Visual Teaching Strategies

Presentation by Lizzy K., English Department

February 23, 2016

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?