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If you are a regular visitor to my blogs and website, you will know that I live and work in NZ. We are lucky enough to be teaching in person, despite the troubling events that grip the rest of our world. Here in the Antipodes, we are enjoying a beautiful Summer and about to return to schools across the country to start our first term of the new year. That means it’s a good time for me to write a blog series about some back to school basics I have found beneficial in my over 20 years teaching career. Before students return, we teachers spends many days clearing out the old year and freshening up our classrooms for the new cohort. I have written in detail about my research into classroom environments for my post-grad so feel free to read more about this HERE if you are interested. Currently, I am focusing on the following elements. Colour/ decor schemes, calm and muted. While this may not suit my personality, I am not the only one using the space. Brightly coloured, jazzy and cluttered environments can be distracting for many learners. Neutral or natural themes tend to help the eye rest easily and the brain to process learning information rather than be distracted by sensory overload due to visual environmental stimuli. Organisation: Declutter the residue of the previous year and aim to start with a fairly empty room. Have lots of open storage space ready to receive the copious amounts of student generated work product that manifests exponentially. Carefully consider display options and purpose for anchor charts and for student work product (more about this later). Labels can be helpful for storage bins and drawers. Consider how I use my teacher space/s like the desk, filing system, and small/large group teaching areas. Layout: Who is responsible for the layout of the furniture and resulting negative spaces in your room? Could your students be more involved in planning and organising the spaces? When I involve my students, they develop a positive sense of ownership and are more inclined to maintain the space on a daily basis. This spacial planning can be built into a Math or Social Studies unit (or any number of Trans Themes in the IB PYP, e.g. How the world works - systems, or Who we are - how we learn best).
Distance Learning adaptations for the classroom environment. When we meet with our class/es on-line, we develop an on-line learning hub for them, and the above elements matter even more. Colour/decor schemes, calm and muted. Using a harmonious colour scheme helps to link all teaching materials and content together. Background slides, daily notices, etc can all be created in this way. Even better if this scheme can link back to how your physical environment will be decorated when you all return to onsite teaching. Organisation: This is super important in the on-line space. Aim to structure online learning hubs logically and systematically. I use clickable image tiles for easy navigation where possible, rather than lists of links. I am even thinking about the benefits of creating a digital, clickable calendar as my entry point and set the learning for each day within the clickable dates. I found it best to limit the amount of support material in each day’s schedule, to prevent overload/burnout for my students and their families. They are incredibly vulnerable at this time, as are we teachers. Layout: This would apply to your online learning hub and will look different for each teacher based on the levels and subjects that they teach. My school uses Canvas as our LMS (learning management system). I plan my content out in layers. The top layer is the welcome landing page for my class (or course). The next layer down are the subjects e.g. Reading, writing etc (or classes for specialists - like Year 3 or grade 4). Then within each of those you drill down into content. My aim is to keep the layout consistent, easy to follow and age appropriate. Join me next week for some ideas about planning your first day / week. In the meantime, if you are interested in the teacher timesaver Classroom Decor sets like the Hydrangea one featured above, click on the images below to view the resources in my Botanicals series. These feature photographs of real plants, a sure way to bring the calming effects of nature, into your classroom on digital hub. Kia Kaha (stay strong) With love Mea Classroom Decor BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Hydrangea
$15.00
Decorate your classroom using this BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - HYDRANGEA Classroom Decor Pack and be the best dressed classroom in your new school year. Both print-and-use materials and material for you to personalise. Fantastic for the start of the year, term or any unit based in nature. This product contains over 140 pages of materials, templates, instructions and use ideas, including:
View a few samples in the photos or try out for free by downloading the welcome bunting HERE Use BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - HYDRANGEA Classroom Decor Pack to create a cohesive theme for your room, make beautiful teaching materials for your students and personalise your slides in Powerpoint, Keynote, Google or Boom. Some ideas for uses are given in the photos. —————————————————————————————————————————— TEACHERS SUPPORTING TEACHERS ❤️Connect with Help MeLearn by following this store on Instagram and Facebook. Be the first to learn about new products added to the store Please preview the photos before you buy. If you have any questions, please contact me BEFORE you purchase. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ If you value this resource, please leave a strong rating to encourage other teachers. Every care is taken with editing this resource and at times, errors can still sneak through. Rather than leaving a negative rating, contact me directly and be specific in your feedback so that I can make those improvement and give you, and others the best quality resource. ———————————————————————————————————————- RELATED Classroom Decor sets: FREE Welcome Banners BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Hydrangea
