Artist Trading Cards (Jen Snead)

QUESTION: Dear Jen Snead,
I love the idea of your art trading cards! How can we incorporate that idea into our classrooms? (example - at dismissal time, etc.) And what's the easiest way to create a card? Melissa

Thank you for thinking of me to send and share Tinkerbell! What fun!

Artist Trading Cards are tons of fun and they seem to be exciting for all the students that have been involved in their making. The best way to make the card is to cut down white posterboard into 2-1/2-by 3-/1/2 inches. I believe one posterboard makes about 40 cards. Then have students use crayons, markers, watercolor paints (or any kind of paints), construction paper and glue or just about any two-dimensional art medium you can think of, to decorate or create a picture of their choice.The neat thing is, because of their size, they don't require a large amount of time.

Have the students write their first and last name on the back of the card, along with the date it was completed. They may also write a brief "artist statement" if desired. It could be a sentence telling about the artwork or what inspired them.

The really fun part is the TRADING!! After students have built up a small number of cards; let them begin trading with each other, or even with another class. Pretty soon they will have their very own private art collection.


ATC's can be incorporated in a variety of ways. Because they can be used in almost every academic subject, they can be used as a fun review of a concept learned during the day. Examples are:

MATH - create a repeating pattern to decorate a card.

SCIENCE - draw an animal that you learned about and include the habitat in which it lives.

ELA - Listen to a story and illustrate what you hear. Add as many details as you need to tell the story (or scene) in your picture.

SOCIAL STUDIES - design your personal symbol that tells about you and your family.

These are only a few ideas. Really, the sky is the limit with ATC's!

Jen Snead