Visual Thinking Strategies

Description: Analyzing portraits/images to draw conclusions about a topic.

Visual Thinking Strategy: VTS is a strategy that can be used in any subject. It can be an opener (pre-assessment) to new content to
help students assess prior knowledge, or it can be used as a closer (post-assessment) to assess students understanding after new
content is learned. When using this strategy, students are looking at specific things (see vocabulary) in the portrait/image and using that
information to infer what is happening in the image, or to understand a character in a portrait. This strategy brings a lot of rich
conversations into your classroom. Be sure to have strong management during discussions.

Vocabulary: Facial expression, focal point, gesture, clothing, setting, objects, quantity, size, color.

Sentence stems: When I see _______________, I think/feel/wonder ____________.

Student example: When I see the mans clothing, I feel like it is cold outside because he is
wearing several layers.
When I see the setting, I wonder what body of water they are on and where they are going.
When I see the rowing mans facial expression, I feel like it must have been hard work to row
the boat.

Materials:
Images/portraits of what you are teaching.
Sentence stems written on the board(until students are comfortable with them).
Vocabulary written on the board (until students are comfortable with them).
 Elements of Art Principles of Art
Line- Line is the path of a point moving Pattern-Pattern refers to the repetition
through space. or reoccurrence of a design element,
exact or varied, which establishes a
visual beat.

Shape / Form-Shape implies spatial Rhythm / Movement-Rhythm or

form and is usually perceived as two- movement refers to the suggestion of
dimensional. Form has depth, length, motion through the use of various
and width and resides in space. It is elements.
perceived as three-dimensional.

Color-Colors all come from the three Proportion / Scale-Proportion is the

primaries and black and white. They size relationship of parts to a whole and
have three properties hue, value, and to one another. Scale refers to relating
intensity. size to a constant, such as a human
body.

Value-Value refers to relative lightness Balance-Balance is the impression of

and darkness and is perceived in terms equilibrium in a pictorial or sculptural
of varying levels of contrast composition. Balance is often referred
to as symmetrical, asymmetrical, or
radial.

Texture-Texture refers to the tactile Unity-Unity is achieved when the

qualities of a surface (actual) or to the components of a work of art are
visual representation of such surface perceived as harmonious, giving the
qualities (implied). work a sense of completion

Space / Perspective-Space refers to the Emphasis-Emphasis refers to the

area in which art is organized. created center of interest, the place in an
Perspective is representing a volume of artwork where your eye first lands.
space or a 3-dimensional object on a
flat surface.
Project ARTiculate. (2006). Retrieved April 20, 2017, from http://www.projectarticulate.org/principles.php
Kennedy Center Artist: Melanie Rick (Reading Portraits)