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Build Positive Classroom Culture From the Start of a New School Year

4/3/2023

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Build Positive Classroom Culture From the Start of a New School Year.
When we as teachers take the time to build a positive classroom culture from the very first week of school we, along with our students, have a much better outlook for a successful school year. A strong and supportive learning environment helps to foster student engagement, academic achievement, and overall well-being. The start of a new school year provides a unique opportunity to establish the foundation of a successful classroom culture.

In today's diverse and inclusive classrooms, it is important to adopt approaches that respect and celebrate these differences among students. By:
  1. offering a variety of choices where possible, and
  2. allowing students to exercise agency over their learning,
teachers can create an environment that is inclusive, empowering, and engaging.

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All About Me Portraits art project video lesson plan grades 1-3

$9.95 $5.95

All About Me Portraits is a comprehensive art lesson plan to guide your next art project in grades 1-3, using oil pastels and water paints. Includes a PDF teaching support document and the instructional video that demonstrates every step, supporting students with drawing their self-portraits, using the element of SHAPE and the principle of PROPORTION.


2 portrait versions are demonstrated. Students also learn about the elements of COLOR (colour) and LINE while they create their shirts and backgrounds. Created with students aged 5, this lesson plan is aimed at grade 1 and grade 2 students.


Use with early elementary learners in a series of consecutive lessons. Encourage students to follow choice options and create their unique portraits, while being guided by the demonstrations in the video.


This lesson plan focuses on:

  1. Use the element of SHAPE to structure the face and its features
  2. Use the principle of proportion to locate facial features
  3. Explore warm and cool color (colour) families
  4. Explore oil pastels & water paint media (liquid or pan)


Printable and presentation drawing guides have been included in this PDF.

Teaching this lesson can be a meaningful art project for students returning to school at the start of the year, exploring inquiries into Who We Are - IB PYP. Students can express their unique identities through personal choices and modifications, while working through the project. Also makes a great extension for shared picture books.

Extend further writing Friendship Poetry or Bio Poems (LINK HERE)

This is a fully narrated video tutorial that demonstrates all drawing steps in real time.


Benefits of using a video lesson:

  • The lesson has already been tested
  • All steps are viewable from start to finish
  • Techniques are demonstrated
  • Rewind and rewatch as many times as needed
  • Narrated explanation adds depth to understanding art theories
  • Its like having an art specialist in your classroom or home
  • Encourages independence in learners and self management
  • Allows for students to work at their individual pace
  • Hosted on YouTube (unlisted) and accessed from the link in the PDF support document
  • Not cluttering up your hard drive
  • Added benefit of PL in Visual Art teaching for the purchasing classroom teacher
  • Includes a PDF lesson companion with support information
  • Lockdown Remote Teaching: Limited permission is granted for the purchasing teacher only, to live stream through screen sharing with their class, strictly limited for remote teaching during a government mandated lockdown


Stream the video lesson on your large screen and free yourself up to roam your classroom and support your students. Let your students follow along, pausing in places for them to complete the steps at their own pace, or rewind and rewatch when needed. This method can also offer time for opportunities to explore student responses or modifications, bringing personal creative ideas to the tutorial. Addresses the Viewing & Responding to artwork concepts.


Suits: most early primary/ elementary grades and homeschooling families.

Children will: learn to create self-portraits, use line patterns and shapes, work with oil and water resist techniques and make color (colour) selections

Learning intentions include: Draw with tutorials, Apply personal choices or modifications, Drawing, colouring and painting with accuracy (fine-motor development), Use colour with purpose (warm & cool contrast), Make artistic choices within context limits, Respond to art created by artists and by my friends, Reflect on my own artwork, skills and progress.

Media demonstrated: water colored (coloured) paint and oil pastels

Materials used: A3* art paper, drawing pencil, water colored (coloured) paints in liquid or pan form & paint brushes, scissors & glue

*A4 = 8.5 by 11 inches (215.9 by 279.4 mm) A3 = double A4


The video preview is a very short clip from the actual resource to give you an idea of my teaching style. I am both a general ed classroom teacher and currently practicing as a Visual Art and Digital Media specialist educator, teaching students from ages 4-12, at a primary school.

Also included in the support documents are:

  • Learning Intentions for the IB PYP and NZC at level 1 / Phase 1 but these will closely match LO's from other art curriculums.
  • Student Voice reflection/ assessment guides


Want more?

