Ms.

Postel’s
Art Classroom Management Plan
&
Art Rules and Expectations
2020-21



 Philosophy of Education

My philosophy of education can best be described as freedom of expression. I decided to

continue my major studies in Art and minor in Education, because I believe expression is a

crucial part in a child’s educational experience. Through my experiences, both in and out of

schooling, I discovered that art as a form of therapy is vital to students who struggle with

expression. There continues to be numerous incidents where students commit suicide or resort to

bullying because of lack of attention or acknowledgement. This could be due to not gaining the

attention they are needing along with not having healthy outlets and resources for expression. As

a student, I was a diverse learner as well. Diverse student learners include students from racially,

ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse families and communities of lower

socioeconomic status. In many cases, communication was the issue these students more so than

academics. Not having the ability or setting where you can openly speak out on life triumphs and

struggles can be detrimental to the mental health of a developing student. These obstacles can

stunt a child's developmental and growth process. Growing up, I was enrolled in numerous art

summer camps where I then discovered art to be my outlet for expression. This has all lead me to

pursue a career in the arts. I plan to incorporate as many personal projects to influence my

students to find their voices and overcome hesitations and setbacks they struggle with expression

with the help of art. Making a difference in the world starts with making a difference in the

youths of our future. In order for me to be an effective teacher, I must first focus and understand

the backgrounds these students come from. I will then be able to assess students based on their

individual needs. Most importantly, I want my students to enjoy art and feel safe.
Room Arrangement Map

 Classroom Rules

Art class can be a messy whirlwind of chaos if expectations and routines aren’t

established or consistent. Routines provide sanity and safety for both the teacher and the

students. When students know what is expected of them, there’s less room for confusion, and in

turn, less room for misbehavior.

Clearly communicating to students what my expectations are, the rewards and

consequences of their behavior choices, and the joys and privileges of art will be a high priority

for me. Recently, my teaching was revolutionized when FotoFest invited its Teaching Artist to a

classroom management workshop. This instructor made it clear how important it is to "spell out"

rules, consequences, and even procedures at the beginning of the year, making the invisible

visible. I plan to spend 3-5 days at the beginning of the grading period teaching and modeling

my rules, procedures, and safety.

As far as parental understanding and involvement, I plan to send out a form, more like a

contract, for both the students and parents to sign. The form will state the following with clear

understanding of expectations and the course of action for misbehaviors.

(Please view statement on next page.)

 “Dear Student and Parents,

Welcome to Art! Throughout the grading period, students will learn about many

aspects of art. They will be drawing, painting, printmaking, making sculpture, and learning basic

design principles. It is my hope that the students will develop an appreciation for art and its

importance in our daily lives.

Art projects will be graded according to craftsmanship, creativity, and effort. Since

each student has a different ability level, they cannot compare grades. Students’ grades will also

come from daily assignments and participation.

In order to provide every student with an equal opportunity for success, I will use the

following discipline plan in addition to the rules and procedures outlined in the student

handbook. Please read this plan with your student, sign below, and have your student return this

contract to me.

Attendance: Success in this class is dependent on the student being present for

demonstrations and daily activities.

Tardies: Students are expected to be in their seats and working when the tardy bell rings.

Any student who is tardy will sign the tardy record book. An excess of 3 tardies will result in a

visit with the principal.”

Once these two are established, I can move forward with the teachings of lessons and

projects.

 Classroom Procedures

I will explain to my students that there will be immediate consequences if they break a rule,

but the procedures are different for my class than other classes they take so we will be practicing

them. After the first few weeks they are in my class (and we have practiced, practiced, practiced

the beginning, middle, and end of class procedures), I will begin issuing consequences if they fail

to follow my procedures. For example, if they play at the end of

class instead of cleaning their area, they do not leave until their

area is cleaned up. Or, that particular student who let others

clean up for him/her will have to clean the entire table/room the

next day. I will also make it a point to acknowledge and praise

the ones who are working hard, paying attention to the details of

cleaning up and making sure they haven't left any supplies out.

