Turn and Talk: What do we know about artists?
- Review artists studied already
- Drive students to realize artists can do a lot of different things and are very different but that they all have a purpose for making art.
Explain to students that today we are going to write to some artists who are still alive and making art today all around the world to ask them all of the questions they are still wondering!
Turn and Talk: What do you want to ask?
Give each student a paper strip with an artist's name, location, and genre of art.
Model writing a letter using appropriate letter writing skills (heading, date, indepentation, closing) and including the following:
- Introduce yourself and tell something about you
- Tell them something you’ve learned
- Ask them at least 3 questions
Each student will then write their own letter including the same parts. Encourage students to edit their work – if the artists can’t read it, they won’t be able to write back! For students whose writing may be difficult to read, take note of what they write on a post-it and stick it to the letter afterward.
If students complete their letters early and their work is completely edited, they can draw and color a picture of themselves to go with their letter. Make sure these are stapled to the letter so that they are easy to mail out later!