$0.00
A FREE GIFT FOR HELP ME LEARN CUSTOMERS BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - FREE WELCOME BANNERs for the Hydrangea Classroom Decor Pack Enjoy using these free Welcome Banners to decorate your classroom when you return in the new year and bring the outdoors, inside. When you fall in love with your Hydrangea banners, the full classroom decor set is also available in my store. Click below to view the full set . More about the BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Hydrangea Full Classroom Decor Pack This is a decor product with both print and use materials and material for you to personalise. Fantastic for the start of the year, term or any unit based in nature. This product contains over 170 pages of material, templates, instructions and use ideas, including:
Use BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Hydrangea Classroom Decor Pack to create a cohesive theme for your room, beautiful teaching materials for your students and slides in Powerpoint, Keynote, Google or Boom. Visit the full product to view —————————————————————————————————————————-- TEACHERS SUPPORTING TEACHERS ❤️ Connect with Help MeLearn by following this store on Instagram and Facebook. Be the first to learn about new products added to the store Please preview the photos before you buy. If you have any questions, please contact me BEFORE you purchase. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ If you value this resource, please leave a strong rating to encourage other teachers. Every care is taken with editing this resource and at times, errors can still sneak through. Rather than leaving a negative rating, contact me directly and be specific in your feedback so that I can make those improvement and give you, and others the best quality resource. ———————————————————————————————————————- RELATED Classroom Decor set: Classroom Decor BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Fern
$15.00
Decorate your classroom using this BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - FERN Classroom Decor Pack and be the best dressed classroom in your new school year. Both print-and-use materials and material for you to personalise. Fantastic for the start of the year, term or any unit based in nature. This product contains over 140 pages of materials, templates, instructions and use ideas, including:
View a few samples in the photos or try out for free by downloading the welcome bunting HERE Use BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - FERN Classroom Decor Pack to create a cohesive theme for your room, make beautiful teaching materials for your students and personalise your slides in Powerpoint, Keynote, Google or Boom. Some ideas for uses are given in the photos. —————————————————————————————————————————— TEACHERS SUPPORTING TEACHERS ❤️Connect with Help MeLearn by following this store on Instagram and Facebook. Be the first to learn about new products added to the store Please preview the photos before you buy. If you have any questions, please contact me BEFORE you purchase. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ If you value this resource, please leave a strong rating to encourage other teachers. Every care is taken with editing this resource and at times, errors can still sneak through. Rather than leaving a negative rating, contact me directly and be specific in your feedback so that I can make those improvement and give you, and others the best quality resource. ———————————————————————————————————————- RELATED Classroom Decor set: FREE Welcome Banners BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Fern
$0.00
A FREE GIFT FOR HELP ME LEARN CUSTOMERS BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - FREE WELCOME BANNERs for the Fern Classroom Decor Pack Enjoy using these free Welcome Banners to decorate your classroom when you return in the new year and bring the outdoors, inside. When you fall in love with your Fern banners, the full classroom decor set is also available in my store. Click below to view the full set . More about the BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Fern FullClassroom Decor Pack This is a decor product with both print and use materials and material for you to personalise. Fantastic for the start of the year, term or any unit based in nature. This product contains over 170 pages of material, templates, instructions and use ideas, including:
Use BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - FERN Classroom Decor Pack to create a cohesive theme for your room, beautiful teaching materials for your students and slides in Powerpoint, Keynote, Google or Boom. Visit the full product to view —————————————————————————————————————————-- TEACHERS SUPPORTING TEACHERS ❤️ Connect with Help MeLearn by following this store on Instagram and Facebook. Be the first to learn about new products added to the store Please preview the photos before you buy. If you have any questions, please contact me BEFORE you purchase. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ If you value this resource, please leave a strong rating to encourage other teachers. Every care is taken with editing this resource and at times, errors can still sneak through. Rather than leaving a negative rating, contact me directly and be specific in your feedback so that I can make those improvement and give you, and others the best quality resource. ———————————————————————————————————————- RELATED Classroom Decor set: Classroom Decor BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Lily