Find comprehensive visual art PDF lesson plans in the following sub-categories:

Visual Art K-2

Visual Art 3-5

Visual Art 6-8

And view my growing collection of video art tutorials

HERE


I would love for you to leave a rating and review to let me know what you think of this video lesson, either here or on Youtube.


TERMS OF USE

Review these 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 or home, but this does not give you copyright.

All teaching materials sold by Help Me Learn and One Teacher's Journey are for personal and 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



ABOUT VIDEO STREAMING

“Video” is a new product type on Help Me Learn where I aim to share best strategies, tips, and instructional practices through an unlisted video that can only be viewed from my YouTube channel, accessed only through the link in the PDF Download. Video resources cannot be downloaded to your computer or device. Instead, you can view them on-line, so you don’t have to download a large video file. You will have access to the file as long as you retain the link you receive in the downloadable resource PDF.

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Art Lesson LITERATURE - Goldilocks Self-Portraits - Fairy Tales (paper collage)

$8.95 $5.95

Techniques are teacher guided and includes extensive student choice opportunities.

Suitable for primary / elementary school.


This visual art lesson plan will help you to create fun self-portrait artwork with your students, in collage. Examples made with students aged 5+. All steps are clearly explained and photographed, giving you the confidence to deliver quality visual art lessons to your students. Includes opportunities for student choice.

Introduces students to shapes, stencils and layering techniques.

  • Students will create Portraits or Self-portraits using the art making technique of Collage
  • Strengthens ‘Self-to-Text’ conceptual understandings for Reading by creating a ‘Goldilocks’ portrait in their own image, e.g. ‘Ebonylocks’, Crimsonlocks or ‘Amberlocks, Curlylocks’, etc.
  • Some creative elements are teacher guided and others are left to the student to determine
  • Skill building includes: fine motor development, drawing with stencils, cutting, gluing, paper folding & curling
  • See art lesson resource ‘The Three Bears’ for extension on this Fairy Tale lesson
  • Includes Student voice reflection guide and Visual Art learning intensions for assessment (IB PYP and New Zealand Standards)



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❤️ 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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One terrific way to honour each student is by ensuring that they are reflected on the classroom wall. What better way than guiding them through a successful self portrait lesson in the first few weeks.
However many of us are nervous about teaching art as we ourselves may not have had positive experiences with this subject during our own school years.

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Art Lesson PORTRAITS - This is Me (paint and markers)

$9.95 $5.95

THIS IS ME back to school portraits is a comprehensive visual art lesson plan inspired by US contemporary artist, Eden Gasior. A great way to create portrait art at the start or end of the year for getting to know each other. Exploring the uniqueness of self with motivational quotes and favourite personal subject matter. Combine with a unit on New beginnings at the start of a new year. Alternatively, as a wrap-up of personal development at the end of the school year. A popular and bold option for Calendar Art fundraising as well. All steps are clearly explained and photographed, giving you the confidence to deliver quality visual art lessons to your students. Includes opportunities for student choice and work produced by each students will be unique and personal.


Students will build skills in :

  • self portrait photography,
  • drawing,
  • painting with liquid water colour (dye),
  • patterning and colour schemes.

The Lesson plan includes:

  • Background information about artist model Eden Gosier.
  • Detailed instructions to create the artwork
  • Photographs of every step
  • Teacher example
  • Student examples from upper primary/elementary
  • Guidance for teacher assessment and student reflection options
  • Curriculum links to Level 3 New Zealand Visual Art Curriculum
  • Curriculum Links to Phase 3 Responding & Creating for IB PYP
  • Student Voice guidance for reflections
  • Note-taking template for research & response
  • PDF teaching guide consists of 50 slides (pages).

Materials you will need include:

  • Wet grade art paper
  • Liquid water colours (artist dye)
  • Student photographs
  • Access to inspiration materials like patterns, quotes, colour schemes, etc


View a short video excerpt below.


FEEDBACK

"Thank you, all the hard work is done. Can't wait to use this in my class"

"Excellent, easy to follow instructions with beautiful examples to inspire."

"This was comprehensive and easy to use. Thank you!"

