We start this term off by studying Prehistoric Art. One of the artworks we will analyze is the Venus of Willendorf. Image credit : http://pictify.com/59968/venus-of-willendorf-paper-doll You can read more about her here.

Now that the 2017-2018 school year has come to a close, I am spending some time reflecting on my practice as an educator. While there were some lows of the

In an earlier blog post, I wrote about the benefits of assigning a collaborative writing assignment in the high school English and middle school ELA

These high school classroom management strategies stem from the belief that students respond well to positive reinforcement.

Are you looking for ELA extension activities? Here are 25 ideas for classroom activities for teaching literature.

At our school, our Pre-Calc/Trig students create trig art projects every fall. I know it's a pretty popular thing to do, but I gotta say, I'm pretty sure I got some of the most amazing trig art ever. The math criteria: Use at least 3 trigonometric functions Each function must have at least 2 periods There must be at least 2 shifts (vertical or horizontal) Once students figure out their functions, they graph each function on a transparency or a sheet of wax paper. This acts as their blueprint. From there, they copy their blueprint onto a quarter of a poster board and add their artistic genius. Finally, they fill out a rubric, telling me things about each function, such as its domain and range (they must state the domain and range that they used for THEIR project; i.e., "all real numbers" does not cut it), amplitude, and any shifting. Students working with Desmos in the Math Lab I took a day to let them play on Desmos. This was fantastic because they were able to see immediately what their transformations did to each function, without having to graph each function fifty times by hand. Also, I showed them how to restrict the domain of their functions, which taught them a teeny bit of programming. I feel that using math to understand technology is one of the greatest things I can teach my students. So a day in the Math Lab to play with trig functions was well worth it, in my opinion. I let my students vote on the Most Creative Award. Here's their winner from 1st hour: And from 4th hour: Each winner got a gift card to Target in the approximate amount of $3pi ($9.42). And, no, when I asked for that amount, the cashier's face was not nearly as disconcerted as I was hoping. But the kids laughed. And that's what matters.

This past school year was a great one. With every school year that passes, I like to take a moment and reflect on activities that were successful in the

