You will notice the
format of this Teacher’s Guide differs slightly from other Lifepac Teacher's Guides.
The nature of the Art curriculum differs as there are many "hands-on" activities
as opposed to the pencil and paper activities of the non-electives. In art, the student
learns best by doing the activities given, not by answering questions and preparing
reports. As a result, the setup is geared toward ensuring the student understood the
process of creating.All of the
teacher’s material for each individual LIFEPAC is in 1 section. The section begins
with background information regarding an Arts Curriculum, Adult Checks for the activities,
and supplementary activities to help reinforce the concepts presented. The remaining
material found in the section includes, Self Test Keys, LIFEPAC Test Keys, Alternate Tests
and Alternate Test Keys.
In our experience, most students have a wealth of
material in their heads, and can express themselves with quite sophisticated ideas and
concepts if given the chance. The problem is that at the early to late adolescent stage
many children do not have the self-confidence and are too insecure to communicate these
feelings and ideas. While these ideas presented may help at first, the parent will find
most success in encouraging the student to use them as a starting point, to alter or build
upon these supplementary activities. Eventually, with positive direction and constructive
criticism, the student should feel confident enough in his or her ability to communicate
ideas effectively, as well as confidence that their concepts and feelings will not be
ridiculed, that they begin to generate ideas and directions of their own more effectively.
We would encourage the teachers and parents to examine the student’s ideas and
subject matter and look for insight into the mind and personality of the student artist
rather then limiting or censoring him. At the end of this teacher guide is an appendix
featuring background on interpreting art, museum and gallery websites, supplemental
worksheets and assessment pages.
A major recommendation from the authors is to have
the student acquire a good general Art History book as a primary reference resource. Gardner’s
Art Through the Ages, tenth edition, by Richard Tansey, et. al., is an excellent
source. If the price is too prohibitive, a used bookstore or college bookstore should have
an earlier edition at a lower price. A good Internet source for a virtual art gallery is
the Mark Harten Artchive (www.artchive.com) which has an extensive cross-section of
the various genres of the visual arts from cave paintings to Modern Art.
Their are recommended and supplemental materials
listed in the Teacher Guide. Many of the materials recommended will be used throughout the
entire ten LIFEPACs. Should the student continue in his studies, he will want to keep art
supplies on hand on a more permanent basis.
If the student lives near a museum, university or
gallery, it would be beneficial to visit sometime during the year. There is no substitute
for the impact of seeing a work of art in person.
As always, the library is probably the best (and
least expensive) resource for research into the visual arts. Libraries are filled with
biographies, anthologies, and collected works of all the artists mentioned in this LIFEPAC
Gold Art Elective.
It is our profound hope that you will find this
information useful. Whatever you child’s interests and aspirations, we are sure you
will be pleased with the results of an education in the Arts.
