A Project for All Levels

In a public school environment, art teachers are tasked with teaching students of many different levels of skill and ability.  In some cases, there may be gifted, average, and special needs students all in one class, all of which operate at different levels and require assignments tailored to their needs.  To meet these needs, we, as art teachers, have to be prepared to alter our lessons to fit the needs of the students.  One example of a project that can be adjusted to fit all levels is a still life.

With gifted students, there are a few ways to make the assignment more challenging.  One would be to make a still life of shiny objects, including metal and/or glass, which forces the students to really pay attention to the areas of light and dark.  This could be completed on white paper with charcoal, which makes the student choose their areas of shading carefully to leave the highlights truly white; or on brown paper, making the students pick the darkest darks and lightest lights, leaving the middle tones to the paper.  The decision could also be made to have the students complete the entire composition or choose a focus point.

This assignment would be for a separate gifted class, with space to store a separate still life arrangement.  In the case of limited storage or gifted students in a general population class, the students could use the same still life as the other students, but use the brown paper to create more of a challenge.

In a group of average students, such as Art I or II, I would arrange a simpler still life with little to no shiny objects, allowing the students to focus on proportion, composition, and smooth shading.  This class would likely use graphite, maybe charcoal depending on the class behavior and ability, and would require a demonstration of proper shading and blending before completing.

Students with special needs would also use graphite and a simple composition.  If they were in a separate class, I would have them do one or two objects, depending on ability.  If they were with the general population class, I would either have them focus on one object within the arrangement, or do the best they could with the whole composition, also depending on ability.  The last thing I would want to do is single these students out and make them feel more different or separate from the group, so I would attempt to include them in the group assignment while still making sure that they are able to operate at their own level.

Something as simple as still life can be altered to fit each of these levels, allowing the students to work at their own pace and level to build their skills.