Is This Art?!

How do you talk to your students about art? What are the limitations? Are there limitations?

Is the back of this sign in DC art? Can it be appreciated?

What about the back of this sign in Charlottesville? Is this art?

What connections can be made in your art room this year that will expand your students minds to the limitless possibilities of the creative world?

Instagram Challenge: Elements of Art

Kids LOVE Instagram. Hey, I love Instagram. What's not to love? It's fun, easy, and keeps you connected with the world. I especially love being able to connect with my students in a fun and relaxing way. Sometimes I even slip a little learning and application into this arena.

My most recent is the

  Instagram Challenge: 

Elements of Art 

Although the EOA are used every day in class during the creation of our art work, I believe it's very important that the students can recognize and 

name all 7 elements. 

When working on a piece of art the student should be able to critique their piece and make design decisions based on the elements used. Usually it's subtle changes that take a work of art from good to GREAT!

The Instagram Challenge: Elements of Art has simple rules and sends students on a scavenger hunt through their world. Capture the 7 Elements of Art in 7 Pictures. That's it. 

And what's the fun in a challenge without a prize? The students that receives the most likes on their combined pictures will receive one of my Creativity NOT Conformity poster. A much coveted item in the art room.

Meeting students not just where they're at academically, but also in their world, makes the connections that foster true learning in these 21st Century Learners.

You can find me on Instagram as Kids Create Art. Start your own Instagram Challenge today and tag me in it. I would love to see what other creative ideas people come up with.

My Couch is My Office! Love IT!

In an effort to keep up with the procrastination during the creation on my M.C. Escher Unit, I thought I would share this photo of how relaxing a couch office can really be.

Note the colorful Pottery Barn lap desks "borrowed" from children's room provide an added comfort to facilitate laptops and tablets alike.




Whether you're an Apple or Windows aficionado, the couch office is ideal for your working pleasure.








Insert Photo: Ottoman used to prop feet for casual thinking and proper circulation. Keep that blood flowing to the organ you need the most during your long hours of productivity.

Kids Don't Want To Be a Zero

Why won't my students rate themselves where they truly belong on my scale of understanding! It's so frustrating. "How many of you are a 1?" We say this at the beginning of class and even though most of the class may be a 1 at the beginning of the lesson or unit they refuse to raise their hands.

It really is a waste of time trying to explain to students why they need to be honest with the scale and why being a 1 is ok. We are trying to convince the ego and that usually gets us no where.

Nobody wants to say "I don't know something". It's not good for our ego. Whether the bottom of your scale is a 0 or a 1 is irrelevant. 

How can this issue be resolved for accurate self assessment for the students?

Aha! It's all in the wording. Rather than listing your 1 as an "I don't know" try listing it as "I DO know". Your current standards and learning goals build on your students' previous years of knowledge. So make the bottom of your scale reflect where you students are at currently.

Being a 1 is something they should feel good about. They do know something. And our job is to make them feel excited that after the lesson or unit they are going  to know even more.

Happy New Year's! Resolutions anyone?

Happy New Year!! 

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and great New Years Eve. I hadn't thought much at all about a New Year's resolution. I resolve to do things everyday. Some resolutions get implemented immediately and some get added to the every expanding to do list.

This morning while perusing my twitter feed I came across a tweet from TED with a link to...

Cesar Kuriyama: One second every day
"There are so many tiny, beautiful, funny, tragic moments in your life -- how are you going to remember them all? Director Cesar Kuriyama shoots one second of video every day as part of an ongoing project to collect all the special bits of his life."

I was instantly inspired and resolved to start this today, January 1, 2014. Check out the video below from TED. Maybe it will inspire you to start recording the fleeting moments in your life to share with future generations. What a wonderful gift to share with your family.

Doctor Who Fixes Rudolph's Nose

My kids love the Animation Chefs. This month's animation challenge "Pick Rudolf's Nose" asked viewers to animate how Rudolf got his glowing red nose. The kids got right to designing and came up with several shorts. Being a Doctor Who-Aholic, my favorite was this one created by my 15 year old. Check it out. We love using the iStopMotion App. It's easy to use for all ages.

You have til midnight to enter the contest. Get those kids working on this fun winter break activity! Great prizes for the winners. Visit www.animationchefs.com for details.

Exit Slips in No Time

40 minutes is a short amount of time for any class. And in my art room it seems to be gone in an instant. As soon as we get seated and set up, I feel like it's already time to clean up and line up again. Zoom! Sometimes I feel like these kids are just flying in and out of my room...And don't let the door hit you on the way out!

Seriously though, time is tight. And when you add other things into the mix besides just the art it really puts the pressure on. One simple thing that has really helped with integrating Marzano's Instructional Model into my classroom is the exit slip.



Element 13: What do I typically do to help students reflect on their learning? One strategy suggested for this element is using exit slips at the end of class in an effort to get students to respond to questions about their learning immediately after the teacher is done. Here's how I do it.

I currently use two types of exit slips. One says "Tell me three new things you learned today". The other says "Tell me one thing you liked about class, and one thing you would have liked done to help you understand the lesson".



Depending on the grade I am teaching I mix it up a bit. Obviously I wouldn't have 1st graders write out 3 new things because they would never get it done in time. For them we might write three new words.

Exit slips are a great way to monitor the student's understanding of new knowledge. Try them out in your class. You'd be surprised what some of your students have to say.