Sunday, August 30, 2009

Keep A.R.T. to Earn Super Art Day Time

The A.R.T. letters are a tool students use to know how they are doing with their behavior as a class. Sometimes, it's a tool for me to help pinpoint where the behavior issues are coming from. Perhaps it's not the whole class not making good choices.

 The goal is for the class to keep all 3 letters for the entire class time or at least have earned back all 3 letters by the end of class. If all 3 letters are there at the end of class while they are in line, they earn a Super Art Buck. (see next post about Super Art Buck)

If all of the letters are up, they are doing great.  If I give a whole class warning about (for example) using quiet voices and the behavior does not improve, I take down the letter "A" and put it next to the rule "Work Quietly". The class then knows this is the Art Room Rule they need to work on to improve. If students begin to work with quiet voices, I will put the letter back up. The class can always earn the "A" and "R" back for making better choices.  If they don't, I take away the "R" and put this next to the "Work Quietly". If their behavior still does not improve, I take away the "T" and that means "No more Art". We stop working, put away materials and put our heads down to think about what happened. Depending on the grade level, what just happened and the amount of time left for class,  I may have students reflect and talk or write about what was happening and what should have been happening. It all depends on the circumstances. I always allow some silent time and then talk to them calmly. The ultimate goal is to do art!

1 comment:

Jess said...

Hi! We must really be thinking along the same lines, I just posted about my ART method to control voices and behaviors on my blog! It works great. Thanks for your post and your blog! When my students lose the "T" it means "not talking for the rest of art", but I do have little kids put their heads down, too.

Jessica
The Art of Education
http://theartofeducation.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/art-for-a-quiet-art-room/