Directed Drawing

Teaching art....those words put fear in the hearts of many an educator. When I first began teaching Art, I will admit I really didn't know what I was doing. We may have done a lot of *gasp* CRAFTS instead of Art. There are so many books, teaching resources, internet articles and professional development sessions for Math and Language Arts, and the Arts seem to be put at the bottom of the list. After working on Math and Language Arts for a few years, I decided there was a big gap in my Art instruction and chose to focus on this area.

One of the biggest influences I found for my instruction was Gail from That Artist Woman. After looking at her step by step pictures, I found I could not only make some beautiful art, but actually TEACH kids how to make art that they could be proud of, that was their own and not something I had  photocopied to colour or cut and paste. I learned how important teacher guidance is, and from this I discovered DIRECTED DRAWING!!

Of course, this is not my entire Art instruction, I do many different techniques, but once I started doing this my kids were HOOKED! After a directed drawing lesson, one of my students said, "I didn't think I could do art, but look at what I made!!!" He was just so proud, and I chalk it all up to directed drawing.

So, what does this look like in the classroom? Here is a rundown of the different ways that I use it with my first graders.

ART CLASS
This is the obvious one, but it has helped so much. I usually take a couple of Art classes a month to focus on this. I pick a thematic image, give the students some drawing paper, and go through each step to draw the image carefully on my whiteboard, as the students follow along.

After drawing the image there is so much that can be done to branch out this project. We can use different mediums to colour the picture, make a creative background for our image or use it to decorate the classroom. I also find once we do this in art class, during free centers or drawing time my kids will try OVER and OVER to recreate the picture we worked on in Directed Drawing class. They feel successful and proud when they can create the image on their own.




INTEGRATION INTO OTHER SUBJECT AREAS
"I don't have time to do this!"

I hear you. There is never enough time in the day for these things; however, I found that I can use directed drawing in other subject areas! In Language Arts, after we draw our picture together I have students write about the image, and they love it. I find they are so much more engaged when they have something to write about and they can visually look at the image and describe it.

Very pretty, but not quite what the seed looks like! 

 In Science we talk about drawing things from our imagination versus OBSERVATIONAL drawing. Let me tell you, this is difficult. You would not believe how many flowers I get in pictures (in our Needs of Plants and Animals unit) that are observations of their growing seeds, and there is not a flower to be found in real life!!! So I help the students by doing a directed draw together of what they SEE in front of them, and it works wonders.





GAMES
Y'all know how I love centers and games in my classroom and directed drawing is a great little game to play when practicing other skills. In math, I write addition facts on the back of directed draw pictures and students find the cards that have the same sum, and then draw their picture. So much fun!

 Do you want to try directed drawing in your class and need some inspiration? I have Directed Drawing clip art of all different animals to help you to teach your students to draw!

Engaging students using Social Studies Centers

I have always struggled with teaching Social to my first grade students. I found it difficult to keep them motivated, a challenge getting them to express their ideas, and frustrating to teach about things they hadn’t experienced.

I needed a change, so I thought about what made teaching Math or LA more enjoyable. Then it came to me: CENTERS!!!! 

I came up with 4 different centers to meet my objectives each week. 

REAL LIFE CENTER -It is challenging to get students thinking about topics in relation to their life. I chose to use technology, projects and interactive notebooks. Students acted out being responsible/irresponsible(haha, they love this) and recorded each other on the iPad at the center. I put all the clips together in a movie. They also brought clothing items from home and video taped their discussion about how it shows they belong.

We made poster wanted ads for GOOD CITIZENS to put up around the classroom. Students completed drawings and writing reflections in their Social notebook.

READ ALOUD CENTER- Developing vocabulary related to outcomes was my goal for this center. Social books are often not at a grade one reading level, so I made readers theatre plays about the topics and included lots of pictures. 

Students work in groups to read their parts and then read it to the class. I also use books (we don’t have a textbook but I’m certain you could use one) and have students look through them together and discuss what they have read.

GAME CENTER- Social can be a little, how should I say this, dry at times, so I decided games were the way to go! Have you ever tried to find games related to your Social topics? I couldn’t find much, so I created my own. I brainstormed a list of common games, and then figured out a way to relate them to my outcomes.  We played Symbol BINGO, I have/Who has Community Helpers, ‘My Rights’ memory match, and the ‘Groups I Belong To’ board game to reinforce concepts. 

