Part 2: Art Supports.

It's Friday, it's Friday, gotta get down on Friday.  Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend, weekend...

Thank you Rebecca Black for that lovely introduction.

Let's do this!  Here's Part 2 of my earlier post on supports in the Art Room.

My school has a large population of students with special needs, as we are home to the district's self-contained classrooms.  We also have a large population of military children in our school from the local military base.   These children have lived in so many places, seen so much in their short little lives, and gone through so much familial stress, yet, they are absolutely inspiring young people.

In many cases, we have had military children with significant needs (behaviorally, emotionally, and/or academically) enroll and appear suddenly in our classrooms, and it takes weeks (if ever) for any IEP information to appear.  There have been many interesting Art Room adventures in some of these scenarios.  I have had Kindergarteners who are "runners" in my room (and trust me, a 5 year old is FAST, especially in an Art Room with 4 different exits), older elementary students with significant physical outbursts, and much more.  I worked as a Special Education Teacher and had my own self-contained classroom a few years back, so it's been a blast collaborating and commiserating with our current Sped teachers regarding students' behavior plans and needs.

Below are a few snapshots of the Behavioral Command Center in my room featuring the card change visual, timer, and behavior pocket.  Our school is a PBIS school and additionally uses a card change system to encourage good choices.  Every student starts on a green card at the day's beginning.  If students are choosing to channel their inner gremlins, I've got a few ways to address their choices.

Students will receive 2 warnings before a card change.  If I am in the middle of instruction or a demonstration and don't want to stop my train of thought, I will pass a student a "Stop Sign" as a warning.  Here's an example I found online for a stop sign warning.  I used a different stop sign template, but I can't find the link, darn it!  If the behavior persists after an additional warning, either verbal or visual, our naughty little friend will receive a card change.

To easily communicate with classroom teachers, or if the student is transitioning to PE or Music after Art, I always fill out one of the card change slips below to inform the teacher of the student's card change.  If you're like me, there's a good chance you'll have a whirlwind afternoon and forget to touch base with the classroom teacher, so the card change slip is a good way to ensure you stay responsible!  

I'll usually do the hand-off and give the card change slip to either a) the student (but always touch base with the teacher to make sure the student was honest) or b) the classroom teacher and or/Specials teacher the student is transitioning to.

I hope you had a happy and healthy holiday and that you're lookin' forward to the NEW YEAR. Partyin', partyin', YEAH.  Partyin', partyin', YEAH. 

My apologies, can't get darn Rebecca Black and her synthesized voice out of my head.