How to Use Art to Teach the Writing Traits
- 1). Distribute all painting supplies to children in the classroom. They should all have drawing paper and painting pencils or brushes. If they need it, provide a ruler for straight lines.
- 2). Present to the class a piece of art; it does not have to be a famous work. Ask the students what the piece of art may mean.
- 3). Explain to the students that art is a form of communication like telling a story. Say that each interpretation a student has toward the art is a unique narrative, and that the narrative can be similar to a written story.
- 4). Give the students a moment to think of a story they could draw. Once everyone knows what they are going to write, allow them to begin drawing.
- 5). Wait until everyone is done drawing. Do not rush any student. This is a time for them to be expressive about their ideas.
- 6). Have each student present his picture to the class. Have other students say what they think the picture or painting represents. Then have the student who drew the picture explain what he or she tried to convey in the picture.
- 7). Explain to the students that like writing a story or essay, they have used art to communicate an idea. The key is that the students were able to express abstract ideas in their art.
- 8). Have every student write on a piece of paper the meaning of his art. The student has already explained his art to the class and heard everyone's opinion. At this time, the student should have the confidence to recognize and organize the ideas pertaining to his art piece to form an exploratory essay.
- 9). Collect all the essays and read them. Mark suggestions for each student, especially writing issues where there is a discrepancy in how a student explained his work to the class and how he explained his work on paper. Observe how this discrepancy resolves itself in regard to the student's literary development in the class.
- 10
Focus future classes on specific literary issues in the students' essays, whether they relate to grammar, sentence structure or paragraph structure. Utilize these essays as a way to see where you need to construct writing classes.
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