"Great activity for calendar art. My students are very excited and have already taken a pile of photos to choose from. Could also do a bit of a focus on photography - camera angles etc Thanks for the inspiration"


Use in conjunction with this poetry lesson:

WRITING POETRY: WRITE THIS IS ME POEMS IN 3 EASY STEPS


FOR MORE VISUAL 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, please contact me BEFORE you purchase.

⭐️If you value more of this resource type, please consider leaving a rating. 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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SELF PORTRAITS Art Lesson in 2 Styles - Pop Art and Expressionism - BUNDLE

$12.95

Portrait art is a favourite annual Back to School lesson in classrooms around the world. This visual art lesson BUNDLE teaches 2 styles - POP ART and EXPRESSIONIST. Introduce your students to the art styles of

1. Pop Art with Roy Lichtenstein,

2. Expressionism as represented by Amedeo Modigliani.


By adding these non-realistic, exaggerated lenses to a lesson type that many teachers dread teaching because students are seldom satisfied with realistic results, you help to distract students from fussing over realism.

Here, with these art project, students will have fun with unusual techniques in a stylistic way that they will love. All steps are clearly explained and photographed, giving you the confidence to deliver a quality visual art lesson to your students. Includes opportunities for student choice.

This self portrait art tutorial is inspired by the paintings and sculptures of Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein and Expressionist artist, Modigliani


Media used includes: coloured marker pens, water colour paint, black markers, chalk and oil pastels (regular supplies in most classrooms).



PRAISE (from my TPT store) for this PORTRAITS Bundle

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ "Very complete, Can't wait to use it!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ "I love this product and can't wait to use it again next school year!"


Includes a PDF teaching support document that demonstrates every step. Support students with drawing their self-portraits, using the art elements of SHAPES, LINES and COLOR / COLOUR. Created with students aged 9-11, this lesson plan is aimed at 4th grade, 5th grade and Middle School students.


❤️ Take the guesswork out of teaching art,

❤️ Avoid endless hours of research,

❤️ No more epic fails that result from not having the time to trial the lesson or medium yourself before teaching it.

I’ve done it all for you and trailed this lesson with my own students, in 5th grade.

❤️ Why should you trust my lessons?

I am both a general ed. classroom teacher and currently teaching as a Visual Art and Digital Media specialist educator, working with students from ages 4-12, at a primary school. I do this every day, just like you!



❤️ How will this resource help busy classroom teachers, who are nervous about teaching art?

No worries - I’ve got you covered.

This lesson comes as 2 full colour PDF teacher guides, with a bumper 36+ and 29+ slide decks, respectively, to share on your large screen with your students.

Plus a further 6 slides to support reflection and assessments, for each lesson.


All project steps are clearly explained and photographed, from start to finish, giving you the confidence to deliver a quality visual art lesson to your students.

Use in a series of consecutive lessons. Encourage students to follow choice options and create their unique portraits, while being guided by the demonstrations in the slideshows.


❤️ All the materials & skills are also clearly listed for you. It’s like having an art specialist with you in your classroom.

The PDF slides are intentionally designed in landscape orientation, to share with your students. This extra visual support will prove useful, particularly for young learners, and will also save your from having to repeat the same instructions, over and over again.

Select VIEW > enter full screen for presentation mode. Then use the arrow keys on your keyboard to drive a smooth slideshow experience, like a pro :)

No printing required


Encourage students along the way, to follow choice options and create their unique artwork, while being guided by the information on the slides.


⏰ How long will this project take to finish? 

Each art project can be completed in 3-6 lessons, depending on the age and stage of students and the size of paper /media/ style you or your students choose. 

Chunk into smaller manageable lessons, as needed.


View the Previews & Video, then add to cart and smile, knowing you will soon have beautiful artwork on the walls and students glowing with pride!


❤️ So what is special about this resource?

This Expressionist Art lesson for Portraits, is NOT a superficial art or craft option. As a specialist in this field, I write lessons that encourage deeper, cross-curricular learning and make meaningful connections to other subject areas. This IS:

  • a drawing tutorial that includes the concepts of proportion & shapes (Math),
  • explores the concept of design principles (Visual Language),
  • makes link to art history and contemporary artist - Roy Lichtenstein
  • makes cross-curricular links to the start of the year and building community (Who We Are - IB).


Students can express their unique ideas through personal choices and modifications (suggestions offered in the guide), while working through the guided project. Pause the presentation in places to discuss next steps with students, check understanding and explore potential student responses or modifications, bringing personal creative ideas to the tutorial. This addresses the Viewing & Responding to artwork objectives in a purposeful way. 



