The Teaching Palette » Art Games

“I’m through. What do I do?”

Hillary Andrlik + Theresa McGee — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:33:16 +0000

It’s those 5, 10, or 15 minutes when students finish assigned work early that can send a teacher into an internal panic. Instead of panic, be prepared. We have pulled some of our ready-to-use ideas together to help you fill those last few minutes with meaningful content.

Independent Activities for Early Finishers:

Zentangles: In a sketchbook or on a piece of paper use pencils and pens to create continuous interlocking patterns. Here’s how others have used it: Woody’s Kaleidocycle NAEA 2008, Squido.com, Flicker Zentangles Group
Odd art jobs
Create a bulletin board to display ideas for early finishers.
Draw a still-life: Pick an art tool from around the room and sketch it! You can also have a box or shelf of still-life objects for students to pick from (i.e., blocks, fake plants, toys, fake fruit, containers).
Create an imaginary, symmetrical bug
Color Sudoku
Doodle Loop: Draw a line that loops over itself in several places. Now fill each new shape with a different pattern. See examples of this along with other ideas in the Doodle Lab
Value Scale: Draw a long rectangle in your sketchbook and then divide it into 5 equal sections. Mark one end white and the opposite end black. Now try to color each space in from lightest to darkest. Challenge: Create another value scale, but use a colored pencil to fill it in such as red or blue.
Art poster puzzle
Utilize a Friendly Loom
Create reading corner / area where individual students can pick a book to read on a variety of art topics.
Create a free draw area with How To Draw books, paper and a variety of media for independent exploration.
Check out laptops for a digital area (if you can anticipate early finishers)
Puzzles
Fill out a paper or electronic assessment form
Work in Sketchbooks:
- Sketchbooks in Schools: Using sketchbooks to inspire, motivate and engage (Amazing resource for using sketchbooks. Topics covered include, but are not limited to constructing sketchbooks.
- 149 Sketchbook Ideas
- Sketchbook Ideas
- Incredible Art Department: Sketchbook Ideas Elementary or Middle/High School or High School/Advanced Placement
- ArtTeacher’s Resource Sketchbook Assignments for High School
- Sketchbook Ideas compiled from The Getty

Large Group Activities:

Online quiz games in MyStudiyo and PhotoPeach
Start a book. Check out these read-aloud recommendations for elementary and for older students.
Explore art in Google Maps. Find some ideas in this SchoolArts article.
Play Art Toss Ball, Art Memo, Flexible Hexabits, Pictionary on the whitboard, Sculptorades, Zolotopia, or Teledraw.
Art Vocab quiz. Give a choice is it 1, 2, or 3 (list possible answers on board with corresponding #). All hold up number of their answer (all participate)
Music & art integration ready-to-use resources.
Show a short video from our YouTube and Vimeo favorites
Free Online Games by Artsology or explore these other online art games
Magic Pocket Name
Show Slideshare “Brilliant Examples of Photo Manipulation Art“
Put up an art print and have students describe what they see in writing. Another option for younger students is to work in groups and generate a list of words they think describes the picture.
Hold up artwork for a show and tell
Critique artwork
Quiz about art concepts to get to line up.
Sculpture Freeze: Have your students use their body to create a human sculpture. Get specific by asking for a particular type of pose (symmetrical/asymmetrical, precarious/stable, seated/standing)
Play Simon Says for line vocabulary. Students use their bodies to create a line (vertical, horizontal, spiral, diagonal, etc).
Eye Spy. Ask students to find examples of art throughout the room or create your own Eye Spy.
Swat Game. Write art terms on the board. Group the students in teams. Read a definition for an art term that is listed on the board. Armed with fly swatters, the first student to “swat” the correct word wins the round. Fly swatters are then handed to next student on team to continue play.
Sing some art songs (Red, Yellow, Blues You Tube Video)
Show an art teacher-created video from Art Class with Ms S or Fugleflicks

Review: Toobers and Zots

Guest Author — Tue, 11 May 2010 00:02:29 +0000

Submitted by: Jan Johnson, elementary art teacher from Fairfax County Public Schools.

