This question is a good one, especially on critique days. It is important that students know how to look at a piece of artwork, albeit their own, or someone else's. Here is where the journey begins with some simple language to share with your students. Emphasis on simple--stuff they can remember...er me too!
While getting my master's degree, during my final class I needed what is called a "Transformative Event" or in my language, something that you feel very passionate about within your content area. I happen to be one of a couple of art educators going through this program, so it was helpful to use them as a sounding board. I felt it necessary to educate young people about how to look at art...along with the world around them. This transfers to just about anything...can you say cross-curricular! I suppose we could ask the question, "How do we LOOK at the world around us?" Little long, but you get the point. Hopefully, students will subconsciously use these tools---if we use it enough in the classroom.
A beginning exercise would be to show a piece of art, on the smart board, or poster and pose these questions to the students. Each bulleted point allows them to focus on a specific area of the artwork and to dissect each area allowing them to collect data. The importance of this data collection is to help students create an opinion and understanding of the artwork deeper than the "I like it" or "I don't like it" surface opinion. Try it, see what happens. It is a nice mini-lesson that may allow you to help your students look deeper into not only their own artwork, but others, looking for a more authentic meaning and journey to understanding the artwork around them.
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