These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Fifth Grade students studied gesture drawings and the sculptures of George Segal. Students then created their own gesture sculptures showing...
Follow this step-by-step lesson plan to teach your students how
Looking for Constitution Day activities for your elementary classroom? These lesson ideas, read aloud and projects will engage your students
These self-portrait drawings by 5th graders were on display at the elementary school at the end of the school year, a nice tribute to the 5t...
4th Grade- Enlarged Flower Drawings inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe! Students learned about the artist Georgia O’Keeffe, and viewed examples of her flower paintings. We talked about the scale (s…
HALLOWEEN ART LESSONS for 5th Grade and up I've put together 6 of my favorite Halloween Art Lessons for 5th Grade through 8th Grade
Are you looking to elevate your Ecosystems and Biomes unit? This 4th or 5th grade project based learning unit for ecosystems incorporates science, nonfiction reading, research, writing, and the arts! Read to find out how I organized the research project, what our launch activity was, the driving que
No more boring book reports! Check out 26+ FUN, creative and unique book report ideas and free printable projects too!
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
I have done this lesson many times, but this year the results are better than ever before. This year, we had more time to do this project, and therefore their drawings had more detail. This lesson focuses on the concept of foreshortening. This is a hard concept for even experienced artists, so to make it simpler, we traced our hands and feet. The other details were drawn in after. I found the idea for this lesson years ago on the blog Oodles of Art. Over the years, I have adapted this lesson, and this year the results are amazing. I just LOVE these!
Cute farm cutting practice worksheets for kids learning to use scissors. Lots of free printable pdf with activities for preschoolers.
3 examples of classroom management strategies to help you regain control of your classroom through effective behavior management.
When I started at my new school last year, I came into a new reading program. I was used to doing almost all of my reading instruction WHOLE CLASS, but my school uses a guided reading model all the way up to 5th grade. I definitely had to rethink my reading block! I had done centers in the past, but wanted a really clear way to maximize the time and make the transitions clear for the students. Here's how I do my guided reading block! ROTATIONS We have Guided Reading/Centers Monday-Thursday from about 1:10-2:00 and I rotate through four groups. This means each center is 12 minutes long, with about 30 seconds for a transition. 12 minutes can fly by, so the students have to work on getting those transitions DOWN. I found a FANTASTIC resource by my friend Kristen of Chalk & Apples, and it has made centers SO easy. There are tons of different icons that can be easily swapped out on different days or weeks. I change mine up all the time! In a typical week, I do guided reading with leveled passages on Monday and Wednesday, and we do literature circles on Tuesdays and Thursdays. GROUPS My students are grouped according to DRA levels, because that is what my school uses. You might use AR, Lexile, or another measure. I have four groups: Low, Low-Mid, High-Mid, and High. Each group has a number, but I assign the number randomly so it doesn't match up to skill level in any way. I have 24 students in my class this year, so there will be 6 kids in each group. If you have a larger class, you can still make it work by having your higher groups work on their own while you work with a lower group and just check in! GUIDED READING I LOVE this close reading resource from Fifth in the Middle. I bought the entire bundle so I have TONS of options. Each reading comes in four reading levels, but they are on the same topic and look the same so students don't notice. There is also a paired text that I try to use for morning work toward the end of the week. There are several pages of activities for each passage, and I often have the students start these at the table with me after we've read the passage out loud. When it is their turn for guided reading, the students come to me at our back table with a pencil and a highlighter. I give them their sheets for that day and discuss what we will be looking for while we read (unfamiliar words usually) and we begin reading. I like to make sure each child reads, so however I have to break it up to make that happen. After reading through, I ask them to scan through again to find specific information. This changes week to week, so one time it might be looking for transition phrases, and another it might be looking for dates to create a timeline. Then, we talk about what everyone found and work on putting together the information on the worksheet. I, of course, provide a lot more scaffolding and support to my lower readers, while my high readers are able to do the activity on their own. LIT CIRCLES On the days that we have literature circles, the students still come to the back table with me, but this time they bring their lit circle book (which varies) and their lit circle binder. In their binder, they keep all of their jobs and their reading schedule. I have used about a GAZILLION resources for lit circles (including online blogs), but this one from Pocketful of Primary is my absolute FAVORITE: It is SOO easy to adapt to groups of different sizes and I found it very user-friendly for both the kiddos and for myself! I organize the jobs using a hanging file I found on Amazon. You can find it here: THE OTHER CENTERS So what do the kiddos do during their other blocks of time? Here's some options I cycle through: STAPLES: Partner Reading Each student has a partner from their reading group that they meet up with for this activity. I typically use "I Survived" books or similar short chapter books. I stock up through Scholastic! I have 6 shared books for the entire class, and I place a sheet inside the front cover so the students can write their names and where they ended each day they read. I always have new books ready to go for the students who finish. I do this strictly for fluency, so I don't do quizzes or worksheets. Silent Reading (KBAR) In my class, we call silent reading KBAR- Kick Back and Read. When we do a whole class KBAR, I sometimes take it outside. Spelling (Spelling City) I typically use Spelling City for centers, but sometimes do a worksheet instead. Vocabulary (Quizlet)Quizlet is AMAZING. I love using this for vocabulary! The students really enjoy it as well. Keyboarding (KWT) This is a tough one since monitoring the students' finger placement is so important. I don't do this OFTEN as a center, but throw it in now and again. Writing If we are working on a longer project (such as the state report), I have the students use this chunk of time for that. Otherwise, I sometimes provide a prompt or allow them to free write. Here's one of the resources I use: NoRedInk If you've never used this site, CHECK IT OUT! It's one of the best ways to get some extra grammar practice into your day! Be aware that the initial set up takes a bit of time because the students have to select a bunch of their favorites from different categories: books, tv shows, movies. What's neat is the site uses their preferences and their name + their friends' names when building the practice sentences. The kids get a kick out of it! Task Cards (small group) Students work with their reading group and record their answers on individual answer sheets. I have a huge selection of task cards that I keep in one of these bad boys from Michael's: Cursive (Can Do) I love that my school teaches cursive, but in fifth grade, we don't have a lot of specific time for it. To keep the kid's practicing, I assign pages from our cursive book during centers. Reading Comprehension (Reading Plus) We use Reading Plus, but there are many online reading comprehension sites. Use whatever your district provides or what works for your class! Games I will occasionally throw in a review game for the kids to play with their small group. The key is they have to be short and not too loud! Comment below if you have other questions or want to add some advice on running smooth ELA centers with Guided Reading!
Are you looking for early finisher activities to keep your students engaged and productive when they complete their work early? Look no further! Here are 20 early finisher activities that your students will love. From creative projects to physical activities, there’s something here for everyone! These early finisher activities will help keep your students motivated and on task while also having a little fun. So grab the supplies, turn up the music, and let's get started with these awesome early finisher activities today! (Some links below are Amazon affiliate links. . .no extra charge for you, but it helps support
4th grade started by created a line with a black marker. They outlined the line with 3-4 colors, making it the focal point of their artwork. They added 10 lines off of the coorful line creating dif…
Inside you'll find an easy step-by-step how to draw a Minecraft Self Portrait & Minecraft Coloring Page. Stop by and grab yours for free.
Analyzing character traits is a key fiction reading skill that is needed for successful comprehension. In most cases, authors do not just come out and tell readers the traits that a character possesses. By teaching
FUN Solar System Projects for kids of all ages with creative crafts, activities, and experiments to bring the planets and stars to life.
Need to help your students get more hands on practice for their vocabulary words? I've got 5 fun vocabulary games you can use right away!
Have you been looking for the perfect project based learning curriculum? If you've been on the lookout for a game-changing approach to captivate your upper elementary students and ignite a passion for learning, you're in for a treat! Buckle up as we dive into the world of project-based learning (PBL) – the secret sauce to turning mundane lessons into exciting adventures.
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Next week, after 4th finishes their Aurora Borealis pictures we've been working on, we'll start this rockin' watercolor project! This artwork is inspired by the art of Rebecca Chaperon and the fabulous art teacher Miss Lee. Here's how we'll be creating our own crystals! Materials: Sax 90 lb paper Crayola Artista II watercolors Big Kid's Choice brushes Metallic Sharpies Ticonderoga Pencils We'll be looking at minerals, crystals, and gems, for our inspiration. We'll be using rulers to draw out our shapes, (which is a challenge in itself), and Crayola watercolors to give our crystals some lively color. We'll be talking about the element of art, VALUE, and how important it is in our pictures. I'll show them real life examples in a book from the library and on my computer, and when they get started, I will hand out visuals for them to look at while they are working. I don't know about you, but I draw much better when I can look at what I'm doing! Here's some "how to draw" examples I created, and placed in a packet I made of clip art of gems and crystals printed from the internet. (They don't have to follow these exactly how I did them, but like I said earlier, it helps to have visuals!) Here are some videos I made, that show how to draw and paint these! I'll try and post more soon! How to draw a simple crystal How to draw a cluster of crystals How to draw a diamond Day 1: Look at examples of minerals, crystals, gems, and watch Mrs. Stacey demonstrate on how to start the project. (I draw out the crystals, just like I do in the "how to draw" papers above.) Day 2: Review, and discuss/demonstrate watercolor painting techniques. If they finish one, the can start smaller and different ones. I'd like for them to cut the finished product out and glue it to construction paper, and add little gems around it. Here's my examples to show the kids. I drew them with pencil, traced them with black, silver, or gold sharpie, and painted them using Crayola watercolors and a Royal Langnickel Big Kid's Choice paintbrush. Side note-Originally, I tried outlining with a white pastel (because gold and silver Sharpies are so expensive!) but I did not love that at all. I think I had the most fun, making this tourmaline inspired example! I had fun painting these, and I hope the kids will too! Check back soon for some awesome art! Mrs. Fambrough's class is off to a great start! Mrs. Stacey is so proud of y'all!! Here's some great ones from Dr. Fambrough's class! Look at these fabulous watercolor painters from Mrs. Schoor's class! Here's Mrs. Fambrough's class, hard at work, drawing out their crystals! Here are some finished ones from Mrs. McAllister's class! “Lauren Stacey is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.”
