Part 1: Present the following challenge to students: Think of something (e.g., objects, places, people) that you think is truly beautiful, but that at the same time you think others might not notice and/or consider as beautiful. What do you think it is that makes it beautiful? Take a couple minutes of quiet time for … What is Beauty?
Many 4th, 5th, and 6th graders have read the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio and will be familiar with Mr. Brown’s monthly precepts. These are inspirational sayings the teacher, Mr. Brown, puts on his board monthly for his students. For example, the precept for September is “When given a choice between being right or being … Mr. Brown’s Precepts
Whole Sequence Breakdown: Welcome and warm-up (c. 5-10 minutes) Brief introduction to the “scene” of “Afternoon of a Faun” (5 minutes) Exploring Various Media (20 minutes) Whole-group share and discussion (20 minutes) Possible extensions (for extra time, or additional lessons) Welcome and Warm-up Welcome students and share any updates, or follow-up on points from the … “Afternoon of a Faun”
On the Beautiful and the Sublime…Aesthetics as Subjective Experience One of the longstanding questions that’s been debated in the field of aesthetics involves the nature of Beauty; one question in this area asks us where Beauty lies, in the object or in our eyes. Taking this further, if Beauty is in us rather than in … On the Beautiful and the Sublime
Introduction Students should be given a week to do the following assignment (though it can be revised as needed to fit your time constraints): Pick as many “beautiful” songs as you are old. So, for example, if you are 16, you will pick 16 of the songs you feel are the most “beautiful.” Please make … What Do We Find Beautiful?
Have each student draw two pictures. One drawing must be a drawing they would call art, and the other one they would not call art. Ask the students who want to do so to share their drawings. Some questions you can consider include: What makes one art and the other not? Does the intention of … What is Art?
We all love music. Some of us sing daily, if just to ourselves. It could be our favorite tune from Frozen or simply a tune we made up ourselves. What makes sound music? Let’s start with ourselves. The teacher/facilitator may wish to share this video and have the children sing along or they may choose … Can animals make music?
In 2007 an independent film came out entitled “My Kid could paint that.” It followed the art career of a four year old, Marla Olmstead, living in Binghamton, NY who took the art world by storm. Many of her canvases sold for 5 figures and presented beautiful and engaging abstract images. The film began as … Can anyone make art?
Beauty: In the eye of the beholder or is there something more to it? This unit invites high school students to explore the meaning of “beauty”. Source Materials: Plato’s Symposium (available in many editions) Crispin Sartwell’s Six Names of Beauty (Routledge, 2004) Puzzles About Art-an Aesthetics Casebook, by Battin, Fisher, Moore, and Silvers (Bedford/St. Martin’s, … Beauty–thinking about
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