The Art Teacher's Survival Guide for Elementary and Middle Schools

Helen D. Hume, Marilyn Palmer

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781119600213
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Teaching Methods

The perennial bestseller—now in a new edition

Authoritative and practical, this comprehensive guide offers everything a teacher needs to know for conducting an effective art instruction and appreciation program. The Third Edition of The Art Teacher's Survival Guide for Elementary and Middle Schools includes a complete update on public-relations guidelines, and reference material examples.

The revised edition also features many new projects, an update on current projects and includes an explanation of the hot topic amongst art educators, Teaching Artistic Behavior (TAB/choice). Choice-based art education is reflected in the authors' discussion of teaching in mixed-media, ceramics, photography, sculpture, and art history.

• More than 100 creative art projects, from drawing to digital media
• Offers teaching tools, tips, and multicultural curriculum resources
• Includes new material on logical ways to encourage individual and personal solutions to a problem
• Gives teachers more latitude as to how individuality is suggested in a lesson

This is an invaluable compendium for art educators and classroom teachers alike.

CHAPTER ONE
Let's Teach Art

Art Has Its Own Curriculum

Elementary and middle school classroom teachers often incorporate art into some of their lessons, but it is a special treat for students to look forward to their art-class day, when the subject is art. Teaching art is not exclusively for art specialists, and most states recommend that elementary and middle school students receive 45–60 minutes of visual art instruction each week. Home-school teachers have also learned that their students benefit from art lessons.

Figure 1.1 The Magical Zebra, Peyton Cunningham, Grade 2, cardboard, tempera, 9” × 5” × 3.75”, Chesterfield Elementary School, Rockwood School District, St. Louis County, Missouri. Art teacher Julie Glossenger.

ONGOING PROCESS

Teaching the curriculum of art is an ongoing process. Ideally students learn to look at and create art, expanding familiarity with artists, styles, and cultures throughout the elementary, middle, and high school years.

WHOLE-BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

The higher-order thinking skills and problem-solving abilities of students increase as a result of their ongoing experience. Research has shown that students who participate in the visual and performing arts perform better in other fields of study.

Developing skills is also an ongoing process. Students should have experience every year in creating by drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed-media, and sculpture. In-depth experience in a medium fosters creative exploration. Students can be encouraged to come up with creative solutions, and it is amazing how inventive students are.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

I saw a child making a production of throwing away a work of art that he had worked on carefully all hour. It was as if he were saying “Tell me to get it back out and that it is beautiful.” As early as third grade, some students’ expectations are so high that they rarely meet them, and some students keep “starting over” and never get anything finished. Perseverance is important in character development, and art is a wonderful place to reinforce it.

Art is such a personal thing! Students are highly sensitive about their work. Your expectations and suggestions should be phrased carefully. This does not mean that you should never criticize children's art. Simply ask the student what the next step might be to make it more complete.

New Concepts in Art Education

Teaching art has gone beyond simply introducing children to the appropriate use of media and improving their skills through projects. Although these have traditionally been the basis of teaching art, the potential for so much more exists. Informed teachers are willing to experiment with new concepts in art education.

Begin to develop a system for your classroom that allows for choice-based-art for students from about second grade on up through elementary school. It is also called TAB (Teaching Artistic Behavior). If students have learned a variety of skills before they begin choice-based art, they are more willing to choose from among all the options.

TAB—Teaching Artistic Behavior

TAB, also called choice-based art education, is a trend in art education that is exciting to students and teachers alike. In most districts, choice-based art is taught in grades two or three through five. Lower elementary students are exposed to drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, and fiber arts, which prepares them for making their own decisions as they advance.

From second grade onward in some schools, students are taught to become (and behave) as studio artists: making a plan of their idea with a sketch and a few words to describe the art. The concept can be revised and refined as they progress. Students select a medium or process, solve their own problems, complete their work, evaluate it, share it with others, and clean up. This sounds like an overwhelming experience for young people, but they appear to thrive on it and talk with confidence about it.

Based on conversations with TAB converts, it is suggested that teachers shouldn't be disappointed if at first the artwork doesn't seem to be the quality your teacher-directed artwork had been before you were using choice-based art education. If students have been taught the skills, or given a mini-refresher lesson, original, creative thinking will come out.

In the beginning of the year, each “studio” is introduced (one at a time) for students to explore and try out art materials to see what is possible. Each student might have a checklist of exercises to complete.

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IN A STUDIO A STUDENT MAY BE WORKING ON,

WORK IN PROGRESS—continuing with the original plan, improving, innovating

SKILL BUILDER—trying out supplies to see what they will do, experimenting

MAKE AND TAKE—one-day project

A WOW PROJECT—something they are proud of, did their best work on, is original, and shows growth as an artist. Students do a self-assessment at the end of each day, as well as mark the studio they worked in—this helps the student and teacher keep track of which studios were visited.

Art Teacher Linda Sachs, Rockwood School District, St. Louis County, Missouri

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TAB (CHOICE-BASED ART EDUCATION)

As they enter, each student picks up his or her notebook, in which they will sketch an idea and devise a plan for the day. They may begin something new or follow through on a previous sketch. In a studio, a student may choose to resume a work-in-progress, try a skill builder,...