We started our last unit of the year today by asking the question, “what is art?”. I posted several different types of art around the room and asked the students, in partners, to think, write, and talk about whether or not these examples were art. It was enlightening to hear their discussions, because some students said that basically anything was art, while others were much more selected about what art was to them.
I want to have a comparison for the end of the unit, so I asked all of the students, in light of their discussions, to define “art” and to list the characteristics of “art”.
They seem very into the idea that art has to have pattern. It will be fun to see what kinds of patterns we can find in some of the art forms that they don’t think are really art, like music, dance, and poetry. Challenge accepted.
Teaching With Mrs. Clark 
I adored reading your students’ responses. Introducing children to art is a wonderful gift we have the opportunity to give them as teachers. (I used to take my students to lots of art museums. Greatest field trips!)
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So interesting to see kids’ thinking! thanks for sharing this. I’m a PE specialist and often don’t get to see very much of what happens in classrooms so seeing their ideas and responses is refreshing and relatable. I look forward to hear how their understandings will expand and change during the unit.
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