Activities for Middle and High School Students
Center of gravity writing
Select a work of art and look at it closely for several quiet minutes.
Write whatever comes to mind for two minutes. Take a one-minute
break, look back at what you wrote, and circle the most important
idea. Taking that idea as your starting point, look back at the work of
art and write freely for two minutes. Again, take a one-minute break,
circle the most important idea, and repeat the two-minute exercise
one last time. Use this writing as a draft for a more finished piece or
as a jumping-off point for a class discussion about how each person
experienced the work of art and the mental journey they took as they
looked and wrote.
This exercise was adapted from one developed by
the writer and educator Wendy Bishop (see Bibliography).
Suggested Works
Color description
Select a color in a work of art. Begin with the basic name of the color
(for example, yellow, red, blue), then work to refine its description.
To further describe the color you have chosen, discuss the following:
What does it remind you of? Where does it occur in nature? What
other objects are that color? What mood or feeling does the color
create? Use these words to create a unique phrase describing this
color. Several phrases can be used together to create a collaborative
poem.
Suggested Works
The Elaboration Game
Select a work of art and look at it carefully for several minutes as a
group. One person begins by identifying a specific section of the
work and describes what he or she sees. A second person contributes
to these observations by adding more detail. A third person elaborates
further, and a fourth person adds even more. Each person describes
what he or she sees, leaving their interpretations for later. After four
people have described the section in detail, someone else identifies
a new section to be explored and the process begins again. Repeat
until everyone has had a chance to make detailed observations or
until all sections of the work of art have been explored. Continue
the discussion with interpretive thoughts. During the observations,
a recorder (teacher or student) writes down some of the key details
and observations. Use these words and phrases as brainstorming for
further writing.
This exercise was adapted from the “Artful Thinking”
approach to responding to works of art, developed by Project Zero
(see Bibliography).
Suggested Works