  • ✅ This PDF includes step-by-step support & teaching instructions for:Suggested Literature links - recommended Books to support the theme
  • Artist model teaching slides
  • Links to examples of artist's works for discussion
  • Expressionist art slide
  • Detailed instructions to create a student response
  • Photographs of every step
  • Examples of work in progress and completed
  • Printable sheet for recording Student Voice reflection/ assessment of learning (2/pg. to save printing, print on B&W setting)
  • ✅ What knowledge, techniques and skills will my students learn from this art tutorial?Gain knowledge about art theories, styles and movements
  • Gain knowledge about art history
  • Become familiar with artists and their work
  • Follow a tutorial for guidance - listening skills, visual discrimination, sequencing
  • Develop fine-motor & technical skills for using a range of art tools and media
  • Respond to art created by artists and by other students
  • Reflect on own knowledge, skills, progress and artwork - using the included student sheets
  1. ✅ That sounds great! So what about the Visual Art focus in this lesson?Introduced to the art elements of SHAPES & COLOR / COLOUR
  2. Explore the work of a Artists
  3. Observe & understand the Art World (Studio Habits)
  4. Build skills for observational & guided drawing
  5. Explore art making that expresses new learning
  6. Build skills for using art media
  7. Create a self portrait design in an expressionist Art style
  8. Stretch & Explore (Studio Habits)
  9. PLAN - compose line designs using patterns to create an original background
  10. Develop Craft, Engage & Persist, Express (Studio Habits)
  11. Reflect on personal development as an artist
  12. Reflect (Studio Habits)


View the Previews & Video, then add to cart and smile, knowing you have just saved yourself heaps of time and effort!


✅ Where can I find more art lessons like this one?

There are many other PORTRAIT RESOURCES in my store.

For early elementary art lessons - Click HERE.

For upper elementary art lessons - click HERE:


✅ Is this product available on TPT?

Yes - you can find this product in my TPT store - One Teacher's Journey - HERE


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⭐️ Become a member of Help Me Learn by registering HERE and gain access to my Free Resources Category.

Easily find your next teaching resource here and receive updates, reminders for upcoming sales and preview of latest releases.

View all the previews above before you buy. If you have any questions, contact me through Q & A, BEFORE you purchase.


⭐️Would you recommend this lesson to your colleagues? Then please return to rate & comment as this helps to inform other teachers about how this product brought value to your teaching. 

Every care is taken with editing this resource and at times, errors can still sneak through. If you have any questions, contact me through Q & A, and be specific in your request so that I can make those improvements and give you, and others the best quality lesson plans.

***********************************************

➡️ TERMS OF USE

Review the TOUs in the PDF preview prior to purchasing.

Created by Timea Willemse, © One Teacher's Journey, © Help Me Learn

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❤️ So take the guesswork out of teaching art, avoid the epic fails that result from not having the time to trial the lesson or media yourself before teaching it. Don't be held back by past experiences.
I’ve done it all for you and trailed all these lesson with my own students. While I may ideate many teaching resources, I only make them available to you once they have been classroom tested. 
I am both a general ed classroom teacher and currently practising as a Visual Art and Digital Media specialist educator, teaching students from ages 4-12, at a primary school.

❤️ How will these portrait themed art resources help busy teachers, who are nervous about teaching art?
No worries - I’ve got you covered.
Some lesson come either as full colour PDF teacher guides, where all steps are clearly explained and photographed, from start to finish, giving you the confidence to deliver a series of quality visual art lessons to your students.
While others are a a fully narrated video demonstration, that in most cases also come with a bonus PDF teacher guide.
Picture
❤️ All the materials & skills are also clearly listed for you. It’s like having an art specialist with you in your classroom.
The PDF slides are  intentionally designed in landscape orientation, to share with your students as a presentation on your large screen. This extra visual support will prove useful to you and your students, particularly diverse learners, and will also save your from having to repeat the same instructions, over and over again.
Select VIEW > enter full screen for presentation mode. Then use the arrow keys on your keyboard to drive a smooth slideshow experience, like a pro :)
Encourage students along the way, to follow choice options and create their unique artwork, while being guided, in skills and techniques, by the information on the slides.
Picture
Thank you for stopping by, If you have any questions or are looking for anything specific, please get in touch. Click the ABOUT link above and choose the CONTACT link to reach out by email.

