Texas Trends in Art Education, Volume 3, Number 1, Fall 1985 Page: 12
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Texas Trends in Art Education and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Texas Art Education Association.
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"I know," volunteered several pupils at
once. "We can use the clues as a guide to
draw portraits of the candy thief!"
"Of course," said Miss Smith, "and
then we can use these portraits as wanted
posters to help track him down."
The class responded immediately and
enthusiastically to this idea and several even
made mention of having seen posters of this
kind in the local post office.
"Very well," said Miss Smith, "each of
you can use the clues on the board to draw
your own version of the candy thief. But be-
fore you begin let me give you a few pointers
on where the different features should be
placed on the face. After all, we want these
portraits to be as accurate as possible if we
expect them to help us catch the candy
thief." She then drew a large oval on the
board which she said seemed like the gen-
/12 eral shape of the candy thief's head. Next
she demonstrated how a series of lightly
drawn vertical and horizontal lines could be
drawn on this oval to guide in the placement
of the various facial features. Her brief dem-
onstration completed, she passed out sheets
of white drawing paper, reminded the class
to make their full-face portraits large (to fill
the paper), and allowed them to begin.
Each child drew the oval shape of the
face, added the vertical and horizontal guide
lines and, after referring to the clues on the
board, carefully drew their version of each
facial feature in its proper place. Crayons
were used to add color to the portraits. Sev-
eral times pupils raised their hands and di-
rected other questions to Miss Smith; all
listened intently to her answers. The class
was so wrapped up in the drawing activity
that no one noticed when the classroom
teacher quietly left the room.
When the crayon drawings were com-
pleted they were placed at the front of the
room and each was examined by comparing
it to the list of clues on the board. The class
seemed genuinely surprised to find that even
though individual features often differed their
finished portraits bore a striking resem-
blance to each other.
Miss Smith, commenting on this simi-
larity, indicated that the portraits did seem
to be of the same individual. "It is obvious,"
she said, "that our thief must indeed look
very much like these portraits."
No sooner had she said this then the
classroom teacher returned to the room with
an announcement. Several "suspects" in the
candy caper had been rounded up and were
now waiting outside. "We are going to have a
"lineup," she said, "and your portraits will
be very helpful in determining if any of these
suspects is the candy thief."
With that she opened the door and
stepped aside as the suspects marched into
the room. The class immediately burst into
laughter as they recognized three familiar
figures; the principal, the custodian, and the
gym teacher. The suspects, however, ig-
nored the laughter and silently took their
places in line at the front of the room, their
hands behind their backs.Miss Smith signalled for quiet and
asked the class to study the three suspects
carefully. "You have all drawn your version of
the candy thief from the clues I provided.
Raise your hand if you think any of the sus-
pects in this lineup resemble the portrait you
drew."
Hands were waving before she had
finished.
"Very well," Miss Smith continued,
"Using your own portraits to defend your
decision, which of these suspects do you
think is the candy thief?"
The first child called upon, a girl, imme-
diately fingered one of the suspects as the
thief.
"Why?" asked Miss Smith. "In what
ways is he similar to your portrait?"
The girl then pointed out the features
in her portrait that matched the features of
the suspect she had identified. Her efforts
were soon replicated by other members of
the class.
"It appears to me" said Miss Smith,
"that all your portraits bear a strong resem-
blance to one of the men in this lineup." The
children, having recognized the subterfuge
and grinning broadly, nodded in agreement.
Turning to the suspect, Miss Smith
asked, "In the face of all this evidence, what
do you have to say for yourself?"
The suspect, smiling now, stepped for-
ward. At the same time he brought his
hands out from behind his back to reveal a
large sack of candy. "I confess," he said. "I
played the part of the candy thief in this
game and the class is to be congratulated for
doing an excellent job of tracking me down.
You were presented with a problem and you
solved it with imagination, patience, and
skill. For that you deserve this candy."
In this example, an innovative art
teacher, working with the classroom teacher,
principal, and others, set the stage for pupil
decision-making and problem-solving. She
posed the problem, asked the questions and
helped pupils think their way to a solution.
Dramatic play and role playing were instru-
mental in initiating and sustaining learning
which, during the studio portion of the
lesson, was largely self-directed. Following a
group discussion in which the problem was
deliniated, pupils engaged in a portrait draw-
ing activity in which they were free to make
independent decisions and arrive at personal
solutions.
Activities of this kind help young learn-
ers develop the ability to use their minds as
critical and analytical tools- tools with
which to probe data, isolate clues, and ar-
rive at independent and sound conclusions.
(For the curious, the "thief" in the
Great Candy Caper turned out to be the
school principal!)
Gene A. Mittler is an Associate Professor in
the Department of Art, Texas Tech Univer-
sity, Lubbock, Texas.TRENDS / fall 1985
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Texas Art Education Association. Texas Trends in Art Education, Volume 3, Number 1, Fall 1985, periodical, Autumn 1985; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth279681/m1/14/?q=architectural+drawings: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Art Education Association.