Description

Emphasizing collaboration, this teacher brought in music that Keith Haring worked to when he was making art and helped her students create a mural using it as inspiration.

Objective

To teach students about Keith Haring.

To help students understand and visually express proportion, gesture, and motion.

To cultivate eye-hand coordination and spatial perception

Materials

Stereo & Music
Pencils
Large roll paper (try getting different colors)
Paint & painting supplies -or- bold markers
Scissors
Tape

Procedure

Students were asked to move and dance around the room while I played music. The students danced to 1980's hip hop music and then were asked to freeze in the middle of a movement when I stopped the music. The students then carefully layed down on a large piece of paper, maintaining their pose from vertical to horizontal, and had a partner trace them. We used a wide variety of brightly colored paper. The students outlined and cut out their figures. The students chose designs and symbols to use inside their figures, designs or symbols that best represent themselves. These figures hang down the hallways of our school in various positions. The students have added information and facts about Keith Haring along with their projects. The students loved this project. They couldn't get enough of Keith. I think they felt a connection to him. The students ask to watch our Keith Haring video over and over. They also love the wonderful coloring book. As a new teacher I was so happy to see the children become so excited about a project and how much information they wanted to know about this incredible man. My students were very inspired. I wish we could thank Keith personally.

CLASS 1
Dancing to music
Trace student

CLASS 2
Paint figure shapes -or- use colored paper to start with
Draw symbols inside figure shapes

CLASS 3
Outline and cut out figures
Tape backs to be hung
Students write stories about themselves to hang with their body portraits

Extensions

Write stories or biographies to go along with the portraits. See Haring's Biography.