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I’ll show you how I use the work of Vincent van Gogh in an art critique and show you some fabulous sunflower drawings by kids.
An art critique is much more than just saying whether or not you like a piece of art. Art teachers teach students to describe a work of art first before judging the merits of the art. Describing the work of art can help students’ language skills, but it also helps students understand the work a little better. It’s hard to appreciate a work of art that you don’t understand. However, when describing a work of art, sometimes the meaning becomes more evident. For example, was the artist trying to tell a story or convey a feeling? Students can then give their opinion of the visual aesthetics of the work of art and whether they appreciate the meaning. Students also learn to back up their statements with evidence. This activity teaches students to use good descriptive words so that their audience understands what they are trying to say.
This little exercise below is an excerpt from the presentation with Expressive Monkey’s Van Gogh’s Sunflower lesson. First, ask the students to use some descriptive words for each picture, then students are asked to compare and contrast the two sunflower pictures painted by Van Gogh.
Doing this before making drawings of sunflowers will help students see that no two sunflowers are alike. Noticing the small details in the sunflowers will help them move past just making generic-looking sunflowers. They can also see from the two paintings that their color choices will have. After doing this, you can ask students which sunflower painting they like best, and I’m sure they will have much more evidence to back up their opinion.
If you’d like to try a little experiment, first show students the two sunflower pictures side by side and ask them which one they enjoy looking at most, have them write down their reasons why. Then do the art critique as a class. Generate as many words as possible to describe the paintings and then compare and contrast the paintings. Finally, ask them the same question about which painting they enjoy looking at the most. Have them write down their reasons why again. Hopefully, you’ll see that their vocabulary is much better and their explanations are more thoughtful.
The presentation asks students to look at the texture of the painting then look at photographs of sunflowers and the patterns of the seeds.
(Along with giving a little background info on Vincent van Gogh.)
This lesson includes several other art critique games, such as matching the sunflower to the written description. Of course, you’ll also get Expressive Monkey’s sunflower drawing pages so that your students have lots of sunflower variations at their fingertips.
I recently came across some fantastic sunflower drawings made by the students of Mrs. Wright. I was delighted by the amount of detail and the variety of sunflowers! They are enjoyable to look at! I’ll share some pictures below.
Have you tried this lesson? Feel free to tag @expressivemonkey so that I can see them!
I have 2 versions of the lesson: just the presentation and drawing (Sunflower Roll, Draw & Write) OR with the integrated art critique activities.
Use this infographic to display in your room or share with parents, administrators, or other teachers as a way to point out some of the academic benefits of learning to draw. While they are not the only reason for using drawing as part of a balanced curriculum, they are certainly worthy of celebrating and may help you advocate for including drawing as part of your art or classroom learning experiences.
You can read more about The Benefits of Drawing in this blog post.
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I create engaging drawing resources that help students build confidence and express themselves through art. I'm a former elementary art teacher of 25 years turned business owner. Giving you the tools you need to bring more drawing into your classroom brings me joy.
I create engaging drawing resources that help students build confidence and express themselves through art.
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Connect with a group of dynamic art teachers where we chat about all things drawing. Come ask me your questions or search for ideas in the posts. We’d love to have you!
Connect with a group of dynamic art teachers where we chat about all things drawing. Come ask me your questions or search for ideas in the posts. We’d love to have you!
This free infographic, emotion wheel, and drawing activity will help you incorporate social & emotional learning into your classroom.
