Fun Art Sub Lesson!

If you are looking for a fun art project that is ready to use for a sub, this lesson is perfect! Students will have fun designing and promoting a t-shirt during this lesson that is designed with a real world purpose.

Everything you need is included such as:
- Teacher/sub tip sheet
- T-Shirt design instruction sheet for students
- Brainstorming and thumbnail sketch sheet for students
- Final t-shirt design drawing page
- Promotion writing page

This is a lesson I have left for a sub before in my own classroom and had success with so I hope this means it will work for you as well! If you're interested in this lesson, check it out on my TPT store.

Fun packet for end of the year downtime!

It is easy to find yourself with more downtime in your classroom at the end of the year. Sometimes grades have to be closed out and turned in early and the end of the year usually marks a more relaxed atmosphere for students not taking final exams. To help keep students that have finished early or have free time on task and using their brain, I have created art packets that rely on using each student's creativity. 

This Fast Finishers Art Activities packet contains 50 printable creative drawing pages. You don't have to worry about messing up the classroom or getting out a bunch of supplies since students only need a pencil and something to color with for the activities in this drawing packet.

It has been rated 4/4 stars by more than 50 teachers so check it out!

Publishing Students' Writing

Ever feel like you're pushing a boulder up hill trying to get your students to write?  Wondering how to motivate them?  One of the best things I've ever done to turn my students on to writing is the assure them that they'd never have to write for me-well, not just me, that is.  They would choose an audience, write for them and share it with them.

Writing is a form of communication, and it only becomes meaningful when students are communicate with an audience that holds value for the them.  So, here are 20 ideas of ways to help your students  publish their work...to share it with a real audience.

1. Publish on blog-Have your students create a blog.  They can post their work, share it and comment back and forth.  Google and yahoo have free, user friendly blogs.

2. Publish on wiki-Wikispaces.com allow students to create their own website and publish their work.  They can share access to a site and work together on a piece.

3. Put into a class book-Have students write short stories, poems, raps, etc and create a booklet collection for all of the students to keep.

4. Put in newsletter-If your school sends out newsletters, ask if your students can write a column.  I had one of my classes write weekly essays.  I chose the best one to be published in the weekly school bulletin.  Students were excited to revise their work when it was being published and shared school wide.

5. Create a contest-Sponsor a writing contest.  Select community members and/or staff to judge the essays and award the winner publicly.

6. Present in a talent show-Have students share their writing in school assemblies and talent shows.

7. Poetry slams

8. Bulletin board-Post student work on bulletin boards...the more public, the better.

9. Place student writing in doctor/dentist offices-Create booklets with student writing and ask local dentists and doctors if you can leave them in their waiting rooms.

10. Pen pals

11. Reviews-Make part of the students' grade sharing what they wrote with people outside the school and collecting reviews/feedback forms.

12. Dedications-Have students create dedication pages and encourage them to share their essays with those the papers are dedicated to.

13. Portfolios-Have students keep portfolios with their writing.  Share these portfolios with families during parent teacher conferences.

14. Turn their essays into speeches-Have them present their writing to the class.

15. Submit to magazines-Have students submit their writing to magazines that publish entries.

16. Books-Oriental Trading Company sells blank books students can decorate and fill in.

17. Young Authors Society-Start a group where students can share and publish their writing.

18. Nationwide Writing Contests

19. Make it a gift-Have students turn essays into gifts.  For example, in May they can write letters to important women in their lives and give them to those women for Mother's Day.

20. Dramatic readings to younger grades-Have students write and share their writing with younger grades.  They can turn them into books and leave them behind for the younger children's classroom library.

Thanksgiving Fast Finisher Art Freebie!

I recently posted my latest product on my TPT store, a freebie for Thanksgiving! Check out my Thanksgiving Fast Finisher Art Activities pack. This pack contains 10 printable drawing pages that are perfect for the fast or early finishers in your classroom. Each page is printable in black and white or color and is easy for students to complete in your classroom to encourage their creativity.

Each page either contains artistic information or informs students about the Thanksgiving holiday. A wide variety of drawing exercises are included.

If you enjoy this packet, please take the time to rate it and then check out my year round Fast Finisher Creative Art Activities Pack which contains 50 printable fast finisher pages.

Free School Year Reading Programs

Are you looking for a free reading program for your students to join during the school year? During the summer many companies sponsor these programs but the selection is more limited during the fall and spring. Here are two free programs still available you might enjoy participating in!

Book It is a free program sponsored by Pizza Hut. This program runs from October through March 31st during the school year. You can still enroll for this year! Students from K-6 are allowed to participate. Each month, teachers set a reading goal for their students and if the student meets the goal for that month, they earn a personal pan pizza and a passport book. Each subsequent month that students meet their reading goal, students get a personal pan pizza and a stamp in their passport.

Read to Succeed is a reading program sponsored by Six Flags. Any schools that have K-6 grade students within 250 miles of a Six Flags theme park can participate. You must register by March 1, 2013. Students must complete 6 hours of recreational, non-school related reading to earn one free ticket to Six Flags. If teachers submit the reading hours of at least one student, they can also earn a free ticket!

Do you know of a free reading program for students during the school year? Please share below and I'll feature it in a future article.

Keeping Students On Task

It can be difficult to keep students on task when there are so many different things happening in the classroom at one time. Some students might finish at different times or some students needed more help than others. To help keep students that have finished early on task, I have created art packets that rely on using each student's creativity.

This Fast Finishers Art Activities packet contains 50 printable creative drawing pages. It has been rated 4 stars by fellow TPT members so check it out!

For spring, a spring themed Fast Finishers packet is also available. It contains 22 spring themed creative drawing pages for your students.

If you want to check out a sample of what my fast finishers packets are like, check out my free Valentine's Day fast finishers packet. Although most of the pages are themed for Valentine's Day, some of them are still easily usable in your classroom year round.

Tip #9: It's okay to have down days

TAPS: Together, alone, partners, small groups.  This acronyms is a useful one to keep in mind when planning lessons.  Students benefit from all settings, and I try to strike a balance between them when teaching.  Today, though, I want to advocate for the independent work, in particular.  I have found more and more that my students have short attention spans, and are unaccustomed to working independently.  While pairs and small groups definitely should not be tossed to the wayside, I believe that students benefit from learning to work on their own.  Here are a few activities I use in the classroom that requires them to settle down and focus on one thing:

1) DEAR time.  Don't underestimate drop everything and read.  Some studies recently have discouraged the use of DEAR time, but I am convinced that it is because not everyone is creating a tranquil environment with highly engaging reading material.  If you haven't given it a shot, go ahead.  You might be surprised how even the most restless kids can settle down and get into a good book if given the right space to do so.

2) Writers workshop is another idea to use.  I personally like Ralph Fletcher's materials.  Students are given a lot of freedom to write about what interests them.  It may take some time to get students used to entering into a creative space and being productive thinkers and writers, but you can slowly build up time.

3) Art projects also require students to focus on a project for a prolonged period of time.  For more ideas, check out our tip #8.

When I was in my first year of teaching I was working most of the time, and when I wasn't, I felt guilty.  I tried to create creative lessons each and every day and planning seemed to take forever.  So, this last bit of advice is for teachers out there who are like I used to be.  While, those creative lessons are great, it is okay to slow it down, take a deep breath and relish the stillness.  Your students may benefit from it as much as you do....every once in a while, that is!