http://www.artteacherforum.com/ Art Teacher Forum Tag: art history en Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:09:44 +0000 http://www.artteacherforum.com/topic/62#post-142 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:11:35 +0000 dawnsbrain 142@http://www.artteacherforum.com/ <p>Check out "The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern" (Paperback) by Carol Strickland. It's $15.61 on amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Mona-Lisa-Prehistoric-Post-Modern/dp/0740768727" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Mona-Lisa-Prehistoric-Post-Modern/dp/0740768727</a></p> <p>I used this in a high-school art class I taught, and it was well-received. Lots of color photos of artwork. Egyptian, pre-Columbian, and African art are featured along with Western art.</p> <p>Paperback has the advantage of cheapness but will not last as long as a hardback in a high-school classroom. </p> http://www.artteacherforum.com/topic/62#post-141 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:03:24 +0000 MsSeattle 141@http://www.artteacherforum.com/ <p>I will be taking on a semester-long freshman art history class next year and would like to find an interesting text for my students with a lot of pictures. I would like for the text to be manageable for students who are not interested in art history. It would also be nice if the book covers both western and non-western art. I was told that the books that I found - Discovering Art History ($64.95) and Art in Focus ($89.62) are too expensive. Any ideas? </p> http://www.artteacherforum.com/topic/33#post-74 Thu, 16 Aug 2007 17:41:16 +0000 dawnsbrain 74@http://www.artteacherforum.com/ <p>I had a sign-up sheet: each student got a different-numbered book. Each book had a big number written in Sharpie on the top-right of the front cover. So you need at least one book per student with the system I had. When the student signed up for the book on the sign-up sheet, I handed him the corresponding worksheet. I had a sign-up sheet for each period, and it helped me keep track of what books the kids had already read. No double-zies! </p> http://www.artteacherforum.com/topic/33#post-73 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:53:15 +0000 ablair 73@http://www.artteacherforum.com/ <p>Hi Dawn, I've enjoyed your site very much. I loved your idea using the Mike Venezia books and plan to use it in my classes this year. Question: How do you distribute/organize worksheets for books? ablair </p> http://www.artteacherforum.com/topic/33#post-66 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:53:13 +0000 dawnsbrain 66@http://www.artteacherforum.com/ <p>[Reprinted from my <a href="http://www.dawnsbrain.com">blog</a>]</p> <p>I’ve mentioned [on the blog] before that I have my art students read art history books every week. Each Monday, each student reads a new book from the “Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists” series by Mike Venezia. These books are a great introduction to the background, influences, training and unique qualities of these famous artists. They are written with simple language that my English learners can comprehend more easily than a standard textbook. Yet the text packs a punch. For example, this quote is from the book on El Greco:</p> <blockquote><p>El Greco was able to create a feeling of wonder or fear or excitement or love in his paintings. He did this by sometimes twisting and stretching out his figures to create movement. He used crackling, electric colors and mysterious lighting that seemed as if it came from another world - or from a science-fiction movie.</p></blockquote> <p>I have 45 books and each one covers a different artist. Originally I had my students respond to questions using short answers to generic questions about the artist’s training, influences, etc. If an answer was incorrect, I’d write in the correct answer so that the student understood. With 110+ papers to grade each week, you can imagine how long it took for this method.</p> <p>I decided that multiple choice was a much faster way to go. The hard part was creating a separate multiple choice sheet for each and every artist. I’ve made 35 so far. I spent a good part of my winter break revamping the worksheets.</p> <p>It was worth it. The new sheets are so fast to grade I can practically turn them back the same day. Not only that, but my questions are much easier for students to understand now that they can see sample answers.</p> <p>I’ve also provided a large space on the back for students to redraw an artwork I specify from the book. I selected artworks that exemplify the style of the artist, and are often their most famous. I found that if I let the students choose which artwork to copy, they usually select the simplest one, and the artwork usually has little to do with the work that is most recognizable by the artist. Alternately, students would accidentally choose work by another artist, or even the cartoon illustrations.</p> <p>I strongly believe in the tradition of copying artwork by the masters, as it introduces students to all kinds of ways to create line, shape and value. It also gives a student a much more intimate and memorable experience of the artist’s work than just glancing at pictures.</p> <p>If you already are using the books in this series, you may like to use these worksheets I’ve already poured my sweat into and worked the kinks out of. If you are not using these books, I heartily recommend you order them from your favorite bookseller. Paperback copies retail for $6.95 each. They are suitable for grades 2-12. Heck, they’re suitable for adults; I certainly enjoyed reading them.</p> <p>Without further ado, here are my two-sided worksheets along with my key:</p> <p><a href="http://www.dawnsbrain.com/?p=49">More...</a> </p>