smART Explorers: Grade 5
Inside K-12 Teacher Resources:
Description
smART Explorers is a multi-visit tour program. Through weekly classroom discussions and museum visits, art-making activities, writing, sketching, and gallery talks, students explore art and build their critical thinking capacities and communication skills. The program culminates with a final event during which students discuss their selected artwork in the Museum's galleries with an audience of classmates and family members.
Goals
- Learn and use visual language
- Become familiar with an art museum
- Build critical thinking skills
- Develop ability to communicate information and express individual ideas
Who can participate?
smART Explorers is limited to Chicago Public School 5th grade classrooms on the South Side. Registration for 2007–2008 is closed.
Resources
This program is a partnership between the Smart and schoolteachers. It is offered to schools at no cost. In addition to ongoing communication and logistical management, the Museum offers teacher training and teaching materials, four docent-led Museum visit, an artist-led project at the Hyde Park Art Center, bus transportation, art-making supplies, a culminating final event at the Smart, acknowledgement to students at the end of the program, and program assessment and documentation.
Teacher responsibilities
Classroom or fine arts teachers at each school, sometimes in collaboration with curriculum coordinators, lead all pre-visit and hands-on art activities in the classroom. School staff is responsible for storing and caring for student artwork and program sketchbooks, and review student work periodically to ensure high-quality work. Teachers involve parents as chaperones for school field trips, secure necessary permissions, and coordinate final events with help from parents and Smart Museum staff. Teachers remain involved during Museum visits and assess students' performance over the course of the program. After the program has ended, teachers complete written program evaluations, ensure that students complete feedback forms and letters, and return these materials to Museum staff.
Contact information
Please contact Lauren Boylan, Manager of Tour and Teacher Initiatives at 773-834-1066 or lboylan@uchicago.edu.
smART Explorers is supported by the Smart Family Foundation.