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A Valentine’s Critique Game Your Students Will Love
Although February is the month of love, you may not be loving the level of engagement your students are showing around the 14th. If you’re looking for a fun way to get your students talking while embracing Valentine Fever, this critique game is for you!
This informal activity teaches students to analyze art in a way that feels more like play than work.
Try it out in your classroom to build a sense of community and introduce art criticism in a low-pressure way. Download your copy below!
Tips
- This game works well for students in grade three and up. However, if you’re trying it with the elementary age group, check out the special modifications below.
- Review the steps of how to make a Valentine and have an anchor chart or other visual aid for students to reference.
- Have students partner up, then list three things that they like about each other’s art.
- Give them the option of using a familiar Valentine poem to make their critique, such as, “Roses are red, violets are blue. I like how you_____________. And how you _____________ too!”
- This lesson could also provide a great cross-curricular component. You could partner up with a classroom teacher and have students complete the writing portion of the assignment in class.
- If you don’t have artwork ready for critique, try this activity with students making Valentines for a famous painting they love.
Do you do anything for Valentine’s Day in your classroom? Tell us about it!
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.
Melissa Purtee
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Melissa Purtee is a high school art educator and a former AOEU Writer. She is passionate about supporting diversity, student choice, and facilitating authentic expression.
