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I Survived Middle School (and you can too!)

10/5/2018

Today, I am presenting at a local art conference and I wanted to share some of my best ideas for working with middle school.

18X24 Make them work big!
Overhead projector--let them draw it small and then blow it up with transparency+overhead
Chuck close fingerprint portrait
Radial portrait on color diffusing rounds
Lisa Frank inspired animal paintings
Chalk owls (charcoal)https://thislittleclassofmine.weebly.com/home/charcoal-owls
Chalk still life --objects like tools and art supplies

Collaboration! Make them pair up or work in teams.
Collaborative 18X24 chalk still life
Team Optical Illusion Challenge
Newspaper Shoes Team Challenge
Stop-Motion Animation Club
3-D Structure collage with shaving cream print background

Don’t focus too much on drawing.
Kids at this age are really self-concious. Try to give them lots of chances to do things other than drawing:
Kumihimo bracelet weaving
3-D Origami Paper Sculptures
Paper weaving (op art!)
Hand-Lettered Inspirational Quote Paintings

It is still okay to do step-by-step drawing once in while
Art Hub for kids-- Groot drawing, Birds, and monster trucks
Dice games--minions, nutcrackers, Leprechauns

One-day fun Challenges are good!
Chris Uphues is great for Halloween/Valentine’s day
Surprise! Ferocious Creatures
Shoes
Action Poses
Notan Collage

Use metals, hot glue guns, don’t be afraid of a little ‘danger.’
Metal insects and metal dragons--aluminum can be a little sharp
A.J. Fossik inspired cardboard masks using hot glue guns

Give Lots of choices
Foam Printmaking--’winter’ animals, architecture
Optical illusions-- Optical Illusions (How to Art Doodle) by Carolyn Scrace
Zentangle Animal Silhouettes, pumpkins

It is okay to pick one topic, one medium and then see what everyone does with it.
Chalk Pastel Sloths
Mona Lisa Parody
Texture Chameleons in colored pencil
Watercolor Llamas and Alpacas
Statue of Liberty tempera paintings
Star Wars Portrait (oil pastel drawing and collage)
Winter Fox Tempera paintings

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I survived Middle School Scope and Sequence

10/5/2018

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Today, I am presenting at a local art teacher conference. I thought I would make a blog post with my classroom management plan, some favorite lessons, a scope and sequence for the year and some of my tips for teaching middle school.

Scope and Sequence for Fall
August 21st-25th
Eclipse project
Paint sketchbook covers and then assemble after paint dries
Start 3D Collage origami project this is a 3-day project (kids are SUPER tired on the first Friday of the year, so it was very hard to teach origami to the afternoon classes. Lots of tears!)

August 28-Sept. 1st
Continue 3D collage origami project w/free time origami available for early finishers
Friday--Introduce color wheel, make mini spinners

September 5-8th
Optical illusions--introduce procedures for ‘messy’ projects, using the sinks, cleaning tables (3-day project)

September 11-15
Finish optical illusions--Dot day activity and oil pastel tie dye

September 18-22nd
A few need to finish op art.
Start chalk pastel background, have a catch up day and sub plan
Sub plan: Marker/fall leaf--do this with every class

September 26-29
Start symmetrical ‘halloween’ collage (use chalk stencil as background, see link above) I usually allow some kids to do a ‘fall’ theme if they don’t celebrate halloween.
Grades are due by Friday.

October 2nd-8th
Clay WEEK! For ½ the classes--modeling clay practice one day w/everyone: how to make a pinch pot.
For the other ½ the classes (there is only so much room to store drying clay so I staggered it)--finish halloween collage, finish fall leaves and have a catch up day

October 9-13
Clay WEEK for the other ½ classes.
Game day w/ intro iPad procedures and catch up on fall leaves and halloween collages.

October 16-20
Llama watercolor project (introduce and start drawing)
½ the classes are glazing clay this week

October 23-27
Start painting llamas.
½ kids glazed clay and start sending clay home.

October 30-November 3
(early out, watch schedule for a short day on Halloween!)
Finish Llamas, catch up day, abstract painting and music day
Send home clay
November 6-10
Group challenge
Bugs day 1-2-metal insects, collage background, wire legs and antennae

November 13-21
Bugs day 3-4
Origami Christmas ornament with scrap metal for a few classes
Catch up day before Thanksgiving

November 27-December 1
Printmaking unit: day w Start design for architecture printmaking unit, draw on paper
Day 2 printmaking--make a marker print, shop for paper and write names on papers for printmaking

December 4-8
Day 3 printing with brayers
Kumihimu bracelet weavings
Frame best prints from the editions

December 11-15

Catch up with some classes who need to print
Finish kumihimu bracelet weavings
1 Day ugly sweater contest for a few classes (I haven’t blogged about this but I’ve done it with random classes for the past few years to fill in gaps before Christmas break.
Make art portfolios (I haven’t blogged about portfolios, but it is a big paper the kids decorate. At the end of class, we fold it in half, I staple the sides and they stuff their sketchbooks and any projects that I selected inside, along with our last couple of projects)

