Art & Language Arts Online

Elementary Teachers Share Meaningful and Fun Arts-Integrated Lessons

August 6th, 2012 Theresa Sotto Comments off

After four full days of learning about art in the Museum’s collection and discovering strategies for discussing and making art, participants of the Art & Language Arts program developed seven original lesson plans—all in a few hours time!

: One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. In our final media exploration, teachers were challenged to make art out of recycled materials. Note the fanciful French swings created by our fabulous intern Iris.

: Teachers explore the array of interesting forms available from Trash for Teaching.

: Teachers share ideas while playing with recycled materials to create a variety of shapes and forms.

: A queen emerges from bins of recycled materials.

: Ah! It’s another beautiful day at the Getty Center.

: Teachers exit the galleries after writing about the same work of art they selected on Monday. They discovered so much more in their selected artworks after over four days of intensive training.

: Third and fourth grade teachers refine their lesson with museum educator Theresa Sotto.

: Tan Pratontep describes his lesson, which connects his autistic students to works of art.

: SDC teachers present on their lesson, which focuses on expressive gestures in a sculpture and a painting.

: To create sculptures that communicate poses, all you need are a few twist ties and a little bit of imagination.

: Fifth grade teachers connect to their “Take a Stand” unit by discussing Walker Evans’s Bridgeport Parade.

: A great way to reinforce students’ knowledge of shapes is to use paper shapes on the document reader.

: After discussing the shapes visible in a family portrait by Johann Zoffany, students can use paper shapes to create their own family portraits.

: Teachers demonstrate how to enhance students’ skills at comparing and contrasting by discussing family portraits by Johann Zoffany and Quiringh Gerritsz. van Brekelenkam.

: Question: What’s a fun way to teach the concept of balance in works of art?

: Answer: Try balancing on one leg while your arms are on the shoulders of a partner.

: Inspired by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux’s Paneled Room, teachers display unbalanced designs and discuss how to add to the designs to create balance.

: The expressions in the figures of Georges de La Tour’s The Musicians’ Brawl are priceless!

: Studying expressions in works of art will help students to create their expressive portraits.

: Third and fourth grade teachers found the perfect work for addressing their “Let’s Learn” theme—a portrait of a prince by Jan Lievens.

: After discussing a work of art depicting a student who is learning, students can create their own pictures of a memory when they learned something.

: After a week of tours, talks, and seminars, teachers get rewarded with free books and reproductions.

: Teachers from 42nd Street Elementary School pause for a picture with Theresa Sotto after five intensive, but rewarding days.

Categories: Art-making activities, Arts-integrated language arts lessons, Getty programs

Tags: balance, drawing, painting, photography, sketching, still life, summer seminar

K-5 Teachers Discover Strategies for Helping Students to Draw

July 31st, 2012 Theresa Sotto 6 comments

During the second day of the Art & Language Arts seminar, we were drawn to drawings! We explored different drawing tools, experienced a special VIP talk by a curator in our drawings department, and tried an activity that made us feel comfortable drawing—even those who were most skeptical of their artistic abilities.

For those who participated in today’s program, please share a strategy for helping students to overcome the fear of creating a drawing that doesn’t meet their expectations. How do we help students move past the idea that their pictures need to “look right”?

: Today’s media exploration encouraged teachers to build their own drawing vocabulary using different drawing tools and then create a collaborative work of art.

: Even at 8:30 AM in the morning, teachers are all smiles. Is it because of the art activity…or the delicious breakfast burritos? (Note: There’s no trace of the breakfast burrito on the plate!)

: Teachers are armed with cups of coffee and Art Stix—a winning combination!

: A painting by John Everett Millais sparked a lively discussion about what is going on in the picture. What IS going on in the picture anyway?

: Teachers spend time analyzing the clues in a painting.

: We look closely and admiringly at Joseph Mallord William Turner’s depiction of turbulent waters.

: In partners, teachers share what they see in a painting and then describe their partners’ observations.

: After discussing what they see, teachers share what the painting makes them wonder about. Then they think about possible responses to their wonderings. It’s an adaptation of the See-Think-Wonder thinking routine.

: Teachers view animals in our collection and select one to draw.

: It’s not so intimidating to draw an elephant when you break it down into different shapes.

: Two teachers successfully took on the challenge of choosing one shape and varying its size in order to create fantastic turkeys.

: A cow made up of a combination of triangles!

: Teachers discuss possible directions for their arts-integrated language arts lesson plans.

: We’re hunched over not because it’s the end of the day, but because we are imitating the pose of the figure in Jean-Francois Millet’s Man with a Hoe.

Categories: Art-making activities, Getty programs, Reflections on Getty workshops

Tags: drawing, Getty programs, lesson ideas, painting, summer seminar

Storytelling, Still Lifes, and Celebrations: Day 1 of the Art & Language Arts Program

July 30th, 2012 Theresa Sotto 11 comments

We are so excited to work with teachers from Jaime Escalante Elementary School, 42nd Street Elementary, Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School, Carlos Santana Arts Academy, and Woodlake Ave Elementary! We spent the day roaming the galleries while they were closed to the public and creating works of art bursting with color.

To the teachers who participated today, what is a specific strategy or activity that you will take back to your classroom?

: Every day begins with art! This morning teachers played with a variety of paints and techniques to create different textures.

: Teachers explore the vibrant colors produced by Alphacolor Biggie Cakes.

: Try lightly blowing on wet paint through a straw to create interesting effects.

: Teacher Rosa Bogarin holds up her colorful work of art.

: Participants received a site tour of the Getty Center on a beautiful sunny day.

: Since the galleries are not open to the public, four teachers were able to write about Van Gogh’s Irises without having to push through the crowds.

: On a curator-led tour, teachers discover how artists use the tools of their trade to help them tell stories in their paintings.

: A teacher looks closely at the thin coats of paint applied by the artist Titian. Thankfully we can still see the thin layer centuries after the painting was made!