Elementary Art Classes

Many of the videos segments and interactive CD activities in Art Making and Meaning can be adapted for younger learners if teachers preview vocabulary words and guide students with commentary and questions. See “Challenging Vocabulary for Elementary Students.” The inquiry approach of Art Making and Meaning can help children learn how to observe and describe art and other objects and build broad foundations for self-expression. In follow-up discussions, children observe carefully, speak and listen purposefully, and develop an appreciation for the perspectives of others. The “Activity Ideas for All Students” sections of lessons in this Educators’ Supplement offer suggestions for introducing each Art Making and Meaning question.

It is a good idea to preview the DVD as you select segments to use with your students. The following questions are recommended as most suitable for presentation to elementary students:

• The Human Touch
  What tools, materials, and processes does the artist use?
  What tools, materials, and processes do I use?

• All Things Visible (skip the Anne Coe section on “visual texture”)
  What lines, shapes, values (lights & darks), and colors does the artist use?
  What lines, shapes, values (lights & darks), and colors do I use?

• More to See and Touch (skip the Michael Brolly video after the analysis of his Cradle, if you find the subject matter too suggestive)
  What textures and forms in space does the artist use?
  What textures and forms in space do I use?

• People, Places, and Things
  What people, place, and things does the artist show?
  What people, place, and things do I show?

• The Days of Our Lives
  What has happened in the artist’s life?
  Can I get ideas for my art from my life?

• The World Around Us
  In what natural environments and human-made environments does the artist live?
  What natural environments and human-made environments do I live in or visit?

• What Does it Do? (skip the first section of the Brolly segment and begin with the analysis of the office to avoid the suggestive first artwork)
  What does the artwork do?  For whom?
  Does my art do something for me or for someone else?

• Cultures Here and Now / There and Then
  What do the people the artist grew up with think, believe, and do?
  What do the people I live with think, believe, and do?

• What the Artist Wants to Do (because some sections are quite challenging, preview and introduce with care at the elementary level)
  Why does the artist want it to look like that?
  What am I trying to do when I make art?