International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
Generally, the first group of activities leverages the knowledge of students, trying to connect their personal
experiences and “images” with the Gallery and seeks the exercise of their observation.
Recommended time: 15 - 20 minutes
Links to other activities
These first descriptive attempts of young visitors can be combined with any activity of the second group
(creative writing) or fourth (descriptions by creating theatrical images: fantasy games).
Group activities B: Creative Writing
General purpose
Students can understand that visual arts, in this case, poetry and literature, are different kinds of art, language
expression and communication with different media.
Links to the group - description
Specific activities preferred portraits or paintings with scenes of everyday life, especially if in the first
activities group we choose landscapes (second worksheet). The reason is that the description of persons and
roles - characters or scenes can easily be connected to literary works in school curriculum. Students are
accustomed to analyze human types and "see" behind the paintings.
At the first worksheet, we give a ready description (external or internal) and we ask children to connect this
description with paintings. At the second worksheet, we request the opposite: to stand forth in a portrait or a
painting scene and produce their own text. They‘ll try to describe both, the appearance of the depicted persons
and their feelings or even their character if they can.
Examples connection with textbook includes:
1. Mayday in Corfu (C. Pahis ) to describe the scene with style and vocabulary of Karkavitsas or Xenopoulos
(are writers) .
2. Daughter’s head (P. Gyzis – a painter ): connection with the beggar by Karkavitsas
3. After the Memorial (N. Gyzis ) : Connection to: Oblivion by Mavilis / Voices by Cavafis (poet)
4. Portait of Corfiot lawyer named Donatos Dimoulitsas (By M. Tsokos ) : A form and substance of Xenopoulos
5. Given text in writing style of Xenopoulos: association with: George Pyrran , harbormaster of Zakynthos ( N.
Koutouzis, painter ) .
Expected results
From these activities, we expect students to develop both, analytical and synthetic thinking. On the first
worksheet, is deliberately more playful style, invites students to discover what the painting is. In the second
activity of this group, student attempt to communicate with the paintings. This procedure makes the child
creative.
Recommended time: 20 minutes
Group activities C: Exploration games through a " race ."
General purpose
The overall goal of this group of activities is to activate most of the students, applying the method of
“entertaining learning”, thus renewing the interest of children for both, paintings and the overall experience of
visiting the museum.
Connection with the team and description
Through its past activities, students, from one hand, have been in close to contact with several paintings and
feel comfortable in the place of museum, on the other hand, is the right time for something different that will
relax them, and stimulate their attention but lacks in learning power. A " racing " is a very popular game for the
children and develops the competition and the collaborative spirit, motivates feelings satisfaction. It also
stimulates confidence and creates a pleasant climate. Thus, from this perspective, these activities are close in
temperament and interests of students, escaping from traditional ways of learning and contributing to the success
of the experience of the whole visit.
417