Art-Based Classroom Strategies

Last week I was putting together my students' exams for the forces & motion unit of my course, and at the last minute I decided to attach a comic template to the exam and offer it as an extra credit option after they had finished the exam. Although not all of them tried it, those who did produced some great stuff! Knowing that I'll have a few comics to page through makes the prospect of grading the exams over spring break that much more tolerable.

Another activity I finally got around to trying was having students go up to the board one by one and draw things related to science, such as our recent egg drop devices, various types of lab equipment, and the like. I tried this as a wrap up for my 6th period class, where it got quite a few kids involved. Something more to try when we come back from break. I had been wanting to use this strategy since a teacher had brought it up at my HGSE workshop last summer, but I hadn't thought to use it as part of a wrap up.