Activity: Help students explore the world of art as both a subject to study as well as one to practice. Students can use newspapers, magazines, or printed-out online images to learn more about the world of art.

1. Encourage students to look in a number of places to find images that interest and excite them. Gather these images and bring them into class. (Note: www.artchive.com is a great site to look for fine-art images).

2. Ask students to consider the content or message of their choice and to speak about the form or presentation — what does it look like?
   • What are the colors, shapes, and sizes that influenced their choice?
   • Is it abstract or concrete?
   • Are there figures in it or just colors and shapes?
   • How does the shape of the image affect the message?
   • Which feature was most important to their choice?
      
3. Ask students to explain, orally or in writing, their choices.

4. Once students have explored their choices, ask them to reproduce in paint what was important about the image. This allows them to create their own artwork, inspired by their choice of the image they brought from home.

5. After they have created their own work, ask them to present what they've done together with the original image. Ask them to discuss the similarities and differences between the images.

Sites:

Kids Create Art
www.sanford-artedventures.com/create/create.html

Think Like an Artist at Artrageous
www.arts.ufl.edu/art/rt_room/@rtrageous.html

Need some inspiration? Connect to museums all over the world!
www.icom.org/vlmp/