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FLTEACH user Simone Skerritt describes how she teaches about art in her Spanish class:

I always use the formula for looking at any work of art that I learned educator workshop I went to years ago at a Hood Museum (Dartmouth College):
1.Observe: What do you see with the naked eye, i.e. colors, shapes, objects, etc. etc.
2. Interpret: What do you think it is? What do you think it means? What do you think the artist is trying to convey? How is she/he doing that? What do you think is happening? Who do you think are the people? Where are they? etc. etc.
3. Evaluate: How do you feel about it? What is your opinion? Do you like it? Why? Why not? Do you think it's effective? Why? Why not?

For numbers 1 and 2 above, depending on the level, I might have each student jot down ideas and then share with table partners, or just go into brain storming with table partners, and jot down the group's ideas, and then we discuss as a class. Number 3 is obviously personal so they do it individually and then discuss at tables, and then as a class, and they have to explain why they feel the way they do.

It helps to prep them with the necessary basic vocabulary with terminology like foreground, middle ground, background, focal point, composition, colors, prepositions of place, *hay*, [there is/there are] or you can teach/review it as you go. I do not get too technical because I am not totally confident about this, so I keep it simple.

We read about the artist and his/her time period and the artistic movements (before, during, after) and we look at other works by the same artist and others of that time-period that would help the students to connect it to the artistic genre and to give historical context.

An activity I do as a follow-up to get them speaking, and to explore more of the artist's work, is pair up students and then project two different examples of the artist's painting on the overhead. They take turns describing and drawing. Of course, only the student describing can see the artwork. Once they have finished this, I show the painting and, time permitting, they'll color their own work to replicate the original.

I also find a related video or audio and prep a viewing/listening activity.

With the above approach, we hit all the communication modes, as well as culture, and I learn a lot as well!

Skerritt, S. [FLTEACH] Sarah Re: [FLTEACH] Art resources. FLTEACH listserv (FLTEACH@LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU, 3 Dec 2017).

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