Monochrome Dot Display!

Hello there Artists!
This post goes out to Mr. E of Art with Mr. E! He inspired me at the beginning of this year when I saw his monochromatic dots! 

I loved the idea of the kids painting on the first day of Art class, (it blew their minds), and I also liked this project because, while they were learning new Art vocabulary and techniques on the first days of school, it was a really nice way to jump-start their "Art brains" again after summer break. It also tied into International Dot day! Bonus!

At one of my schools, we are participating in "one book, one school". The book this year is a community-builder (we live in a beach-side town in little RI) called "Hello Ocean" by Pam Muñoz Ryan . This inspired the wave configuration for this display! 

This all-school art lesson established a strong sense of community right out of the gate for the new school year!

Thank you for the inspiration Mr. E, it turned out wonderfully! 

 The close-ups are super cool too! 

 Thank you for visiting, and please come back soon! 

Beginning of Year: Class Setup

Hello there! 
While all the young artists are finishing up their all-school, beginning-of-year lesson, I decided to make a post about my room setup this year. I'm still at three schools, but I will be showing you my "home base" school, where I teach 3 days out of 5. This is the only classroom I do not share with another teacher - it's my baby! 
Most of the images are my displays, rules, and some new procedures in trying out this year! 
(click to enlarge pics)

      

Above: This is the first time I am trying out the "Art Room Jobs"- each table has a specific duty for a month, then I switch it up! I am finding I need to give more time at the end of class so they can get used to cleaning up in a different way! The paintbrushes represent the color of the tables. 

The "How did I do?" chart helps the students self-assess while working on their own projects, and the "3 B's" is a PBIS initiative for our school. It's nice that they are universal and can apply to all areas. On the right, is a new sign-out system!

 Below: On the left, you'll see color-coded shelves, this goes along with the Art Room Jobs, where students from the orange shelf will only get supplies from the orange shelf, yellow from yellow, and so on! It keeps the room so much more organized! I also have "shelf patrol" as a job, and they check the shelves to make sure each one has the supplies needed. It's working slowly but surely! 

On the right, I got this idea from a fellow Art teacher (and blogger) Rachel Motta! This is a great way to show a simple objective for each grade, and each lesson! Just use dry-erase, easy-peasy! There is also a little affirmation letter to the students (thank you Pinterest).

 

Above shows my NOISE chart, where the class has three chances to turn down the volume. Each time it gets too loud, I take away a letter, if all three are taken away (I, S, E), the word "NO" if left, and there is NO talking until they earn their letters back! There is also the Art Room Agreement, and some self-assessment tools.  Lastly, is a cool pic of the water buckets from our monochromatic dot project in progress! Almost done! 

Thanks for checking this out, stay tuned to see the all-school display with those dots!