Product Title: Toobers & Zots

Grade Levels: Kindergarten & up

Product Review: Intended as creative building tools for open ended play, Toobers & Zots are made out of the same material as swimming pool “noodles.” The large tube pieces, called toobers, are of varying lengths from a couple of feet to over a yard. Toobers have wire inside which allows them to maintain whatever shape they are twisted into. They can be curled, bent, folded, and zigzagged into three dimensional forms. The other pieces, called skinnies and zots, can be attached to the toobers and other skinnies and zots. They add a decorative element to the work. There are over a hundred dots, short tubes, star bursts, circles, crowns, and other shapes. Watch the video of my Kindergartners using this product below.

Can’t see YouTube video above? click here.

This medium allows my students to work in a scale that is larger than they normally get to experience. Because of the abundance of material in each kit, several students can easily work cooperatively on one sculpture. I would suggest that you allow 1-3 students per box. Although my students do not get to keep their work when they are done, I take a photo of each student with their work and print a copy of it for them.

The forms come in a small box in which they fit tightly. Once they are put to use, it is near impossible to get them back in their cardboard box. I put each set in a plastic box about the size of two shoe boxes. The long tube pieces I keep separately in a large plastic bin. Storage is an issue for these currently, as I have limited storage space in my classroom.

The person in my county who introduced us to Toobers & Zot said that they are durable. She had been using her sets for over eight years.

When I priced them online, they seemed to be expensive. Amazon is selling them for around $24 a set. I did see several other sites offering them and the price was comparable. There were sets on eBay, new and used, for considerably less. Our county ordered so many thousands of sets of these, they were able to work out a much better deal with the company.

Though these were purchased for a specific lesson in my kindergarten curriculum, my older students have begged me to let them try them out as well. The kindergarteners thoroughly enjoyed using them and were slow to put them away.

Bucket Rating (5 out of 5 – Love! Need it! Gotta have it now!):

(5) Love it! Need it! Gotta have it now!

If you’re interested in being a Teaching Palette contributor and submitting a review, please click here to learn more.

The Art Institute of Chicago Launches Interactive Website

Hillary Andrlik + Theresa McGee — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:18:40 +0000

We were excited to view The Art Institute of Chicago’s new Modern Wing at the educator open house. The new edition designed by Renzo Piano makes the Art Institute of Chicago the second largest art museum in the United States. The layout and design of the new galleries that now house the museums 20th and 21st century art collections are impressive but, as educators we were truly amazed by the new Ryan Education Center.

The new eduction space boasts five classrooms, three huge studios, the new Crown Family Education Center and the new David and Marilyn Fatt Vitale Family Orientation Room. Not only are these educational spaces truly state of the art but, have one of the most sought after views in the city as they look onto Millennium Park. The image above was taken on my phone in one of the new studios.

Along with the fantastic educational space , The Art Institute previewed new interactive software and resources featuring pieces from their collections. This July they lunched that material online in an interactive website for kids called the Curious Corner. The site is geared more towards the elementary age child but, also has resources for educators and parents. Visitors can choose form three different categories of interactive games such as Story Time, Match Up and Play with Art. The Match up section is one of our favorites it lets you match texture, shape or sound. Below is a short clip of some of the interactive games children can explore on the site.

(Trouble viewing this video? Try this link.)

Below is a couple of ideas for utilizing the Curious Corner in the classroom.

Use the “Story Time” games as an introduction to teaching children about the messages, stories and meaning behind many pieces of art.
Use the “Match Up” sound game as an individual activity for analyzing the parts of a work of art. As a student matches each sound to different area of a piece of art they will notice new details and better understand what is happening in the image.
Use the Cornell Box section of the “Play with Art” game to have students create a still life that is meaningful to themselves. Print the completed computer still life images and have students use the grid drawing processes to enlarge the image. Choose a media such as colored pencil or chalk for students to add detail to their personal still life drawings.
Use the “Match Up” game as an introduction or extension activity for concepts like texture and shape.

Share how you could utilize this site in your classroom in the comments section below?

