Art, Art, Everywhere

Joy Foust ColburnAugust 2011

Why Art?

• Engages students • Teach visual

literacy• Speaks to visual

learners• Nurtures critical

thinking skills• Encourages

creativity in teachers and students

Art in Science?

• Science involves observation, so does illustration!

• Brenda Vaughn created a 7th grade science unit using this illustration by Audubon .

Art in Science?

• Art shows physics in action

• Students sketch and design a bridge with the concepts they learn in physics. Walker Evans’ photo of the Brooklyn Bridge serves as inspiration.

Art in English?

• Art makes a great writing prompt for assignments

• Students describe their observations and interpretations before composing a poem using their words

Art in English?

• Art can demonstrate different elements of writing, such as setting and writing style

• Using two pieces of art depicting the same location, students deduce how the same place can be imbued by the author with very different attributes.

Art in English?

• Art can be used to introduce a project and generate discussion

• Linda Thomas’ Grapes of Wrath lesson with primary sources started with this painting by Hogue from 1933.

Art in History?

• Art can be used as a primary source to encourage critical thinking

• Students deduce what they can about Mrs. George Watson (1765) by examining her portrait

Art in History?

• Art can be used to enhance student understanding of attitudes during a time period

• Students explore how a Bierstadt painting exemplifies a perception of western expansion

Art in Politics?

• Art can express political ideologies and emphasize what a particular government values

• The impact of FDR’s four essential human freedoms speech is seen in Norman Rockwell’s series of paintings from 1943

Art in Foreign Language?

• Art can be used to learn about other countries’ history and cultures

• Students research artists and present their findings in the language of study.

Art in Foreign Language?

• Art can be used to engage students in a vocabulary assignment

• Modeled on Richard Scarry books, objects in art are labeled like a visual dictionary. The art can be from a country where the language is spoken, such as Renoir or Goya.

Art in Math?

• Art has shapes, angles and fractions

• Lower School teachers have used 19th and 20th

century quilt designs to discuss geometry

Art in Math?

• Art has percentages, ratios and statistical information

• Students can explore logic or statistics using Kandinsky’s work.

Art in Physical Education?

• Art has muscle, movement and tension

• Students look at the muscle detailed in artwork to identify the muscle groups worked by various exercises. Is it an accurate depiction of how the body responds?

Art in Technology?

• Art can inspire podcasts and spark online conversations on discussion boards

• Amanda Hultin, Nichole Liese and I made a mythology podcasting lesson inspired by Thomas Hart Benton’s Achelous and Hercules.

Where do I find art for my classroom?

• Picturing America Printshttp://picturingamerica.neh.gov/

• Smithsonian American Art Museumhttp://americanart.si.edu/

• Smithsonian Educationhttp://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/index.html

Where do I find art for my classroom?

• National Gallery of Art Online Tourshttp://www.nga.gov/onlinetours/index.shtm

• Metropolitan Museum of Arthttp://www.metmuseum.org/

• MoMA Onlinehttp://www.moma.org/learn/teachers/online

Where do I find art for my classroom?

• Museum of Fine Arts Bostonhttp://www.mfa.org/explore/interactive-tours

• Explore Art: Getty Museumhttp://www.getty.edu/art/

• Art Institute of Chicago: Science, Art and Technologyhttp://www.artic.edu/aic/education/sciarttech/