Last week I started a series on the topic of art routines Part 1. By having routines in place you can stop chaos during art sessions. Having these routines in place has helped me in art classroom management.
- Art Smocks
- Art Material Set-up
- Art Language
Continuing on this topic I’m sharing my insights on art talk & the artist language we teach. If you are not familiar with what art language means, it’s how we describe artworks and our process. It’s art’s own language. You can learn more by reading these books Defining Visual Arts, or Early Childhood Art Guide.
Routines & Language
Art literacy is not only about making art, but also teaching students how to communicate. Keep in mind I’ve been teaching children for over 30 years. These routines and expectations came together over a long period of time. So it will take time for you to practice.
Over the years I’ve had my share of students disrupting my art classes. At some point I reflected on the times I spent in fine art studios working with other artists. I wanted my teaching sessions with kids to have that same feeling of expressive openness. So I came to the conclusion that my role was not just to show them how to make art, but also how to behave and talk like an artist. I created fine art studio behavior models (art expectations).
- Only communicate in art language
- No negative peer critiquing
- Observe like an Artist
- Reading Instead of Disturbing
As a now roaming art specials visiting classrooms across the county, I use these with all ages from 3 – 12 years.
Communicate in art language
This means you are talking about your art, your art process, or helping someone with their art. Not what you are eating for lunch, or what happened at recess. This is also how I can hear when my students are getting off track.
No negative peer critiquing
Unnecessary comments could affect a students confidence to express openly in the classroom. I make time to explain how acceptable critiquing is using art language. I explain that I will make time for open refection time. And any student can volunteer to share with the classroom their art. I describe what positive critiquing sounds like.
Example
Negative – “Why does that nose look like that, it looks weird!”
Vs.
Artful talk – “I noticed he used thick wavy green lines to create the nose. That’s not something I expected to see in his drawing.”
or ,
“I wonder why he put purple leaf shapes in his nature drawing, rather than making green shapes”.
You can model this type of art language with practice. If you would like to learn how to talk to children artfully, check out this mini art training course.
Observe like an artist
I explain that if they want to look at someone’s art, to walk quietly around them, and observe with eyes only. So not to interrupt a working artist. In fact I show my young students how to observe by putting their hand behind their back. The action is like they are viewing art in a museum, to not disturb the art. I explain it’s OK to be curious and look at everyone’s work, but observe like an artist.
Reading Instead of Disturbing
When a student is disturbing the classroom, I give them a choice. Join us in art, or dismiss yourself into reading quietly until we are done with art. This usually works because the student feels left out when everyone is enjoying art. Generally students usually ask to return back to art. I will ask if they agree to participate artfully, leaving it up to them.
Love to hear your feedback!
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