Museums

Autor: Pamela Di Grande
Subject: Inglés
Year: 3rd
Museum: www.nationalgallery.org.uk

Learning Connections

Language Arts: storytelling, writing
Visual Arts: painting, drawing

Objectives

Students will:
• learn about the life and painting style of Vincent van Gogh
• learn how to "read" a painting by looking carefully at its parts
• write a story about a painting using specific details in the work

Materials

Poster paints, crayons or oil pastels, art paper and pencils.

Lesson performance

For pre-readers:

1. Informe students they are going to see one painting in great detail and do related thinking, writing and art activities. Clarify that many paintings have a story and that details in a pictures are hints to its meaning. They will read a painting, write its story and make their own painting.
2. Have students look at van Gogh´s “A Wheatfield, with Cypresses”.
Discuss the painting in class, using the following questions: What do you see? What colours are used? Do you see people? What is it like to be in there? Is it warm or cold? What time is it? Is it evening or morning? Is the landscape quiet or noisy, crowded or full of empty space, modern or old-fashioned? Is the painting happy or sad?
Ask students to sustain their answers with details from the painting.
3. Read the brief biography of van Gogh from this page http://www.nndb.com/people/803/000024731/ .Tell pre-readers about van Gogh and relate his life story to the painting.
4. Give students art materials to make their own painting. Post paintings in a classroom exhibit.

Assessment

• Class discussion: What did every student give to the discussion? Did students sustain their responses with details from the painting?
• Did students state several specific details from the painting in their story?