- Do spot observations of a veteran teacher, if possible an art teacher. Make sure they are quality teachers and not just experienced. Notice how they address their students, how the classroom is organized, how the students behave, what the teacher does to engage the students and how classroom jobs are distributed. Take notes of how the teacher calls for the students attention and in turn, how students get the teachers attention. I was made to do observations as a student teacher but never saw a quality art teacher at work, take advantage of the opportunity and seek a good teacher to observe and it won't seen like such a bother. :)
- Learn what students like. Watch an episode or two of the newest cartoons, learn about gaming consoles and video games, listen to the music they listen to, see what new movies are showing that your students would watch. Students feel more at ease with grown-ups who (at least try to) understand them. Some of my most successful lessons incorporate things I know my kiddos are into.
- Decide what kind of students you want. Students respond to your expectations of them, so raise the bar high. What is your idea of a "perfect art student"? Write it down and decide on a set of rules based on your expectations.
- Guide the students during the first lessons. Find an image that would be easy to reproduce and make a simple drawing combining basic shapes and lines. Figure out the steps needed to make the drawing and break it down. During class have students repeat each step to create their drawing. This will give you a sense of who's a good listener, who struggles with basic lines and shape, who should be moved to another seat because they get distracted easy and who's going to be a great artist! Give the students crayons, oil pastels or markers to draw, keep the pencils for now. I had too many kids waste time erasing every time we made a step, eliminate the problem before it happens. Let them color it and observe who needs help with their coloring skills, pencil grip, etc.
- Have activities for early finishers. I'm not a big fan of " free draw ", make it more structured by providing how-to-draw books or handouts and newsprint paper. I made copies of books from the school library and bought more books from the local discount book store. The kids love the dragon books, and the anime and cartoon books. I let them pick a book and get a paper, they know not to draw or color the books because I stress it all the time, always remind them.
- Have students help. There is no need for you to take care of everything when there's lots of eager hands to help. Figure out a system that will work for you. In my room every student has a chair number, when I call that number they know I'll give them a job. Taking the table's crayon box, or picking up the table's papers and placing them in the correct spot, etc.
- Brake everything down into manageable steps. If you give students too much information they will get overwhelmed. Instead, break down that big project into steps, don't go to the next step until everyone's on the same page, that way you also make them accountable for their time management. This is extremely helpful for the lower primary grades. Painting? Break the process into steps, mine is: water-sponge-color-repeat. I review steps every time we paint, even if we did it last class.
- Be consistent. If you let one kid do something they will all want to do it. This is specially true of bathroom breaks and water breaks. I make a point of letting them do that at the appropriate moment, when they are working independently, not during instruction.
- Be patient and understanding. These are people, with their own personalities and quirks, they are not all the same. They need to see you as a person who they can depend on and trust. That doesn't mean you shouldn't discipline, it means you should try to understand their behavior to give them the correct feedback given the situation.
- Communicate with parents. Send out art newsletters along with the regular classroom newsletters so they know what you do. Take pictures and upload them to the school's website along with a short description. Call parents to let them know their kid is talented!
- Don't become the schools decorator \backdrop person. This is a hard one.... Remember you are there to teach, not to make murals for Valentine's day. When you are approached just kindly tell them you are busy prepping awesome art lessons for your kiddos, or you are busy prepping for the annual art show,etc. You don't needed to lie, we have tons of work just like regular classroom teachers. You can offer them suggestions on how to tackle the project. If they insist you do it, ask for a sub to cover your classes for the time it will take you to complete the project since your time outside of school is precious personal time (that you use to plan more lessons hehehe).
- Organize your ideas. You will want to do a billion cool things, make a board on pinterest or a favorite folder on your browser specifically for art education. You can make categories by art medium, art elements, grade level, etc.
- Try new things. My principal always says "the worst thing you can do is try something stupid with the students, then you learn and never do it again." Don't be afraid to take risks, after all, this is not your grandma's art class. Find an engaging game online, look for funny or silly internet clips, make up a song, get up and dance, use iPads, etc. Inspire your kids and crate a safe, fun environment for art making.
These are just some of the things I wish somebody had told me on my first year, or when I was a student teacher. Talk with colleagues, ask them how their first year went :)
Happy art teaching!
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