BELL-RINGERS AND WARM-UPS

BELL-RINGER EXAMPLES
(this page is currently under construction - I am continuing to add ideas as I find them)

LITERACY:

*artedguru: Cartoons That Teach; "This is a collection of cartoons that can instruct and illuminate. Sometimes they can be a start to a conversation or instructional unit or used as the basis of lesson on using humor & illustration to teach."
*Draw or Describe this artwork by _famous artist_.
*Compare & contrast these two paintings (or sculptures, etc.). Write 2 sentences about how they are alike & 2 sentences about how they are different.
*Write 3 sentences describing what you see in this painting.
*Read a paragraph about (artist), then write what you think the main idea is.
*Rewrite this artist quote in your own words... 
            artedguru: click on the link for a wonderful literacy idea from artedguru.com; "Art Quotes."

Comprehensive listing of color names: The Color Thesaurus

CREATIVE THINKING:

*100 Silly Drawing Prompts To Engage Your Students, Abby Schukei, theartofed.com
*Choose one word-morph idea from this list to draw in your sketchbook: (butterfly, dragonfly, angelfish, grandfather clock, time flies, football, basketball, Pizza Hut, Burger King, etc.)
*Draw a scribble, then turn it into something.
*Design a robot or an alien by using only circles or triangles.
*List or draw as many uses as you can think of for a brick/paper clip/piece of paper, etc.
*Draw an environment or background for the original drawing (robot/alien/creature....can live in the desert, outer space, rainforest, ocean, sock drawer, etc.)
*Make a list of 20 random things, then draw them all but connect in a logical way for the design.

PRE-INSTRUCTION:

*Describe what you think makes "good" art. Describe what you think makes "bad" art. (When we talk about aesthetic theories, such as Realism, Formalism, and Expressionism, I have the kids write down their own opinions first.)
*Draw or describe what you think each of these words means: line, color, shape, form, texture, value, space. (Use this one on the day you introduce the elements of design.)
*Draw a face as realistically as you can from your imagination. (For your class beginning a portrait drawing unit - the pre-instruction drawing is a good one for the kids to look at after they get a few lessons!)

PRACTICING TECHNIQUES:

*Draw a small shape on your newspaper and paint it as carefully as you can - use the "Clean-Edge" technique we learned yesterday.
*Draw and shade a sphere, pyramid, or cube.
*Cover half your paper with an smooth value with no lines or scribble marks in the shading!
*Watch "How to draw" Youtube videos and practice the drawing. 

APPRECIATING ART:

*Students respond to a Youtube instructional video, either following along themselves with a drawing or writing down what they noticed. 
*Watch a short Youtube video about an artist or technique and write 5 facts -OR- discuss what the students noticed. 

VIDEOS (click on the link for a list of video clips on Youtube)

GAMES: 

• Laminate a series of color wheels or photographs of famous works of art (pictures from old calendars). Cut them up to make puzzles and the students work collaboratively to put them together! (Idea from Victoria Smith)
• Have a series of pictures for students to group. They decide how to organize the pictures, but they also have to explain why. 
• Virginia Cazedessus Bertholot's idea: "Get a bunch of color swatches from the local paint store.
  Cut them up and have the groups hurry to match them back up in value order. Multiple sets per group- sets match up in 3 or 5 values per color set. 
  For easier tables, have different color sets of values. For a more challenging table, do similar color sets of values. (Easy-red, purple and green... Hard- dark purple, med purple, light purple) Have a photo of correct sets of each table for quick reference to check them in a hurry."
• 

Bell-ringers are valuable simply because the kids have something to do at the beginning of class (instead of chatting while they are waiting for the lesson to begin.) Also, while they are working on these warm-up activities it gives the teacher a chance to take attendance as well as complete any other  housekeeping chores. 

I have a permanent place on my dry-erase board for the bell-ringer assignment so the kids know exactly where to find it when they enter the classroom. Sometimes, I even leave the same assignment up for a week (instead of having a new one every day), such as, "Choose an artwork from the 'Art Word Wall' to DRAW or DESCRIBE." I do this when I have a lot of posters that depict examples of things like portraits or landscapes.

You can have a basket on each table with pencils and scratch paper for the kids to use. This cuts down on movement and allows no excuses not to do the bell-ringer. Pencils do have a way of disappearing, so you can count the pencils in each basket or have a trusted student count them before dismissal.

 In my classroom, each student has a personal storage area where they keep artwork, sketchbook, and binder. They are supposed to have paper and pencil stored here. At the beginning of class they get their supplies and then sit down to do the warm-up. If they run out of paper, they are allowed to get a sheet from my scratch-paper cabinet. If they need to borrow a pencil, they have to leave their shoe under my desk until the pencil is returned, too! :) Anna Nichols

more great resources: 

artprompts.org


K20 Center Instructional Strategies

The Ultimate List of Secondary Art Room Bellringers, theartofed.com, by Tracy Hare

Cassie Stephens: In the Art Room: the Start of Art

article by Mrs. Anna Nichols