And you can always connect with me by following along on my teaching journey at:
One Teacher's Journey Blog  - (my original teacher blog)
My TPT store - One Teacher's Journey (my original store)
My Pinterest Page 
The Gram 
My Website - HELP ME LEARN

​With love, Te Aroha 
Mea
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Summer Time! - End of Year for our Northern Teaching Friends

22/5/2021

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As I write this post, I am looking out at the overcast sky, heavy with rainclouds and the windswept beach yielding to the cold Southerly winds of Tawhirimatea (Māori deity who controls the weather) reaching across Auckland. We are rapidly accelerating into our winter months.

Not so for our Northern hemisphere friends in education. Schools are beginning to wrap up their quilted together programmes for the year that was, and looking forward to a well deserved rest over the Summer weeks. Hope springs eternal that schools will return to a new, but more familiar normal in September.

As we reflect back and recognise the hurdles we have climbed, the new learning we have added to our skill set and the personal growth we have all acquired, we are proud of our journey,  respectful of the challenges that stretched us and  grateful for the friends that have supported us along the way.

Time to refresh, rejuvenate  and  replenish before we once again resume our respective roles in education. 
But before wrapping up the year, I want to share a fabulous little poetry lesson secret with you all. I am a keen wordsmith and love piecing together words to create images in the mind of the reader or listener. And thus, teaching my students the joys of poetry writing is one of my favourite things to do.

This  Reflective Poetry lesson plan came out of wanting to spend our final few days of the year together meaningfully engaged in learning, while still having fun.
Assessments were over, reports written, classroom walls were stripped bare and school schedules were filling up with end of year fun stuff. As any seasoned teacher will attest, students can get a little loose when routines are continually disrupted so keeping up purposeful engaging lessons is beneficial for everyone. 
One year, I set my students the task of reflecting back on their year of learning to see how far they had come, especially when compared to their very first writing task 10 months prior, where they set out some hopes and aspirations for the year. 
​
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​I also wanted something to leave up on my classroom wall for the start of the new year, to welcome my new class.
​So I set  the challenge to my current class - write a reflective poem about the year that was and I will print a poster sized copy (A3) of each persons poem for the wall, ready to welcome the students that will be following in their footsteps.

And from that beautifully collaborative learning moment, this lesson plan was born.  The students were so proud to know that an authentic audience were going to be enjoying their writing from day 1 of the new year.
And in the new year, my sweet new class were fizzing with excitement as they read the work left for them by the class that went before. 
Such a beautiful connection across generations.
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I have written up all the steps for you to teach this wonderful  lesson in your programme too. You will use it time and again.. Click the button below  to view this resource in the store.
Click2View This Lesson Plan in the Store
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New Year - New Room Environment

13/1/2021

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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.

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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).
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Distance Learning adaptations for the classroom environment.

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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:


  • multiple coordinating themes and some bonus slides
  • Welcome banner and classroom signs
  • Multiple templates for labels and page borders
  • Daly timetable & Classroom calendar elements
  • Table Groups labels & Room labels
  • Basic & Complex question stems
  • Bucket filler envelope nets
  • Student photo gallery templates
  • Inspirational quotes posters
  • Instructions for using the product


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.

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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:

Classroom Decor BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Lily

Classroom Decor BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Fern

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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:



  • 4 coordinating themes and some bonus slides
  • Welcome banner and classroom signs
  • Multiple templates for labels and page borders
  • Daly timetable & Classroom calendar elements
  • Table Groups labels & Room labels
  • Basic & Complex question stems
  • Bucket filler envelope nets
  • Student photo gallery templates
  • Inspirational quotes posters
  • Instructions for using the product


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


Fern Classroom Decor


—————————————————————————————————————————--

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

Classroom Decor BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Hydrangea

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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:



  • multiple coordinating themes and some bonus slides
  • Welcome banner and classroom signs
  • Multiple templates for labels and page borders
  • Daly timetable & Classroom calendar elements
  • Table Groups labels & Room labels
  • Basic & Complex question stems
  • Bucket filler envelope nets
  • Student photo gallery templates
  • Inspirational quotes posters
  • Instructions for using the product


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:

Classroom Decor BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Lily

Classroom Decor BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Hydrangea

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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:



