An interactive and exciting way to practice transitions, clean-up and proper use of a variety of materials
This lesson was completed in grades 1-5 during 40 minute class periods as the second or third art class of the school year.
The beginning of the school year is often full of excitement, energy and readjustment to schedules and routines - a challenge especially unique to the art classroom. Getting students to readjust to the art room rules, procedures and proper use of supplies doesn't have to be boring - in fact - it shouldn't be!
This is a game I use at the beginning of the year to practice a few essential art room behaviors such as transitioning between creating and cleanup, using a variety of materials properly, and using indoor voices.
The Set up:
5-6 Stations with a large paper taped to the table or floor. Each station has a unique material to draw/paint/create with. I used:
- Oil pastels
-Markers
-Crayons
-Watercolor paint
-Collage (scissors, gluesticks, scrap colored paper)
- Colored Pencils
The Rules:
Students are divided in to five or six groups. Before we begin, I do a brief review of the proper use of each material. Each group starts at a station and has five minutes (or however much time your class period allows to be divided into 5-6 segments) at that center to fill their page with - you guessed it - LINES! Straight, squiggly, parallel or intersecting - it doesn't matter the type - just as many lines as you can!
After enough time has passed at that station, I will blow my whistle. When the whistle blows, the students are to quickly organize their station (make sure markers have caps, colored pencils are put in their respective color slots, no crayons on the floor, etc) and get in a quick, quiet and even line in the center of the classroom. This helps students to practice transitions - stopping what they are doing and cleaning their area before moving on. It also helps them practice organizing their bodies into a line that isn't crammed, loud or push-y.
Once they have lined up I will "score" their line by how quick, quiet and neat it is, as well as how well they used indoor voices during work time and how neat they left their stations. I used a scale of 0-10 points, and wrote their score on the board. After scoring the line, the students will remain in the same group and rotate to the next station, and the process repeats so that each group gets to each station, allowing the class to earn up to 50-60 points (with an additional 10 points for clean-up time). I allow the winning class to pick among a list of art prizes (a free-choice day, selecting their next project, etc.)
Clean-up:
After the last rotation, when each group has been through all the stations and the students form their last line, I will give clean-up instructions. Students have an opportunity to earn an additional 10 points for clean-up. The groups are directed to go back to the station they were just at, and clean-up only this station. This reduces clean-up clutter and gives each group responsibility for one area. When their station is clean, they are to return to the center line and sit to indicate that they are done. As always, clean-up is the most hectic part of this activity, so depending on the age of the students I allow between 5-10 minutes to get completely clean.
The Results:
Though this activity is much more about process over product, the remnants of the line drawings usually end up being quite spectacular! Below are some images of different results. Last year, I saved these to use as class decorations, and then cut them in to smaller squares for students to collage or create cards with. They make beautiful works of abstract art!
This is a game I use at the beginning of the year to practice a few essential art room behaviors such as transitioning between creating and cleanup, using a variety of materials properly, and using indoor voices.
The Set up:
5-6 Stations with a large paper taped to the table or floor. Each station has a unique material to draw/paint/create with. I used:
- Oil pastels
-Markers
-Crayons
-Watercolor paint
-Collage (scissors, gluesticks, scrap colored paper)
- Colored Pencils
The Rules:
Students are divided in to five or six groups. Before we begin, I do a brief review of the proper use of each material. Each group starts at a station and has five minutes (or however much time your class period allows to be divided into 5-6 segments) at that center to fill their page with - you guessed it - LINES! Straight, squiggly, parallel or intersecting - it doesn't matter the type - just as many lines as you can!
After enough time has passed at that station, I will blow my whistle. When the whistle blows, the students are to quickly organize their station (make sure markers have caps, colored pencils are put in their respective color slots, no crayons on the floor, etc) and get in a quick, quiet and even line in the center of the classroom. This helps students to practice transitions - stopping what they are doing and cleaning their area before moving on. It also helps them practice organizing their bodies into a line that isn't crammed, loud or push-y.
Once they have lined up I will "score" their line by how quick, quiet and neat it is, as well as how well they used indoor voices during work time and how neat they left their stations. I used a scale of 0-10 points, and wrote their score on the board. After scoring the line, the students will remain in the same group and rotate to the next station, and the process repeats so that each group gets to each station, allowing the class to earn up to 50-60 points (with an additional 10 points for clean-up time). I allow the winning class to pick among a list of art prizes (a free-choice day, selecting their next project, etc.)
Clean-up:
After the last rotation, when each group has been through all the stations and the students form their last line, I will give clean-up instructions. Students have an opportunity to earn an additional 10 points for clean-up. The groups are directed to go back to the station they were just at, and clean-up only this station. This reduces clean-up clutter and gives each group responsibility for one area. When their station is clean, they are to return to the center line and sit to indicate that they are done. As always, clean-up is the most hectic part of this activity, so depending on the age of the students I allow between 5-10 minutes to get completely clean.
The Results:
Though this activity is much more about process over product, the remnants of the line drawings usually end up being quite spectacular! Below are some images of different results. Last year, I saved these to use as class decorations, and then cut them in to smaller squares for students to collage or create cards with. They make beautiful works of abstract art!
