Visual & Performing Arts · Kindergarten

Active learning ideas

Art in Our Community

Active learning works for this topic because young children learn best through direct experience and movement. The physical act of searching for art in their environment helps them connect abstract ideas to concrete examples they can see, touch, and discuss.

• Common Core State Standards
• NCAS: Responding VA.Re7.1.K
• NCAS: Connecting VA.Cn11.1.K

• 10–30 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 20 min · Pairs

Gallery Walk: Art Hunt Photos

Print or display 6-8 photos of public art from familiar US contexts (school murals, park sculptures, decorated buildings). Students walk the photo gallery and use a tally sheet to count how many types of art they can identify: mural, sculpture, mosaic, building design.

Explain how public art can make a community more beautiful or interesting.

Facilitation Tip

Before the Gallery Walk, give each student a clipboard with a simple checklist of art types (mural, sculpture, tile) to focus their observation during the hunt.

What to look for

Provide each student with a drawing paper. Ask them to draw one example of public art they saw in their community or at school and write one word describing how it made them feel.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Think-Pair-Share
• 10 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: What Does This Say About Us?

Show a photo of a community mural depicting local history or cultural heritage. Pairs discuss: what is this mural trying to say about this neighborhood? Share responses and compare interpretations.

Analyze what a piece of public art might communicate about the community it's in.

Facilitation Tip

For Think-Pair-Share, model how to listen actively by repeating what your partner says before adding your own idea.

What to look for

Show students a photograph of a local mural or sculpture. Ask: 'What do you think this art is trying to tell us about our town?' and 'How does this art make our community different or more interesting?'

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Stations Rotation
• 30 min · Small Groups

Design Challenge: Art for Our School

Each student sketches a simple design for a piece of art that could go somewhere in the school (hallway, entrance, playground). Students present their idea to a small group and explain: where would it go, and what would it tell visitors about the school community?

Design a simple idea for a piece of art that could be placed in our school.

Facilitation Tip

During the Design Challenge, provide a small set of reusable materials (paper tubes, fabric scraps, cardboard) so students focus on design rather than gathering supplies.

What to look for

As students walk through the school building or a designated outdoor area, ask them to point to one example of art (a painting, a decorative tile, an interesting doorway) and explain why they think it is art.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Stations Rotation
• 25 min · Whole Class

Neighborhood Art Walk (or Virtual Walk)

Take a 10-minute walk around the school building or neighborhood to spot community art. Alternatively, use Google Street View for a virtual walk. Students sketch or photograph one piece they find interesting and describe it to the class afterward.

Explain how public art can make a community more beautiful or interesting.

What to look for

Provide each student with a drawing paper. Ask them to draw one example of public art they saw in their community or at school and write one word describing how it made them feel.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should model close looking by pointing out details in public art themselves. Avoid over-explaining; instead, ask open questions that invite students to notice and wonder. Research shows that young children develop aesthetic reasoning through repeated exposure and guided conversation rather than formal instruction.

Students will show curiosity about their surroundings and begin to see art as part of everyday life. They will share observations, ask questions, and connect what they find to the idea that art has purpose and meaning beyond museums.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Gallery Walk: Art Hunt Photos, watch for students who dismiss murals or sculptures as just 'pretty pictures.' Redirect by asking them to notice the colors, shapes, or placement of the art and what those choices might communicate.

  Use the photo cards from the hunt to prompt discussion: 'Who do you think this art was made for? Why do you think it is here instead of inside a building?'

• During Think-Pair-Share: What Does This Say About Us?, listen for students who say public art is 'just decoration.' Redirect by asking them to consider who decided to put the art there and what message it might send.

  After they share, ask: 'If this art disappeared tomorrow, how would our community feel or look different?' to push them toward identifying purpose and meaning.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• Think-Pair-Share
• Stations Rotation