...I didn't used to, until two years ago.
We do not have bells between classes because of our schedule so I was having students coming in to class in waves. I got tired of starting directions 50 times, so I decided I needed a warm up that they could work independently on each day. LIGHTBULB: Art Journals! They have evolved from a completely open ended assignment "hey kids you can draw whatever you want!" To a designated subject- which gets rid of most of the "I don't know what to draw" and the "I can't draw" complex.
7th grade is assigned a word each week, and this year they have to use a particular font. The rest of the page is up to them, this weeks word was School:
All students are 'trained' to come in and get their journals out each day. 7th and 8th grade have 20 minutes every class day (X/Y schedule, 85-90 minutes)
And 6th grade has 10 minutes (every day semester or X/Y nine weeks 40 minutes) it is a graded weekly assignment.
Week one: Cover.
The cover is made of poster board, it's 13"x 9.5" This year I printed their names so they would be legible. They were instructed to draw 6 lines from their name, and had to include the word Art, and a quote of their choice. The remainder was up to them.
As you can see, the results vary. I like the organized directions to get them started but then I love to see their individuality come out with the rest of it.
Each week 8th graders are to choose a quote (I have 3 on the board to choose from or they can come up with their own quote via the internet) they have to write their quote on their page, attempting a font other than their own handwriting. They then have to 'fill the space' however they see fit:
7th grade is assigned a word each week, and this year they have to use a particular font. The rest of the page is up to them, this weeks word was School:
Last but not least, 6th grade. They have a short class time, 40 minutes so I assign them a topic. This week they were to draw an imaginary creature:
My students never cease to amaze me!
More ideas please!
ReplyDeleteHello Icarus! Thanks for reading my post. What kind of ideas are you looking for? As mentioned above, I use these for a "warm up" each day. You could potentially use them as sketchbooks with specific assignments (mine are small in size so they are not intimidating when students see that blank white page - mine are a 8.5"x 11" sheet folded in half so each page is only 4.25"x 5.5" ) You could use them for art vocabulary, each day or each week give them a word or words, they could use their own devices to look up the definition and then illustrate it or you could provide the definition and they would write it and illustrate it. You could bring music into it and play a particular song or piece of music for the first few minutes of class and have them draw how the music makes them feel. You could use it as a "practice book" and have them practice different drawing skills each week. The possibilities are really endless. Hope this helps! :)
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