$15.00
Decorate your classroom using this BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - LILY Classroom Decor Pack and be the envy of your colleagues. This is a decor product with both print and use materials and material for you to personalise. Fantastic for the start of the year, term or any unit based in nature. This product contains over 170 pages of materials, templates, instructions and use ideas, including:
View a few samples in the photos or try out for free by downloading the welcome bunting HERE Use BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - LILY Classroom Decor Pack to create a cohesive theme for your room, make beautiful teaching materials for your students and personalise your slides in Powerpoint, Keynote, Google or Boom. Some ideas for uses are given in the photos. —————————————————————————————————————————— TEACHERS SUPPORTING TEACHERS ❤️Connect with Help MeLearn by following this store on Instagram and Facebook. Be the first to learn about new products added to the store Please preview the photos before you buy. If you have any questions, please contact me BEFORE you purchase. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ If you value this resource, please leave a strong rating to encourage other teachers. Every care is taken with editing this resource and at times, errors can still sneak through. Rather than leaving a negative rating, contact me directly and be specific in your feedback so that I can make those improvement and give you, and others the best quality resource. ———————————————————————————————————————- RELATED Classroom Decor set: FREE Welcome Banners BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Lily
$0.00
A FREE GIFT FOR HELP ME LEARN CUSTOMERS BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - FREE WELCOME BANNERs suits the LILY Classroom Decor Pack Enjoy using these free Welcome Banners to decorate your classroom when you return in the new year and bring the outdoors, inside. When you fall in love with your Lily banners, the full classroom decor set is also available in my store. Click below to view the full set . More about the BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - LILY FullClassroom Decor Pack This is a decor product with both print and use materials and material for you to personalise. Fantastic for the start of the year, term or any unit based in nature. This product contains over 170 pages of material, templates, instructions and use ideas, including:
Use BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - LILY Classroom Decor Pack to create a cohesive theme for your room, beautiful teaching materials for your students and slides in Powerpoint, Keynote, Google or Boom. Visit the full product to view —————————————————————————————————————————-- TEACHERS SUPPORTING TEACHERS ❤️ Connect with Help MeLearn by following this store on Instagram and Facebook. Be the first to learn about new products added to the store Please preview the photos before you buy. If you have any questions, please contact me BEFORE you purchase. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ If you value this resource, please leave a strong rating to encourage other teachers. Every care is taken with editing this resource and at times, errors can still sneak through. Rather than leaving a negative rating, contact me directly and be specific in your feedback so that I can make those improvement and give you, and others the best quality resource. ———————————————————————————————————————- RELATED Classroom Decor set: Classroom Decor BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Fern Classroom Decor BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Hydrangea
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 If you thought the inclusion of devices in classrooms had made puzzles obsolete, think again! Although you’re more likely to see kids learning digitally these days, rather than putting together traditional puzzles, including these in independent centres can have surprising benefits for your learners. A quick and inexpensive way to include puzzles in your classroom is to print 2 copies of clear images of your favourite artworks. Laminate both to help them last longer. Keep one for a master and cut the other one up. The complexity of the cuts and sizes of the pieces will depend on the level you teach. In this post I have included images of my puzzle centre in use - perennial favourite among students of all levels. MemorySolving puzzles helps reinforce existing connections between our brain cells, improves mental speed and thought processes. Furthermore, puzzle-solving improves our short-term memory which helps us notice and remember small details, then visualise how these might fit into the bigger picture. Problem-solving SkillsCreative problem-solving and critical thinking skills are becoming increasingly valued in the workforce today. Puzzles help us to develop these important skills. Puzzles require us to trial different approaches when solving a problem because there is a lot of trial and error involved. Students learn to formulate theories, test hypotheses, and change perspectives when something doesn’t work.  Visual-Spacial ReasoningSolving a jigsaw puzzle gets children to look at many different pieces and figure out where they fit within the larger picture. Better visual-spacial skills help with a number of everyday tasks, including:
