Choose an activity and tailor it to the posters you have available.
1. SWBAT write an interesting art criticism sentence about their favorite work of art on display.
2. SWBAT write one interesting adjective and one interesting verb that fits chosen artworks.
3. SWBAT observe prints in the hallway gallery to complete a scavenger hunt.

1. Variety of posters/prints to display
2. Post-it notes
3. Scavenger hunt worksheets
4. Pencils
5. Thesaurus

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1. For art criticism sentence:
-Talk to the students about how to write a strong art critical statement. Example: "The artist used cool colors to make the landscape look peaceful" is stronger than "I like it because it's pretty."
-Students choose a work of art to observe and write about.
-Students write their strong sentence on a post-it note and stick it near their chosen artwork.
2. For adjective and verbs activity:
-Review: adjectives are descriptive words, verbs are action words.
-Talk about word choice and choosing rich vocabulary words that can be more specific than "awesome" or "cool".
-For action words, students can consider action portrayed in the artwork or how it was made (ex: flinging would work for Jackson Pollock)
-Students write their words (that are different than words already displayed) on post-it notes and stick them near their chosen artwork.
3. Scavenger hunt activity
-The teacher will create a list of descriptions for students to match with artwork based on their available prints
-Students work individually or with partners to find artwork for the criteria and write the artist and title of the piece next to it
-Just for fun: see who has finds the most correct matches and keep a record

Informal assessment: are students on task, following directions, putting in effort, etc.

This works really well for the first day of art class. The activities don't take too long so you can take care of seating charts, procedures, etc. and then have time for something fun. It's also nice to display the students' thoughts about artwork in writing.

English/Language Arts

Ideas for Hallway Art Gallery Scavenger Hunt.docx