About the Author

Melissa Purtee

Hi! I’m Melissa Purtee and I teach visual art at Apex High School outside of Raleigh, North Carolina. I’m passionate about student choice, supporting diversity and creating pathways for authentic self-expression. I’m also the author of The Open Art Room, which is all about incorporating Choice in the secondary classroom. Read more of my writing on my blog, Thoughts on Arting.

 

Posts by Melissa

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labeled supply drawers
Article

3 Ways to Organize Your Room to Support Student Choice

Room organization has a huge impact on the learning that takes place in a space. If you value student-directed learning...
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concerned face
Article

The 5 Stages of Going Back to School

Going back to school after a long, relaxing summer can be a difficult adjustment for even the most seasoned educator....
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screenshot of google form
Article

How to Use Google Forms to Make Your Life Easier

Do you want to easily organize the information you collect, seamlessly assess student learning, and increase student engagement? I have...
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students working on collaborative collage
Article

A Winning Game for the First Day of School

The first day of school is traditionally spent going over rules and procedures. In high school and middle school, many...
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art room expectations
Article

Are Your Classroom Decorations a Distraction?

Sometimes getting ready to go back to school for art teachers seems like an exercise in rainbow installation art. Classrooms...
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sink meme
Article

The 5 Crappiest Things About Being an Art Teacher

Teaching art is a calling. We get to do work we love and share our passion for creating with others. It’s...
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various art materials
Article

A Concrete Example of an Elementary TAB Unit

Teaching concepts with TAB is easier than you might think. In fact, once your classroom is up and running with...
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Article

How to Deal With Copyright, Plagiarism, and Original Ideas in Art Education

Originality is a key value of art education, but at the same time, replication is just as important. We want...
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Article

Whose Problem Is It When Students Fail Art?

We’ve all had them: The student who hurries through the assignment – work sloppy and incomplete. The one who turns in something...
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students' colored hands
Article

6 Amazing Things About TAB Classrooms

Sometimes good ideas precede general acceptance. There’s no pedagogy in art education this is more true for than TAB. When...
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birch tree lessons
Article

How Pinterest Is Ruining Your Lessons

Pinterest is a teacher’s dream. It’s full of resources like lesson plans, handouts, and examples. They are all there for...
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hands making heart
Article

What REALLY Matters When Planning Instruction?

When we plan our lessons, we think about the information we want students to know: How to mix green To...
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