Finding Grammar in Works of Art

This activity provides students with a creative extension for grammar review. When examining a piece of art, I challenge children to approach it as if they are reading the image. They can begin by skimming the illustration and then dig deeper, analyzing all the nooks and crannies. Each task card contains an image, a caption identifying the artist, title, and creation date, and a series of directions pertaining to grammar. These directions use the Montessori grammatical colors as a visual cue. There are 14 works of art total including: Edgar Degas, The Dance Class, 1874 Edgar Melville Ward, The Coppersmith, 1898 James M. Sommerville, Ocean Life, 1859 Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Harvesters, 1565 Paul Cézanne, The Card Players, 1890 Sculptors at Work, 1479–1425 B.C.E. William Trost Richards, Purgatory Cliffs, 1876 Nicolaes Maes, Young Woman Peeling Apples, 1655 Utagawa Hiroshige, Woman Walking in the Snow, 1840’s Fritz von Uhde, Going Home, 1889 Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, Doe and Two Fa