Strategies
See. Think. Wonder.
This strategy is pretty basic. It will rope in almost every student involved because your brain can’t help but look at something and think something about it. The teacher invites students to simply “see, think, and wonder” about something shown to them. First, just look at the image, the clip, or the scene in question. Ask students to look at the image for a couple of minutes. Then ask students what they see, bit by bit. Break down the image. Anything and everything can be said. Next, what do they think about what they are seeing? Doing this as a class invites those that want to share time to speak up, and gives others who aren’t sure what to say or don’t want to speak in front of the class time to take in what others are thinking so as to compare it to their own thoughts. Finally, the teacher asks students what they wonder about the piece. If they need some inspiration the teacher can ask what they think happened in the timeline before or after the image. This gives students a chance to guess, imagine, and create meaning.
Four Formal Aspects of Art Analysis
This is a step up from “See. Think. Wonder” and allows students a deeper reflection and introspection. Art analysis can be quite flexible. It may be used by more advanced students as well as lower-level students with just a bit of assistance. Art analysis can also be used as a second step after, “See. Think. Wonder.” to expand on what students know. Both of these strategies are flexible and can be used as a whole group, small group, or one on one discussion. They can also both be utilized as a written assignment or graphic organizer.
- Description- What do you see? Describe in detail.
- Analysis- How did the artist do what they did? What elements and principles did they use? How did they use territorial space, contextual framing, and composition and design elements?
- Interpretation- What is the artist trying to evoke with the piece in relation to framing?
- span>Evaluation- What do you think of the piece? How do you feel about it? Was the artist successful at conveying a specific idea?
Working through this with students a few times will give most students the understanding and confidence they need to use it on almost any form of art on their own.
Differentiated Instruction: Open-ended projects
In education, it is understood that different students learn in different ways. This is why differentiated instruction is of the utmost importance. Instruction is not the only thing that can be differentiated easily, projects and assignments can also be differentiated. Open-ended projects allow students to choose how they want to complete an assignment based on their own needs and interests. Inviting students to write down or draw their thoughts before coming back as a class for discussion for the Art Analysis is an easy way to allow differentiation and to give students time to think if they need it. On the final project for this unit, students will be given options as to how they wish to finish the project, as directed in the activity.
Regarding the unit instruction for integration, diversification, and meeting students’ different learning styles, the unit will include films, discussions, time for reflections in words and drawings, viewing films from different cultures, and laying out some of the groundwork for students to create their short films (or artwork) later in the year. Because of the complexities and harsh realistic situations, this unit may be emotionally charged for some students.
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