December 18-21
1 Day ugly sweater contest for a few classes
Make art portfolios (send home all artwork)
Game day for everyone (combination board games/ipads, free art time, blocks, legos, etc)

Procedures and Routines/Classroom Management Plan

First day

Explain procedures for fire, tornado, and intruder drill.
Explain procedures for leaving the room: have a pass for restrooms/drinks and office.
Explain procedures for getting a sharp pencil or sharpening a pencil.
Explain procedures for safety: sinks get really hot, paper cutter is dangerous, don’t go into the storage closet.
Establish your classroom rules (keep them simple):
- 1. Listen and follow directions.
- 2. Raise your hand before speaking or leaving your seat. (I did not do this one as I wanted them to be free to go to the sink or get a pencil without checking in with me)
- 3. Keep your hands and feet to yourself.
- 4. Respect your classmates and your teacher.

Establish consequences for breaking rules. Consequences:
- 1st time a rule is broken: Warning
- 2nd time a rule is broken: Time-Out
- 3rd time a rule is broken: Letter Home

Everyday

Bell Work: The handbook states that student will do bell work at the beginning of each class. My first two years, I had little squares of paper on the tables for students to respond to the prompt: drawing, writing, or answering a question. After the bell work time, we would proceed with the lesson for the day. The bell work usually related to the project of the day, but sometimes it was just for fun. The bell work could also be done in the sketchbooks.
Explain procedures for the day: what to do first, what to do when finished, how to clean up for that particular day. If tables need to be reset for the next class, then point that out during your instructions. If you want them to put everything away at the end of class, make sure to mention it.
If it is a painting day, go over procedures for putting artwork into the drying rack. If it is a clay day, explain where to put clay so that it can dry. If it is an oil pastel day, explain how to wash hands without crowding the sink area.
Explain how to clean tables (if needed), what to do when finished cleaning, and what to do if they finish working before it is time to clean up.
If it is a drawing day, know that many students will not finish in one day, but a few will be done super early and you must have something for them to do if they get done early. I will list some ideas later.
If it is a new material, like metal or clay, demonstrate how to use the tools, the new material and explain some basic dos and don’ts. Be careful about listing too many ‘don’ts’ as this can give middle schoolers ideas and they will try something just because you tell them not to.
Make sure you know how you are going to distribute the supplies in advance. Are you going to pass it out? Are the kids going to come up and get it from you? Are they going to get it off a shelf? If there are a lot of papers to pass out, I would pick a student and then let them pick a friend to help them pass stuff out.
Decide in advance if you are going to play music during work time and have an appropriate playlist. Be prepared for someone to complain.
What works for some classes may not work for every class!

Behavior Procedures
Have a safe seat.
Have a plan for everything that might happen:

‘blurting out’
Refusal to work
Disrespectfulness
Defiance
Students not getting along with others at their table
Being overly LOUD and disruptive
Wandering the room
Crying because the project is too ‘hard’
What if a student wants to sit alone? Do you have a spot for them to move?

Have a plan worked out with the music (or other teacher near you) about using safe seat/buddy rooms for BIST.

Know what battles you are going to fight in advance. One year, I decided that I was going to ban all ‘throwing’. I was tired of students tossing erasers, paper towels into the trash can from across the room and even throwing pencils to each other. The more I lectured them about the dangers of throwing things, the more I noticed kids throwing things. They were throwing things just to see if I would catch them. It was a nightmare.

Possible consequences for behavior: loss of privilege, safe seat, buddy room, talk to classroom teacher, note home, phone call home, return to art room during Cardinal Time or Friday Social to ‘conference’,office referral.

Possible rewards for good behavior: sincere praise, pat on the back, silent cheer, two-minute dance party, teacher dab, note home, parent phone call, class party, applause from the class, artwork selected for display or art show, note to classroom teacher, candy, trinket or physical prize.

Early finishers
--Books (drawing, origami, architecture, zentangling, anything that relates to the current lesson)
--Origami--paper and idea books
--Drawing paper
--Markers, crayons, colored pencils and other supplies that don’t require a lot of ‘clean up’
--coloring sheets or activity sheets
--Sketchbooks
--Special things that are only available during a particular project (origami spinners, dragon’s eyes, tie-dye with oil pastel, Christmas Ornament, Mother’s Day card, paper snowflakes)

