Using Visual Art in Classes

Dan:

I've used photos as writing prompts. I really like it and the kids seem to as well. For some students (many with learning disabilities/many without) it's hard for them to visualize what they want to convey in words. Giving them a photo helps make things more concrete.

It's also really helped with including details in their writing. Again, I think seeing the image helps them to develop the details that contribute to good writing.

Recently I used a picture of my uncle - I didn't tell them who it was until after they finished their short stories. I was really impressed with their creativity!

Erika

A fellow teacher uses R.A.F.T. in her Social Studies class. She uses a picture related to the topic she's teaching. RAFT stands for: Role - who are you in the picture; Audience - who are you writing to/for; Format - letter, diary, MySpace, blog, article; Tone - what feelings will your writing have. It's really great! Students get really into it. It's a great way to have students really connect with what they are learning.

I have picture rings. I've collected art and photos and strung them up on a metal ring. I have about nine of them. Students are free to use them whenever they need an idea. I teach it by giving the example of pushing pause during a movie. What happened before the frozen photo and what is going to happen after you press play?

Cheers,
Gaetan

Don't forget 3 dimensional art forms! There are many people with learning disabilities to whom photos or pictures are a bit of a puzzle- and the 3rd dimension really helps them- real objects, interactive objects, sculpture, etc. AND- how about the student who might make a great architect, but has trouble with the mental translation from 3-D to Blueprint and back again?

One of my favorite tools for integrating visual arts across the core curriculum is VoiceThread. You can browse their collections for ideas - or head into the VT Library

Students in my junior English class write descriptive poetry (called ekphrasis) based on paintings.
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/ekphrasis...
Other online sources of ekphrasis are available. They post the painting and their writing in a Moodle forum so that other students may read and respond to their work.

Like Rosanne, I used to have students in my 9th-grade English class write ekphrastic poetry. A description of that lesson and lots of resources can be found in Backing into Ekphrasis: Reading and Writing Poetry about Visual Art. I love Gaetan's idea of the picture ring. I think it's so important for students to get to choose what to write about and what photo or image to take their inspiration from. My students always seemed to love it when I brought out my shoeboxes full of picture postcards. I wrote up some of the ways we used them in Have Postcards Will Teach.