To complete this WebQuest, students will need
to look at various works of art from the Web. You may wish to download
these images onto your computer, print them out, and make them available
for your students.
The proposed task
for this WebQuest is divided into three parts in the process section.
In PART
ONE, each student is asked to reflect on his or her previous
knowledge and experience with the horse. They are also asked to
think of words and phrases to describe a horse and what a horse
can do. As students share their lists with the class, write these
words and phrases down on the board as a way of acknowledging their
contributions to the class. The compiled class list and students'
written reflections should be saved for assessment purposes later
on.
Next, each student is asked to select a particular
work of art from the resources list to examine closely. A series
of questions are provided to guide students in their analysis of
the works of art. Depending on your students' previous experience
with image analysis, it may be helpful to choose a work yourself
and lead a class analysis of the work before students work on their
own. In addition, feel free to modify the list of proposed questions
if you like.
Once students have responded to the questions, they
will write descriptions of the works of art they selected. The goal
is to write the description in a way that someone else could identify
the particular work based on the clues they provide. These descriptions
are then exchanged in PART TWO.
When assigning partners for PART
TWO, make sure that students are paired with someone who has
chosen a different work of art. Have students exchange their descriptions
and allow time for them to examine the group of works and make their
selections.
In debriefing students on this activity, talk about
discrepancies that may have occurred between the works selected
and the actual works written about. Distinguish between statements
of fact and value judgements (opinions or interpretative statements).
Return the descriptions to their owners and have them mark the sentences
they wrote with a "F" for those that are factual and an
"O" for those that are opinions. As a class, draw conclusions
about the types of statements people make most often about art.
Next, working with their partners, students are
asked make a list of all the similarities and differences they can
find between the two works they selected. They are then expected
to work together in reponding to a series of questions about their
chosen works. A vin diagram and worksheet are provided to facilitate
this process. Once again, depending on the experience your students
have had with image analysis, it may be helpful to go through this
process as a class before students work on their own.
In PART THREE,
students work on their own to create original works of art inspired
by the horse. Students are encouraged to think about how they want
to portray the horse before they begin to work. It might be helpful
to offer various reference materials for those students who have
a difficult time visualizing a horse. Or, if possible, take a field
trip to a farm where students can see real horses and make sketches
for later use in the classroom.
It might also be helpful here to analyze various
depictions of the horse by artists as a class before students work
on their own. In particular, have students notice such things as
the pose of the horse and how the personality of the horse is expressed
by the artist.
Depending on your students' previous experience
in art, you may wish to either limit students choice of media or
have several different mediums available to choose from. Reviewing
or offering instruction on technique may be desirable before students
begin working.