In the first month of school, teachers are usually focused on classroom setup, establishing procedures, launching routines, and digging into the first unit. Although we DO want students to be organized and to feel safe as individuals, we also need them to open up and collaborate as part of a bigger classroom community. Read on for 9 ideas about how to create bonding, shared experiences, and interactions that foster community-building. (By the way, you can check out a similar blog post of ours about community-building here.) The SuperHERO Teacher Teaching kindness and collaboration amongst students is such an important part of a positive classroom community! I love using interactive bulletin boards to encourage students to motivate each other. Recently, I created this nature-themed bulletin board using Polaroid frames with inspiring quotes, twine, and clothes pins. Basically, if students need a bit of motivation, they can take a quote from the board, but they must replace it with a new quote! At the end of the year, students will be exchanging quotes from each other-- making a strong classroom relationship! Here's the link. Addie Williams I work hard to create a collaborative and welcoming classroom community and one way I do this is through writing about kindness. I share a kindness quote with my students as a writing prompt and have them work on it individually before sharing their ideas with a partner and then with a larger group. I ask them to look for similarities in their responses. Demonstrating to my students that I value kindness and community early on in the year will hopefully create a sense of caring throughout the year. Use these free Kindness Quotes to get started! Secondary Sara One of the hurdles to community-building is when students aren't willing to be vulnerable, they try to be perfect, or they compete instead of connect. As much as strengths and growth mindset are important, we teachers also need to help students identify and tackle their weaknesses in an honest way. I like doing this in a humorous way by "curing" student diseases. I joke about students who have "Procrastinitis", and when students own that problem, it becomes a springboard for other areas of concern as well (like upset binders, high test pressure, and silence infections). Get the poster set AND activities to accompany them here. Danielle Hall One of the ways students build our classroom community is by working together to solve problems or puzzles. I use team trivia to start out our class at the beginning of the year, getting students used to collaborating and thinking critically. They develop a healthy sense of teamwork and competition. Here's a free week to get you started. The Classroom Sparrow A simple way to create a positive classroom community is to display work from students around a classroom. It doesn't necessarily have to be an assignment, even a collaborative discussion full of insight from everyone in a class adds positivity and shows that everyone's opinion/view is valued! If you're lacking in work to display, simply begin a class with a simple prompt, motivational quote, or question! Here is a collaborative poem I had students create to begin a poetry unit. Everyone took 10-15 mins to cut out 30-40 words, then I paired students and peers to create a beautiful and colourful example of poetry, which remained on my bulletin boards for the length of the unit! The Daring English Teacher I teach at a very diverse school, and there are 23 different home languages represented in our student body. Bringing together such a diverse group can sometimes be challenging, so I created Classroom Community Bell Ringers to help us all find a common ground. These bell ringers include quotes about love, acceptance, diversity, and tolerance and a brief writing prompt. My students take the first five minutes in class to read the quote and quickly respond to the prompt. Then we share our responses aloud. This exercise has helped forge new connections amongst students who once thought there was no common ground. Stacey Lloyd At the beginning of the year we always spend time thinking about positive and negative behaviors in the classroom: social, emotional and academic. Students come up with their suggestions by walking around the room and anonymously adding their thoughts to various prompts. I then compile these into a list and have students all sign their names on the document - which stays on the wall all year. Any time I find a student acting out or being unkind or unhelpful, I point to their signature and hold them to account. Room 213 We spend a great deal of time during the first few weeks building our classroom climate. I want kids to feel free to discuss their views and to know that it's okay to disagree with someone, as long as they do so respectfully. We develop a class code of conduct, and I put up posters to remind them to be empathetic, kind and understanding of differences. They are a good visual reminder of the things we discussed and the exercises we do during the first few days of school. You can grab them for free here. Presto Plans Building a positive classroom community is an intentional process. One way to do this is by having students complete short challenges that encourage kindness, collaboration, teamwork, expression, and the sharing of ideas and opinions. Start your year or semester by presenting short classroom challenges that can be used as bell-ringers, a class close-up activity, or a fun way to start or end the week. I suggest you set up a bulletin board that allows you to build suspense and reveal one challenge at a time. Make the challenges fun, collaborative, and stress-free. For example, you might consider getting students to write a thank-you card for someone, write a funny top 10 list, play a game of 20 questions, or interview a classmate. We hope you enjoy these ideas! Tell us what you think, or tell us more ideas in the comments!

10 ideas for planning engaging novel units: creative, engaging lesson ideas for your next whole-class novel unit

Engage students in meaningful poetry reading and writing activities. Here are SEVEN assignments both secondary teachers and students will enjoy.

Last week I kicked off the chamber ensemble unit that I do with all of my bands. Lucy Green's research on informal learning in music ensembles helped me to create this project. I began this project last year with my 8th graders, a highly motivated group that enjoyed a challenge. It was very successful and I tried it again with last year's 6th graders at the end of the year and it was a success. So this year I am having the 8th graders prepare this for an upcoming performance in March. I asked for volunteer groups in 7th grade and got six groups. I will complete this project with the 6th graders at the end of the year. This project can be risky-again, I am allowing the students to take complete control of their final product, but it has so many benefits: increased musicality in individual and group playing, increased leadership by students, increased individual responsibility of students to learn their music and increased confidence. I let the students know what the expectations will be of the project-they can pick their own groups, but choose wisely, as they will have limited time to practice. They will be practicing during band (in a practice room) at 10 minute intervals. They will be making the musical decisions such as who is playing what part, how to rehearse sections...etc. I do provide them with this to help them get through the first rehearsal: Some guidelines to help make this a positive experience! Play through all parts together, so you know how each part goes. Assign parts based on interest and how, as a group, you think the piece will sound best. You should be playing 60% of the time. When you are discussing the musical details, use musical language (articulations, dynamics…etc). Be helpful of each other! Have one person sit out and listen to the group to give constructive and positive feedback! For the 8th and 7th grade project students choose a piece out of the "Festival Ensembles" books that we work out of. I create a schedule and each group will practice about six times by themselves. This is key here-the groups are rehearsing without me because I am working with the rest of the band on our concert music! I take one rehearsal to listen to all of the groups and offer some advice-they get a few more rehearsals and then they have their performance. This is a required performance at our Fine Arts Night-so students must be responsible for their work. At the concert I explain to the parents the purpose of the project and that this is really the fruit of the students' labor. Parents can appreciate it. Will the groups be perfect? Maybe a few of them will, but there will be a lot of effort put into this performances. At the end of the experience I do have the students complete a self and group evaluation: This is such an incredible experience. Students grow through this on many levels. I am curious to see how this 8th grade group does as they have been a tricky group since 6th grade. They are really fun kids but extremely social and competitive. This is my third year with them and I didn't figure it out until this year that it is the boys that are the talkers. My girls are very respectful and basically just wait it out. This is a group that I have a tough time getting upset with because they make me laugh so much, but they drive me nuts too. Have you ever had a group like that? I have told them this too and they admit everything, which I can appreciate as well. We'll see how this turns out! What sort of chamber groups do you have as part of your curriculum? How have you integrated them into your classes?