  • 4 coordinating themes and some bonus slides
  • Welcome banner and classroom signs
  • Multiple templates for labels and page borders
  • Daly timetable & Classroom calendar elements
  • Table Groups labels & Room labels
  • Basic & Complex question stems
  • Bucket filler envelope nets
  • Student photo gallery templates
  • Inspirational quotes posters
  • Instructions for using the product

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


Fern Classroom Decor


—————————————————————————————————————————--

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

Classroom Decor BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Hydrangea

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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:



  • 4 coordinating themes and some bonus slides
  • Welcome banner and classroom signs
  • Multiple templates for labels and page borders
  • Daly timetable & Classroom calendar elements
  • Table Groups labels & Room labels
  • Basic & Complex question stems
  • Bucket filler envelope nets
  • Student photo gallery templates
  • Inspirational quotes posters
  • Instructions for using the product


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:

Classroom Decor BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Fern

Classroom Decor BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS - Hydrangea

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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:

  • 4 coordinating themes and some bonus slides
  • Welcome banner and classroom signs
  • Multiple templates for labels and page borders
  • Daly timetable & Classroom calendar elements
  • Table Groups labels & Room labels
  • Basic & Complex question stems
  • Bucket filler envelope nets
  • Student photo gallery templates
  • Inspirational quotes posters
  • Instructions for using the product

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


Lily Classroom Decor


—————————————————————————————————————————--

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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The Benefits Of Solving Puzzles

22/3/2020

0 Comments

 
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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. 

Memory

Solving 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 Skills

Creative 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.
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Visual-Spacial Reasoning

Solving 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:

  • Riding bikes, and other sports activities
  • Organising belongings
  • Solving mathematics problems or composing a story
  • Finding their way around school campus, etc

Positive Attitude & Calmness

Puzzles 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.

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Collaboration

Puzzles 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 & Adults

And 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.

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Everybody is Home Now - a new normal

21/3/2020

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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.
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Routines

Routines 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.
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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.
Free - Get the Family Daily Routine Scheduler above

Work Time for Adults

Depending 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. 
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Home Learning

If 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.
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Family Time, Exercise and House Keeping

These 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.
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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
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Creativity is as important as Literacy

3/1/2020

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“Creativity is as important  now in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.” Sir Ken Robinson
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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. 
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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. 
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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 questions for any text based on BLOOM'S TAXONOMY Gr 3-8

$7.50

READING COMPREHENSION questions for any text based on BLOOM'S TAXONOMY consists of 6 cards to use in your reading programme, as individual and levelled bookmarks or join all 6 into into fans. They are levelled in increasing complexity and based on Bloomʼs Taxonomy of Learning Domains, a model based on the following principles of:


a 3 level comprehension hierarchy.

1) Learning that is transferring knowledge

2) Learning that is developing attitudes

3) Learning that is generating a skill


These reading comprehension cards are levelled as follows:

  • 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).


PDF product over 25 pages.

Fantastic used during reading to self and reading to a buddy, as well as with guided reading groups.


Educators looking for more LITERACY resources from ONE TEACHER'S JOURNEY can visit these links:

Reading & Comprehension


WHAT DO OTHER TEACHERS SAY?

"Great product. I use it as bookmarks in my high group's chapter books. They seem to enjoy it. "

"Thanks. Perfect for our reading buddies time :)"

"These bookmarks have been so helpful! I have had students use these as they are independent reading and it has been extremely successful. Thank you!"

"Use these all the time. Love"

"Favorite part is that they are color coded! Kids really hone in on that!"

"These Bloom Cards are amazing. They help plan for higher ordering thinking during Guided Reading Lessons, Shared Reading, etc... Thank you"



TERMS OF USE

Review these 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 or home, but this does not give you copyright.

All teaching materials sold by Help Me Learn and One Teacher's Journey are for personal and 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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Art Lesson PORTRAITS - This is Me (paint and markers)

$9.95 $5.95

THIS IS ME back to school portraits is a comprehensive visual art lesson plan inspired by US contemporary artist, Eden Gasior. A great way to create portrait art at the start or end of the year for getting to know each other. Exploring the uniqueness of self with motivational quotes and favourite personal subject matter. Combine with a unit on New beginnings at the start of a new year. Alternatively, as a wrap-up of personal development at the end of the school year. A popular and bold option for Calendar Art fundraising as well. All steps are clearly explained and photographed, giving you the confidence to deliver quality visual art lessons to your students. Includes opportunities for student choice and work produced by each students will be unique and personal.


