Implementation of “Do you like fruit and vegetables?” (SOI-HR-395)

Author: Nataša Tram, Art teacher

School/Organization: I. gimnazija Osijek

his teaching scenario was implemented in the art class in the 1st grade of high school (15 year old students). I adapted it for students in a museum that replaced a classical classroom at school. I was looking for something that would match the exhibition set up in the museum. The students were much more interested in the types of themes of the artworks in the museum space than in school. They were focused on making their own creative works. They expressed their desire to participate in more such art classes related to exhibitions.

The students actively participated in the workshop under the guidance of the museum pedagogue. They critically observed the exhibition, asked questions, collaborated with their colleagues and connected new concepts with what they already know. The students were given the opportunity to develop creative thinking through their own interpretation of the work. LS “Do you like fruits and vegetables” was implemented in Art class with 20 students aged 15. At the very beginning of the school year, I introduced the students to materials from the Europeana platform, which they often use in Art classes.

The exhibition as a background

In the implementation of this LS, I included the museum pedagogue who introduced the students to the content of the exhibition. Since the scenario was implemented in the museum where the students visited the exhibition, more time was needed for implementation, lasting 60 minutes. Students observed works depicting still life. In order to connect the two topics, the students reflected after the exhibition-Can a portrait be made of fruits and vegetables?

Reveal the picture!

The class was divided into pairs and each pair received a link to an online puzzle to be solved on a mobile phone. After discovering the picture using puzzles, they named the fruits and vegetables from the picture and wrote them down in their notebooks. Using Europeana, they found out who  the author of the picture is, when it was made and where it is located.

https://im-a-puzzle.com/share/f400737db3fd077

I used the activity suggested by the author of the scenario where the students found 1 person who likes 2 fruits or vegetables from the picture and 1 person who doesn’t like them. So they discovered in the conversation that some of their friends had never tried some fruits or vegetables, and we encouraged them to discover some new, healthy flavors. They pointed out to each other the importance of fruits and vegetables in their daily diet.

A portrait made of fruits and vegetables

Using the collage technique, students interpreted the thematic content of still life and turned it into a portrait. Given that several students were involved in one work, it was interesting to see how much their work can go in  different directions from the initial idea.

I gave the students who want to express their creativity the task of researching Arcimboldo’s works on Europeana at home and recreating a work from real fruits and vegetables.

https://www.europeana.eu/hr/item/15502/GG_1589

https://www.europeana.eu/hr/item/15502/GG_1590

Students working in groups

Students’ work

Which emoticon?

At the end, the groups presented their work to the whole class. Students shared their opinion about the created works by raising a smiling / neutral / sad emoticon prepared by the teacher.

Learning outcomes

This learning scenario encouraged my students to recognize food as a possible source in the creation of a work of art both in the past and today. With this learning scenario, students had the opportunity to work in groups and express themselves creatively. Various activities and moving around the museum created a good atmosphere that increased interest and participation. When analyzing the work, the student is in direct contact during the visit to the exhibition and expresses his own critical attitude. Some students became interested in preparing fruit and vegetable dishes that they saw in still life pictures. I noticed that some students need a certain amount of time to start working when at school, while in the museum, as a new space for classes, those same students immediately got involved in the activities. The student rises culturally and thus acquires the culture of going to the museum.

Outcomes for the educator

The students experienced the possibilities of learning with Europeana resources and of direct contact with the work of art, expressing their satisfaction with such activities. The use of digital heritage enables both teachers and students to talk about topics that interest them through a selection of their own works. It is an excellent source of knowledge and an opportunity to learn. The inclusion of creativity in the learning process itself provides a bright example to our students that a problem can be approached from multiple angles.

During the tour of the exhibition with the museum pedagogue, the students collaboratively analyzed and asked questions, thus showing that they are not just passive observers. Cooperation with the museum pedagogue opened the way for me to discover giftedness in students. Some new spaces like museums give me the opportunity to use digital cultural heritage in my teaching in a different way.

Did you find this story of implementation interesting? Why don’t you read about the related learning scenario?  Do You Like Fruit And Vegetables? (LS-PL-256) created by Barbara Legutko

Did you find this story of implementation interesting? You might also like: 

• You’ve got food on your face! implemented by Maria Papadaki
• Our Everyday Still Lives – My Favourite Things Far and Near in Isolation implemented by Katalin KáldI
• ReFake It implemented by Tóth Éva

Do you want to discover more stories of implementation? Click here.

Public Domain Mark 1.0: the featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana and has been provided by the Slovenská národná galéria.