Positive Attitude & CalmnessPuzzles also increase our brains’ production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that regulates mood and feelings of optimism. This also affects memory, concentration, and motivation. Dopamine is released every time we successfully solve a puzzle — or even just get one piece in the right place. This encourages students to continue working on solving them and challenging themselves. Puzzles also help us to relax as our brains go from a “Beta,” or wakeful, state to an “Alpha” state when we’re solving puzzles. The Alpha state is similar to the state we’re in when we’re dreaming. This shift in consciousness comes with many benefits, including: Ability to make deeper connections Improved mindset Relieve stress Improve mood Increase our self-confidence Attention to Detail & Increased Productivity Attention to detail is crucial. You need to train your eyes to pick out slight similarities and differences in line, colour or shape that will help you put everything together. An ability to pick up on small details helps in every other aspect of learning. When students are more detail oriented and precise, the quality of their school work improves. Happier, calmer students concentrate better and their productivity levels increase. A puzzle break can help to reset the brain for focused learning.  CollaborationPuzzles also build collaboration between learners. Researchers found that giving learners the opportunity to work together on solving puzzles, allows them to improve their relationships and their abilities to cooperate over completing a task. Including more complex learning tasks later on. Puzzles & AdultsAnd if you like the sound of all of this, puzzles have great benefits for adults too. They delay the symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Keeping the mind active through puzzles and other problem-solving activities can reduce the amount of brain cell damage that occurs in Alzheimer’s patients. It also supports the growth of new nerve cells and strengthens the connections between them. Researchers have also found a correlation between the number of years someone has been solving puzzles and the likelihood that they will develop Alzheimer’s. So, the sooner you start making puzzles a regular part of your family and classroom life, the better. It’s never too early to start protecting your brain. Kia Kaha (stay strong) With love Mea Make Art Puzzles For Your Classroom
$3.00
Thank you for your interest in this resource. This is a print and easy to prepare learning resource to help you create a logic centre in your classroom. Can also fit into Art, Maths and collaborative task centres. Read my blog post about the benefits to your students when you offer puzzles in the classroom. https://www.help-me-learn.com/blog/the-benefits-of-solving-puzzles-for-children This resource contains 10 full colour images of masters artworks in the Public Domain with Creative Commons licensing. They have simple cut-line overlays for you to start with. You can make the puzzles more complex later by adding more cuts. A reference image for each puzzle is also included for students to use as a guide. View the images for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TEACHERS SUPPORTING TEACHERS ❤️ Connect with Help MeLearn by following this store on Instagram and Facebook. Be the first to learn about new products added to the store Please preview the photos before you buy. If you have any questions, please contact me BEFORE you purchase. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ If you value this resource, please leave a strong rating to encourage other teachers. Every care is taken with editing this resource and at times, errors can still sneak through. Rather than leaving a negative rating, contact me directly and be specific in your feedback so that I can make those improvement and give you, and others the best quality resource. Making the most of working and learning from home is all about attitude. Approaching this new (and temporary) situation with positivity and a sense of adventure, even humour, can make it a time of adventure and connection. First thing that all members of the family need to accept is that the usual routines will not longer apply and everyone will ned to make compromises. But viewing these compromises as opportunities for kindness, gratitude and togetherness, will go a long way toward ensuring a positive experience for all. With this as the focus, I have collated suggestions about Daily Routines below that could help your family along the way. Share this post with your friends and families in your community, and let us support as many people as we can, together.  RoutinesRoutines are important so that everybody knows what to expect. Adults have routines at work, children thrive on routines at school. Now these two diverse routines collide as parents work from home and school close indefinitely. So a new routine that accommodates everyones needs at a minimum, needs to be drawn up. Everyone in the house needs to be involved in this draft because it effects everyone. When you don't have full buy-in from the whole family, an imposed routine will soon unravel.  