Online Museum Resources for Art Educators

On the 5th Tuesday of each month, I'd like to share info about some of my favorite online museum resources. Today the National Gallery of Art will be highlighted. As you can see from the above clip, there are 3 specific areas that we can access for the benefit of our students on their Education/Teachers page: Lessons and Activities, Teaching Packets and Video.

On the Lessons and Activities page the description reads: "Organized into thematic units, each grade-level-specific lesson plan focuses on a single work of art and can be executed within one to two class periods. These lessons meet National Art Education Association (NAEA) Visual Arts curriculum standards." I found these possibilities that would be a good fit for my kids...

Teaching packets are explained as "... designed to permit flexibility in use. All are part of our free loan program with many available for immediate PDF download. They include a printed booklet with in-depth background information, suggestions for student activites, supplemental image CDs or slides, and often with color study prints, timelines, and bibiliographies. We encourage you to review them, to select those images and information that are most useful to your teaching needs, and to adapt and shape the materials to your specific instructional objectives." Here are the packets currently available...

A few of the other packets available for download or borrow caught my eye...

I have used the Islamic Art packet with great success in my classroom previously. I found the process of acquiring and returning the materials to be quite easy!

There are also printed packets only available to borrow. Here are a few...

Interested in videos? "Covering a range of topics from ancient art to the twentieth century and studies of individual artists, DVDs bring art to your classroom or learning setting. Borrow for free, or preview select titles online. All are closed-captioned." So many video choices - it was hard to decide which to feature here...

Please take the time to visit the NGA site and be inspired! I hope you find something that you can work into your curriculum this school year.

I would like to hear from you about your favorite museum site online and how you have used their resources in your artroom - leave a comment below to let the rest of us know of your inspiration!

First Day in the Art Room

This is the first installment of a recurring theme of Rerun Sundays (even though I missed the deadline by an hour or so here in AZ).

One of my most popular posts was back '12 concerning what I do on the first day of Art class for each of my many groups. Since this is what I'll be preparing for in the next week I thought I would post the link here for those who may have missed it the first time around.

I'm a firm believer in starting out the school year with structure, teaching routines from the get-go. That first day is packed full of routines that will be repeated every week. For returning students, it's a comfort - something familiar in the weeks/days ahead that are full of new experiences with new teachers, new classmates and new expectations.

The procedures start at the door with my greeting while students wait for permission to enter and end with line-up practice. In between these actions, my students learn my behavior expectations, safety rules (fire & lockdown) while I become familiar with their drawing skills through an assessment drawing. Of course while this busy period plays out I use my observational expertise to begin to formulate which students would work well together in the table groups that would be assigned in the following class period.

In the comment section, please share what your first day will look like in your artroom...