APPR and Pre-Post Assessments

Last year was our first year as a district working with the APPR and pre-post assessments. Most of the art teachers were not happy with the pre/post we had to give so I have really been researching and learning what I can do. Meaning, what can I do in my art room and share with my colleagues in hopes the higher powers will listen.  I have been busy creating a kindergarten pre-post assessment that I can give at the beginning and end of year but will also work on pre-post assessments to give before and after projects for all grade levels k-5.

Today I'll share my kindergarten pre-post assessment since its almost complete. I devised rubrics for cutting, gluing, and coloring, 3 areas I typically assess while moving thru the room. I'm just finishing up these rubrics so I will post them later.

The assessment will be in book form and will focus on the Elements of Art that kindergartners are expected to know at years end. On our first day of art, students will work on their cover, a picture of how they came to school today. Did they ride the bus? Get dropped off by a parent? What did they bring and wear....all this will be directed to them to do without a demonstration.

Another pre/post assessment I've created for kindergarten is based on a lesson I typically do at the start of the year, Patterned Fish........I will share my documents later this week or early next since I'm just so tired after my first day of school. Kids don't come until Thursday but I'm tired already!

A New Year Ahead, A New Blog....

The summer is in the home stretch and the school year will begin in just a few short weeks. My summer  has been filled with lots of professional development (more on that later) and in many ways I'm excited to start the year. But really, who doesn't love free time, no scheduled events, and relaxation?! Thats why the end of summer/ beginning of the school year is bittersweet.

I have been very bad at keeping up my artroom blog in the past and that is why I've created this new one. My thought is that I will start fresh! I will reach out to my 7 followers from my past blog and invite them here.... I need to really try hard at keeping this thing going!

One of my problems I think was that I wasn't clear to myself as to who I was gearing this blog for. Was it fellow art teachers or was it for my school families? I am clear now!  This space is really for me to share with fellow art teachers! I would like to share what I'm doing at each grade level, I teach k-5th, my management style, assessments I'm using, technology I'm trying, and how I'm linking to the common core. To begin, I will most likely post once a week. If I give myself a schedule, I think that might help.

Please join me here as I share with all of you what the heck goes on in my art room :)