7th and 8th Grade Art

Beyond the creation of individual works of art, one of the tenants of the program at our school is how to assess and talk about art. This is a process that takes some time to develop and I begin talking with our youngest artists about their work to help guide the process. By the time the students reach the middle school level, they should be well prepared to speak openly and honestly about their own work as well as the work of their peers.  For the final unit of the pop art project, the classes had a critique of their work in the gallery. Each student had post-it notes they could write their thoughts and critiques on and they then placed their comments beside the work critiqued. The students were thoughtful and insightful with their critiques and I found the process to be of value. They enjoyed the critique as well and it was not just because they got to eat cookies and juice at the critique!