This post is about some successful activities I’ve set up in my classroom to keep students productive. Sometimes they need a break from the big project. Sometimes they are done early. I introduce these activities informally or, if we need it , I use one class session go over all the free time options (here’s a PPT that helps to review all activities).
Sketchbook Assignments, Free Draw, and Draw from a Book
Students may get the option to take a timed break to draw, or draw if they are done early. Drawings must be kept in their sketchbooks or, if they want to earn Mona Lisa Points (MLPs) for it, turned into a bin. I like my students to keep their work collected in the art room as much as possible. Older students get a Sketchbook Assignments worksheet they can use to prompt their work. Students also have the option to pick out one book from my classroom library and draw from observation.
Adopt a Lost Drawing
Kids will be kids. Sketches will get lost. Some will fall out of sketchbooks and some will be left out during clean up. If they don’t write their name on their sketch and it’s out of place, my students know that it will end up in the “Lost Drawings” bin. Now anyone can adopt the drawing and make it theirs. The key to this prompt is that if students take a drawing, they only really “adopt” it by adding to it and making it “their own” in some unique way. Students can earn 2 MLPs when they adopt a lost drawing.
The 800 Word Art Challenge
When my principal asked for campus-wide support of our district’s "800 Word Challenge", I presented my students with the Word Art challenge. Students defined “font” and watched a quick demo on how to create a font. The Word Art Challenge, on a basic level, prompts them to use the elements of art to design a creative font. To engage in higher-level thinking, it prompts them to use metaphor so that the font design hints at the meaning of a word. There are also some excellent artists to explore in connection to word art, like Jenny Holzer and Barbara Kreuger.
Students were very happy to learn that they can earn MLPs by working on this prompt during free time or as optional homework. They earn 1 point if they fulfill the basic prompt and simply write a word out in a creative font. They earn more points if they repeat the word many times (the initiative involves repetitive exposure to the word). They earn most points if their font design acts as a metaphor for the word. Most of my students love puns and word play, so they were really motivated by this prompt! It’s the most popular choice of all free time activities.
Here’s a worksheet about the 800 Word Art Challenge, and check out some examples of student work:
