Teachable Tools

This year I started out strong on my bulletin boards.  Every year I do a bunch of pretty ones--they are nice to have when you don't have any art to display yet.  But this year I wanted pretty and useful, and so I set up teaching tools on my bulletin boards.  Take a look:



The Elements and Principles boards were really helpful with 3rd-5th grades, as their first projects had to do with Elements and Principles, and discussion was then followed up with a trip to the media center and the beginnings of research.  It was so successful that I am planning on making Elements and Principles boards every year.



The Basics boards were put on backgrounds of  primary colors, just one more basic that gets a rubber stamp on it in a sort of subtle way.  I liked being able to share the artists with my kids, too.

 

I liked the idea of getting the kids into the halls to see the boards, and felt that it would be good to be able to get them out of the classroom. It was an opportunity to share the stuff we are supposed to hit no matter what, and to let them be a catalyst to finding examples of these concepts around the school.  Study the bulletin boards, then go find examples, like a scavenger hunt.