SMARTboards for Clean Up Transition

One of my constant delimas since becoming an art teacher has been monitoring the transition from project work time to clean up time. I'm sure many can relate to my stories of the kids that wander and goof off during clean up time, letting the other kids at their table clean up all of their messes. Often we'd get to the end of class time, their teacher would be waiting, and the room was not up to my standards. Many times, I'd end up cleaning the remainder of the mess when all my classes were done, thus enforcing the idea that if they goof off they won't have to clean the mess-there would always be someone else to do it for them.

Then I found The Teaching Palette. If you're an art teacher, and haven't utilized this resource, I strongly recommend it. I found an article on their site about using a clean up map to motivate students to work as a team and quickly clean the room. While I liked the author's ideas, I don't have any open wall space in my tiny classrooms to put a large map. I decided I'd like to utilize my SMARTboard for this idea but having no expericence with SMARTboards, had no idea how to make my thoughts into reality.

Then I took a weekend class through my district on how to use a SMARTboard. Since then, I have implimented a plan for clean up that is working so well, I decided to share it. If you search the gallery for a "timer," you will find a stick of dynamite that counts down seconds until it "explodes." I set it for either 180 seconds (three minutes) or 300 seconds (five minutes), depending on how much work is required for clean up. I use a split screen, so the bomb is on one side, and a list of clean up expectations is on the other side.

While introducing this concept to the kids, I started by talking about how they can "help us reach our goal" of beating the bomb. I asked questions like "will standing, and counting down help us reach our goal?" They answered with a resounding NO! "Would checking the floor help us reach our goal?" YES! The first time or two, it was a little loud, but I started walking around, quietly mentioning things like "Ooooh, I see a marker under the red table." They noticed that if they listen while they clean, I will mention everything that needs to be done by the time the bomb explodes. I also made sure that the last item on every clean up list is that they are sitting quietly in their seats. This avoids the while class counting down at the top of their lungs.

If the kids "beat the bomb," they get a point on their scoreboard; if not, I get a point. I also found the scoreboard in the gallery, and the HOME and AWAY labels can be changed to whatever you want it to say.

I have a SMART Notebook file for each day, and have the bomb, clean up lists for drawing, painting, and clay which can be moved within the slideshow depending on which materials we are using that day. Then I have a slide for each class' scoreboard. At the end of the day, I hit save and we continue each time the class meets. I told the kids they would get a "mystery prize" at the end of the year if they have more points than I do.

Since starting this, the kids have gotten very excited about clean up. Half way through the class I'll get "are we going to do the bomb again today?!" The kids are excited, and working as a team in a way I never imagined they would! It's astounding! My biggest issue now is getting them to slow down so they don't get hurt!

I've also found some interesting ways to get them lined up using my SMARTboard, and keep these slides at the end of each day's slideshow. There is a "color chooser" which shows a different color every time it is touched. I tell them if they are wearing the color it shows, they can line up. There's also letter dice that I changed to have only vowels; then I select either their first or last name as say if they have that letter in the chosen name they can line up. Finally, there is a coin flip. I have them choose heads (put their hands on their head) or tails (put their hands on their butt) and flip the coin. The correct guess lands them in line.