As we prepare for another school year, I find
myself reflecting on my classroom management changes throughout the last few
years. It hasn’t been too long since the
idea a “bell work” was introduced, encouraged, and then expected as a classroom
management practice.
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I’ve been teaching awhile (!) and while
I agreed that the routine made real sense for the core classrooms, I was
still full of the ideas that my classes couldn’t waste a minute on stuff like
that and that students were more likely to achieve and be successful when
they could come right to class, manage their own time, and get right to work
on their projects.
Then the
mandate came. I squirmed a bit – I was pretty comfortable doing what I had
always done. I don’t have too many classroom behavior issues, but I had
to get to work on this. I found I actually enjoyed preparing the daily
tidbit of information that was to be used for the beginning of class.
One of the GLE’s that has been the most difficult to implement in my
curriculum is the critical discussion of works of art. Students were
always in such a frenzy to get their supplies and get to work, it was
difficult to have meaningful conversation about art, artists, art history,
and aesthetics.
So I
decided…go big or go home on the bell work issue. I developed
PowerPoint presentations that taught students how to “read” artistic notation
of artist, title, date, size, where it is now and well as reflect on
something about the art. Questions like “Why did the artist use that
color? Why that setting? Why that medium? became the bell ringer
idea. Students used a daily journal to reflect and answer the
questions. It was during this time that I could also share some of the
great historical or even quirky information about the artwork or the
artist. The students seemed to enjoy the story behind the picture.
The
reflections are a non-threatening way for students to learn how to “see” what
is going on in art, learn how to express themselves, and learn some trivia to
spark the lessons. As far as the classroom management end of it – students learn to compose themselves upon entering
the room, learn how to focus on project related material, learn how to speak
and write about art, and learn that the study and making of art really is a
meaningful and useful experience.
As a
side note, I am amazed at how involved I became (I guess you might call it
professional development!). After the first year, I couldn’t use the
same presentation – all my students had seen it! So, I created sets for each
grade level. With the changing of the class structure this year, I have
recreated set for each grade level and correlated them to the GLEs and
projects. I have enjoyed researching art and artists that will enhance
my lessons; I have enjoyed the value of being a lifelong learner.
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