English/Language Arts
Explore lead sentence: question
Explore Visual literacy
Social Studies
Explore art as an element of culture
Explore World geography
STEM
Explore chemistry: poisons
Art
Explore artists and their techniques
Health & Wellness
Explore epilepsy
Research Skills
Compare resource types
Explore Art Resources
Explore lead sentence: question
- Add this Minute to your list of articles that start with a series of questions.
Explore Visual literacy
- Van Gogh art is some of the most recognized on the planet. Gauguin is certainly no slouch! Share images of other pieces of art by these two artists. What do students recognize? Can they see the difference between the styles? After using some good observation skills to analyze several paintings, set up a game for students. Whose painting is it? It will not be long before they can identify each artist by their style. Now’s the time to draw the parallel to writing! Which writers can you identify by their style? Choose two NF Minute authors to compare. What do you notice about the style of each? Can you identify the author without peeking?
Social Studies
Explore art as an element of culture
- Art is often a reflection of a culture, and much can be learned about a time period and a society through the art produced. Have students explore the when and where of Van Gogh and Gauguin. Look at their art. Reread the Minute to glean information about the economics conditions in Europe during this time. See if students can find evidence in the paintings of what life was like. - economically, politically, socially. For a great resource, check out Google’s Arts & Culture site.
Explore World geography
- Where in the world are we? Get out the globe. Figure it out. Doing this regularly starts to give students a sense of space and place.
STEM
Explore chemistry: poisons
- Author Greenberg mentions absinthe, an alcoholic beverage that is often poisonous and its use is illegal in many parts of the world. Explore the chemistry behind absinthe, in particular, the chemical thujone. Where does it come from? How does it work? Save this exploration for older students!!
Art
Explore artists and their techniques
- Use this Minute to explore the art and influence of famous artists Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. Examine the techniques they used in their work. Have students experiment with texture and brush strokes after looking at some close ups of the art (Use Google’s Arts & Culture site).
Health & Wellness
Explore epilepsy
- Author Greenberg tells us that Van Gogh may have had epilepsy. Have students research the symptoms of epilepsy. There were no treatments in Van Gogh’s time. Are there treatments today?
Research Skills
Compare resource types
- This is the right Minute to use to compare different types of resources. Have students look up Van Gogh and Gauguin in an encyclopedia (print or digital). Then have them search the library catalog and get a book. Have them compare the depth and breadth of available information from the two sources. Which is easier to use? Which has more in-depth information?
Explore Art Resources
- Use this Minute to introduce students to great online art resources. If you do not have access to subscription services, no worries. Google’s Cultural Institute is a fantastic resource for exploring art and artists. Another great place for art resources is museum sites. Look at local museums online. Do they have useful websites? Go farther. Look at other museum sites - find museum sites from the closest city, from New York, from Europe.
© Karen Sterling, 2017 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission