Miss Art of Teaching

I've been thinking of ways to make theory more fun AND to encourage class participation when it comes to discussion time. I don't want the same students to be giving me the answers. I want the whole class to contribute. What works: I downloaded the free PDF file from 'Expressive Monkey' on Teachers Pay Teachers. The resource is called 'Ping Pong Art Critique'. It provides a list of 32 questions to help facilitate class discussions on ANY piece of artwork. For example: -What title would you give this art? -What feeling or emotion did the artist create? -Where did the artist create contrast? -Does this art tell a story? -What would you change about this art? -Would you display this art in your house? Why? Why not? You can either purchase real ping pong balls and write the questions on top or simply print and laminate the resources. I decided to save money and go with the second option. I passed out one ping pong ball per st...

I have been marking like crazy and sometimes wish the papers could grade themselves BUT I am happy about being proactive this holidays instead of lazing around like a sloth. If I don't use my time wisely, I am likely to have a heart attack. Yesterday, I finished marking another set of Year 7 Case Studies (essays). I still have to cross it off my To-Do List. I have one more set of Year 7 Case Studies to mark then a handful of Year 11 piles to KO. While marking their essays, I realise that students still need more practice with 'Art Critique'. I have been teaching students how to 'describe', 'analyse', 'interpret' and make a 'judgement' with unknown artworks using games that I have made up (mentioned in my previous April blog post - 'Make Theory Fun'). The games prepare students for their Case Study. However, I feel like I need a variety of methods to effectively teach them how to critique artworks.  In between marking, ...