3 End of Year Choice-Based Art Ideas with a FREE Printable Art Choice-Board Activity
End of Year is almost here and I know you’re feeling super teacher exhausted and complete brain melt. But no worries because I have done the brainstorming for you and have come up with 3 End of Year Art Ideas that explore Choice-Based learning strategies to give you a break and students the freedom to express and explore and SHOW what they know before the end of the school year. Scroll to the bottom to snag a FREE Printable End of Year Art Choice Board!
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End of Year Before/After Self Portraits
If you want to tie in both Social Emotional Learning and some Art History into your classroom before the year ends, the this is how to do it!
First, teach a lesson on art history and how artists have painted self-portraits throughout history. Show a range of styles and artist portraits and briefly talk about each artist and their style of work. In this lesson you can ask “Art Viewing” questions such as “What message do you think the artist was trying to create?”, “Why do you think they painted their own portrait?”, “What do you notice in the artwork?”, “What symbols or objects do you see and how do you think they affect the meaning?”. Always do a Think- Pair-Share before having kids share ideas to encourage total participation in your classroom (think to self for a minute for own ideas, turn and talk with 1 buddy for a minute to gain more ideas, after share to class for whole class discussion).
Next, students can create their own self-portraits with a twist: half will depict themselves at the start of the year, and the other half of the face will show them at the end of this school year to show a transformation of their identity. Ask them to explore and use symbols in their artworks to help define meaning.
End of Year Art Scavenger Hunt
This is an especially good idea if you have a school yard or the weather is good outside! Or if they’re littles and you’re into it, you can create and hide things around your classroom for them to find and draw as well and if you don’t have time to take learning outdoors (basically, get creative with this).
First, in your planning, set up things for students to find. Either they are actual things to draw (like a slide, stairs, etc), or you can go and hide clues like an Amazing Race or objects to draw, or prompts to find and draw. You can do this in a lot of ways. But you need to know what they’re going to draw before you ask them to draw them.
Next, design your scavenger hunt! You can have them set up a page in a sketchbook or make a printable and put them on clip boards
Finally, teach the lesson, explain the parameters and let them grab choice art mediums and discover and create!
BONUS: You can give prizes to first finisher, a completion prize for everyone (sticker, bookmark you print off Canva, a jellybean, whatever!) or even my favorite… Quietest Drawer, Helping Others, Leader, Role model to Younger Students, etc.).
End of Year Choice-Board FREE PRINTABLE!
This wouldn’t be choice-based themed if I didn’t recommend doing a Choice-Board would it? Alright so I know you’re all kinds of tired, so don’t worry, I have a FREE Printable Choice-Board included in this for you.
The best thing is with these is that you can have students use all of them or just a little. You can laminate them and turn them into a “When you’re done” art center as they finish up other work or do testing, you can use them as the actual assignment and have them either complete all, complete 2, complete 5, etc.
You can even give prizes for “Most On-Task”, “Best Role-Model”, “Leader”, “Quietest Table Mate”, “Respecting Mediums”, “Helping Others”, etc. I love to promote those kind of accountability pieces as prizes. As well, you don’t have to buy prizes if you have no budget. I have done “Sit in a bean bag/camping chair for a class” or “Sit at teacher’s desk” or I have printed off and made my own bookmarks (print onto cardstock and cut). Sometimes I’ve even let kids have a stuffie at their desk, that is always fun. Be creative, kids just love the change and recognition.
So you can either make your own or click here to download a free printable End of Year Art Choice-Board or click the image below!
MORE END OF YEAR ART LESSONS
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Yours Truly,
Kathleen McGiveron (Ms Artastic)
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