TRANSITIONS in the Art room: Meet and Greet

Transitions in the Artroom:
MEET and GREET

Recently, I was asked to observe an Art teacher that was new to the District I taught in for 30 years. It became clear that her class structure needed help, so I made a list of transitions in any given Art class period and how to manage them smoothly. The transitions I came up with are:

1. Meet and Greet
2. Attendance
3. Direct Instruction
4. Hands-On Demo
5. Distribution of Materials
6. Independent Work
7. Collection of Materials
8. Dismissal

I'll explain how I manage these transitions over the next several posts. I hope you will leave comments for my readers on how you manage transitions in your classrooms!

Transition 1
MEET AND GREET

What it looks like: eyes on teacher, hands and feet to self
What it sounds like: voices off unless responding to teacher, body quiet

This transition begins when students arrive for class. In many schools here in AZ, students line up outside the classroom door, (which is usually also outdoors). I believe there should be a visual change in authority in neutral territory when possible. Students know when I give them permission to enter, I am now in charge.

I take a few moments to quickly inquire of the classroom teacher whether any students had moved or if there were any new students. The best teachers also let me know of any issues that might be going on with their crew that could affect their performance that day in my room.

Once students were quiet, they were allowed to enter and directed to walk to their seats. Depending on your classroom, you may want to teach a certain traffic pattern to quickly get them to their seats with the least amount of interaction. This also helps to discourage running, chasing each other or touching materials that are setup for their use.

This is an earlier blog post about my routine here.

I have to give credit for my meet and greet routine to Harry Wong and his books "The First Days of School" and "The Classroom Management Book". They really opened up my eyes to all that I could accomplish in my classroom!

How do you handle this transition for your classes? Please share in the comments below...

Next post: Attendance