• DEVELOPING A PRESENTATION


    The following information may be useful in assuming your role as a T.A.G. volunteer and preparing and delivering your presentations:

    • Do the students know the difference between original works of art and reproductions?

      • When artists create a work, they usually make only one. It is called an original.
      • Original art is collected and shared in museums and galleries.
      • When people cannot go to museums, they can see the works by looking at reproductions/photos like the T.A.G. prints.
      • Original works may not be the same size as the reproduction. The colors may look a little different too. (Share information regarding the actual size of the original, if possible, particularly if it varies greatly from the size of the reproduction.)
      • Where can you go around here to find original works?

    • Preparing a conducive atmosphere for the presentation:

      • Can everyone see the work we are going to learn about?
      • What props can you bring in, clothing you can wear to enliven the session? This doesn't have to be complicated! Wear a bright red shirt when presenting Alexander Calder and tell the students that this artist once said that he thought everything should be red (a trademark color of his sculptures)

    • The T.A.G. Volunteer's Role: A Discussion Leader as Opposed to the Deliverer of Information:

      • Let the students discover the points you wish to make, rather than being told.
      • Be a curious partner in finding out about the work, rather than the one with all the answers.
      • Give the students support in responding, there are no wrong answers. Be accepting and appreciative of input.
      • Use your body language to encourage/reinforce participation. (Point to all that is mentioned in the work; acknowledge each student's response - look at them, smile, nod, and paraphrase their input, as if you were saying "What I hear you saying is..." This technique indicates you understand and value their comment.
      • Be prepared for students (particularly younger ones) to talk on and on about something they feel relates to the work or your question. After all, the T.A.G. time is a wonderful chance to share their imagination, recollections, stories, movies, and other experiences. As a student begins to "wander off," get them to anchor their stories in the artwork by asking, "What do you see that makes you think that?"
      • Try to use accurate or specific language; "painting," "drawing" vs. "picture"
      • Impart to the students that each artist is different and has something different to say. Share a few key interesting insights on the artist’s life and times that made their contribution to the world special. What things in the artist’s life can the students relate to their own lives?

    • The K-5 Students' Role: Active Rather than Passive

      • The students are not simply receiving information. They must be active participants, doers, and decision-makers.
      • They should be asking questions as well as answering questions.
        (Beginning viewers have more to say than to ask. As students become more experienced in looking at and interpreting art, curiosity and questioning develops as a natural next step.)
      • Students must be observant. (Share the "looking process" you use with them. Give them opportunities to use the process themselves.)

    As you prepare your T.A.G. presentation, incorporate questions that give students the opportunity to make their own discoveries in the art they examine.