Sandbox and Gluesticks: Visual Thinking

After taking a workshop on Joni Chancer's visual thinking strategies, I decided to give it a try with my Kindergarteners. What better piece of art to study, than a little boy reaching out for a butterfly?


Boy and Butterfly by Don Potter

The goal of using "Visual Thinking Strategies" is to spark conversation and engage students in a piece of art. There is no "right" or "wrong" answer. This is safe space to make observations and share. I was feverishly taking notes while they shared. At first, we simply stated what observations we had when we studied this art. Here is what they said:
"His hair is different colors." - Jaden
"He is trying to touch the butterfly. This is not good for the butterfly since their wings are too light. The wings will come off if they are touched." - Proshanto
"His shirt is blue and white."- Scarlett
"His skin has two colors."- Autumn
"He has a little blue dot on his hand. I wonder if that's an egg!"- Jillian
"The background is peach and brown."- Matteo
"The butterfly is black and yellow."- Jax
"The artist made a shadow around the butterfly."- Arabella

Don't you just love their observations? The beauty of this exercise is that each student sees something different and by sharing out loud, it draws their attention to new details.

Next, I asked them, "What do you think the boy is thinking?"
"He is thinking it will land on his hand." - Hayven
"He wants to catch it for a pet."- Jillian

Then, I asked them, "What is the butterfly thinking?" Ooooh, now that was an interesting question!
"I am going to fly away from you!"- Scarlett
"I want to fly toward you!"- Arabella
"The butterfly thinks the boy's hand is a flower."- Jillian
"The butterfly is trying to fool the boy and make him think he will catch him, but then he is going to fly away."- Hayven

After our discussion, the students created their own butterfly art. I gave them no structured guidelines other than to draw themselves with a butterfly. I love how they interpreted the art.