What do you see? (visit)

This lesson outlines activities for students to complete while visiting the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill, NC. Students will observe and reflect upon a variety of artwork. In doing so, they will develop observation and communication skills, and learn to understand and appreciate others' interpretations and opinions of works of art. This lesson applies skills learned in the previous lesson, "What Do You See" (Pre-Visit).

This lesson may be adapted for use in a school/classroom by using museums and artwork found online (see Web sites listed below). A Powerpoint presentation which displays some artwork from the Ackland Art Museum is attached to this plan, as well.

A lesson plan for grade 8 Visual Arts Education

By Reagan West

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Related pages

• What do you see? (post-visit): In this lesson, students will use observations and reflections made while visiting the Ackland Art Museum to draw conclusions about interpreting artwork (and other works/events), make quality scientific observations, and see how these concepts are related. Students will be reproducing artwork they viewed at the museum, sharing their personal interpretations of various works, and analyzing how the presentation of information (in any situation) can influence our interpretations of a work or event. This lesson is the final lesson in the series of lessons, "What Do YOU See?", which uses the Ackland Art Museum as a resource.
• What do you see? (pre-visit): This lesson introduces students to the importance of making accurate, detailed scientific observations, and the value of learning about others' views and perspectives regarding a specific topic or event. It also serves as an activity to prepare students for a visit to the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill, NC (or any museum, real or virtual). This lesson is the first of three lessons that build upon each other, using the Ackland Art Museum as the focus.
• MaraLIMAthon: Kindergarten students will work with an older grade buddy (we worked with 1st grade students) to make predictions, and then over a two-week period, see changes in lima bean growth, and be able to document the lima bean's progress. The buddies will work together to create an illustrated short story about lima bean characters that they create.

Related topics

• Learn more about arts, cooperative learning, critique, field trips, fine arts, language arts, museum education, observation, and reflective learning.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• view and critique art objectively.
• develop an awareness that art is a form of personal expression that can be interpreted in various ways.
• apply scientific observation/recording skills (quantitative and qualitative) discussed and practiced previously.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

1 day

Materials/resources

Students will need paper, pencils, and something on which to write (clipboard). A museum map/guide may be helpful.

Optional Resources: If you choose to teach this lesson without making a trip to a museum, art books and manuals from the library will be needed. In addition, the education directors at local art museums can provide resources and helpful information or even make a visit to your school.

Technology resources

If you choose to modify this lesson by using online museums, computers with Internet connections will be necessary. The Ackland PowerPoint shows different pieces from the museum.

Pre-activities

The discussion and/or practice of making sound scientific observations (both qualitative and quantitative), and the discussion of the value of understanding events/works/topics from multiple perspectives may be helpful; however, specific preparation is NOT necessary.

Activities

Activity One: Observations

1. The first task students will have at the museum is to find a work that interests them. Individually, students should spend time observing the artwork and recording very detailed observations. Prior to this assignment, inform students that their goal is to be able to describe their work of art to a peer so that the peer can reproduce the work on paper as accurately as possible. A review of the elements of quality and useful observations may be helpful as well.
2. Students should spend at least 15 minutes observing and describing their work of art.
3. Upon completion of their observations, students should submit their observations to the instructor, who will hold them until the following day when they are used in class.

Activity Two: Interpretations

1. When students are ready for the second task, they should be placed in groups of 2-3 students.
2. Each small group of students should choose a work to observe and investigate more closely.
3. In front of their selected work, each student in the group will complete a Reflection Worksheet.
4. Students should spend at least 15 minutes observing the piece and completing the reflection worksheets. Students should not share their responses with each other at this time--they will do this the following day in class.
5. Upon completion of the questions, students should submit their worksheets to the instructor, who will hold them until the following day when they are used in class.

Assessment

Students will be held accountable for making strong observations/descriptions which will be used to complete a follow-up assignment. They will further be responsible for completing their reflection worksheets and for their behavior. The Rubric may help with this assessment.

Supplemental information

If you plan to arrange a field trip to an art museum, contact the curator and/or education director of the museum. He/she will be able to provide you with educational programs and materials available at the museum that could be used with these activities.

Related lesson plans:

• What do YOU See? (Pre-visit)
• What do YOU See? (Post-visit)

Related websites

There are many museums with websites and artwork online which would allow you to use this lesson in a classroom (as opposed to taking a field trip). A few helpful websites are listed here:

• Ackland Art Museum
• Virtual Library museums pages
• State Hermitage Museum
• the warhol at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
• North Carolina Museum of Art

Comments

This lesson incorporates concepts from the 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Standard Course of Study Science as Inquiry strands.