About Me: This is my 5th year teaching art and my second school year with Fulton County Schools. I am really enjoying getting to know all of my students this year and introducing them to the world of visual arts.
Contact Me: Please feel free to contact me with any questions about your child's progress in my class, to learn more about our art class or to see how you can help.
Email: smithb1@fultonschools.org
Contact Me: Please feel free to contact me with any questions about your child's progress in my class, to learn more about our art class or to see how you can help.
Email: smithb1@fultonschools.org
Why I call it the Creativity Lab?
Similar to a scientific lab, our students are asked in the art room to perform the following tasks:
- Research
- Make Observations
- Evaluate
- Experiment
- Problem solve
- Analyze
- Collaborate
What is the Art Curriculum?
The Fulton County Schools art curriculum is based on the Georgia Performance Standards for Elementary Visual Arts. They address 5 domains of art eduction which are as follows: Meaning and Creative Thinking, Contextual Understanding, Production and Response, Assessment and Reflection, and Connections.
"The Georgia Performance Standards for Visual Arts are designed to help students develop aesthetic perception, personal expression, and artistic skills. In a problem-solving context, students meet the challenges of focused study, engaging in higher-level integrative thought processes. Art is a means to engage all the senses for learning and expression. Art provides opportunities to develop inherent creative abilities. It also fosters and preserves individual identity, uniqueness, self-esteem, and personal accomplishment." - Georgia Department of Education.
How are the art lessons developed?
Every grade level is given the opportunity to work with a variety of art mediums to include pencil, pen, marker, watercolor paint, tempera paint, printmaking, collage, craft and 3-D sculpture. I strive to maintain a balance between lessons that require more formal guidelines and ones that allow for more student choice in meeting the objectives. Also, all lessons have an element that goes beyond the art room. My goal is to connect what we are learning about in art to subjects in the students' other classes - math, science, history and geography.
For the art project itself, I pull from many different resources. Some come from my own imagination and others come from other amazing art teachers who I work with in Fulton County and others on the Internet who are generous enough to share their ideas. A few of my favorite sources for lessons come from the following websites:
The Elements of Art
and Color Theory
Learning the elements of art and color theory are a daily activity in the art room. These elements can be found in every work of art. The students learn to identify them in famous works of art, build a vocabulary to describe their use and explore ways to manipulate them in their own artwork.
When will my child's artwork be sent home?
All artwork is kept in a portfolio for each student within the art room and then sent home at the end of year or at the end of the first semester if possible. One reason for this is to assess each student's progress over time. The other is to save a few works of art to display in our annual art show and in other county wide exhibits.
Classroom Management: The class is divided into three segments: The lesson, studio time and clean up time. The students earn points for good behavior during each part of the class. This is illustrated by the turning of a letter for each segment: "A" (The lesson), "R" (Studio Time) and "T" (Clean Up Time). When the class earns all three letters, their class is given a star on the class chart or a chart kept by their homeroom teacher. They are rewarded for collecting a set amount of stars.
Art Room Rules: The rules of our art room center around Respect - Respect for your peers by taking turns, using kind words, raising your hands. Respect for your school - taking care of supplies and following directions. Respect for yourself - Trying your best, take chances and making mistakes but learn from them and Never giving up.
Individual Behavior Management:
Individual Art Awards: I try to encourage and reward students that are followings the rules, providing great feedback in our discussions and helping others by giving them lots of high fives and praise. I will also take special note of students I feel are going above and beyond and reward them with a special "Art Star" certificate that they can take home.
Classroom disruptions are handled on a case by case basis. Students exhibiting poor behavior choices are redirected, reminded of the class expectations and removed from the situation.
The steps of this process are as follows:
Step 1 - Non-verbal cue or reminder of the rules
Step 2 - A direct verbal warning is given
Step 3 - A final verbal warning with notation - the student writes their own name on the behavior warning chart and notes the classroom rule that they need follow.
Step 4 - Behavior Note Home - The student will be removed from the situation if possible, a note will be sent home and the student will receive a "N" for Not Satisfactory for their daily behavior grade. If you receive a note home, please discuss this issue with your child, sign the note and return it. Please Note: Conduct grades will be lowered to a "N" for any student who received 2-3 Conduct Notes home and a "U" for 4 or more within a 9 week period.
Individual Behavior Management:
Individual Art Awards: I try to encourage and reward students that are followings the rules, providing great feedback in our discussions and helping others by giving them lots of high fives and praise. I will also take special note of students I feel are going above and beyond and reward them with a special "Art Star" certificate that they can take home. Classroom disruptions are handled on a case by case basis. Students exhibiting poor behavior choices are redirected, reminded of the class expectations and removed from the situation.
The steps of this process are as follows:
Step 1 - Non-verbal cue or reminder of the rules
Step 2 - A direct verbal warning is given
Step 3 - A final verbal warning with notation - the student writes their own name on the behavior warning chart and notes the classroom rule that they need follow.
Step 4 - Behavior Note Home - The student will be removed from the situation if possible, a note will be sent home and the student will receive a "N" for Not Satisfactory for their daily behavior grade. If you receive a note home, please discuss this issue with your child, sign the note and return it. Please Note: Conduct grades will be lowered to a "N" for any student who received 2-3 Conduct Notes home and a "U" for 4 or more within a 9 week period.
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