Here is what I do - as of now:
- Students first have to come show me their work and we discuss it - we compare and contrast their own work within their work. So for example if one part is colored/painted with care and precision but another part is scribbled in - I point out the two spots and ask if they match in quality. In most cases students will see the difference and go fix it.
- When students bring me their 'done' work I also compare it to our list of expectations. For example if we are working on their Wild Things I will go down the list of requirements: - is the wild thing made up of 4 or more animals? - Does your wild thing have visual texture? - Does your wild thing have a habitat? - Yes to all of those? You are done for today.
When I agree they are indeed done most times I send the kids to the 'Done List'. I sometimes have mini projects for them to complete, but often times kids get a huge benefit of exploring things on the done list.
The 'DONE LIST' in my room currently has the following to do:
- Free Draw (2 papers)
- Modeling Clay (size of a golf ball)
- Art games - memory and go fish
- I Spy - books and search bottles
- Tangoes
- Kidpix
Modeling Clay: This is a favorite with ALL grade levels - and mostly with boys. The rules are: no weapons, no throwing, no chasing each other.
Art Games: These tend to be more popular with younger elementary students, as most older kids have mastered memory and go fish.
I SPY: These tend to interest middle to lower elementary students and mostly boys - though many girls still enjoy them. I made the search and find bottle out of a plastic tea bottle, added some small bits of this and that from around the room, filled with plastic beads, glued on the lid, printed out a list that I taped to the side.
Tangoes: Tangoes are basically tangrams with different shapes. I got these travel tangoes at Target - they are magnetic and have little books inside with pictures to make on the front and the solutions on the back. I find all grade levels love these and I tend to see girls play with them longer.
Kidpix: ALL kids LOVE kidpix. I have 3 computers set up in the back and they make silly pictures. I set a timer for about 4 minutes so they don't stay on all class and give other kids a chance. I don't have it hooked up to the internet or to a printer.-
3 comments:
Ah the dreaded "I'm done"! Last year I had about 4 different shoes boxes, each with a different center activity. One activity was 'silly sentences, where students use sentence strips to create wacky sentences and then illustrate them. I center was model magic, one center was scrap paper collage, and one was different puzzles I had made from laminating then cutting art posters. I found it very helpful to have these extension activities to keep them occupied. Lord knows boredom brews trouble! :)
Wow, that had a lot of typos, sorry for being practically incoherent...I really need to proofread more!
Art Muse - Thanks for the reminder! I also have a 'silly picture' area. Students pull out colored sticks from jars, read the sentence it makes and draw the picture! They have such a good time with it!
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