Students will build skills in :

  • self portrait photography,
  • drawing,
  • painting with liquid water colour (dye),
  • patterning and colour schemes.

The Lesson plan includes:

  • Background information about artist model Eden Gosier.
  • Detailed instructions to create the artwork
  • Photographs of every step
  • Teacher example
  • Student examples from upper primary/elementary
  • Guidance for teacher assessment and student reflection options
  • Curriculum links to Level 3 New Zealand Visual Art Curriculum
  • Curriculum Links to Phase 3 Responding & Creating for IB PYP
  • Student Voice guidance for reflections
  • Note-taking template for research & response
  • PDF teaching guide consists of 50 slides (pages).

Materials you will need include:

  • Wet grade art paper
  • Liquid water colours (artist dye)
  • Student photographs
  • Access to inspiration materials like patterns, quotes, colour schemes, etc


View a short video excerpt below.


FEEDBACK

"Thank you, all the hard work is done. Can't wait to use this in my class"

"Excellent, easy to follow instructions with beautiful examples to inspire."

"This was comprehensive and easy to use. Thank you!"

"Great activity for calendar art. My students are very excited and have already taken a pile of photos to choose from. Could also do a bit of a focus on photography - camera angles etc Thanks for the inspiration"


Use in conjunction with this poetry lesson:

WRITING POETRY: WRITE THIS IS ME POEMS IN 3 EASY STEPS


FOR MORE VISUAL 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, please contact me BEFORE you purchase.

⭐️If you value more of this resource type, please consider leaving a rating. 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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Children’s Sense of Aesthetics in Visual Art

28/12/2019

0 Comments

 
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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.

Picture

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 


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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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Art Lesson Link - exploring suns

Picture
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

This visual art lesson plan is a great way to combine art with a Science inquiry into the changing Seasons, weather, the ocean and summer holidays. All steps are clearly explained and photographed, giving you the confidence to deliver quality visual art lessons to your students. Includes opportunities for student choice. Artist biography included for Hokusai.


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.


Use this comprehensive lesson plan and guide your students through creating artworks of a summer ocean scene with waves and sparkling sun, that celebrates summer and nature. This lesson has built in choice for differentiation, while keeping the skills taught consistent across the class, to save your sanity.

But you don't need to take my word for it, see what teachers say about the added value they gained from this product.


TPT Buyer PRAISE FOR: SUMMER SPARKLE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"I have been so impressed with your season art units that I have purchased them all. Not being a particularly arty person I always will give things a try especially as the younger children learn so much being creative. I look forward to putting this unit to use."


Picture books have been referenced among a list of resource links and a clear and comprehensive photo journal of each step of the process has been provided. Student and teacher exemplars of work in progress and also the completed works. Links to my video painting demonstrations have been provided for extra support.


❤️ Take the guesswork out of teaching art, avoid the epic fails that result from not having the time to trial the lesson or media yourself before teaching it.

I’ve done it all for you and trailed this lesson with my own students, aged 5-6 and is suitable from first grade through 5th grade.

I am both a general ed classroom teacher and currently practising as a Visual Art and Digital Media specialist educator, teaching students from ages 4-12, at a primary school.


❤️ How will this resource help busy teachers, who are nervous about teaching art?

No worries - I’ve got you covered.

This lesson comes as a full colour PDF teacher guide, with a bumper 68+ slide deck, where all steps are clearly explained and photographed, from start to finish, giving you the confidence to deliver a series of quality visual art lessons to your students.


❤️ All the materials & skills are also clearly listed for you. It’s like having an art specialist with you in your classroom.

The PDF slides are purposely designed in landscape orientation to share with your students as a presentation on your large screen. This extra visual support will prove useful to you and your students, particularly diverse learners, and will also save yourself having to repeat the same instruction, multiple times a lesson.

Select VIEW > enter full screen for presentation mode. Then use the arrow keys on your keyboard to drive a smooth slideshow experience, like a pro :)

Encourage students along the way, to follow choice options and create their unique artwork, while being guided by the information on the slides.


⏰ How long will this project take to finish? 

