ART CRITICISM ACTIVITIES Both the following activities utilize study prints that include information printed on the back. We recommend the Take 5 Art Prints and the Multicultural Art Prints-MAPS series available from Crystal Productions (for a free color catalog, call 1-800-255-8629). In Activity I, students work solely from the visual evidence in the work of art, so they should not read the information on the back until they have finished the writing assignment. In Activity II, students should first read the information on the back, then develop an imaginative interpretation or writing based on the facts available. Activity I: Descriptive Writing with Post-It Notes With Small Groups: Assign students to groups of three or four. Give each group a study print (or let each group choose an image) and a pad of Post-It Notes (the smallest size available). Ask students not to read any information that may be on the back of the print; they are to use only the visual evidence in the work for this study. Each group should choose a group recorder to write for the group. Students brainstorm words that related to the image. Words can relate to subject matter, media, meaning, and general critical observations. The recorder writes the words on Post-It Notes as they are generated and attaches them around the edges of the study print. Students then look at the vocabulary that they have generated and divide the words into parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs). The group next works together to write a summative sentence or paragraph about the work of art. All vocabulary generated does not have to be used and other words may be added as needed. When all are finished, each group identifies and displays its image and reads aloud its sentence or paragraph to the entire class. With Entire Class: Display a study print or project a slide so that it can be seen by all the students. Have students brainstorm words that related to the work. As students call out their responses, the teacher or a student writes the response words on large Post-It Notes or index cards and places them below or around the art image. The words can then be reviewed and grouped in a variety of ways to initiate discussion or writing activities. Students can write summative sentences or paragraphs about the reproduction. Complexity of vocabulary will vary according to the level of the students. Activity II: Interpretive Writing Assign students to groups of three or four. Give each group a study print (or let each group choose an image). Ask students to first read the information on the back of the print before beginning discussion. Have each group use the information learned from the print along with personal knowledge and experience to collaboratively write an imaginative story, poem, song, or drama that interprets the meaning of the image. When all are finished, each group identifies and displays its image and presents its interpretation to the entire class.