Free time in the Art Room: I have observed many art rooms and have seen a variety of ideas to use for free time in the classroom, when students have finished working on the projects. I have seen free draw, origami, reading, sitting quietly, a collaborative class project, and much much more. For middle and high school students you will find that most of these activities work to keep students busy during free time. At this age students are working with more extravagant projects that they tend to take their time on and when they do finish earlier, they are excited by unusual free time and cherish it with drawing or working on other things. Working with elementary students is a little different. I have found that they need more structure and less freedom with how to spend their time.
What isn’t working and why: Although I hate to say that elementary students can not handle free time, with out the proper discipline and expectations, students may not use this time productively. I have seen students given paper, scissors, tape, staplers, and much more to use during their free time. This definitely doesn’t work with younger kids because they misuse the supplies. The students are so excited to have these materials available to them that they rush through their art projects because they are just looking forward to what they can do during freed time. Don’t get me wrong, students should be able to use their imaginations and explore, but with some guidelines and appreciation for their materials.
Kindergarten: I think my biggest fear is finding positive activities to use with Kindergarteners that still allows for self-exploration but supports goals and standards for the students’ developments. This age is hard to find successful art projects that aren’t too “crafty” and hold their attentions for the whole class period. I have been doing some research and have come across an idea that I can’t believe I have never thought of before. The blog I have posted below was inspiration for these ideas.
Plans to solve poorly structured free time: Centers, duh!! I have been reading a lot about how Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms are set up in centers to provide support for short attention spans and development of certain skills. So why not use centers in the art room? I think that this is definitely worth a shot in my first art room. Instead of trying to have instruction and work on art projects, and keep the little ones’ attention for 45 minutes, I plan to use centers or rotations to keep everyone focused, learning and exploring. I would like to use time to have class discussion and instruction and two centers, one that involves the daily art project and the other for an extra activity to promote exploration and development. I think that providing two activities within one class can help little attention spans stay focused and provide structure for positive behaviors and learning.
Brooklyn,
ReplyDeleteCenters are great if structured effectively. I worked as a substitute for 2nd grade and the reading centers are great. They require many different teaching tools and address all different types of learners. Research states that a person's attention span is the number of minutes of their age. So, my thinking with elementary art centers are between 5-10 minutes then rotate and your idea sounds GREAT!!!!
It is so true that free time can be a challenging thing to plan for. I love the blog you attached. It has some great tips. Centers are a great way to individualize instruction because students get instruction in a smaller setting and the teacher is better able to meet indivdual needs of students. As you mentioned, shorter intervals of instruction and activities are more effective, especially for younger students. Careful planning is crucial when it comes to instructions and procedures for centers. Giving clear directions from the start and giving them opportunities to practice will build a routine. Once a routine is established, the teacher's job becomes easier and the students benifit more from small group instruction.
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