Art History Research

I'm one of those art teachers that feels it is really important to teach art history. The 6th graders spent 2 days this trimester researching an artist they chose. Then, they wirte a paragraph about what they learned about that artist. Next, they create a reproduction based on a work of art done by that artist and we hang them in the hallway with an example of the artist's original work. The students really gain an appreciation for all that goes into a masterpiece. Plus, its really fun to hear them telling each other about things they learned about their artist as they are all working on their projects. Here are a few of them as they hang in the hallway!

Art History Reports

The 7th graders turned in their art history reports right after spring break, so I thought I would post some of their work. In an earlier post I showed all the steps we went through for this project. After grading them, I decided to hang all of them in the hallway (one more way to teach others about art)!

Art History "Reports"

I LOVE teaching art history! I'm that art teacher that gets teary-eyed when I walk through a museum (I'm sure my husband enjoys this!). I would love to pass this passion onto my students. However, I'm not so sure that a typed out research paper is the way to do it. So, I have come up with (thanks to the help of Pinterest) a more "fun" way. The kids will still learn most of the important facts about the artist, without me having to carry home boring research papers and then worry about plagerism.

To help the students find their information, we spend the first 2 days in the computer lab answering questions on a worksheet. Also, I let each student choose their artist and make sure that no 2 students choose the same artist.

I started with a 12x18 piece of drawing paper and divided it into 6 inch sections. Each section I cut so it was 2 inches shorter than the section before it. The first section (mearuring 6x2) is the title page.



The next section is for the basic information about the artist (their birthdate and place, etc.). This section measures 6x4.



The following section is a basic timeline of the highlights in their life and measures 6x6 (we use 2 sheets for this). With 7th graders, it is really important to discuss with them what is important enough and what should be left out. I make them list at least 10 items for their timeline.




In the next section (measuring 6x8) the kids write about their opinion of their artist. I encourage them to share their true opinion as long as they back it up with solid reasons.



The final section is for pictures of the artist's work. This section measures 6x10 and 6x12. The kids are required to have at least 5 pictures and are encouraged to present them in a nice way.




For the final step, we put all of the sections in order and staple them together at the top. Posted is the final product. I'm hoping that when I hang all of these out in the hallway they prompt people to stop and take a closer look (and maybe even learn something).

Art History Reproductions

I hated the drowning feeling I constantly had during my first year of teaching. Since then I have been fine-tuning lessons that I teach regularly each trimester. I know, I know, to be a good teacher I should change up my lessons much more often. However, I have kids that say, "I've been waiting to do ________ project like my older sibling!". Plus, there's comfort in knowing what works in a lesson and how to best teach it. Having said all of that, I've been trying out some new projects this year in an attempt to refresh myself. A few of those attempts have gone okay (not good enough to share or brag about), some have fallen on their face, and others turned out FABULOUS! This project is a "Fabulous".

I have been blessed to work with an outstanding group of 6th graders that have great attitudes (the perfect ingredients for a successful new project). However, when I first introduced the lesson I was a little worried. I LOVE studying art history...I'm not normal. On the first day I was practically jumping in the air with excitement over the idea of my students getting to learn about famous artists in the past. When they came to class I had spread out about 40 Scholastic Art magazines featuring 40 of my favorite painters. Each child had to choose someone different and then we headed to the computer lab where we toured a museum and they each set out to research their artist. They then printed out a picture of their artist's work and created a frame. The students then reproduced that work of art by their artist. I then hung all of their work in the hallway and that's where we had class for 1 1/2 days while the kids did their artist presentations. It was SO COOL! Everyday people in the building tell me how much they enjoy looking at them and how much they have learned....I love educating others about art (even when its not in my classroom)!!!!