Classroom Activities: Sculpture

These classroom activities are designed to complement the Sculpture topic on BrainPOP Jr.

Museum Tour

Visit an art museum with your whole class, either in person or virtually using tours available on many museums’ websites. Look at different sculptures and discuss them. Ask questions to foster discussion: What message or idea is the artist communicating through his or her sculpture? How does the work make you feel? What details in the work make you feel that way? Students may wish to sketch their favorite sculptures and take notes. Some museums offer guided tours and may create a special tour about sculptures just for your class.

Statue

Remind students that many memorials have statues to commemorate and honor an important person. Together, research famous memorials, such as the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and Abraham Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. What does the pose of the statue tell you about the person or about the artist’s view of the person? Then invite students to create a statue of their own. They may want to model the statue after a historical figure or community leader. They may want to recreate a special or important moment that occurred in their neighborhood. Have students create their statues and share them with the whole class. You may wish students to write a report about their artistic intention as well as background information about the person or people they are honoring.