Clean Up
Procedures for clean up vary from activity to activity. Sometimes students can ‘clean up’ in 2 minutes, sometimes it takes 5 minutes. Here is a good article with tips.
If they get cleaned up too early, they get bored and get into trouble. It is helpful to have a game to play at the end. If it is a 5 minute clean up day, like with painting or clay, you might not have 2 minutes to spare.
I would usually flash off the lights to signal ‘clean up time’. In the past, I have rewarded the ‘best’ team in order to encourage the others to hurry and clean up quickly.
    Clean up Games
   Stars--This one involves marking stars on the board beside each team’s table color to   reward the best team of the day. The team with the most stars on the board at the end of class gets a prize (sticker, candy, trinket, origami paper, etc.) Pros: Visual reminder of who is doing what is expected and who needs to catch up. Cons: Can take a lot of time to implement, prizes cost money, you have to keep track of who wins and loses each day.
   Warden--Before clean up, I select a ‘warden’ to judge the other teams on cleanliness and sitting quietly. The warden’s job is to check each table, and tell the ones that still have trash or supplies out to put them away. The warden also selects a winning team to get a prize. Pros: Making a peer oversee cleanup frees the teacher up a bit to help if a student is having an issue. Also makes kids notice rulers, paper wads, and things that need to get done that they don’t otherwise notice if it isn’t a competition. Cons: Prizes cost money and you have to keep track of the warden each day and the winners each day so that they aren’t always the same people in every class. Also, some kids may not want to be the warden or may not want to listen to the warden.
   Secret Mission--Announce that there is a secret mission. Do not tell them the mission, but pick out a scrap of blue paper or a pencil in a hard to notice place. If someone does the secret mission, they get a prize. I also sometimes let the secret mission person pick someone else to get a prize also, which takes the pressure off me! Pros: Kids do jobs that they never noticed before, like sorting all of the paper, and stacking all of the markers perfectly. It can be instituted halfway through the year when students get lax at cleanup time. Cons: Keeping track of who has won before and buying prizes, as they can get expensive.

Games if You have 2 minutes at the end
Joke Time--Students clean up with enough time to tell jokes at the end of class. Sometimes I would let them read from my joke book or if they had a good ‘school appropriate’ joke, they could stand up and share with the class.
Quiz Game --quiz students over things from the lesson or previous projects.
Silent ball--make ball out of a paper wad and let them throw it to each other silently. 6th graders especially love this one.
Silent ball in line--Sometimes if we had 90 seconds, I would make a paper wad and have the class pass it to the person behind them, silently, from the front of the line to the back of the line (like the game telephone) without dropping it. If they could get it all the way the the end, they ‘win’ if someone drops it, they lose!
Whole Class Reward---Each class works towards a free day or a game day. At the end of each class, award points for coming in quietly, doing the bell work, being good listeners, working quietly and cleaning up well. There is a chance to earn up to 5 points each day, when a class gets to a certain goal of 50 points (for example) they get a party.
Pictionary--draw a picture on the whiteboard and have students guess what it is

Here are my favorite articles on Smart Classroom Management:
A Sneaky, Hidden Reason Why You’re Inconsistent
How to Handle Aggressively Disrespectful Students
How to set up a simple, effective Classroom Management Plan

Spring Semester Scope and Sequence

January 4-5
Go over procedures/rules, start sketchbook covers w/ bubble letter word
Awards Assembly might interrupt one class’s first day!

January 8-12
Zentangle sketchbook covers
Design 1st page of sketchbook and assemble (first page can be an illustrated quote, portrait OR they can draw art ‘tools’ and color them)

January 15-19
Origami practice
SNOW DAYS (be flexible!!)
Sub plan: Shape Explosion
Show origami bookmark

January 22-25
Shape explosion--show one point perspective
3D collage origami project w/free time origami available for early finishers (3-day project for each class, 3D Collage origami project)

January 29-February 2nd
Finish origami
Catchup day
Optical Illusions---paper weavings (mini practice weaving)

February 5-9
Job shadow AND children’s play AND snow day
Catch up, work on shape explosion and weavings
Art Hub for kids bird videos for some classes

February 12-16
One day Valentine’s symmetrical collage (similar to the halloween collage)
1 day art hub for kid’s robin drawing for some classes

February 19-23
Start clay project for ½ classes
Animal on transparency project Day 1 for the other ½ classes
February 26-March 2nd
Animal project day 2
The other ½ of students start clay project

March 5-9
Animal project day 3 for everyone
Some classes start glazing clay

March 12-16
Finish glazing clay for ½ classes
Finish animal on transparency project

SPRING BREAK

March 26-30
Finish glazing clay for other ½ classes
Start 18X24 painting project I did not have everyone paint on the same day...I did morning or afternoon so that I would have plenty of drying rack space.

April 2-6
Start sending home clay
Work on big paintings

April 9-13
Kumihimo bracelet weaving
Finish big paintings

April 16-20 MAP TESTING
Group Op art mural challenge w/ some classes
Finish paintings/finish kumi bracelets
1 day model magic--Tiny Food

April 23-27
1 day model magic--Tiny food
Finish sub plan projects (I was gone to a conference and for personal days so I had two sub plans this month) Submarine submarine sandwich

April 30-May 4
Metal dragon day 1 and 2

May 7-11
May dragon day 3
Mother’s Model Magic Rose Pencil Toppers day and catch up

May 14-18
Sort all artwork/catch up
VW Van sub plan
Make art portfolios and send home all artwork, including sketchbooks

May 21-24
Game day for everyone

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I Survived Middle School (and you can too!)

I survived Middle School Scope and Sequence

Spring Semester Scope and Sequence

Mrs. Mitchell

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