Write on! Art!

                                                                
for elementary students

           What is Mona Lisa thinking?  My guesses are What a ridiculous hat Leonardo dons!   or  Mmmm, we’re having my favorite pasta tonight with pesto!   This is the perfect ice breaker to use for our exercise.
          For many of my elementary lessons, I only ask for one paragraph as the assignment. Many reluctant writers take my class, and starting out with one paragraph is a good goal. They ask how many sentences are in a paragraph to which I suggest 5 is the minimum.  Often, a student will have more to say after a few weeks, and the sentence number increases. For this assignment, I ask the students to write about at least 2 pieces of art, one paragraph for each piece of art.
         We start with the Mona Lisa and write one paragraph. I show the class the painting from my laptop for inspiration, and we write one together on the board. Notice that all the ideas below are in first person, but third person is fine too.
     
         I am so bored. I wish Leo would hurry up and finally finish painting.  My arm is falling asleep, and the stings tickle! I've been patiently sitting here for five hours. Leo hasn't even given me a break yet. I really want to eat some spaghetti and meatballs. Oh my, that was a funny stomach grumble. Maybe Leo will take the hint.

       We then move on to The Thinker by Rodin. I ask what the Thinker is thinking.  My suggestions: Brrr! It’s cold out today! or Someone please throw me a robe; this is embarrassing! or My mind is blank; how did that happen?   Now I ask the class to write about The Thinker.  Sometimes a few students will share their paragraphs.

                                                          

        For a final paragraph in class I show The Scream by Munch.  What is happening? My suggestion: Is that you, Fred? I haven’t seen you in ages!   I point out all the things in the painting, the bridge, the river, the sky, and the two people strolling behind the screaming person. Pencils mark papers as students write out scenarios.

                                                         

        Last, I show the students a few paintings to write about for homework. Or they can find their own on the internet and write about those.  The ones I offer are American Gothic by Grant Wood, Weeping Woman by Picasso, The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai (point out Mount Fuji and the boats in the waves), A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Seurat (point out the monkey), Luncheon of the Boating Party by Renoir (point out the dog and man in top hat), The Persistence of Time by Dali, and The Flower Seller by Rivera. I usually include a few of these attached in the assignment email.