Jellyfish: Special Education

Student Example

Coming up with art lessons geared for the EC or Special Education children has turned out to be harder than I first thought.  I want to keep the children engaged in the material, while still learning and having fun.  Coloring pages get boring.

In this project the kids were to make their own jellyfish. The kids had a blast! The ribbons gave their jellyfish motion as they played with their art.

I first showed the students a small video on jellyfish (here).  While the children worked I left images of jellyfish up on the ActivBoard (here).



Materials
Thin paper plates (1/2 per child)
Crayons
Glue
Thin paper strips
Ribbon
Scissors


I would have liked to only use ribbon, and avoided the paper strips but available materials didn't provide for that.

Check out my Pintrest board for EC children here.

Roll A Face Game

Sometimes in the art classroom certain classes get ahead, while others seem to always be behind.  I came up with this filler to help even out the classes. The kids had a blast!  They roll dice to create a face. Children take turns rolling the dice, first one to a complete face wins!  I gave examples at the front of the room of different kinds of noses, mouths, eyes, and hair.  This encouraged them to do something other than an "L" nose.  Trying it with K/1 was a bit difficult, but it would work wonderfully with the older kids!

Materials needed:
2 dice per team
head template

You can download the directions and template: HERE

Testing in the Art Classroom

With the big push for grading within art the art classroom I've created an art test.  The kids though don't agree it belongs in the art classroom, but using this as my pre and post test will help me gauge if the students know what a landscapes, portrait, or still life is.

Click to download a free PDF of the test : here

I Love My Job

I love being a teacher.  I've only been at Hubbard Elementary 4 days, and I know I'm still in the honeymoon period but the kids are fantastic.  Not to say there haven't been some trying classes, most certainly there have, but I know they are just trying to feel me out.  They are so excited about learning and exploring new things in art.  I tried crayon rubbing landscapes with my kindergarten, being brave on the first day.  When the students saw the patterns from the texture plate appear on their pictures, excitement lit up in their eyes.  They shared their landscapes with any other student they could saying "LOOK! LOOK!"I had a blast helping them. This evening after school a parent brought by a cake to welcome me.  It was the sweetest gesture.  The photo doesn't give it justice, this cake is HUGE! It took 2 people to carry and couldn't fit into any of the fridges.

Room/Project photos to come!

Sub Plans: I'll Take The Cake

The paperwork has taken a little longer than expected, so I will officially start tuesday! But in the meantime I had to create a sub lesson.  I don't want to overload the sub.  I found this video while browsing printerest. It is great! All the sub has to do is follow the directions on the video while the students learn about Wayne Thiebaud. I changed the assignment by having them use colored pencils.

You can find my pinterest board for sub plans here.