A daily routine can include elements like family time, independent time, learning time, work time, exercise time and house keeping time at a minimum. Then, each family will have their own unique elements to fit within those. Depending on your family, elements of the routine can be successfully combined, like family and exercise time or house keeping and learning time, even work and independent time. Develop a routine that suits your family's needs and lifestyle, try it out and then make justifiable modifications as needed. Work Time for AdultsDepending on your job and working style, your work time requirements will differ. Some people need complete isolation to carry out work tasks, while others can comfortably carry these out at the kitchen bench on a laptop. Set yourself strict work hours that do not exceed what you would normally do at the office. When you have elementary aged children at home (or younger), you will need to modify your work hours / times around meeting their needs as well. Trying to do both simultaneously, usually doesn't work well. However if aspects of your job can involve your children's help, this is a great opportunity for them to learn about the working world and also a bit more about what you do all day while they are at school, leading to a greater level of understanding and intergenerational empathy.  Home LearningIf and when schools close for health and safety reasons, parents will suddenly need to play a greater role in maintaining their children's academic level (if not progress) and interest in learning. This can be daunting for many parents, whose priority centres around maintaining their jobs and income, or who may not even be able to stay home because of the nature of their work, or who are looking after several children within their family / community networks while other parents are still attending to their jobs for as long as possible. Your first port of call is your child's school communication system. Schools across the world are requiring that their teachers supply learning guidance for their classes, to maintain a sense of communication, belonging and community. This can come with its own challenges because every household is different, their access to resources differs greatly and each family's routine is unique. Saying that, learning time still needs to be built in. Don't get stressed out by work that teachers post for your children, make sure that you give honest feedback about what is working for you and your family. Teachers would rather know how the planning they provide for distance learning is being received and why. They are well versed in differentiating their programmes within the classroom already, so it would only follow that the same would be required for distance learning classrooms as well. You can also read my next post for a list of open-ended home learning ideas to try.  Family Time, Exercise and House KeepingThese 3 areas of the routine are also important. When families are required to stay isolated from others, tolerance levels for those that they are with, can quickly waver. Even more so when jointly drafted routines are not respected by members of the family. Times that the family spend together, free of work and pressures, just to have fun and play, can help to diffuse any building tensions. These times can be spread throughout the day and coincide with snack and meal breaks. Exercise is also imperative. If you can, go fo a walk or bike ride, outside in the fresh air. If not, then explore your garden or start a yoga or gentle exercise routine that you build onto each day. Aim to include the whole family, ensuring that everyone is getting some activity to help elevate their mood and health levels. With people spending a lot more time in their homes, the place can quickly get untidy and messy. Everyone needs to play a role in maintaining the home and time needs to be set aside for this. Assign chores to each family member and a time that these need completing by. Giving children house keeping tasks teaches them responsibility, independence and a sense of community spirit - all working together for the greater good.  My final word in this post needs to be that nothing lasts forever so these challenging times too shall past. And if you approach it with hope, positivity and kindness, you will come out on the other side with an even stronger family bond, then what you started with. Take care of each other! Kia Kaha (stay strong) Mea  “Creativity is as important now in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.” Sir Ken Robinson  I was a general classroom teacher for 15 years before specialising. Yet I can honestly say I never taught any of my students to read in all that time. There simply aren’t enough hours in a teaching year for merely teaching skills to mastery. Students need miles upon miles of mileage to truly master reading. And by that I don’t mean decoding text. I mean reading for meaning. Instead what I aimed to do was inspire. Inspire a love for words, phrases, unpacking an author’s point of view and predicting a reader’s inference. By unlocking the code of reading for meaning, students’ thirst for adventure, for knowledge, for losing themselves in imaginary worlds, drives them to pursue reading independently. To seek out genres that they personally find engaging and fulfilling. The growth in my students reading levels across the learning year, was staggering.  