The next project we tackled in my 8th grade painting class was a Vincent van Gogh inspired acrylic painting done on canvas panels. Before they began to paint we read a biography about him watched his biography on. Then we analyzed "A Starry Night", "The Sunflowers" and "Self Portrait". After analyzing his work, the student came up with a list of the elements that had to be included in this artwork that would allow the viewer to tell that the work was inspired by Van Gogh. They decided that line, movement, value and texture were necessary in a Van Gogh inspired piece. In addition to their requirements, I required that their artwork had to be either a landscape, still life self portrait or scene from everyday life. Once the students were finished they had to write a reflection and self critique. Then, we had a class critique.
The class critique had three parts:
1. I numbered each artwork and each student chose a number from a hat and had to complete a written constructive critique. They had to explain what they liked about the artwork, what they thought the artist was trying to convey to the viewer and give suggestions for the artist to use to improve their artwork. If they didn't like the artwork personally. they had to give the artist positive feedback.
2. They had to give an oral presentation of their work to an audience of their peers (some of their homeroom teachers attend the critique too). During this critique they had to present their work by explain their technique, inspiration and likes and dislikes. They were also required to answer audience questions (the audience also gave comments and feedback).
3.The audience members had to write a written response to the work and include constructive and tangible feedback, I think it pretty was not good enough.
I believe that the critique was a good learning experience for everyone involved in the process. I believe that it solidified the fact that my classroom is a safe place for sharing. It helped the students work on their oral presentation skills and it was yet another avenue for embedding cross-curricular learning.