To make sure my students understand how to play and the rules (so I don’t get the ‘he said/she said’), we play as a class before they play at the center. 

TEACHER CENTER- Assessment is challenging in its own way, and trying to figure out if my students got the Social topic we were learning about by looking at their notes was almost impossible. I decided that oral assessment would be a better direction, but how can you assess 20-30 kids orally during class time? It’s very difficult. By sitting with students at a ‘Guided Social Studies’ center, I can teach a mini lesson about the topic and ask questions. I can quickly tell who easily understands and ask higher level thinking questions, who gets the basics, and who is struggling and needs extra support for differentiated learning. I take anecdotal notes at this center, and quickly realized that my standard mark book format wasn’t going to work so I made a space for notes in my mark book.

Turning my curriculum objectives into centers took a lot of thinking ahead and detailed planning. I looked at my outcomes and sorted them into units and then weekly objectives.  Then I planned out how I was going to turn those outcomes into the four center based activities.

Try these ideas out for FREE here.

Do you do centers with your students? How does it work in your classroom? I'd love to hear from you!

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My Noisy Classroom

What do we define a successful classroom to look like as teachers? When you look into someone's room, how do you define a good teacher?

 Most of the time we watch the students. Do they look engaged, are they listening, what kind of activities are they working on?
For the longest time, I felt pressure to have that 'quiet class'. Sitting in rows, I would run around shushing, using all the management techniques in the book to have that quiet hard working class. I felt uptight and nervous, was my class quiet enough, were they bothering others, what did people THINK OF ME?!?!?!?

Haha, I've come a long way since then. I don't worry so much about what others think, as I began to realize that defining a successful classroom does not mean the quietest, there are other ways we can define good teachers.

As I settled into my teaching career, I began to use centers in Language Arts. Students sat around the room in small groups chatting away, laughing and enjoying their activities. As I looked around the room, I felt content and not worried about running around shushing everyone. I enjoyed the centers so much that the next year I began Math centers and that same feeling came over me as worked with students in small groups and watched kids shriek with delight as they played a math game. The year after that I introduced Social Studies centers. This was it, I was hooked on centers! A quiet classroom just doesn't work for me. I like the noise, the chatting, and the laughter.

This also rolled over into my teaching style. I started Whole Brain Teaching and I LOVE IT. It get's your kids talking and interacting during your lesson, and keeps the direct teaching in short amounts. I like giving students chat time, and I find in turn they give me better listening because they have had that opportunity to talk.

Do I do centers all day long? No
Do I think everyone should do centers? No
Is whole brain teaching for every teacher? Absolutely not.

What I think I've learned is that you need to find what works for you and not define yourself by other people's definition of a good teacher. So if you walk by my room and my kiddos are noisy and chatting...well... that's just the way I like it ;)

We are here for you Fort McMurray

My home province, Alberta, has experienced a devastating tragedy over the last few weeks; an enormous wildfire in Fort McMurray. Up to 90 000 people have been evacuated, homes destroyed and families uprooted.

Cities in Alberta are welcoming the people of Fort Mac with open arms and hearts into their communities, homes, and schools. Amid this tragedy heroes have risen from the ashes, stories of firefighters saving lives, teachers taking care of their students, nurses and doctors evacuating hospitals, and countless stories of donations and kids raising money to help out.

HOW CAN WE HELP? To donate to the Red Cross, go to this website or

The pets need our help too!!!

There is of course such an emotional toll on these families as well. I can't imagine what these families are going through, especially the young children struggling to make sense of it all. I would be at a loss if I had to explain this to my toddler. The Red Cross has some resources available on coping with the aftermath of natural disasters for both adults and children.

A group of Canadian Teachers Pay Teachers Authors would like to help out and are donating all sales on MONDAY, MAY 16 to the relief fund set up by the Red Cross. 

New Play Room!

We just had a baby in December, and with a toddler running around, my husband and I thought, WHAT BETTER THAN TO RENO THE BASEMENT!!! Yah. So we had an unfinished basement and with the new baby moving in upstairs, we were out of rooms and hoping to have space for guests to come stay. Hubby began construction in September, and I was little to no help being super pregnant and all, so he has completed it mostly on his own and finally finished up the bedrooms and play space. It is still a work in progress, but I wanted to share our play space as it makes my teacher heart SUPER happy. Organization, labelling, wall art, toys in one spot. SIGH. So many good things to keep me busy while on maternity leave and out of the classroom. Here it is!!

