Using Art On-Air in Your Classroom

The Art On-Air series introduces upper elementary students to six unique visual arts projects—projects they will be able to do themselves. Each program features an experienced artist-in-residence demonstrating techniques and processes and providing students with background information about related art works. Students also see projects created by their peers in response to the same lessons.

The programs are intended to inspire students and to provide them with prompts for producing their own pieces of art. To help you facilitate the art projects, the teacher’s guide provides lists of materials and instructions for each lesson; ideas for follow-up, exhibition, and extensions; and suggested resources. We suggest that you assemble and prepare all the materials needed for each project before your students view the program. At that point, you have at least two options for using the lessons:

1. Your students can view the entire program, at the time of broadcast or on videotape, and then begin on their own projects (with your assistance and guidance). This model—the one we had in mind when the programs were created—allows the presentations to have their full inspirational impact.
   
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2. You may think your students will get restless sitting through a 20-minute program without doing something themselves. Or you may want to play down your role as guide and instructor. In either case, you can choose to have your class view the taped program in segments as you start and stop the video. In this model, students are able to work along with the television instructor. To follow this approach successfully, you probably should preview the tape and decide ahead of time when to take breaks.

To make the lessons as effective as possible, we encourage you to allow your students to participate in a “Response to Art” activity after their pieces are completed and to exhibit their work in one of the ways suggested (or in some other way you and/or your students determine). The full lessons—including the videotape, any warm-up exercises, the work itself, the response to the work, and the exhibition of the work—are designed to help students see themselves as artists and to help them value their own work and the work of others, both classmates and professional artists.

Thank you for using Art On-Air in your classroom. We hope these lessons inspire creativity and encourage your students to discover the joy of expressing themselves through visual art.