last week to catch up with the class.
2) Have Supplies Organized by Table
Getting supplies out for a variety of lessons though out the day can create a big mess at the end of the day. Ms. Murdock has her supplies already divided in cute container for each table. Table helper are in charge of getting the designated supplies needed for the art project, and returning them to the shelf when the class is over.
3) Have Work Organized by Class
Student sketchbooks and work-in-progress can easily take over the art room if left un checked. Ms. Murdock has a colorful box for each class that is filled with their sketchbooks. Work-in-progress can also be stored on top of each box.
4) Students Know What To Do and How Long They Have to Finish
If you are lucky enough to have a document camera and projector, this is a great tip! After demonstrating the lesson, Ms. Murdock leaves the lesson demo showing on the screen and sets a countdown clock (found at stopwatch.com) on the screen. Students can see at a glance what they should be doing and how much time they have left to complete the task.
5) Getting Students to Listen
The art room has often been referred to as "organized chaos". The best teachers are able to let students have some freedom to move around and be creative, yet are able to pull them back together to move on to the next activity. Ms. Murdock secret is not in the volume of her voice. She can say very calmly, "Put your hands up if you hear my voice", and within seconds, she has a class that has stopped working and is ready to listen.
6) Transitions
What to do with those few seconds where some students have finished and others are still finishing. For some students, this is the perfect opportunity for mischief. Ms. Murdock can monitor student progress and also keep mischief at bay with this simple request. During her 1st grade class, when she was having students fill out a color wheel step-by-step with her, she asked students to cross their arms in front of their chest when they have finished with the step she demonstrated.
Thanks, Ms. Murdock for allowing me to share some of your secrets to success!
The Van Gogh's Sunflower lesson and Color Wheel Pallet can be found
in Expressive Monkey's TpT Store. Here are some links to the projects:
 |
| Van Gogh's Sunflower, Roll & Draw Activity |
 |
| Color Wheel Pallet, Color Mixing Activity |
 |
| Stacey Peters, the creator of Expressive Monkey |
No comments:
Post a Comment