The little loves playing down here, and I am enjoying it too. Of course, each bin is labeled with a picture so the little, and the big people ;) haha, know where to put everything away. I bought a bunch of frames and glued clothes pins onto the top for easy change up of art work. The word masterpieces is at the top of this wall (not in the picture) which is what the little refers to when he shows everyone the wall. "These are my masterpieces" HAHA.  We also have pillows, a big play mat, a tent and a huge table for creating those masterpieces that are not in this picture. It is working so well and is our happy place. Stay tuned for more activities that we love to do in our playroom.

Tricks & Treats: A Halloween Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Happy (almost) Halloween! I am so excited to link up with some fellow Canadian bloggers for a blog hop and GIVEAWAY.

At Halloween the kids are off the walls CRAZY, and it seems near impossible to get them unstuck from the roof. To keep the day under control, I have them complete curriculum related centers that have them too busy having fun and learning to think about ALL the candy they will be getting very soon. Here is a little Halloween treat for you, an engaging center using the five senses.

Another little treat for you, a TPT giveaway, just enter below using the form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Check out this amazing Canadian blogger for more freebies and a chance to win.

Finally, if you are looking for all my centers, have a peek at this resource.

Teacher, I've never been to recess before!!!

The first days back at school are all about routines, schedule and new experiences. For Kindergarten and Grade One students, one of the most exciting, and potentially overwhelming new experiences, is, that's right, the dreaded R word...RECESS!!!

The school I was at a few years ago had full day Kindergarten, so when the students entered grade one they were recess pros. They already had a year of practice with the routines. It was also a smaller school, only one of each grade, so there weren't an overwhelming amount of students outside during recess time.

The school I am at now has half day Kindergarten, and the students don't have recess with the rest of the students when they go outside. The school is also quite large, about 4 of each grade. When the students enter grade one they have never experienced recess.

This was new to me, and so on the first few days during recess I had students who were terrified of being outside, who wanted me to be with them during every recess for the entire month of September, and who were generally not ready to be with 600 other students and play. 

Sound familiar? I felt terrible that I didn't do a great job of preparing them and vowed to change things for the next year. Here are my top five ideas for making this an easier transition.

1. Practice, Practice, Practice- expectations MUST be very clear, don't leave anything out. Things such as which washroom to use, who to ask if you need help, where to play, which shoes to wear, where to go when the bell rings and the list goes on! I think it's important to go through these expectations, role play them, read stories and most importantly be a role model. Go out with your students and show them where to go, what to do and how to play. This foundation with set them up for success during recess time for the rest of the year. 

2. Building Relationships- Of course it is always important to build relationships with students, but knowing your students well can also help with this recess transition. Sensitive students may need an extra buddy, or a visit from you when they are playing to feel safe. It is also important that classmates have relationships with each other as they are each others lifeline when they are outside. Make sure to set this up before, and especially look out for students who are new to the school and may need an extra buddy or two.

3. Comfort- These kids are still so little! It must be incredibly overwhelming to see kids EVERYWHERE with no structure and the person that they are supposed to trust (their teacher) may not be with them outside. They may need a heart sticker, a hug, a picture or a stuffed buddy to take out with them to make the transition a little more easy.

4. Distraction- Give them a job, something important to do while they are outside. Some equipment to play a game, a scavengar hunt, finding a supervisor and saying hello, figuring out where the park is, and any other ways to take their mind off feeling scared, nervous or worried.

5. Positive Attitude- A little "I'm so proud of you", and "I see a big improvement"; a little encouragement goes a long way. It is baby steps in those first days. You know that student that cried for the entire first recess, well celebrate that the second day they only cried for half of it. Looking at things in a positive way can help students feel better about.

Using all of these ideas, I made a resource to use in those first days of school. Included is a scavenger hunt, getting ready sheets, King and Queen puppets, certificates, a story, recess rules, a chant, and scenarios to practice. You can find this entire resource here:

Recess Jungle

I hope that your students are easily able to transition into the recess routine, good luck on the first days back!