This week I decided to try something new in my PreCalculus class. It occurred to me that the paths of the Angry Birds are parabolas and that is exactly what we were working on recently. Maybe someone had written a project that I could use and I wouldn't have to make one up! So, I googled Angry Birds math project - and several popped up. I used this one Angry Birds Project. I divided the class into groups of 2 or 3 and then they got to work. I used all 5 different versions of the project so that everyone didn't have exactly the same parabolas. I liked that the different paths of the birds were described in different ways (graph, table of values, words, equation). I found large graph paper that the students could use on amazon (see it here: Large 17 x 22 inch graph paper) - I wanted them to make their graphs large so that we could hang them up and people could see them. They graphed each of the paths followed by the angry birds in the specific color of the bird. Next, my students put stickers of the birds that I printed out each path. But, here is my favorite part. We learned about an app called koma koma at the beginning of the school year in our PD. This is an app that you can use to make a short stop motion video. Each group chose one bird that would move in their "movie." We stuck this bird to a post it so they could move it easily. Here is a group using the app to make their movie. Here is my favorite movie that was turned in: This project took about 3 class days to complete, but I introduced some new material at the beginning of class each day, so we still kept moving along. My juniors and seniors enjoyed this project, but I also think younger students could be successful with this project with some modifications.

How I teach The Catcher in the Rye through a Mental Health Lens

If I were in Harry Potter World, I would expand time between when I teach Volumes of Revolution and the AP Exam. This way, I could do a hands on project to actually embed the knowledge in the student brains. But alas, I'm just stuck with regular old days and a time-crunched teacher and students who are teenagers. This year, I had my students do this project for the days they were in class. It's the first time I've done it, so I made notes in my document for when the inevitable things went wrong this year that I want to improve upon for next attempt of this project: You'll be shocked to learn that students can't convert between ruler tick marks and decimal numbers. SHOCKED, I tell you. You will also be floored by the fact that directions are for "other people", when you are doing a project, you should just keep asking about the next step. Anyway, I liked how they turned out: It was a good mix of freedom for their creativity, an in-depth practice of regression and degrees of polynomials and piecewise functions and graphing. It was a sad awareness of just how shallow some of the students' knowledge was of how to find a volume of revolution. I don't have a grading rubric (everyone is a winner!), but I think I may add one next time.

This is a BUNDLE of all my high school student's most favourite improv games that we play for our spontaneous unit within our improv unit in high school. It's perfect for warm-up's, or body breaks, or anytime when you need them to re-focus. They're SO important to have on hand for not only the unit - but for when you have a bit of time left in class and they're begging you to play a game...or just to re-energize them and re-focus them at the start of class. These are my "go to's" for sure! Included in this bundle are: ✤6 spontaneous improv games, each one clearly explained in a Powerpoint to make it easy for you and your students to understand (just project onto a whiteboard, and go!) ✤A list of workshops and games to play for spontaneous improv and to get them learning the rules of improv (also includes a list of "LOOK FOR's" for improv to review with them) ✤A generic rubric in case you wish to mark them on any of these games ✤A "Whose Line is it Anyways?" viewing guide to inspire them They'll beg you to play these again and again - and not only are they hilarious and fun, but also key for them to understanding acceptance, leaders and followers, and all the rules of improv (which are skills they need for EVERY unit in drama) Similar resources in my shop: ➼ VOICE unit bundle ➼ MIME unit bundle ➼ PHYSICAL COMEDY unit bundle ➼ TABLEAU unit bundle ➼ SCRIPT WORK unit - complete package (drama final major project) ➼ MONOLOGUES unit - complete package (drama exam) ➼ COMPLETE DRAMA COURSE bundle ◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈ ➯ Click HERE to follow my shop and see updates and new products. ➯ Please don't forget to leave feedback on my products! You will receive TPT credits that can be used on future purchases.

