Ways to Teach Crafts to Students in School

Activities like art and craft are highly beneficial to support the complex process of a child’s holistic development. It involves motor movements and helps in developing good hand-eye coordination. Other than these widely-discussed advantages, the mesmerizing world of craft and art also teaches students about emotions and the ways to manage these. These fun-filled opportunities also support the development of organizational skills. And this is not all, these activities also help in improving a student’s focus along with recalling abilities. If you are craft teacher, you can avail the resources on Creative Fabrica]dedicated for craft classes.

Have you ever wondered how a craft teacher teaches students?

Well! There can be some fun ways of teaching crafts in a classroom.

Let’s take you through this interesting topic and delve into the ways of teaching crafts in school.

Lesson Planning

Like any other teacher, a craft teacher too prepares for the class through lesson planning. It includes goal setting, strategies designed to meet the needs of a heterogeneous group, and the expected learning outcomes. This information can also include the use of previous knowledge or the ways of connecting activities with the learning of other topics/subjects. A well-prepared teacher executes the strategies well during the class.

Show and Do

For most students in primary grades, demonstrating helps in visual craft teaching. Like any other process involved in teaching, this one too requires proper planning (within lesson planning). And the selection of words also plays a vital role in boosting the student’s motivation.

Demonstrating a piece does not mean instructing the group to replicate the same. In fact, with activities like crafts there is always an opportunity for variations as per the availability of material and the age group of the students. In recent times, many teachers also conducted online classes for students. This improved their knowledge to personalize the student’s learning. In fact, this duration also made many teachers learn the ways of modifying their instructions during the class (as per the student’s learning style or as per the availability of the material).

Interconnecting Previous Learning and Approaches

A craft teacher has some unmatched opportunities to refresh or connect the previous learning of students. Many teachers choose relevant topics (across various subject areas) that help in connecting the student’s learning. Simple calculations with a sequential wall-hanging made of folded papers, slogans about the environment on cardboard cutouts (like collages), number pinwheels, etc. are some effective ways of teaching craft and strengthening concept understanding.

In a craft class, a teacher also makes use of approaches like collaboration (small group projects). And there is also a scope to enhance this learning by allocating projects to show varied viewpoints on a burning issue. These age-appropriate activities are fun and at the same time, they also add great educational value to the learning process.

Considering Learning Styles

Like any other teacher, a craft teacher deals with students across various learning styles and intelligence types. A teacher might need to reiterate the tools, tips, or instructions for students with their unique learning needs. A well-prepared teacher preempts the student’s learning outcomes. And he/she also gives personalized instructions to students (as and when it is required) for the best learning outcomes.

Utilizing Familiar Characters

Class pets, stick puppets, worry dolls, or cartoons are age-old but fun ways of using relatable characters in a craft class. In recent times, many teachers are utilizing these strategies to teach students about the expression of emotions. The use of familiar characters brings awesome results to most students. In fact, these also make students more empathetic and self-aware as they delve deeper into the qualities, emotions, or expressions of familiar characters.

Fun and Creative Techniques

Creative techniques in lesson planning can do wonders for students. In most craft classes teachers make use of innovative ideas like sensory play (like glitter bottles and stickers etc.) and decorating wrapping papers etc. Even readily available material can be used in many fun ways such as clothespins, popsicles, handmade paper, stencils, ribbons, etc.

Decorating pencils, creating masks, and fun activities like cutting stickers for a scrapbook (in interesting shapes) are some examples of how teachers innovate activities while teaching crafts. Even the simplest activities like creating paper fans, flowers, stems, leaves, grass, or sky.  can be improvised by efficient teachers for an enhanced teaching experience.

Positive Reinforcement

Another tool in the hands of an effective teacher is positive reinforcement. Simple use of appreciation, applause, and rewards like smiley stickers or star charts, etc. are used to boost the motivation of students. All these forms of positive reinforcement (like rewards, verbal, and non-verbal appreciation, etc.) add value to the student’s learning. These strategies are highly effective in any learning environment be it online education or a physical classroom.

Final Thoughts:

The magical world of art and crafts is a great support to enhance a child’s creativity. A good craft teacher can add great value to the teaching and learning process even with the simplest material. And the biggest reward is the sight of highly engaged and delighted students in the classroom.