Blogs That Promote Unconventional Discussion

Hillary Andrlik + Theresa McGee — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:59:30 +0000

We were thrilled to see The Teaching Palette as a featured blog in the May/June issue of SchoolArts Magazine! If you missed the article, “Building Your Personal Learning Network, Part 2,” by Craig Roland, you can read it here.

Like an artist that visits a museum for inspiration, we visit blogs to challenge our teaching and thought process. Put simply, a blog is like a living website; it continually digests and shares information. Considering our forum, we thought it might be appropriate to add to the SchoolArts list of blog resources:

There are some amazing art classroom blogs certainly worth exploring out there, so please list yours or any you follow in the comments area below!

Art Education Resource blogs:

The Carrot Revolution Also mentioned in the SchoolArts article and a source of art inspiration.
The Art Teacher’s Guide to the Internet On the cutting edge of art education academia.
NAEA Monthly Mentor A guest art educator each month, be sure to look through the archives.
ArtTechTivity Art and Technology: Joined at the hip.
LearningIT Great source to integrate technology into creativity and design.
The Virtual Classroom Inspiring resource for K-12 art education.
Denver Artsygal Lots of You Tube art method “how to’s”.

Art Inspiring Blogs:

Esty – that place where artists sell their stuff has a “Handmade Blog” too. Great inspiration for art projects.
Vi.sualize.us Inspiration in Imagery.
Hongkiat Great for digital media and Photoshop users.
Museum 2.0 The name says it all.
WebUrbanist Great alternative art and architecture.

General Education blogs: (because we are all in this education thing together)

Teaching Challenges General tips on teaching easily integrated into the art room.
Free Resources from the Net for Special Education Really, this blog applies to everyone!
Angela Maiers Geared toward literacy and learning, great blog that keeps focus on the child as a learner.
Langwitches Technology integration, global education, and digital storytelling – the perfect link to art education!
Backroom Educational Technology Blog Great tech and web 2.0 tools.
Teachers Love SMART Boards Have an Interactive Whiteboard? Here’s your one-stop resource.
Edutopia What Works in Public Education; a resource for all things education.
Brave New World Resources for education.
Teaching with Technology Great resource for Web2.0
Free Technology for Teachers This blog really deserves it’s own category -an amazing resource!

Blogs are most useful when you are notified that new information has posted; either through RSS feed or via email. Keep up with new postings on The Teaching Palette by clicking here.

Review: Busy Beetles and Batty Lizards

Guest Author — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:12:52 +0000

Submitted by: Susan Tiemstra, elementary art teacher from Clarendon Hills, Illinois

Art Game Title: Busy Beetles and Batty Lizards

Grade Level(s): K – 5

Category: Art Production, Citizenship, Teaching Resource

Product Review: Busy Beetles and Batty Lizards are puzzles that integrate the subject of mathematical tessellation and art, as pattern, color and a connection to the art of M.C. Escher. Each puzzle comes with suggested patterns that can challenge students, however, there are endless ways these puzzles can be created either individually, in groups or as a whole class! These puzzles are a great after finishing art projects, keeps their minds engaged, and provides an opportunity to improve leadership and citizenship skills whether you have 5 minutes or more. I own several of each of the Busy Beetles and Batty Lizards, and my students from kindergarten through 5th grade never get tired of creating with them!

Bucket Rating (out of 5):

(5) Love it! Need it! Gotta have it now!

If you’re interested in being a Teaching Palette contributor and submitting a review, please click here to learn more.

Review: Squzzle Puzzles by Mindware

Theresa McGee — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:14:24 +0000

Product: Squzzle Puzzles by Mindware

Grade Level(s): Kindergarten-5th grade

Categories: Games, Teaching Resource

Product Review: Each puzzle can be worked on individually or in groups up to four students. This puzzle game is great for extensions after finishing art projects. It keeps their mind engaged and thinking “art smart”. I own many of the different sets offered and the students never get tired of doing them! Tip: Store them in Ziploc Slider Bags for storage.

Bucket Rating out of 5:

(5) Love it! Need it! Gotta have it now!

Click here to learn more about the bucket rating system or to submit your own review.