mrstfoxresources.com | Disco Ball Drawing Art - Teaching acrylic painting to beginners can be a daunting task, especially when faced with numerous factors involved in ensuring a successful painting class. Engaging Middle and High School Art Students with Disco Ball Painting Watercolor AcrylicOil paintMixed mediaCollage Printmaking PotteryGlaze Artistic technique

Easy to learn and teach, these Isometric Letter Creations are a great way to introduce Middle or High School Art students to isometric drawing techniques and perspective. Students will use printable isometric paper, practice, and thumbnail sheets to make this project easier to learn and complete. Students will learn about shading, and how isometric drawing is used in real life and will use their imagination to transform an isometric letter into something new! Teachers will love it because the printable isometric grid paper is included in the resource, no need to purchase it separately. Everything else in the lesson is easily accessible materials such as rulers, pencils, erasers, and colored pencils. (Markers or crayons can be used instead of colored pencils as well.) Included: 5 Page Lesson Plan with National Standards, Big ideas, Goals, and Objectives, Final Outcomes, Instructional Materials, Student supplies, Detailed process, and Vocabulary as an editable word document. 39-page editable PowerPoint presentation, Slides & PDF version included Printable Isometric Paper Isometric Practice Worksheet Isometric Letter Thumbnails Worksheet 2 Sample Isometric Alphabets Student Project Checklist Written Critique Sheet Student Self-Evaluation WHAT TEACHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT OTHER ART LESSONS OF MINE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “This was an outstanding lesson. This is my first year teaching art with no background in art, lol. This has not only been a lifesaver, but really pulled artistic thought and ability out of my students. The slides were easy to follow and incredibly helpful. The finished projects are truly amazing.” - Chelsea S.  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “This is a great resource and a really fun project. The slides are very well done and my students benefitted from the step-by-step instructions, loads of examples, and the practice/planning exercises. I will use this again for sure!”- Caribou Corner of Junction North ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “This is a fave drawing piece of both my students and I. I've used it a couple of times now and have had great success! Thank you!” - Julia O.  National Visual Arts Standards  High School Standards Grades 9-12 Grades 9-12, VA:Cr1.1.HSI Use multiple approaches to begin creative endeavors. Grades 9-12, VA:Cn10.1.HSI: Document the process of developing ideas from early stages to fully elaborated ideas.   Middle School Standards Grades 6-8 Grade 6, VA:Cr1.2.6: Formulate an artistic investigation of personally relevant content for creating art. Grade 6, VA:Cr2.1.6: Demonstrate openness in trying new ideas, materials, methods, and approaches in making works of art and design. Grade 7, VA:Cr1.2.7: Develop criteria to guide making a work of art or design to meet an identified goal. Grade 7, VA:Cr2.1.7: Demonstrate persistence in developing skills with various materials, methods, and approaches in creating works of art or design. Grade 8, VA:Cr2.1.8: Demonstrate willingness to experiment, innovate, and take risks to pursue ideas, forms, and meanings that emerge in the process of art-making or designing. Cross-Curricular: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSG.MG.A.1 Use geometric shapes, their measures, and their properties to describe objects (e.g., modeling a tree trunk or a human torso as a cylinder).* CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSG.GMD.B.4 Identify the shapes of two-dimensional cross-sections of three-dimensional objects, and identify three-dimensional objects generated by rotations of two-dimensional objects.   ©2022 A Space to Create Art, LLC.

Check out these six Canva projects, designed for middle school art and high school digital art lesson. Teach students the basics of design!

Check out Michael22471's artwork on Artsonia, the largest student art museum on the web. Don't forget to join the fan club and leave a comment on the website.

