Art and Visual Aids in Literature Classes

As a teacher, I am continually searching for new ideas and techniques that will improve my instruction and student performance. Furthermore, teachers are continually told to incorporate alternative methods beyond lecture and technology. Using art (student crafted or genuine) in your lessons not only assists those students who are visually stimulated, but can reinforce concepts, thereby assuring longer retention. In this article, I will present some general suggestions on how you can add examples of art into your student activities.

Art as a supplemental historical aid - Whenever I teach a text that has a direct correlation to a historical event, I always try to find some kind of visual aid. I find that it really helps the students understand the author’s message. If the text contains significant imagery, it’s also a good idea to try to find an image that would depict what the author has written.

Here are some suggestions that I have used. I used Google Images. 

• William Shakespeare - There are many searches that will provide real-life pictures, caricatures, paintings, diagrams etc.  For historical plays, search for the title.
• "Night" by Elie Wiesel - Search under his name and you will find tons of pictures of the author interacting with various celebrities. Intermingled are pictures and paintings that relate to the Holocaust itself, and the book as well.
• "1984" by George Orwell - Depending on how you approach this book, there are any number of visual aids that might work — both modern or traditional. Given that elections are fast approaching, this text is particularly relevant.  Maybe try to find appropriate candidate images.
• "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque - Of all the novels I have worked with, war related texts are the easiest to find appropriate art work. The search results included images from the film, the play and the front lines of war. 

Don’t underestimate the benefits of assigning visual-based activities. Even though your students might shy away from expressing themselves through art, there are numerous ways to complete this type of assignment without drawing anything. Here are some projects that contain creative art activities. Each one can be adapted to fit your needs.

Identity Projects - Self portraits are fun activities in which students explore how they see themselves and how others see them. Some of my students have used pictures from magazines or the Internet, while other students have used a more traditional approach.

Group Projects -

• Public Service Announcements - This project combines music and video. Some projects used student actors and others were downloaded from the Internet. Any topic can be used. I gave each group directions. They started with brainstorming, and went on to writing a script, producing their work, and editing it. I also pre-approved the “message” each video conveyed.

• Movie Making - This project is great for creative writing classes, but it can be used for pretty much any subject matter. I used it as a “mystery” project. Each group received a pre-selected set of objects that had to be used in the story. The final product had to include a typed script as well.

• Collages - A flexible project that has really evolved beyond being just pictures on construction paper. For my projects, I provide students with a tri-fold poster board. It is up to the student to use the space as he/she wants. My most recent project was a collage about a specific poet. Students were required to find examples of writing, a physical picture and any other relevant images. Many projects contained pre-printed images, but some displayed the students' artistic abilities.

• Journals, Newspapers, Brochures - I group these projects into anything that requires both images and writing. For example, I often assign the journal project when I teach a Shakespearean play. Students create a character-driven journal that must contain both images and words. This project reflects not only the personality of the students, but of the chosen character as well.

Art in Literature Classes:

Non-Objective Art

This lesson is simple, yet effective! Students explore emotions through art. They also examine how current events are reflected in art. I think it would work well with historical topics.

Designing and Filming Commercials

This lesson provides some basic instructions. It will need to be adapted to your needs. If you want to explore new technology and multimedia, this is the project that I would recommend. This lesson is meant for older students.

African Masks and their Impact on Western Art

The instructions for this lesson are targeted more toward an art or social studies class. However, I think that it could be adapted for other texts. I have used various "mask" projects when I teach "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding. The lesson includes additional links that might be useful as well to paintings by Picasso and Edvard Munch.

Images of Immigration

I envision using this lesson specifically to explore the hardships of new-Americans. It will help your students comprehend how difficult it was for groups to acclimate to a new environment. The directions include additional links that might be useful.