On-Site Visits: Pre- and Post-Visit Activities: Grades 5 - 8

The Renaissance Connection
Gallery Exploration

Pre-Visit Activities

• Introduce students to the Allentown Art Museum by describing where it is, where it is located and what it contains. Ask students: What is a museum? Has anyone ever been to the Allentown Art Museum or another museum before? What did you see at the museum? Explain to them why they are going and how the trip connects to what they are studying at school.
  
  
• Ask students: What is the Renaissance? How does this time period connect to our lives today? Write the students' answers on a large sheet of paper. Then, have students explore The Renaissance Connection interactive web site. Afterwards, ask them what they found out about the Renaissance. Write their answers on a second sheet of paper to compare and contrast what they knew before with what they learned from the web site.
  
  
• Implement several of the lesson plans found on The Renaissance Connection web site. Begin with the introductory lesson plan before moving onto others.
  
  
• Review Museum Etiquette with students to ensure they understand the unique qualities of museums as compared to other places that are familiar to them — the library, their house, the grocery store, etc.

Post-Visit Activities

• Review the trip with students. Ask them: What did they see? What did they do while they were at the Allentown Art Museum? What was their favorite artwork or activity? Why?
  
  
• Using the same approach as described in the pre-visit activity, ask students what they now know about the Renaissance based on their visit to the Museum. Are they surprised by what they discovered about the Renaissance?
  
  
• Implement the remaining lesson plans found on The Renaissance Connection web site to extend the Museum experience back to the classroom.

More Pre- and Post-Visit Activities

Kindergarten - Grade 4
ART DETECTIVES
THE FOUR SEASONS
MY FIRST VISIT TO THE MUSEUM
SENSATIONAL SENSES
SCULPTURE: SHAPES TO WALK AROUND

Grades 5 - 8
SIGNS & SYMBOLS: DECODING ART
NEW WAYS OF SEEING THE WORLD
BY DESIGN: ART & LIFE
PERSPECTIVE IN DEPTH
SCULPTURE: SHAPES TO WALK AROUND
THE RENAISSANCE CONNECTION

Grades 9 - 12
SIGNS & SYMBOLS: DECODING ART
NEW WAYS OF SEEING THE WORLD
BY DESIGN: ART & LIFE
SKETCHING THE LANDSCAPE