1. Silent Looking: invite students into the lesson with a 30-
second glance 2. Ask open ended questions a. Whats going on in this picture/painting/reading? (Claim) i. Follow Ups: Can you classify each figure? ii. Who is the artist? iii. Can you name some objects present? b. What do you see that makes you see that? (evidence) i. Where are the figures gazing? ii. How is light used? iii. What colors do you see? iv. Can you distinguish between foreground and background? v. What kind of objects are present? vi. Do you see any contrasts? c. What more can we find? (critical thinking- were not done yet!) i. Just because we heard 3 answers, doesnt mean we are done looking! ii. There is no pressure to have the right answer; just have an answer 3. Stop- Provide more information a. Artist, painting title b. Make a connection to text studied c. Hand out slips of paper with more information i. This was painted in 1930- how does this change or add to our read of this painting? ii. This painting is called The Janitor Who Paints- how does this inform our understanding? iii. This painting was by a man who was working in France as a janitor 1. Source: https://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/sakrani20/palmer-hayden-painter/ 4. Teacher as Facilitator a. Dont validate what students say in order to encourage irrelevant commentary i. Avoid great idea! thats awesome! ii. As a facilitator, nod and smile and re-reference the work as best you can to redirect attention iii. Do not reiterate a students perceptions 1. Instead of repeating what a kid sees (a mother holding her baby) say (a figure holding a baby) to not affect student understanding iv. If someone says something outlandish, respond: where do you see it? 1. Someone else is going to correct that student 2. Teacher is supposed to cultivate responses, not affirm or negate 3. THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER. LEARN TO THINK! 4. Responses: Maybe in your experience you see this, but lets bring it back to the context of the painting. 5. Remember: this is an EXERCISE, not the lesson of the day. Connect to a theme or character. Goals Give students confidence: make explicit claims based on what you see Encourages participation as students point out objects that everyone can see Class has a shared experience Address assumptions as information is disseminated later Teaches kids to see things in a new way and become a keen observer We have initial impressions, but with more information, can be challenged to see something in a new light There is no right or wrong, if you can support your ideas We need time to process and think When you think, you will often change your mind!
When to use this exercise
Before beginning a research project Contextualizing a piece of literature, or a character, or theme Make text-to-text connections, to step outside of a studied text for a moment Integration of primary source documents Inferences using Create a Caption Station Rotation activity about time period, theme, context Slow Reveal of information to teach claim, support, and evidence within context, theme, or subject discussion Poem Construction: point of view for a character Six Word Story: concise theme or character analysis Personal reflection: exploration or journaling, asking student to answer What does this artwork tell me about me?