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Start with Art:  A Catalyst for Critical Thinking

Facilitator:  Amy Landrum

Lesson Documented:  January 2004

Workshop:  Focus on Standards

Subjects & Topics:  Art, History, Language Arts (English), Psychology, Social Studies, Sociology

Multiple Intelligences:  Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Verbal/Linguistic

Entry Points:  Hands-On Narrational (Achieves the three steps: Exposure, Engagement, Revealing Reflection post discussion.)

Grade Level:  Elementary – Adult (Modify requirements accordingly.)

Time Needed:  Minimum 30 minutes

Materials:  Students need journals and writing utensils (colors optional).  Facilitator must obtain slides or posters of images that spark conversation linked to history or social studies content.  Ask your school librarian if there is a collection of art imagery including poster images or a video or postcard art samples.  (Suggestion:  Shop online for art posters and see what you find.  Stay tuned to the LCL website for future CD / Post Card packages including images for educational use only, contact: Amy Landrum.)   

Notes for Facilitator:  This lesson serves as a model that can be adapted to fit any topic or unit or theme at any grade level.  My goal is for the participants of this activity to walk away with access to ART resources and the capability to facilitate this activity in their own classrooms.  This activity explores the method of using art as a catalyst for: deductive reasoning, critical (and reflective) thinking, interpretation and discussion. Suggested art works: Vermeer's "The Geographer", Gericault's "The Raft of the Medusa", Lange's "The Migrant Mother", Chagall's "I and the Village", Miro's "Dog Barking at Moon".  Do a quick research session online before introducing the images so you can "reveal" the real information after the exercise is complete.  

Students can work individually or in groups. Display image as slide, poster, screen, handout. Students have three minutes for reaction in poetry, prose or random words, free-writing exercise. Play period appropriate (matching the image) music in background while students write in journals. Free to add color to writings to further express reaction. Voluntary sharing of writings. Move into MOMA Approach* led by facilitator. Class discussion. After conclusions are made, reveal factual information behind image. Move through the Critical Method steps (steps 2 and 3 are complete).  Tie into larger Unit. 

Instructional Materials:
SLIDES, POSTERS, IMAGES!
MOMA Approach for Teachers (Handout)
The Critical Method (Handout)

Resources:
Need slides, slide projector, room that can be made dark, and a CD player.

 

Standards:
OH- Ohio Curriculum Models
Grade : Grade Five

Subject: Language Arts Education
Area: Writing
Strand / Goal : Multidisciplinary
Standard 2: respond to specified integrated curriculum themes through a variety of writing experiences both individually and in groups

Subject: Social Studies Education
Strand / Goal : People in Societies
Standard 4: read stories about individuals who represent various cultural groups, draw inferences about the experiences of the groups, and compare the problems and opportunities which the groups encountered in the past.  How they made a living, what rights they exercised.

Subject: Comprehensive Arts Education
Strand / Goal 1: Historical, Cultural, and Social Contexts: Understanding the Role of the Arts in People’s Lives
Standard b: Study a variety of cultures and times to discover how arts forms have been transmitted from one generation to another.
Standard c: Investigate if and how other cultures use the arts for persuasive purposes.

Evaluation Method:  This activity is an introduction to a teaching methodology.  Many disciplines can be approached through the arts.  By using art as a starting place for classroom discussion, guided by the MOMA Approach and the Critical Method, students are exposed to logical and deductive reasoning skills, creative and critical thinking processes, and a logical order or sequence of thoughts for an essay.  The combination of the 'free' interpretation with the 'factual' contextual information makes this an effective method.  Please offer any comments and suggestions for improving this approach and share stories about how you have used it in your own classrooms.