Promoting deeper dives with more checkpoints
There are many reasons students rush or finish early…
It’s this last one I will focus on in this blogpost; checkpoints. If your issue is long block periods and keeping students engaged, I wrote THIS post to explain how I handle my 90-minute periods.
Before I even present my lesson, I identify 3 things I need them to do to meet my expectations, but also 3 or 4 things they can do to exceed expectations. It’s these that I use for my early finishers to keep them on task. For example, some goals I may set for a project could be:
To exceed expectations, they could…
I go into detail about that HERE, but having a set list of what they can do to stay on task is a huge help. I created the video below during the pandemic and still show it to my students to demonstrate that there’s always more than can be done to artwork.
- They’re disinterested in the project and rush to “be done”
- Lessons are too formulaic (Ala Monet bridges)
- “Early Finisher” work is more fun than project work
- They’re excited and dive in without prep work
- The project is too easy
- Students aren’t experienced in deeper dives
- Failure to plan for additional steps to enhance work
- The project is missing helpful checkpoints
It’s this last one I will focus on in this blogpost; checkpoints. If your issue is long block periods and keeping students engaged, I wrote THIS post to explain how I handle my 90-minute periods.
Before I even present my lesson, I identify 3 things I need them to do to meet my expectations, but also 3 or 4 things they can do to exceed expectations. It’s these that I use for my early finishers to keep them on task. For example, some goals I may set for a project could be:
- Include tertiary color mixtures
- Incorporate a fully resolved background
- Include shadows that vary in intensity
To exceed expectations, they could…
- Include complex patters and/or textures
- Use complementary colors in shadows avoiding the use of black
- Incorporate a technique you have researched on your own
I go into detail about that HERE, but having a set list of what they can do to stay on task is a huge help. I created the video below during the pandemic and still show it to my students to demonstrate that there’s always more than can be done to artwork.
Breaking an exploration into smaller bits with set timeline goals can help keep slow students moving forward, and “talented” students engaged. My lesson planning process is HERE. Introductions should make connections to historical or contemporary art, and perhaps links to core content when possible. This is a good time for notes as a first check in. They might be pre-written notes with gaps for students to fill in, or full-on notes on lined paper for older students. Some of mine are HERE. I check notes for completeness and assign a simple classwork grade. (100% means I saw completed notes.)
Check in 2, on the back of notes or a piece of copy paper I have students do a thumbnail sketch. We peer share these and offer suggestions. They make additions on this and share it quickly with me before grabbing scale-size thin sketch paper.
Check in 3: If we will to an 11 x 17 in painting on canvas, they’ll get an 11 x 17 in newsprint paper to sketch on. This way they get to practice on something cheap before they move to canvas. They get experience working on a larger scale, and again we can do a peer check-in critique, or I can approve them to move onto their final media.
Check in 4: We generally draw lightly in pencil for most of our projects and I ask to see it before they can get set up to paint. I will do a whole-class demo, and they get a daily grade for setting up properly as well as clean up. More on that in detail HERE and HERE.
Check in 5. When students are about ½ way done, I stop and do a peer share-out session or formal mid-point critique. I have students share 1 success and 1 struggle before moving on to finish their work.
Those that “finish early” will review my list of how they can exceed expectations and we discuss what they can add to their work to push it further. Getting students in the habit of knowing there will always be more to do will remove incentives to finish early. In my rubric I include “Time & Management.” Students know that sitting around doing nothing is never an option and will negatively impact their grade.
There may be times that a student will honestly finish early and did all they could. So what then?
We all know that grid drawings are so successful because they take a huge task and break it into manageable bits. The same is true for our lessons. More checkpoints has helped me in keeping students on task and engaged. If grading projects is a struggle for you, I have more advice on that HERE.
Check in 2, on the back of notes or a piece of copy paper I have students do a thumbnail sketch. We peer share these and offer suggestions. They make additions on this and share it quickly with me before grabbing scale-size thin sketch paper.
Check in 3: If we will to an 11 x 17 in painting on canvas, they’ll get an 11 x 17 in newsprint paper to sketch on. This way they get to practice on something cheap before they move to canvas. They get experience working on a larger scale, and again we can do a peer check-in critique, or I can approve them to move onto their final media.
Check in 4: We generally draw lightly in pencil for most of our projects and I ask to see it before they can get set up to paint. I will do a whole-class demo, and they get a daily grade for setting up properly as well as clean up. More on that in detail HERE and HERE.
Check in 5. When students are about ½ way done, I stop and do a peer share-out session or formal mid-point critique. I have students share 1 success and 1 struggle before moving on to finish their work.
Those that “finish early” will review my list of how they can exceed expectations and we discuss what they can add to their work to push it further. Getting students in the habit of knowing there will always be more to do will remove incentives to finish early. In my rubric I include “Time & Management.” Students know that sitting around doing nothing is never an option and will negatively impact their grade.
There may be times that a student will honestly finish early and did all they could. So what then?
- Create another miniature version of the lesson
- Create the bulletin board write up & display for the lesson
- Have an I’m Done bin of work to pick from
- Have an Origami station set up
We all know that grid drawings are so successful because they take a huge task and break it into manageable bits. The same is true for our lessons. More checkpoints has helped me in keeping students on task and engaged. If grading projects is a struggle for you, I have more advice on that HERE.
RSS Feed