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

Technology in Math/Science (Melissa Ross)

QUESTION: Dear Melissa Ross:
The word around school is that you use a lot of technology in your teaching. Please share your wisdom. What form of technology do you use (i.e., Elmo) and how do you incorporate that into Math/Science instruction? Debbi Harbour

I use a lot of different kinds of technology daily. I use my document camera, projector, and the Internet for everything! Once you have played with it a little, it's not that hard to use, I promise! I use the camera for a lot including:


Read alouds so the kids can follow along. There are a lot of great ones online too.



Mini-lessons to demonstrate how to use a manipulative (example - showing kids how to make 15 cents using coins) or how to put something together for a Science experiment. Check out this great site for online manipulatives for any grade level.



Take pictures of the way to set up cards for a card game they play for Math ahead of time so I can have it posted during the work period.

If they are all on the carpet for the min-lesson and I need to show them something somewhere in the room, they can't see from the carpet, I turn the head of the camera so that it is filming whatever I need to show them. I then have one of the kids go and point to that item. When they are "on camera," they think they are on WCEE - They love it!

I leave anything I have written for my mini-lesson up during the work period.

Background information for science lessons. Here are some great sites on worms, space, science clips, or National Geographic for Kids.

Calendar Math Reinforcement. Guess My Number and Math Playground.

During closing I use it to have students share a piece of work (strategy they have worked on, etc.) It saves a lot of time because they don't have to rewrite it. Their handwriting also gets neater during the work period because they want to put their work up. I then take a picture of the work with the camera to post on my blog or to e-mail parents.

I also use it for fun to play math games - Place 23 cubes under the camera - freeze the image, remove cubes, unfeeze it. How many cubes were removed?

I use other technology such as podcasting, blogging, interactive websites, CPS system, computerized chalkboard, smartboard, etc., but I probably shouldn't take up the entire book. Come see me if you are interested in more!


Melissa Ross