Long-Term Substitute: Elementary School

The Fall of 2015 was a momentous season for me. I was lucky to be chosen for a long term ART substitute position at a local Elementary School.  This was a very important teaching experience. I have been learning a lot substitute teaching over the past two years, but being the art teacher in a classroom for two months straight was a new perspective.

I learned a lot, and it is really hard to put into words all I learned, so here's my:

Top Five Things Mr. Krueger Learned When Given The Opportunity to Take Over a Classroom:

1. Organization, dedication and patience are the most important characteristics of being a successful teacher.

2. It is very, very important to get to know your students. Every child has a story. Knowing their story explains their actions. When you know them, you know how to not let them down. Teachers make promises, commitments to be there for the students. We teach them content, but we are also helping them decide who they will become as they grow up.

3. The creative process is a deep, multi-step process that involves brainstorming, reflecting, selecting, refining/changing ideas, experimenting, making, (sometimes re-making), sharing and showing! Simply put: Think. Plan. Make. Share.

4. Kids can be really, really messy in the art room. Figure out and implement solid clean up routines!

5. Teachers are just grown up students. Even with 30 years experience, we are still learning alongside our students. That is a very good thing.

The Marshmallow Challenge

Recently an art teacher friend of mine needed to take a day off. I was more than happy to take over her classroom for the day! She was kind enough to collaborate with me on the content planning. I was so excited to work with the kids on "The Marshmallow Challenge."

(If you are interested in learning more about the Marshmallow Challenge, check out this website: http://marshmallowchallenge.com/Welcome.html There is also a great TED talk.)

 The students were about to start a three-dimensional design lesson with their teacher. I thought this "challenge" would be a great way to introduce students to the properties of sculpture.

Teams of 3-4


Supplies for each team:
12 spaghetti noodles
1 piece of tape
1 piece of string
1 marshmallow

Students were given 15 minutes to create the tallest free-standing sculpture that could support the weight of part of the marshmallow. (The other part of the marshmallow could be used in construction.)

  

After 15 minutes the class gathered around each team's sculpture. The team members described what worked, what didn't and what they learned about the properties of sculpture. Through these conversations the students began using the following words without me introducing them:

Weight distribution
Balance
Stability

We also talked about the difference between two-dimensional art (having height and width) and three-dimensional art (having height, width and depth.)

At the very end of the class I had the students complete an exit ticket to share what they learned.

What did you learn about the properties of three-dimensional art?

My personal, professional exit ticket was "What did you learn about teaching middle school students today?"

I learned that it is very important to have an engaging "hook" activity to introduce students to new content! When they are vested in learning the information (through a challenge or other "fun" method) they don't even realize they are learning!