This art project will span multiple lessons, depending on the age and stage of students and the size of paper /media/ style you or your students choose. Chunk into small manageable lessons, to allow for drying time after painting sections. Between 4-6 lessons.

View the PDF & Video previews above, then add to cart and smile, knowing you will soon have beautiful artwork on the walls and students glowing with pride!


❤️ So what is special about this resource?

SUMMER SPARKLE art project is NOT a superficial art or craft option. As a specialist in this field, I write lessons that encourage deeper, cross-curricular learning and make meaningful connections to other subject areas. This IS:

  • a painting & drawing tutorial that uses shapes, lines and measurement (Math),
  • explores the concepts of summer rituals (Social Studies),
  • links with nature and seasons (Science).

Inspired by Summer traditions in of heading to the oceanside for a holiday.

This lesson plan can be the perfect companion art project for students inquiring into 

✏️ Earth Day

✏️ Sharing the Planet (IB PYP)

✏️ Change- cycle of seasons (Summer) 

✏️ Weather, 

✏️ How The World Works (IB PYP)

✏️ Summer holidays

✏️ Cultural traditions

✏️ Who We Are (IB PYP)

✏️ And a great extension activity for shared picture books - some suggestions included.


Students can express their unique ideas through personal choices and modifications, while working through the guided project with examples. Pausing in places to discuss next steps with students, check understanding and explore potential student responses or modifications, bringing personal creative ideas to the tutorial. This addresses the Viewing & Responding to artwork objectives in a purposeful way. 


✅ What is included in SUMMER SPARKLE art project?

A 68+ slide PDF teaching support document for step-by-step guidance and reference, intentionally designed in landscape orientation. To share with your students as a presentation on your large screen. Select VIEW > enter full screen. Then use the arrow keys on your keyboard to drive a smooth slideshow experience, like a pro :) 

This PDF includes step-by-step support & teaching instructions for:

  • Materials list
  • Visuals for reference 
  • Detailed instructions to create the artwork
  • Photographs of every step
  • Student and teacher examples of work in progress and completed. (3rd grade)
  • guidance for assessment - ASSESSMENT RUBRIC, Learning Intentions included for the International Baccalaureate & New Zealand standards at levels 2 / Phase 2 which will closely aligned to assessment standards you may be using
  • guidance and examples for Student Voice reflection/ assessment - either use orally with the slide, or print for students to fill out as a record of their learning. Alternatively export that slide as a jpeg from the PDF and post for digital reflections like Seesaw
  • BONUS - LINKS TO 2 OF MY DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS FOR PAINTING


✅ What knowledge, techniques and skills will my students learn?

  • Make connections to trans-disciplinary themes
  • Follow a tutorial for guidance - listening skills, visual discrimination, sequencing
  • Develop fine-motor & technical skills for using paints
  • Draw accurately, adding details
  • Respond to art created by artists and by other students
  • Reflect on my own knowledge, skills, progress and artwork - using the included student sheets (share on screen for oral reflection or print out for student’s records.


✅ That sounds great! So what about the Visual Art focus?

  1. Plan the composition of elements in your artwork
  2. Build skills for observational drawing (Studio Habits)
  3. Developing original design skills
  4. Build skills for oil pastel & painting techniques (Studio Habits)
  5. Show an understanding for the art elements, specifically LINE, COLOUR
  6. Select color (colour) values with purpose
  7. Be inspired by your environment or life experience


✅ Bonus inclusion:

This project also aligns to the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme art curriculum


View the PDF & Video Previews above, then add to cart and smile, knowing you have just saved yourself heaps of time and effort!


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 (or see our bundled resources):

Art Seasons: Spring Blossoms

Art Seasons: Autumn Leaves

Art Seasons: Winter Woolies


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

Shop

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

Shop
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    Thoughts on Teaching

    Stuck for ideas? Grab a cup of tea, put your feet up and settle in to read my teaching blog focused on all matters in teaching and  Visual Art.
    While this blog is a new feature on the website, I have blogged for many years as 'One Teacher's Journey'
    where you are sure to find inspirational ideas and certainly hundreds of links to useful sites, ideas and teaching methods. 
    At the very least, you would have spent some well earned down-time. 
    The focus of this blog is more about answering your questions related to general teaching,  and Visual Art in both the general classroom as well as in a specialist one.
    Thank you for spending a little time with me and my thoughts. I hope you visit often!

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