Six years ago, I specialised in teaching visual art and digital media across kindergarten to Year 6 (ages 4-11). Again, I applied the same methods. As a specialist you may see every student in the school but for very little time. Personally, I may see a student for 18 periods a year. Hardly enough time to scratch the surface of all the possible skills that live within these subject. So I modelled my approach on the way that I used to teach reading. My aim is to awaken a love for creating. I see my role as establishing the context and providing the support for students, that inspires them along the path of personal exploration/s and to build their confidence for self expression and communication through a visual medium. Once they experience that intrinsic satisfaction unique to a creative experience, they are hooked. For me the true test of whether this method works is not the work produced in class, often skill based explorations due to minimal time and curriculum goals. It’s the independent self directed work that students take on beyond the art room - the creativity they apply to classroom work or home based pursuits. It’s the parent who tells me about how their child won’t let them go past a stationery or art supply store without buying something or asking for solutions to store the growing piles of artwork at home. It’s the child that is conceiving, prototyping, creating and making solutions to everyday problems. It’s the child that sees such problems as opportunities to be innovative.  Visual Art is not a stand alone subject, only to be taught in specialist art lessons. It is a transdisciplinary way of thinking that can positively influence all aspects of our students’ lives. Visual Art is not about making pretty pictures to hang in the school corridors. Far more important and useful is the thinking that come before the product. A final product has one use but the soft skills developed during the creative process are what makes Visual Art an essential area of learning for students. Art with Mea IG: timea_oneteachersjourney, artwithmea Reading COMPREHENSION - Read to Self-Read to Buddy with Bloom's Taxonomy
$7.00
Suitable for primary / elementary and middle school. Consists of 6 cards to use in your reading programme, as bookmarks or joined into fans. They are levelled for increasing complexity and based on Bloomʼs Taxonomy of Learning Domains. This model is based on the principle of a 3 level hierarchy: 1 - Learning that is transferring knowledge 2 - Learning that is developing attitudes 3 - Learning that is generating a skill Level 1 - Knowledge & Comprehension fall into the Cognitive Domain (knowing and perceiving). Level 2 - Application & Analysis fall into the Affective Domain (feelings and emotions / attitude). Level 3 - Synthesis & Evaluation fall into the Psychomotor Domain (movement, skills & action). USA and USA spellings have been included on student resources. Fantastic used during reading to self and reading to a buddy times, as well as with guided reading groups. 20 pages. Art Lesson PORTRAITS - This is Me (paint and markers)
$9.00
Techniques are teacher guided and includes extensive student choice opportunities. Suitable for upper primary / elementary and middle school. A clearly laid out full-colour PDF presentation. This is a great art lesson for either the start or end of the year, exploring the uniqueness of self and motivational quotes. Combine with a unit on New beginnings at he start of a new year, or if you wish as a wrap-up of personal development at the end of the year. The photos show the teacher model and a variety of work by students. Art skills developed include - drawing, liquid water colour/dye painting, patterning, colour combining. Work is based on the artist model Eden Gosier - artist biography included. Links to useful resources to supplement this unit. Step-by-step instructions and brimming with colour photographs of authentic student work and teacher models. The examples in this unit were created by 10-11 year olds and is easily levelled up or down. Landscape layout suitable for viewing through large screens or can be used for independent viewing by senior students. Presentation consists of 54 slides (pages). Use in conjunction with this poetry lesson: WRITING POETRY: WRITE THIS IS ME POEMS IN 3 EASY STEPS TEACHERS SUPPORTING TEACHERS ❤️ Connect with Help MeLearn by following this store on Instagram and Facebook. Be the first to learn about new products added to the store Please preview before you buy. If you have any questions, contact me BEFORE you purchase. ⭐️ If you value more of this resource type, please consider leaving a rating and recommending to other teachers. Every care is taken with publishing this resource and at times, errors can still sneak through. Rather than leaving a negative rating, first contact me directly and be specific in your feedback so that I can make those improvement, giving you and others the best quality resource. TERMS OF USE Review the TOUs prior to purchasing. In downloading this item, you agree that you are purchasing a single user license to use this resource in your classroom, but this does not give you copyright. All teaching materials sold by Help Me Learn and One Teacher's Journey are for personal classroom use only and may not be adapted, re-sold, distributed, or translated into any other language for re-sale. You may not remove the credit in any of my teaching materials. Created by Timea Willemse, © One Teacher's Journey, © Help Me Learn  Recently I read a post on a Facebook group that stopped my scrolling thumb in its tracks. And the responses that followed from other teachers concerned me even more. The post slammed the timeless imagery in children’s artworks, calling these elements trite and cliche. Then asked for support from the Facebook community to agree - and many did, further adding their own particular frustrations to the list. So what was this teacher referring to and what was the glaring 'hole' in her point of view? When you think of children’s art, what are the images that spring immediately to mind? I’ll bet these include rainbows, hearts, corner suns, ’tadpole’ people, perhaps a unicorn. Teachers expressed frustration at seeing these childhood elements in their student’s