Last week I had an ideal school visit at John Marshall Elementary School in Glendale. Ideal, because the kids were polite, engaged, and prepared. The diligent ladies of the Glendale Assistance League (sponsors of Author Day) had already read them Dream Town and Dreamer From The Village because they tie into the third grade curriculum.
I showed the children copies of Marc Chagall’s works (on the overhead projector- which works well because of his luminous colors),
pointing out the magical animals, the floating people, the green violinist, etc.
One of my goals is to convey how Chagall expressed excitement and deep feeling through his dreamlike imagery and use of color.
Afterwards I displayed several pairs of pictures with similar themes and asked them to identify Chagall’s. It's always a joy to see them do this.
They aced the “Test Your Chagall IQ” oral quiz, and felt like art experts by the end of the talk. Many of them were itching to draw.
Afterwards, two of the teachers told me they often do a Chagall lesson with their classes. It was the perfect storm! The kids were immersed in art, and my book played a part. Man, I love this job.
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Michelle -
ReplyDeleteI love your idea of having a "Test Your Chagall I.Q." oral quiz at the end of your presentation! It's a perfect way to have kids demonstrate their new-found expertise.
Cheers,
ALEXIS O'Neill
Columnist: "The Truth About School Visits" SCBWI Bulletin
www.alexisoneill.com