Visual Thinking Strategies&

Language Arts

Learning Outcomes

• We will briefly review the Visual Arts Standards

• We will practice Visual Thinking Strategies

• We will practice designing an integrated lesson

Visual Arts Standards

Strands:

• Artistic Perception

• Creative Expression

• Historical & Cultural Context

• Aesthetic Valuing

• Connections, Relationships, and Applications

Artistic Perception

• Develop Perceptual Skills and Visual Arts Vocabulary• Analyze Art Elements and Principles of Design

Processing, Analyzing, and Responding to Sensory Information Through the Language and Skills Unique to the Visual Arts

Students perceive and respond to works of art, objects in nature, events, and the environment. They also use the vocabulary of the visual arts to express their observations.

Language Arts

Writing1.0 Writing Strategies 2.0 Writing Applications (Genres and Their

Characteristics)

Listening and Speaking 1.0 Listening and Speaking Strategies

2.0 Speaking Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS)

• Research-based teaching method that improves critical thinking and language skills through discussions of visual images

• Developed by educator Phillip Yenawine &

cognitive psychologist Abigail Housen

Let’s try it!

Use note-taking tool

Watch…

Your turn…

• Rotate being teacher, student, and note-taker, 7-10 minutes each

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS)

What's going on in this picture?

What else can you find?

What do you see that makes you say that?

What do you mean by that? (Probing for Clarification)

Who is this person? (Probing for Character)Where is this taking place? (Probing for Setting)

So?

Enjoy a quick break…

How Do We Choose Images?

A few tips…

• Start with the standards

• From simple to complex, realistic to abstract

• Accessible, expressive content

• Themes such as landscapes, portraits, animals, and flowers

• See online resources list

Lesson Design

• VTS & ELA

• What’s the goal of the lesson?

• What does proficient work look like?

• How will you teach it?

Grade:

Visual Thinking Questions Questions specific to the image:

What's going on in this picture? What else can you find?What do you see that makes you say that?What do you mean by that? (Probing for Clarification)

Who is this person? (Probing for Character)

Where is this taking place? (Probing for Setting)

Learning Goal: (ELA Standard(s) from the Domains of Writing and/or Listening and Speaking)

Students will be able to…

Proficient Student Sample

Instructional plan:

VTS Integration Template

Visual Thinking Questions Questions specific to the image:

What's going on in this picture? What else can you find?What do you see that makes you say that?What do you mean by that? (Probing for Clarification)

Who is this person? (Probing for Character)

Where is this taking place? (Probing for Setting)

Learning Goal: (ELA Standard(s) from the Domains of Writing and/or Listening and Speaking)

Students will be able to identify and summarize the visual narrative of the image by writing a summary that contains the main idea and the most significant details.

Proficient Student Sample

Instructional plan:

Visual Thinking Questions Questions specific to the image:

What's going on in this picture? What else can you find?What do you see that makes you say that?What do you mean by that? (Probing for Clarification)Who is this person? (Probing for Character)Where is this taking place? (Probing for Setting)

Learning Goal: (ELA Standard(s) from the Domains of Writing and/or Listening and Speaking)

Students will be able to identify and summarize the visual narrative of the image by writing a summary that contains the main idea and the most significant details.

Proficient Student Sample

The image, Sunday in the Mines, helps people of today understand what life was like for miners at camp during the gold rush. The image is arranged spatially in order to show what miners might do when they were not mining. The artist uses bright red to draw attention to different characters in the painting. People who view this image should understand that life at gold mining camps was stressful and boring at times. Knowing how to view this image is important because it shows life events in a mining camp.

Instructional plan:

Visual Thinking Questions Questions specific to the image:

What's going on in this picture? What else can you find?What do you see that makes you say that?What do you mean by that? (Probing for Clarification)

Who is this person? (Probing for Character)

Where is this taking place? (Probing for Setting)

-What kinds of lines do you see?-Where are the brightest spots in the painting? -What colors do you notice? -What do you notice about the characters?-What was life like in the mining camps?

Learning Goal: (ELA Standard(s) from the Domains of Writing and/or Listening and Speaking)

Students will be able to identify and summarize the visual narrative of the image by writing a summary that contains the main idea and the most significant details.

Proficient Student Sample

The image, Sunday in the Mines, helps people of today understand what life was like for miners at camp during the gold rush. The image is arranged spatially in order to show what miners might do when they were not mining. The artist uses bright red to draw attention to different characters in the painting. People who view this image should understand that life at gold mining camps was stressful and boring at times. Knowing how to view this image is important because it shows life events in a mining camp.

Instructional plan:

Visual Thinking Questions Questions specific to the image:

What's going on in this picture? What else can you find?What do you see that makes you say that?What do you mean by that? (Probing for Clarification)Who is this person? (Probing for Character)Where is this taking place? (Probing for Setting)

-What kinds of lines do you see?-Where are the brightest spots in the painting? -What do you notice about the characters?-What do you notice about the characters?-What was life like in the mining camps?

Learning Goal: (ELA Standard(s) from the Domains of Writing and/or Listening and Speaking)

Students will be able to identify and summarize the visual narrative of the image by writing a summary that contains the main idea and the most significant details.

Proficient Student Sample

The image, Sunday in the Mines, helps people of today understand what life was like for miners at camp during the gold rush. The image is arranged spatially in order to show what miners might do when they were not mining. The artist uses bright red to draw attention to different characters in the painting. People who view this image should understand that life at gold mining camps was stressful and boring at times. Knowing how to view this image is important because it shows life events in a mining camp.

Instructional plan:

-Share learning goal for lesson-Show the image using VTS – use language that focuses on visual arts-“I Do” – Do think aloud using Summary template

o Add 1 sentence (already written) per horizontal box. Think Aloud then post sentence

-“We Do” – Using same template, write summary together. Groups of 3/4 brainstorm sentences, share out and class chooses one to post.-Ticket Out the Door – After covering the “We Do” product, each student writes sentence about the image using the summary template as a guide.

o Hand in for spot check

Your turn…

• Use image and VTS Integration Template to design lesson connecting the ELA standards with VTS

Reflecting…

–Insights?

–Applications!