Many times if a student forgets "how to be respectful" I will just remind them not to walk

away from me while I am talking (it is rude), or I will say, "Eye contact!" if a student has trouble

looking at me. I will remind my students that when they make

eye contact it tells other people they are not afraid, that they are

confident and secure, and that they are respectfully listening to

the speaker. I have learned the hard way not to fall into the trap

of arguing with a student if s/he insists innocence. I will tell the

student that we are talking about his/her own behavior choices

and no-one else's. If s/he disagrees, I am available to discuss it

further after class. I will try to employ the "warm-strict" attitude so students understand that I

care about them too much to allow them to misbehave. This strategy teaches ways that you can

be kind and compassionate towards your students while also being inflexible and strict in certain

classroom situations.

Eventually, I will sometimes need to make the consequences

a bit heavier if students habitually fail to follow my procedures.

Coercive discipline strategies are not as effective as they once

were, however, a combination of these strategies have worked

for my fellow teaching artists: loss of art privileges, assigning

sentences/essays about respectful behavior, discipline write-ups,

and parent phone calls. They have rarely needed to turn one of

those discipline forms into the administration because most of their students did respond to the

attempts at correcting their behavior. The poster to the left, I feel, is a great idea to keep the

students who have misbehaved busy and active in the classroom during their punishment. I have

seen this in multiple classrooms through observations as well.

 Differentiation for Special Populations

Adapting art lessons for kids with disabilities can be difficult in the day to day busy

classrooms. It can be challenging and discouraging to find a way to adapt existing lessons and

give students with special needs inclusive experiences. Many times the art experience for kids

with disabilities consists of kindergarten art projects and stays on this level. The following

simpler lesson examples are a good place to begin and observe things my student may struggle

with or excel at. Throughout my few years of experience and developmental workshops, I have

used and applied these modifications.

For more complicated or multi-step art projects, try the backward chaining method. Have the

student complete just the final step or two of an activity to allow for task completion and a

finished project. Work back sequentially adding another step with each repeated exposure.

Overhead lights can cause excess glare and children on the autism spectrum are sometimes

sensitive to fluorescent lights as well. Cozy shade light filters are quick and easy to apply to light

panels and may help to diffuse harshness and glare. Changing paper choices from glossy white

to matte or more neutral colors also help. The most important accommodation would to ensure

the students can access the materials comfortably. Having special seating or boosters/stools to

assist in reaching certain materials and activities is an easy fix for this.
 Student Roles

Before assigning jobs, I typically think of all of the tasks that are needed to get done in the

classroom. These jobs or tasks should be able to be done alone and without adult supervision.

After having come up with a few ideas, I then begin to think about whether I want to assign

every student a job, or if I want to pick names each month and have students rotate. Here are a

few job posters to consider. (see below.) What I’ve had work well in my art room is having one

job per table. This makes it easy and clear when I ask for a job to be completed, the entire table

can perform the task. I’ve tried to have individual jobs at each table but ran into problems when a

student was absent, their job wouldn’t be completed. Therefore assigning a full table, there will

always be a backup or an assistant.

Since I prefer to have an entire table have one job, I place four to six different color dots that

correspond to my color tables, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. These color coded dots

help students know what table they are in charge of for their job. For example, for one-month red

table, sink squad, will gather and clean all materials that belong in the sink areas, and each color

so forth as listed.

Usually, I like for my kids to keep the same jobs for at least four Art classes. This ensures

that they can master one job before learning a new set of skills. The longer that a student has the

same job or task, the more automatic it becomes, and the better they do it. Usually its easier to

remember who has which job by properly displaying for the entire class to see. Make sure that

you do not switch jobs too often because it can lead to confusion and poorly done tasks.
Sometimes, children forget what their jobs and tasks are and how to do them properly. Keep in

mind, maintaining classroom jobs can teach your students responsibility and allow your

classroom to run smoothly so that instruction is not interrupted.


 Web References

1. 8 Fundamental Routines That Will Transform Your Art Room. https://

www.theartofed.com/2015/04/06/8-fundamental-routines-that-will-transform-your-art-room/

2. Guay, Doris M., Students with Disabilities in the Art Classroom: How Prepared Are We?,

Studies in Art Education. National Art Education Association. https://www.jstor.org/stable/

1320347

3. Classroom Jobs for All Your Student Helpers. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/

articles/teaching-content/classroom-jobs-all-your-student-helpers/