Art I students have been studying drawing in class. They are learning a variety of shading techniques. The drawings above are inspired by God's creation. Students worked from copyright free clip-art images and worked in pencil. Art II students are working on Paper Mosaics. There is always a lot of whining and complaining while they are working on this project, but the results are worth it. Art II is an art history based approach to art and the art we produce will sometimes reflect what we are learning in class. The paper mosaic project is inspired by the mosaics from Ancient Greece and Rome. The students do not have to work with historical images, but they still learn about the work involved in creating a mosaic. Below are photos of the students working in class on projects. I hope to post the completed projects in a few weeks. High School Art Student of the Month for OCTOBER Each month a student will be selected as the art student of the month. This month a senior was selected. He is in Art IV this year. Art III and IV Students work independantly on projects of their choice. Painting in acrylic on Canvas.

The best high school art teacher blogs, social media profiles and art education websites – a list of the gems we have found.

mrstfoxresources.com | Disco Ball Drawing Art - Teaching acrylic painting to beginners can be a daunting task, especially when faced with numerous factors involved in ensuring a successful painting class. Engaging Middle and High School Art Students with Disco Ball Painting Watercolor AcrylicOil paintMixed mediaCollage Printmaking PotteryGlaze Artistic technique

Remote learning. The novelty has well and truly worn off. Turning up to a computer screen in the morning is not what I signed up for when I became a teacher. But I guess, what many of us are going through at the moment isn't exactly what we signed up for! And so it's been

Welcome! This blog post explores a project that depicts one cohesive image divided into 7 sections which illustrate the 7 elements of art: line, shape, color, form, value, texture, and space. The elements of art the artists toolbox they can use in an endless amount of ways to create infinite art solutions. This is a

Sarah Urist Green, creator of PBS' The Art Assignment, walks through five fun art projects that don't require fancy supplies or talent to create and enjoy.

It can be tough to fit art into a busy homeschooling schedule, but these quick and easy art projects make it simple. They're perfect for middle schoolers.

Create Isometric Subterranean Worlds with your Middle or High School Art students! Students will use printable isometric paper, practice, and thumbnail sheets to make this project easier to learn and complete. Students will learn about shading, and how isometric drawing is used in real life and will use their imagination to share one of their interests/hobbies via their hidden worlds houses! Teachers will love it because the printable isometric grid paper is included in the resource, no need to purchase it separately. Everything else in the lesson is easily accessible materials such as rulers, pencils, erasers, and colored pencils. (Markers or crayons can be used instead of colored pencils as well.) Included: 5 Page Lesson Plan with National Standards, Big ideas, Goals, and Objectives, Final Outcomes, Instructional Materials, Student supplies, Detailed process, and Vocabulary as an editable word document. 46-page editable PowerPoint presentation, Slides & PDF version included Printable Isometric Paper Isometric Practice Worksheet Isometric Letter Thumbnails Worksheet 2 Sheets of Example Isometric Houses Student Project Checklist Written Critique Sheet Student Self-Evaluation WHAT TEACHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT OTHER ART LESSONS OF MINE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “This was an outstanding lesson. This is my first year teaching art with no background in art, lol. This has not only been a lifesaver, but really pulled artistic thought and ability out of my students. The slides were easy to follow and incredibly helpful. The finished projects are truly amazing.” - Chelsea S.  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “This is a great resource and a really fun project. The slides are very well done and my students benefitted from the step-by-step instructions, loads of examples, and the practice/planning exercises. I will use this again for sure!”- Caribou Corner of Junction North ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “This is a fave drawing piece of both my students and I. I've used it a couple of times now and have had great success! Thank you!” - Julia O.  Cross-Curricular: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSG.MG.A.1 Use geometric shapes, their measures, and their properties to describe objects (e.g., modeling a tree trunk or a human torso as a cylinder).* CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSG.GMD.B.4 Identify the shapes of two-dimensional cross-sections of three-dimensional objects, and identify three-dimensional objects generated by rotations of two-dimensional objects. ©2022 A Space to Create Art, LLC.

7 Things to Know as a New High School Art Teacher % %

mrstfoxresources.com | Disco Ball Drawing Art - Teaching acrylic painting to beginners can be a daunting task, especially when faced with numerous factors involved in ensuring a successful painting class. Engaging Middle and High School Art Students with Disco Ball Painting Watercolor AcrylicOil paintMixed mediaCollage Printmaking PotteryGlaze Artistic technique