Monday, August 16, 2010

First Days of School (IN AN ART CLASSROOM)

The kids look spiffy in their new polo shirts and hairdos. The hallways are decorated with "Welcome!" banners and cute displays of class lists on sea creature die-cut shapes or hot air balloons. (Yes, I teach elementary!) Your art tables are clean and free from paint and sharpie marker graffiti. And your classroom is empty as you await the first sounds of your art students for the year...

What's the most successful way to start off the year in an art class? Of course we know we need to go over the basics (rules, consequences, expectations, Big goal, procedures), but should we actually try to do any art on the first day?! Most likely you will not start any real long-term projects on the first day (especially if your class is only 45 minutes long!), but there are some ways to incorporate creativity and break out some artsy materials. Below are my ideas and links to other, please post a comment with your thoughts!

-Have them decorate the cover of their Portfolio for the year
-A Student survey that asks students to draw their answers (i.e. Draw the members of your household)
- Make a puzzle banner! I did this last year with the phrase, "ART IS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE!" and I believe Charlotte Carroll also had success with this mini project! See http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/Files/ArtNight.htm
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