work, year in and year out. Delving a little deeper, one could see that the writer of the post was experiencing frustration, trying to board the ‘differentiation movement’ bus, exploring teaching methodologies based in *TAB principals and recently offering more choice based centres to her students. She was disappointed when the independent work produced did not approximate the standards that she was used to achieving with teacher directed projects. The ‘hole’ here is a clear understanding of **adult vs child aesthetics. There is a vast chasm between what adults would judge as aesthetically pleasing, and that which children do. Eyes of teachers and parents have also been fooled for decades by the adult designed, reproduction art factory that has been passing as art education for several decades now. Art is about communication. Your ideas, thoughts, feelings, what you value and how you wish to impact others. Everything that an artist does, references something about them. Hearts, corner suns, rainbows, unicorns, a line of blue painted across the top of the page for sky and those strange looking eyes with two light spots are all part of developmental phases that young artists go through. The reason teachers see these elements on repeat is because - hello - we teach the same age groups year in and year out. We need to allow young artists to go through these developmental phases , just as we did at that age, and support them to move on, as and when they are ready to do so. The next time a student paints the blue sky stripe, step outside with them and ask them what they see when they look at the sky colour, where does it start and stop, does it touch the buildings or grass, then compare it to their own work and make adjustments that they (not you) noticed / learned.  When they draw a corner sun, respond positively - they noticed there is a sun in the sky and they are trying to communicate that their picture is about daytime. Perhaps run a workshop on the many ways artists show suns in their work, or the positions within your picture where the sun can be located, based on the time of the day. Take students outside with view finders so they can see that the sun is usually too high in the sky to be included in the frame of their picture. Allow children to learn through discovery. While we as teachers may see these elements on repeat, year in and year out, for each young artist these representations and explorations in self-expression, are new. Don’t rush children through their childhood to meet adult aesthetic expectations sooner than they need to. Instead, appreciate that they are expressing joy and understanding of the world around them through these elements, and look for opportunities to inspire individual growth. Kia Kaha (stay strong) With love Mea IG: timea_oneteachersjourney, artwithmea References: Artwork created by 5 & 6 year olds in my art room *TAB website https://teachingforartisticbehavior.org/index.html **child v. adult aesthetics in visual art In visual arts education, educators can sometimes place more importance on art media and technique, with teachers consequently limiting and hindering a child’s creativity processes with adult-imposed goals or agendas (Plows, 2014; Vecchi, 2010; McWilliams, Brailsford Vaughns, O’Hara, Novotny & Kyle, 2014). Parent, educator or school-based achievement learning agendas in the arts must be discouraged. Jenson, K. (2018). Early childhood: Learning through visual art. He Kupu, 5 (3), 75-82. Available at https://www.hekupu.ac.nz/article/early-childhood-learning-through-visual-art Art Lesson LITERATURE - Aesop's Fable of The Tortoise and The Hare (mixed media)
$9.00
Techniques are teacher guided and includes extensive student choice opportunities. Suitable for primary / elementary school. The Tortoise and the Hare are a fantastic fable to start the year. A great way to teach children about slowing down and taking care with learning. This mixed-media art lesson was created with the help of students aged 4-5. Includes many student choice opportunities. Introduces students to 3D, papier-mâché techniques, guided drawing, oil pastels and painting. The Focus: This teacher guided lesson can be incorporated into a reading unit on fables, an inquiry unit on stories that inform and entertain us or even a beginning of the year unit about learner attributes that unpack the concepts of ‘more haste - less speed’, perseverance, focus vs rushing and being easily distracted. Students express creativity through the choices that they make along the way. Teacher guidance and demonstrations are provided to develop skills in young students. A range of materials and techniques are explored. Please view images and videos before purchasing. For more Art resources - Click Here TEACHERS SUPPORTING TEACHERS ❤️ Connect with Help MeLearn by following this store on Instagram and Facebook. Be the first to learn about new products added to the store Please preview before you buy. If you have any questions, contact me BEFORE you purchase. ⭐️ If you value more of this resource type, please consider leaving a rating and recommending to other teachers. Every care is taken with publishing this resource and at times, errors can still sneak through. Rather than leaving a negative rating, first contact me directly and be specific in your feedback so that I can make those improvement, giving you and others the best quality resource. TERMS OF USE Review the TOUs prior to purchasing. In downloading this item, you agree that you are purchasing a single user license to use this resource in your classroom, but this does not give you copyright. All teaching materials sold by Help Me Learn and One Teacher's Journey are for personal classroom use only and may not be adapted, re-sold, distributed, or translated into any other language for re-sale. You may not remove the credit in any of my teaching materials. Created by Timea Willemse, © One Teacher's Journey, © Help Me Learn Art Lesson Link - exploring suns Click the button below to be taken to our lesson plan SUMMER SPARKLE. One of the developments that it promotes is to celebrate those corner suns and modify them through the lens of an artist. These examples were created by 6 year olds in my art room. Kia Kaha (stay strong) With love Mea Art lesson SEASONS - Summer Sparkle (paint)
