Tag: art history

The Pre-Raph Pack

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on The Pre-Raph Pack5364 views

What it is: The Pre-Raph Pack (don’t you love that name?) is a brilliant site about artists, the techniques they used, a timeline that spans 100 years, and a collection of images from the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.  First students discover the Pre-Raphites (that is artists who were before Raphael).  Students will learn about the influences, the different styles that emerged, the early and late style and the lasting influence that these artists have.  Students can learn more about the individual artists which are easily categorized and searched by last name.  Next, students can learn about the different painting techniques that were used from the wet-white technique to the use of bright and vivid colors.  The timeline lets students explore each time period of the almost 100 year Pre-Raphaelite movement.  Finally, students can see the collection of paintings themselves.  The collection is easily searchable by category.

How to integrate The Pre-Raph Pack into your curriculum: The Pre-Raph Pack is a comprehensive look at the Pre-Raphael art movement and the collection at Birmingham.  Students not only get a peek at the artists themselves, they learn the history, technique, and what the movement meant to art.

This is a well put together site for use in any art class, but the in-depth look at the artists and the history makes it a great site for any classroom.  Art is a medium that can absolutely hook a child on history. They begin to see that art has gone through evolutions and that it is deeply reflective of the times.  If you have a student who is struggling with history, introduce them to a little art history and see if you can’t help them make different connections with the stories.  I have said this many times before, but history was a hard subject for me.  I saw it only as a collection of dates, facts, places, and names that I couldn’t get to relate to each other.  It wasn’t until I met my husband and he started talking history, that I realized that history is all about story.  The Pre-Raph Pack is a site that can help your students begin to connect the pieces in history.

Use the paintings on this site as writing prompts, ask students to write about the story they think is happening in the painting.  The collection includes everything from history and medieval, to religion and myth, to portraits, literature, and landscapes.  Each of your students will be able to find a painting that speaks to them.

Tips: The Pre-Raph Pack was created for the Birmingham Museum and Art Collection.  They have several excellent websites that I will be reviewing.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using The Pre-Raph Pack in your classroom!

A Lifetime of Color

Kelly Tenkely8 Comments on A Lifetime of Color3065 views

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What it is: A Lifetime of Color is a fun interactive environment where students can learn about, and study, art and artists.  in these “Art Edventures”, students will discover how great artists made their famous works and learn tips and techniques for create their own masterpieces.  A Lifetime of Color is split into activities for primary and intermediate students.  In the primary section, students will learn about line and shape, landscapes, color, architecture, industrial design, and portraits.  In the intermediate section, students will learn about the history of art, the art of crime detection, Leonardo, color theory, architecture, design and portraits.  In the study section of the Lifetime of Color site, students can explore a timeline, artists, and access a glossary.  The activities section includes technique demos, projects, and featured artists.  The lesson plans are cross curricular, combining art with science, social studies, math, and reading. 

How to integrate A Lifetime of Color into the classroom: One of the saddest developments to come out of the budget crisis is the cutting of the arts from education.  The arts are so important to learning and development.  Art asks students to think differently, creatively, innovatively.  Art is a necessary focus in education.  A Lifetime of Color is an excellent site to integrate art into a variety of subjects.  With ideas for the science, social studies, math, and reading classroom, there are no excuses for not infusing your classroom with art.  The activities lead and guide students to look at the world in new ways, to consider detail, and to interpret what they are viewing.  This is an excellent site for the art classroom but has activities that will easily extend and enrich any classroom.  Use the activities with the whole class using an interactive whiteboard or projector or set up A Lifetime of Color as a center on your classroom computers for students to visit.

Tips: Make sure to take a look at the lesson plans for your grade level, there are some fantastic ideas for introducing art to your curriculum.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using A Lifetime of Color in your classroom.