Parody can be a great theme for students to explore. We have explored it before in movie posters, comic book covers, and more. But to be topical, students could re-imagine a famous work of art as if it was painted during the Covid-19 Pandemic. These examples are based on Grant Wood's "American Gothic" and may be a good jumping-off point. It is also a way to tie art history to current events and civics lessons.

This may not be appropriate for every population, so an alternative could be to create a "mash-up" of a classical painting and a contemporary theme like the Star Wars parody in the gallery below.

The novel corona virus is nothing to laugh at, but political cartoons have been an art form used by illustrators to move the narritive of a conversation or give the poulation a message. Here's one from the 1918 Flu Pandemic to encourage good hygiene...

Students can create their own cartoon to illustrate the current situation. Here are some potential themes:

1. Political Point Of View
2. How to help stop the spread
3. Proper hand washing
4. Social distancing
5. Maintaining Hope
6. Show a positive of the situation
7. Illustrate the urgency
8. New ways of doing things because of the virus
​9. Create a cartoon as if the pandemic was over and it's the 10th anniversary of the cure.
10. Look up current cartoons and give one a new and original twist.

Here are some samples that were in the news this last week:
(Click to enlarge)

Make art with stuff you have at home!

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These are some video playlists I have created over the past few years that may be helpful as you teach remotely. Click RED TEXT = Active Link. 

The Covid Altered Book: Weekly, and sometimes daily, I will post the process I am using to create an "Altered Book" to record our experiences during the pandemic. Detailed information and a Google Doc download can be found HERE. The format assumes students will create 1 section per week. The cover might count for 1 or two weeks depending on the level of detail you want. This is being followed by many teachers internationally and we may seek an exhibition when the whole pandemic is over. If you wish to be informed about such an exhibition, please comment HERE. (Best for middle and high school)

Media Tutorials: Over 30 simple and short videos on how to use basic art materials from scissors, to razors, to watercolor, and even plaster. They were made origianlly to help substatute teachers and coordinate with my book of lessons plans, but it will be helpful for parents as they help their children explore art at home. You can pick and choose specific videos and create links in your own teaching. No need to reinvent the wheel. (Good for ALL Age levels, K-12)

Understanding Art History: Short videos to help students undertsand the major styles of art from the Renaissance through Pop Art.
(Middle and high school, but some lower grades will "get" it.)

Additional Resources: 
Art Cartoons: Great for introducing concepts and even exploring, "Why is it funny?" to dig more deeply into ideas.

Explore Tabs: The many tabs on the left of this screen will take you to MANY free resources you will find helpful like VIDEOS, other art teacher BLOGS, different kinds of ASSESSMENTS, Project ideas in both 2D, 3D, CLAY, and PHOTOGRAPHY. 

Hunting and sketching the Art Elements found in the home. Google Doc HERE. PDF print out below. 

REMEMBER: Open the document, go to "FILE" and select "Make a copy." It will then be yours to edit. DO NOT "Request Access" because it generates an email to me that is not necessary.  

This is a list of well over 100 Drawing Prompts. Many could become full-on art explorations, others may work as short one-day lessons. If you use or post my list for students to choose from, please include an attribution for my work. This list is included in my Art Student's Workbook and is protected by copyright, but you have permission to use it during this Covid-19 crisis but it may not be sold or claimed as your own. Many drawing prompts will be fine for elementary school age too. 

The Google Doc version is HERE. You can download my PDF below.

REMEMBER: Open the document, go to "FILE" and select "Make a copy." It will then be yours to edit. DO NOT "Request Access" because it generates an email to me that is not necessary. 

This post will be in a PDF below that you can print and share. It is also in this GOOGLE DOC. (http://bit.ly/CovidBook) 

The Covid19 crisis has hit the world hard. The news focuses on older people as they are at higher risk, but speaks little about the youth we teach other than to say they are at lower risk. This long-term assignment is a way for students to make their voices heard. There are other art teachers around the globe also doing this assignment, so perhaps we will create a global exhibition based on your work. Never before has the world seen this situation, you will probably be telling your grandchildren how you lived through the Covid Pandemic. This artwork will be an invaluable artifact of our time.

To begin, look up "Altered Books Art" in videos and online resources. http://bit.ly/CovidBook5 Find an old book you can destroy. Each week create a new section in that old book to represent your journey through this Covid-19 situation. Record the good and the bad. Keep it "school appropriate." Every Friday upload your work and a short statement about what you created (A 5 sentence paragraph at least). You can use ANY materials you like. When you see samples; you can see there are many ways to interpret the situation. Be creative; paint with strong coffee or tea, use old house paint to cover pages, cut up old fabric to glue in, create pockets or fold-outs to contain more items, sew stuff into your book, glue in photos or news clippings & print-outs... Just document YOUR experience.  

Each submission should look like 1 week's worth of art. The number of hours per week of art class should equal the number of hours you spend on this assignment. Go for details and embellishments that really push your good art into being great! Decorating the cover counts as 1 week too. See below for video links that may help. http://bit.ly/CovidBook1 is a good resource too.

Video 1: http://bit.ly/CovidBook2
Video 2: http://bit.ly/CovidBook3
Video 3: http://bit.ly/CovidBook4

These are some possible these to explore in no particular order:

1. What's in the News
2. My Predictions
3. What I can do to help my family
4. What are my worries
5. Photos from my Covid experience
6. Most people in the USA came from another country and settled here. Find out your countries of origin, and create a page spread based on news from those parts of the world. If you are multi-cultural, then just pick one culture or continent to focus on. 
7. What do you miss most
8. Moments of hope
9. Something you learned about your family
10. How things have changed
11. How do you feel about our leaders during this crisis
12. The beauty around your home and neighborhood
13. Memorial page if you know someone who suffered in this crisis
14. What can you say in a drawing/painting that you cannot say in words
15. What should we as a world have done to prevent this
16. Do an artwork that includes an image of the Covid Virus

REMEMBER: Open the document, go to "FILE" and select "Make a copy." It will then be yours to edit. DO NOT "Request Access" because it generates an email to me that is not necessary. 

Art Zoom is a free series of videos (currently 5) by Google Arts & Culture. You can link to all the videos HERE.

I have a free Google Doc you can use and copy HERE. or you can use the PDF Below. Students can follow the video and write based on the prompts I provide. If you are not familiar with Google Classroom, you likely will be in a few weeks. It is a powerful tool that can be used in teaching. Some districs embrace it, others forbid it... but you, as a teacher, can use it to access, copy, and even edit my assignments to fit the best needs of your students and curriculum. Please though, if you use my work, allow the attribution to remain.

If you have students without internet access, you can print the document, add in the image, but perhaps change the last question to something they could answer without internet.

REMEMBER: Open the document, go to "FILE" and select "Make a copy." It will then be yours to edit. DO NOT "Request Access" because it generates an email to me that is not necessary.