Ok, so it's sort of a year in review post. However, we developed a few ideas this year at South B we think are just about good enough to steal. So take a look and if you see something you might like to try, grab it. After all, artist steal! 10. Quirky Day ChallengesEvery teacher faces quirky days like the day before Thanksgiving or winter or spring break. Kids are hopped up on candy canes and anticipation. It's hard for them, and for us to stay focused. So what do we do? We plan a quirky day challenge! In the past, our students participated in Hand Turkey Tuesday and the 12 Days of Photoshop. This year, the day before spring break we thought it might be fun to have a little egg decorating contest. So we brought in a bunch of eggs, yes, real eggs, and gave each student and egg to decorate. We had three categories, zentangle design, character design, art history design. 9. Media BootcampHow does one start a new semester when you want all the students to know how to retrieve, use and store work created in any media? Well maybe not all media but have a good foundation.... The Media Bootcamp. We kicked off day one of the second semester with our first day of the Media Bootcamp. For day one we entertained charcoal, color pencil and pen and ink. We set up the Chromebooks so students could run through some simple tutorials. The second day we tried a few different media. In particular, we did oil and chalk pastel. Day three we did a watercolor tutorials. We also did an acrylic tutorial but we didn't use a tutorial for that. I hand taught that lesson, teaching some basic tippy tappy trees, Bob Ross style. 8. Computer Art & AnimationThis year at the Art of South B we offered a brand new art class... Computer Art & Animation. We took a look at Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, as well the Adobe tools Animate program. We even tried to do a little 3D printing. If you already have a computer art class, feel free to steal our tutorials. Stealing this idea might be a little tricky to try if there isn't a computer lab or the apps to teach it. However, there are a lot of free apps like Pixlr and Tinkercad. Even if you only have a few Chromebooks, you might consider setting up a Computer Art center. 7. AP Studio ArtThis year was a 'big first' here at the Art of South B... in fact, it was a big first for SBHS, Brunswick County and for me, your humble art teacher. For the first time ever, in all three circumstances, we offered AP Studio Art. So what's AP Studio Art you ask? Well, let me explain. AP Studio Art is an advanced placement course offered by the College Board. Students enrolled in the course must produce 24 works of art to create three sections of a portfolio. If you're thinking about stealing this idea, make sure you sign up for an AP workshop. Next year the portfolios will be different so even if you've taken the workshop, it might be a good idea to take it again. 6. Write for SchoolArts Before we continue with our top five best ideas to steal, have you considered putting an idea out for others to steal? If you've got something interesting happening in your art room why not consider writing for SchoolArts Magazine? They are always looking for great articles to publish. This year, we published a few articles including: TAB Teaching is a Bag of Chips Artists Solve Problems How to Write an Artistic Behavior Unit Art Traps for Reluctant Students The Nine: Presenting Subject-Based Teaching Now for the Top Five Best Ideas of 2018 you should Steal! 5. The TablesOur Open Art Room is student directed. That means, students decide which direction they want to take the art they are creating. Many students come to class with ideas and are ready to jump in. However, some students are looking for new ideas, new opportunities, new techniques that they might not have known or thought about. That's where The Tables come in. Each week we present a new theme with a new project idea on our large, wooden table. These table projects come with a quick demo as well as all the supplies needed to create a work of art. The theme and the project materials are set up for one week. The following week, there will be a new theme and a new project idea. Here's a short list of some of the Tables we set up this year. Piñata, ugly dolls, plaster, tie dye, paper smache, candle making, and rock painting. 4. Art JournalsMost teachers can appreciate having their students document the design phase. We already know the "what". Sure, we're going to present new artists, skill and techniques to our students. It also wouldn't hurt if they found a way to visually plan their ideas before they start development. The "how" on the other hand, can be a bit more tricky. Sketchbooks, notebooks and even altered books are all considered when trying to decide how students should keep track of this information. We took all this into consideration this year at the Art of South B and, with the help of the printshop, developed the Art Journal. The Art Journal, free to each student, is a spiral bond 40 page book with art history, skill development, and planning pages built in. We're even printing out thumbnail images of the art we show so the students have a visual reminder to go with the notes they scribe. 