Ms. Nasser's Art Studio: Student Engagement: Finding a Hook For the End of The Year!

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Student Engagement: Finding a Hook For the End of The Year!

I have been working with children in the arts for almost 15 years!

In that time I have come to realize that art is definitely not for everyone.

There will always be the kids that are an art teacher's dream, they love every project! For everyone one of them, there are also the kids that begrudgingly come to class and kind of do their work.

At the end of the year, it seems even harder to get everyone on board.

No better time than now to dive into challenges!

I have actually introduced a few challenges throughout the year. This first one was inspired by a wonderful blog by Angela Watson, thecornerstoneforteachers.com. I love how she emphasizes the important role of challenge tasks in developing problem solving and creative thinking skills.

I started off the year with a Brown Bag Art Challenge in my Artovation classes. It was a way for me to introduce what Artovation is all about and get students hooked, engaged, and thinking creatively...

To get ready for Dot Day, I presented a dot themed brown bag challenge.

There was such a wide range of ideas!

Check out the link here to my Brown Bag Art Challenge.

We also tried out the Longest Line Challenge right before Thanksgiving.

(Challenges are also a great hook right before vacations!)

Another favorite challenge is the Building Challenge: Lego Edition! I printed out these Lego Task Cards (thank you to A Few Shortcuts Blog!). Each student was given a task card, each table a Lego bin. Let the building begin! I loved seeing how different students interpreted the same task in a different way. I also saw collaboration and camaraderie. Kids would yell out if they had a Lego piece someone else was looking for. Students spontaneously joined their creations.