This was a week of Day 2’s of art projects across the grade levels. My goal was to have these projects finished this week in order to start something new next week, or at least after the holiday break. That didn’t seem to work so well. I began to think about “hanging” assignments and whether to move on when students aren’t completely finished, or to give them time to finish as a whole. When classes meet only once a week, it’s hard to just keep going on a project week after week especially if other students finish early. My CT talked to me about this and said she usually has a lot of “hanging” projects just so the students get as many projects for their trimester as possible. I just have issues with students never finishing assignments. How do you grade students on unfinished work? This is a challenge for me to think more about.
I’ve also been challenged with classroom management for projects that finish earlier than expected and finding things early finishers can work on until class ends. One thing is to give jobs to students who are done, but there are only so many jobs to give, especially when students are still using supplies at their table. I found that most students love “free draw” and giving them the option to grab paper and draw whatever their hearts desire excites them. The other is “choice time” where they can grab building toys or puzzles to work on at tables. But managing this is difficult because once students see one student who is drawing or having “choice time”, all of them start to say they are done with their project just so they can join in. I need to work on stating my expectations from the start of class and repeating those expectations more.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Brighten Someone's Day
I woke up one morning just not feeling the day to come. Nothing in particular happened, it was just "one of those days". Well, I came into school for the morning and a parent with her two kids (my students) stopped me in the hallway. She wanted to compliment how great the 1st grade paintings and collage environments turned out. (They were left along the wall on the floor to dry by the art room). Just this little compliment made my day and changed my mood. I really love when that happens.
This is a lesson to go along with Giraffe's Can't Dance by Giles Andreae. They first draw giraffes that they watercolor, then create the background of the moon and stars, followed by the foreground of leaves and vines. Finished artwork images to come!
This is a lesson to go along with Giraffe's Can't Dance by Giles Andreae. They first draw giraffes that they watercolor, then create the background of the moon and stars, followed by the foreground of leaves and vines. Finished artwork images to come!
Elementary Displays
Over the past couple weeks, I have been doing different weaving lessons with 2nd-5th grades. The 2nd did paper weaving where they designed their own strips in unique ways. The 3rd graders did some weaving and unweaving using burlap. The 4th graders did warm and cool color watercolor weavings with stamping. The 5th graders did cardboard loom weavings with yarn. Here is the display of samples from 2nd-4th grades.
With the Ex. Ed. classes, we looked at Owl stories and images and made owl puppets using torn paper and cut shapes.
With the Ex. Ed. classes, we looked at Owl stories and images and made owl puppets using torn paper and cut shapes.
Friday, December 9, 2011
100% and Management
This week was my first week taking over 100% of the classes at the elementary school. It has been busy, but manageable. Teaching all the classes, I see my lessons evolving as I teach them over and over to different classes of the same grade. I take note of what works with my lessons and adapt them. Different classes have different paces and attitudes and that really dictates how I run my lessons. With some classes I can add elements to, with other I have to cut. I think that this week I have truly learned about being flexible with my lessons. This week I had two lessons that I have had to really change and adapt to and I had to be more impromptu in teaching them. This all happened because of suggestions from my CT to try, and I was willing to trust her advice and see if it would work. It did all work out and I proved to myself that I could do it and follow through with it successfully.
6th graders started their trimester this week and I was able to see how to welcome new classes and go over rules of the art room and safety procedures. Middle schoolers have a completely different attitude about them and I realized how different my teacher voice gets around the different grade levels. With 6th graders I have to let them know I’m business and get them “re-trained” for art room behaviors and routines. I’ve realized my management issues are the worst with Kindergarten and 1st graders, as well as 6th graders. The grades in between seem to police themselves more and follow directions. Overall, with my most difficult classes, it involves a lot of repeating and holding the students accountable for their actions. This is a challenge I will be working on throughout this student teaching experience. I am taking any suggestions my CT gives me for ways to get students attention, but I haven’t found one that works 100% of the time.
6th graders started their trimester this week and I was able to see how to welcome new classes and go over rules of the art room and safety procedures. Middle schoolers have a completely different attitude about them and I realized how different my teacher voice gets around the different grade levels. With 6th graders I have to let them know I’m business and get them “re-trained” for art room behaviors and routines. I’ve realized my management issues are the worst with Kindergarten and 1st graders, as well as 6th graders. The grades in between seem to police themselves more and follow directions. Overall, with my most difficult classes, it involves a lot of repeating and holding the students accountable for their actions. This is a challenge I will be working on throughout this student teaching experience. I am taking any suggestions my CT gives me for ways to get students attention, but I haven’t found one that works 100% of the time.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Taking on 75%
This week I took on 75% of classes at the elementary school which is about 3 classes a day. It has been a good ease in by taking on a couple more classes each week. The students are getting familiar with me and taking good direction. However, my Kindergartners have been my biggest challenge. I have been able to keep them engaged in my lessons no problem. I begin by reading them a story and capturing their interest which works well. But come 30 minutes into the class period when it's time for cleanup, the students have issues in listening and following directions. My CT has referred to that as "mob mentality" which I completely agree with. I realize that I have to make sure that I give clear expectations and hold them accountable for their behavior. I also need to make sure I repeat myself more often because at that age level, they need that. My lesson this week got adjusted and modified. I had planned a clay owl lesson for K4 and K5, but my CT recommended I have a "Play Clay" day so that the students have time to feel what it's like to poke, pinch, and pull clay. With the modeling clay, they would not keep anything that they make. Instead, my owl lesson would be pushed back to next week. The hopes with having a "Play Clay" day is that the students will respect the white clay more when they get it. This also engages higher level thinking because they will be able to tell me what's similar and different with the two types of clay.
My other challenge this week was leading the majority of Ex. Ed. classes on Friday that consist of CD and Autistic students. I designed a lesson creating Owl Puppets out of brown or white paper bags and torn scrap paper. The students used glue sticks to glue on a variety of paper scraps to create feathers on the belly and back of their owl. Most students loved the project. It was a project that they could do at their own pace. Prepping was my biggest issue because I didn't know how much paper the students would go through. The Ex. Ed. classes are the most difficult to coral because everyone's developmental level is so different. There are around 8 students per class, but tending to each student individually is a challenge. Each class was different. For a couple, I knew I had their attention to lead with reading a story. With others, I put out the Owl books and let them look for themselves. I also had postcards out on the tables of images of owls that they really enjoyed. When I brought out beaks, wings, and eyes for the students to add to their owl, they really pushed to finish the project so they could play with their owls and make them "fly".
My other challenge this week was leading the majority of Ex. Ed. classes on Friday that consist of CD and Autistic students. I designed a lesson creating Owl Puppets out of brown or white paper bags and torn scrap paper. The students used glue sticks to glue on a variety of paper scraps to create feathers on the belly and back of their owl. Most students loved the project. It was a project that they could do at their own pace. Prepping was my biggest issue because I didn't know how much paper the students would go through. The Ex. Ed. classes are the most difficult to coral because everyone's developmental level is so different. There are around 8 students per class, but tending to each student individually is a challenge. Each class was different. For a couple, I knew I had their attention to lead with reading a story. With others, I put out the Owl books and let them look for themselves. I also had postcards out on the tables of images of owls that they really enjoyed. When I brought out beaks, wings, and eyes for the students to add to their owl, they really pushed to finish the project so they could play with their owls and make them "fly".
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