Planning lessons for an art class is a tedious and time consuming task as each lesson must be properly orchestrated and differentiated for the wide variety of students in the class. Creating lessons pulls on my knowledge of the students I work with, the content, and my own creative processes, as I want to craft a lesson accessible to all. It is important for me to plan effective lessons because my students will learn more when they are both interested in the topic and able to follow the lesson.
That said, rarely will I teach a class of students who are all genuinely interested in art and intrinsically motivated to learn about art. This makes the task of lesson planning a welcome challenge. Unlike subjects like Math, Science, and English when students can find coherent ways to apply their learning to the real world, learning Art doesn’t have such a clear purpose for a student’s life. This doesn’t mean that art doesn’t teach problem solving, innovation, and cultural appreciation, but it does mean I need to do my research to help my students, all my students enjoy art and learn art.
Before planning instruction, I must think about who my students are. What students have a 504 plan? An IEP? How many students are English Learners? Furthermore, what students are passionate about art and already have a developed skill-set in art? My job is not just to know what students fall into what category, but to also know how each student as an individual needs to be taught. Some examples of how I need to differentiate are: giving extra time on assignments, giving written directions, using visuals and sentence frames, having check-ins mid-way through a project, providing a timeline, and so many others strategies for reaching each student where he or she is at. One example of differentiating for my students is below. During a project on Contemporary Art each student was given a packet to help them complete the assignment. The packet used graphic organizers, sentence frames, simple sentence structures, and also easy to follow sequential steps to accommodate all my students.
That said, rarely will I teach a class of students who are all genuinely interested in art and intrinsically motivated to learn about art. This makes the task of lesson planning a welcome challenge. Unlike subjects like Math, Science, and English when students can find coherent ways to apply their learning to the real world, learning Art doesn’t have such a clear purpose for a student’s life. This doesn’t mean that art doesn’t teach problem solving, innovation, and cultural appreciation, but it does mean I need to do my research to help my students, all my students enjoy art and learn art.
Before planning instruction, I must think about who my students are. What students have a 504 plan? An IEP? How many students are English Learners? Furthermore, what students are passionate about art and already have a developed skill-set in art? My job is not just to know what students fall into what category, but to also know how each student as an individual needs to be taught. Some examples of how I need to differentiate are: giving extra time on assignments, giving written directions, using visuals and sentence frames, having check-ins mid-way through a project, providing a timeline, and so many others strategies for reaching each student where he or she is at. One example of differentiating for my students is below. During a project on Contemporary Art each student was given a packet to help them complete the assignment. The packet used graphic organizers, sentence frames, simple sentence structures, and also easy to follow sequential steps to accommodate all my students.
Contemporary Art Packet | |
File Size: | 108 kb |
File Type: |
One thing that is vital for all my art lessons is that I provide a place for students to make connections to their own life. While studying a Picasso may not make a student a better engineer, writer, athlete, or lawyer, it can improve the way students view the world or pay attention to detail. Helping my students see these connections to their real life make the art project come alive. For example, when I taught a lesson on positive and negative space I showed students logos and patterns from other cultures. I showed the students how negative and positive spaces are apparent and purposeful in the world around us. The assignment was to create an image, logo or design that relied on both positive and negative space for the one image. So students used shape (an element of art) and created a design or a logo with meaning. They had to use mirroring between negative and positive shapes to create ONE image. Below are some examples of the student work.
Another way I plan my lessons to be accessible and interesting to all my students is by providing opportunities for students to think and respond on their own using a range of questions. I use start with simple questions that ask students to recall information they already know. I then increase the difficulty of the questions by using Bloom's Taxonomy (left). I check for understanding, then I ask students to make connections by applying the information. When I begin to ask higher order thinking questions I give students a chance to respond first with their neighbors or on paper by writing down an answer. I may ask students to analyze a work of art and take a guess about it's meaning (every student can take a guess as there is no right or wrong guess!). Next as a class we can evaluate the possible meanings of the artwork. Finally, as we like to do in art class, I ask my students to create art of their own that has a similar meaning to their own lives. An example of when I did this when I asked my students to look at this contemporary work of art by Jamie Isenstein:
We spent a week looking at this work of art at the start of every class and as we studied this piece so my students' knowledge about it increased. On the last day we looked at this work of art, students had formulated ideas about its meaning and evaluated its value. This process kept my students engaged and also kept the material accessible to all my students. Relying heavily on visuals is easy in an art class, but it also helps my English Learners. As we studied this piece I scaffolded my questions throughout the week to help all my students keep up with the material and feel as though they had truly learned something about this art piece. Of course, the real lesson was teaching students how to look at and critique art.
In the art room, I like to provide a project-based-learning atmosphere by getting my students engaged in hands-on assignments. It is no surprise that students create art in an art classroom, but I like to take that idea a step further by reminding students to try new techniques, to make mistakes, and to have a growth mindset. I tell each of my students that the purpose of each art project is to learn. If I didn’t want my students to make mistakes I would be in front of the classroom micromanaging the students in their creation processes, however, the fundamental way students will learn how to make art is by trying and failing. For example, I asked students to make a collage with one image. I stretched their idea of a collage from the often-seen mess of images by asking my students to use many images to make one image. Below is an example of student work.
In the art room, I like to provide a project-based-learning atmosphere by getting my students engaged in hands-on assignments. It is no surprise that students create art in an art classroom, but I like to take that idea a step further by reminding students to try new techniques, to make mistakes, and to have a growth mindset. I tell each of my students that the purpose of each art project is to learn. If I didn’t want my students to make mistakes I would be in front of the classroom micromanaging the students in their creation processes, however, the fundamental way students will learn how to make art is by trying and failing. For example, I asked students to make a collage with one image. I stretched their idea of a collage from the often-seen mess of images by asking my students to use many images to make one image. Below is an example of student work.
Giving students a challenge that can be met at varying degrees of success means that all students can succeed and not feel bad when they've made a mistake. The collage assignment is one way to encourage all my students in art because all students can create one image out of many images when taught how to. In this way, every student can create good art, and feel good about their work!
Finally, I make sure I engage my students in art by always asking them to critique their own art. Sometimes this is by formal critique, other times this is by informal sandwich critiques, and most often I ask students to write down one goal for their art before the end of a project. I ask students this very important and very engaging question: What can you do to make your art go from good to great? It doesn’t take much, but it does take one little extra step. This question alone gets the students to think about their art critically and in a positive way. Rather than a suggestion to improve their art, it’s a goal to improve their art! Below is an example of a student’s response to this question.
Finally, I make sure I engage my students in art by always asking them to critique their own art. Sometimes this is by formal critique, other times this is by informal sandwich critiques, and most often I ask students to write down one goal for their art before the end of a project. I ask students this very important and very engaging question: What can you do to make your art go from good to great? It doesn’t take much, but it does take one little extra step. This question alone gets the students to think about their art critically and in a positive way. Rather than a suggestion to improve their art, it’s a goal to improve their art! Below is an example of a student’s response to this question.
When I plan my lessons I am always looking for ways to engage ALL my students and to get them to make connections with the art they see in class and the world around them. By making art relevant and rigorous, my students will exercise their problem solving skills, their innovation, and will have a better appreciation of diversity in their own society and in other cultures all without even knowing they are doing so. My students will also feel a sense of accomplishment with each unit we study because I plan for ways to accommodate each student to be successful.