3. Aligning with the StandardsMy first impression of the Standards is how disjointed they appear. There are four Anchor Standards representing Creating, Presenting, Responding, Connecting. Creating and Presenting are rather obvious. Making art and presenting art at at the core of every art program. The other two anchor standards, Responding and Connecting seemed separated. Almost a throwback to the DBAE days. Looking at art, interpreting art, connecting at some level with art. However, I made one very importantly but seemly overlooked observation about the Standards.. they are out of order. One doesn't make art, present art and then look at art for inspiration and meaning. Rather, we look at art, are inspired by art, and then create and present art. instead of Creating, Presenting, Responding, Connecting consider this: Responding, Connecting, Creating, Presenting When we consider the standards in this order we notice how well they align with the artistic process for creating art. Through the artistic process we are first inspired by art, we then develop and idea to convey meaning, we then plan and create, and finally we reflect and present. Check out this link for more about aligning the standards. 2. Modular TeachingThe intermediate class has gone into full Modular Mode. Each week, they are introduced to four modules to help intrigue and inspire. Module One: Each Monday, we introduce a new art Concept. For example, one week the concept was positive and negative space. Student's interested in working with this concept were challenged with creating a tessellation. Module Two: On Tuesdays we introduce the second module titled the Table. The Table provides an optional project for those students who might not be interested in Monday's concept. Module Three: The third module we introduce happens on Wednesdays. Each Wednesday we take a look at an Artist that is loosely associated with the Table. Module Four: The last module happens on Thursday. It's a look at Skills and Techniques that our artists might find helpful. If students couldn't relate to the Concept, didn't want to tie dye, and couldn't find any inspiration in the artist of the week, they certainly can find a video tutorial they want to follow. Here's a look at the Modules for an intermediate class for a full semester. And the Number One Best Idea of 2018 you should Steal... 1. Collaborate with your CoworkerThis year we were lucky enough to hire a new art teacher. Stacey Belter joined the team and jumped in with both feet, implementing TAB in the classroom. She adopted the Nine for her Beginner students, incorporated Table projects, implemented Seesaw, and was instrumental in the design of the Art Journals and the aligning of the Standards. If you steal no other ideas off this list, steal this one. And if you can't, that's ok too. Instead, you might try an online PLN. Twitter has some great #TABChat stuff going on. Facebook also has some great TAB groups including Teaching For Artistic Behavior TAB group and HS TAB. What about 2019??That's a pretty good list, don't you think? With all that cool stuff, what could be going on for 2019? Well, here's just a small list of things that are brewing:
The addition of AP 3D Art An upgraded Art Journal More SchoolArts articles A Complete Semesters worth of Modules for a Proficient class Learning Targets aligned with the Standards And more! Here at The Art of South Brunswick High School, NC, we incorporate the Teaching for Artistic Behavior or TAB philosophy in our classroom. TAB states that the student is the artist and the art room is their studio. We believe students should be involved in the entire artistic process including designing, creating, and reflecting on their work. It is our job as teachers to present ideas and concepts, demonstrate techniques and materials, and encourage and support our students to create and produce works of art at the highest level.
3 Comments
Brooke Gravett
12/29/2018 08:09:58 am
These ideas really are the best 10 to steal! If only I taught older students...although your ideas inspire me to make them work for the elementary littles. Can’t wait until next summer for The Open Art Room at the Beach Year 2!
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Ellen Klemm
1/20/2019 11:00:36 am
Awesome resources! I’m a bit overwelmed. Which to incorporate first?
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Art of South BArtwork by students at Art of South BThe Visual Arts Dept. at SBHS is like no other program in the state. Learn more, watch the Intro to South B video.
The PodcastListen to the
Make Artists Podcast with your host Ian Sands the choice based, student directed, Teaching for Artist Behavior, high school art teacher and stuff and things... but mostly stuff. What's TAB?Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) is a student-directed art education pedagogy that directs students to think and work as artists.
BooksMaking Artists picks up where The Open Art Room left off, covering issues and situations choice teachers encounter as they design their program.
The Open Art Room provides a student-centered approach to art instruction that is inspirational, practical, and classroom-tested.
ArticlesClick Here to read the May SchoolArts Article, "What If, TAB"
Click Here to read the March SchoolArts Article, Student-Directed Answers to Five Frequently Ask Questions
Click Here to read the January SchoolArts Magazine Article Engagement Grading
Click Here to read the November SchoolArts Magazine Article Is Disco The Cure For Artist Block?
Click Here to Read the 2019 Summer SchoolArts Magazine Article Realigning the Standards!
Click Here to Read the April SchoolArts Magazine Article Tracking Student Progress with the Burn Book!
Click Here to Read the February SchoolArts Article, Build A Dynamic Art Program with Modular Teaching!
Click here to Read the October SchoolArts Article, Artists Solve Problems
Click Here to Read the Summer SchoolArts Article, Art Traps for Reluctant Students
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