MANAGING THE ARTROOM
How Many Students Did You Say
I’m Going to Have? Part II

Nancy Walkup

We continue this month with a compilation of posts from school- artsroom.com on managing large class sizes.

ing bowls with clean water at the end of class. While the leaders were at the sink, a sponge was passed around each table for each student to clean their own place.

Anonymous Wrote: I have a teeny classroom for the second year after twelve years of teaching K– 5. Part of my new management style is using a clothespin to bundle the projects according to tables, which I do at the end of each class. The clothespins also hold a piece of colored foam that corresponds to the table “color.” I always pre-label the young-est classes’ papers before they come to class, with name, teacher code, and table color . . . Cramped space is loony. Principals who read this: Would you want a fine dinner prepared in a teeny cramped kitchen? Translate that experience to making art. Elbow room please!

Anonymous Wrote: I taught over 1000 students a week, pre-K through fifth . . . Tips: I had a cup of already sharpened pencils—if they needed a sharp one, they could trade theirs in. I used the tempera blocks for paint—they are so much better than when they first came out and have a great variety of colors. You can leave them on the tables and don’t have to constantly run around replac-ing paint, so you can spend the extra seconds helping students. I did occasionally use liquid tempera for special colors which I squirted onto paper plates, then threw away at the end of class. I had a “leader” dial on the wall . . . Each table was assigned a number and the leader for each table corresponded to the dial, changing weekly . . . Leaders were responsible for getting water and brushes for their table and then cleaning brushes and replac-

SOLE SISTER Wrote:

I would like to share with you my book titled Craft$: For the No Budget Art Teacher. There are several inexpensive low-budget crafts that can work with large classes and not a lot of mess! I primarily teach young adults, but I run an art summer camp that keeps me on the move. I hope the book can help with the budget cuts facing my fellow art teachers.

TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior)
ideas. I set up six studios . . . There
is a studio for Build, Clay, Paint,
Study, Draw, and Collage. Studios
have “menus” for inspiration. I give a
five-minute lesson to start class. All
students have assigned jobs and work
in cooperative groups. Each student
keeps a portfolio, but they also choose
to work on group
projects. Classes
earn new materi-
als for their studios
through excellent
behavior, work
ethic, production,
clean up, etc. I use a digital timer,
music, and sounds to signal studio
work time and clean up time. It’s all
working pretty well, but I’m always
looking for ideas for improvement!
Would you want a fine
dinner prepared in a teeny
cramped kitchen? Translate
that experience to making
art. Elbow room please!

Julia Garnett Wrote:
I teach [K– 8]. I have many special
needs students mainstreamed into my
classes. I go to four buildings, and I
have about 1,300 students. My class
periods are thirty-five minutes long,
and there are nine classes a day. To
manage this I am using many of the
How do you manage class size in your
artroom? Join the discussion at www.
schoolartsroom.com.