$9.00
Techniques are teacher guided and includes extensive student choice opportunities. Suitable for primary / elementary and middle school. A clearly laid out full-colour PDF presentation. This is a great art unit to combine with a Science inquiry into the changing Seasons, weather, the ocean and summer holidays. This art lesson covers junior fine-motor skills like smooth and accurate painting. The elements of line and colour are also explored. Suggested success / assessment criteria are included for drawing and painting skills as well as conceptual understanding of colour .Picture books have been given as reference among a list of resource links and a clear and comprehensive photo journal of each step of the process has been provided, along with student and teacher exemplars of work in progress and also the completed works. Links to video painting demonstrations by the author have been given for teachers and can be shown to students as well. Enjoy the step-by-step instructions in this lesson, brimming with colour photographs of authentic student work. Landscape layout suitable for viewing through data projector for junior/middle primary or can be used for independent viewing by senior primary students. Presentation consists of 61 slides (pages). Examples in this unit were made by aged 6 students but easily scales up for older years. A more challenging option for older students has also been included. Customer Feedback: I have been so impressed with your season art units that I have purchased them all. Not being a particularly arty person I am always will to give things a try especially as the younger children learn so much being creative. I look forward to putting this unit to use. If your year group is learning about weather or seasons, consider the following art units so that each class could work on an art response to a different season (orsee our bundled resources): TEACHERS SUPPORTING TEACHERS ❤️ Connect with Help MeLearn by following this store on Instagram and Facebook. Be the first to learn about new products added to the store Please preview before you buy. If you have any questions, contact me BEFORE you purchase. ⭐️ If you value more of this resource type, please consider leaving a rating and recommending to other teachers. Every care is taken with publishing this resource and at times, errors can still sneak through. Rather than leaving a negative rating, first contact me directly and be specific in your feedback so that I can make those improvement, giving you and others the best quality resource. TERMS OF USE Review the TOUs prior to purchasing. In downloading this item, you agree that you are purchasing a single user license to use this resource in your classroom, but this does not give you copyright. All teaching materials sold by Help Me Learn and One Teacher's Journey are for personal classroom use only and may not be adapted, re-sold, distributed, or translated into any other language for re-sale. You may not remove the credit in any of my teaching materials. Created by Timea Willemse, © One Teacher's Journey, © Help Me Learn Art Lesson SEASONS - Beach Days in Summer (oil pastels and paint)
$9.00
Techniques are teacher guided and includes extensive student choice opportunities. Suitable for primary / elementary and middle school. This bright summer themed art resource was realised with children aged between 8-9 as a fund-raiser for calendar art pieces. Inspired by a class beach trip and student artwork viewed on-line. Work is created with oil pastels, references cool and warm colour families and colour tones. An alternative or extension option using paint is also included. All instructions are clearly photographed and written step-by-step to help you teach this lesson to your students too. TEACHERS SUPPORTING TEACHERS ❤️ Connect with Help MeLearn by following this store on Instagram and Facebook. Be the first to learn about new products added to the store Please preview before you buy. If you have any questions, contact me BEFORE you purchase. ⭐️ If you value more of this resource type, please consider leaving a rating and recommending to other teachers. Every care is taken with publishing this resource and at times, errors can still sneak through. Rather than leaving a negative rating, first contact me directly and be specific in your feedback so that I can make those improvement, giving you and others the best quality resource. TERMS OF USE Review the TOUs prior to purchasing. In downloading this item, you agree that you are purchasing a single user license to use this resource in your classroom, but this does not give you copyright. All teaching materials sold by Help Me Learn and One Teacher's Journey are for personal classroom use only and may not be adapted, re-sold, distributed, or translated into any other language for re-sale. You may not remove the credit in any of my teaching materials. Created by Timea Willemse, © One Teacher's Journey, © Help Me Learn |
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