Are you looking for a fun way to reinforce teaching similes to students? Making simile monsters is always a huge hit! Students will create a fictitious monster and use similes to describe the 5 senses about their monsters. To hook students, I love to read the text Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood (affiliate […]
Fun, hands-on human body for kids project to learn about body systems, organs, bones, muscles, and more! Print playdough mats for activity.
We are headed quickly for Back to School! Summer seems to go by faster every year, don't you think? This year for one of my goals in reading as we start back to school, I
Name posters are an easy art project for the first day of school and also double as classroom decor!
Unlock a world of creativity in your upper elementary classroom with these 12 engaging Project-Based Learning examples! From create a planet to design a haunted house to historical time capsules, these hands-on PBL activities foster critical thinking and collaboration. Perfect ideas for project based learning activities and ideas for homeschool, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, and middle school. Includes a FREE printable lemonade stand project that uses math and language arts skills!
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Fourth graders made these neat Heather Galler self-portraits. We learned about Etsy, a website were artists can sell their artwork and keep a better percentage of the profits than selling some of the same art in an art gallery. Buying art on Etsy is a great way to support artists directly. Here is Heather Galler's popular Etsy page! We talked about the characteristics and subject matter that Galler uses. Here is some of her art: In order to create our own Galler style self-portraits, we first traced the outlines of our facial features onto a photograph with colored pencil. We talked about more realistic ways to draw facial features. Next, we sharpied the outlines onto a plastic transparency. Finally, students were encouraged to color their artwork in the style of Galler including many colors and shapes. Students used a color scheme of warm colors and cool colors. In order to create contrast, students planned were to put groups of warm or cool colors. Enjoy! Goals: I can... - Explain what Etsy is - Tell about Heather Galler's artwork - Create a self-portrait in the style of Heather Galler - Explain what a self-portrait is
Have fun learning about France with these printable coloring pages for kids of all ages to learn about this amazing country known for the Eiffel Tower.
Learn what is under your skin with a fun life-size human body project for kids. Download FREE skeletal system bones and organ printables!
elementary art lessons classroom management
While I am a firm believer in students reading real books that they choose and doing this often, I also love to include reading games and reading centers in
Please Note: All images seen below are of my students artwork only. These photos/lessons are not posted in any particular order regarding the flow of my curriculum. OP ART- “3D PAPER CONE DRA…
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Writing a response to literature, or a book report, is an essential part of connecting reading and writing for upper elementary students. It allows them to reflect on what they have read and dig deep into
Take your word work reading center to the next level with these low prep and engaging word work centers! Plus, learn how to organize and run the word work center!
The idea for this lesson came from an image I saw on Pinterest.. but after doing some investigative work - seems to have originated from the blog Art. Paper. Scissors. Glue and before that from the 1991 book written by Sara Beggs, "The No Nonsense Guide to Teaching Art." For this lesson we began by taking about what symmetry is and the difference between linear symmetry (1 line of symmetry) and radial symmetry (more than 1 line of symmetry). Then we talked about what a sculpture is (a piece of artwork you can see from all sides - it is 3-dimensional) and what a relief "sculpture" is (a piece of artwork that has depth on the surface but is not meant to be seen from all sides). Once students understood the principles behind radial symmetry and sculpture we began creating our very own radial paper relief sculptures! Students started by folding a piece of 12"x12" black construction paper diagonally both ways and vertical and horizontally (to create an 'X' crease and a '+' crease). Making these creases makes creating a radial design SO much easier because it gives you guidelines to work with. Once their papers had been folded and their names written, we sat them aside. Before having students begin folding their colored paper (each piece was cut to 3" x 3") to fill the inside of their design, I demonstrated 4 folds to them to get them started. *Students were allowed to deviate from these folds if they wanted to. To download the handout below, click on the arrow button in the top right corner (this will open it in a new window). You can download from there. My kids absolutely LOVED this project! They are already super into origami, so this project was like heaven to them! :) You might also be interested in checking out my Paper Poinsettia Sculpture lesson which uses the same basic concepts. Also available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store!
