I teach my art 1 kids how to shade, but I teach them how to do it with a pen.  I give them a quick pencil shading lesson, and then I show them how to shade with a pen.  The results always amaze them.  Pencil drawings done by kids are rarely done well because kids usually don't put enough contrast in their work.  I have only had one student in my years of teaching successfully create a good quality pencil drawing.  With pen, the contrast is automatic and the work looks sharp.

Middle School Art Exhibit

I am very fortunate to have an art gallery in my high school, unfortunately it is not used much as a gallery.  There is a system in my high school that allows teachers to use any of the facilities in our school as they see fit, kind of a first come first serve system.  The gallery has been used for a variety of things, it was once used for storage! I decided to take the gallery back and I have scheduled many activities this year.  It has kept me very busy but I hope the whole school will eventually keep their hands off the gallery. 
One activity I came up with this year was to host a middle school art exhibit.  I wrote letters and met with some middle school teachers around my area and invited them to exhibit. 
I also opened the art rooms and art lab and set up art work for a "tour" of our facilities.
I decided to make this a student led activity.  My students curated the whole thing, from hanging the work, judging and presenting the awards. 
We had a great turn out and I met some very talented young artists.  Perhaps they will be my students one day.
Enjoy your three day weekend.