About the Author

Sarah Dougherty

Sarah Dougherty has been involved in art education for the last eight years, including teaching in both the elementary and high school art classroom. She currently serves as the Visual Arts Curriculum Coordinator and as the Local Program Director of the federal Turnaround Arts initiative in the Des Moines Public Schools. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Bio-Medical Illustration from Iowa State University in 2005, her certification in K-12 Art Education from the University of Iowa in 2007, and her Master of Arts in Teaching from Morningside College in 2014. Her expertise includes curriculum development, urban school improvement, and arts integration.

Posts by Sarah

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Article

3 Keys to Creating a Successful, Positive Behavior System

Hand stamps? Class charts? Treasure boxes? Over the years, I’ve gone back and forth about the idea of using positive...
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Article

Create Art on Day One With This Fool-Proof Lesson

I used to agonize over the first day of school: Who wants to hear a thousand rules and procedures from...
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Article

Out of Ice Breakers? Try a TASK Party!

Do you loathe some of those beginning of the year ice breakers? Do you dread ill-conceived team-building activities? Maybe it...
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Article

A Must-See Research Database for Art Educators

Are you working towards an advanced degree? Perhaps you’re looking for solid data to present to an administrator or your...
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Article

The Friendly Loom: A Chance for Collaborative Art

Are you looking for something new to add to your classroom that… Will serve as an engaging content-rich free time...
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Article

Tips to Make Writing More Successful in the Art Room

Whether it’s required or just something you want to try, writing can be tricky to integrate into any art lesson....
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Article

Brighten Up With Liquid Watercolors

You might be thinking that between acrylics, tempera, tempera cakes, and watercolor cakes that you don’t need one more paint...
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Article

The Pros and Cons of Pencil Sharpening

Sharpening pencils is one of those weird art-teachery issues that only we can understand. The whole process can be downright...
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Article

Shish-ka-Beads: Simplified Beadmaking

Shish-ka-what? That’s right, beads on a stick! My students love wearing their art and I love teaching jewelry lessons, but...
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Article

Preparing for an Observation

Nothing can make a teacher more nervous than anticipating an administrator observation. The best way to ease these anxieties? Be...
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Article

Student Friendly Field Trip Follow-Ups

I am taking each and every one of my 315 students to the Des Moines Art Center this week on...
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Article

Cut Your Losses: When Art Projects Flop

We’ve all been there with our own personal projects a time or two: that moment when you say, “I give...
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