Running head: AN ANALYSIS OF A FIFTH GRADE MASTERPIECE

An Analysis of a 5th Grade Masterpiece

STUDENT
University of Missouri

AN ANALYSIS OF A FIFTH GRADE MASTERPIECE

An Analysis of a Fifth Grade Masterpiece

The arts have the ability to help children learn to say what cannot be said, (Eisner,
2002). If students struggle to express their thoughts or emotions, art can serve as a channel
between what the student is thinking and what the student is able to produce on paper. In order to
best take advantage of this channel, a teacher can have his or her students engage in a creative
process through the use of arts integration, in which students construct and demonstrate
understanding through an art form, (Silverstein & Layne, 2010). As children develop
artistically, teachers can begin to shape their integrated instruction to meet the various needs and
abilities of their students.
Brittain & Lowenfeld (1970) argue that children progress through six stages of artistic
development from ages 2-17. During the first stage, The Scribbling Stage, Two-Four Years,
drawings may be hard to interpret without context. Beginning in the second stage, the
Preschematic Stage, Four-Seven Years, more geometric shapes are present. However, the
shapes fail to realistically represent what the artist is trying to convey and/or mimic. As children
progress through the Schematic Stage, Seven-Nine Years and the Gang Age, Nine-Twelve
Years, children begin to feel self-conscious about their artistic abilities, although there is an
overall greater awareness of details, in the work itself (Brittain & Lowenfeld, 1970, p. 477). In
the next stage, the Pseudo-Naturalistic Stage, Twelve-Fourteen Years, students become
critically aware of [their] own shortcomings in art, but demonstrate a much greater awareness
of environment, (Brittain & Lowenfeld, 1970, p. 478). In the final stage, Adolescent Art,
Fourteen to Seventeen Years, the work features the greatest amount of detail and perspective.
While these six stages can be helpful in determining a students needs and artistic
abilities, they do not serve as a predictor of artistic ability for every student. According to

AN ANALYSIS OF A FIFTH GRADE MASTERPIECE

Luehrman & Unrath (2006), stages are not prescriptive in terms of what to expect of an
individual child, (p.8). However, the stages may help teachers identify particularly gifted or
challenged students and make some judgement about how to encourage individuals in their
artistic development, (Luehrman & Unrath, 2006, p.8). After conducting my interview and
analysis of a 5th grade students artwork, I believe I am able to identify where my selected student
resides within the stages of artistic development. I also discovered how much a teacher can learn
about a students thinking, interests and abilities by simply observing and listening to a student
draw a picture.
Method
For this study, I asked a fifth grade student named Beth (pseudonym) to draw a picture of
an outdoor scene on a blank piece of paper. I selected Beth for this study because throughout
the school day, she occasionally draws in her sketchbook while she should be working on other
classwork. Since I had only seen her reprimanded for drawing in this classroom setting, I wanted
to create a positive artistic opportunity for Beth, that would allow her to talk about something she
seemingly had great interest in. For this activity, Beth had access to a lead pencil, a set of colored
pencils, and an eraser. Sitting next to Beth, I used my iPad to set a 25-minute timer (the
maximum time I would allow for this task) and record our dialogue, in order to analyze the
interview at a later time. As Beth began to draw, I listened and observed intently. If Beth fell
silent for approximately 15 seconds or more, I facilitated the dialogue by asking a variety of
broad questions (Do you enjoy drawing in your free time?) and specific questions (Why did
you choose to draw that line?).

AN ANALYSIS OF A FIFTH GRADE MASTERPIECE

Findings
Beth used the entire 25-minute timer to complete her drawing (Figure 1). Beth chose to

Figure 1: Beths drawing

draw an outdoor scene near the river. To the left of the blue, winding river was a dead tree on
fire. She colored the tree with the dark brown and black colored pencils. She used the yellow,
orange, red and blue colored pencils to draw the flames which devoured the dead trees largest
branch. Beth made quick, small marks with her black pencil to represent ashes falling from the
burning branch into the water. On the right side of river, Beth drew a tree full of life. She colored
the tree with the light brown colored pencils, and added small, green lives to show that the tree
was experiencing change and growth. On this tree sat a bird, happily perched on the highest
branch. Lastly, surrounding the river is a green field of grass.
While Beth drew this outdoor scene, I learned a lot about her thinking and artistic
abilities. Firstly, our dialogue allowed me to gain insight into Beths thought processes. For
example, when beginning her work, she declared that she never starts [drawing] in anything but
pencil because [shell] mess up eventually. Throughout the first five minutes of our time

AN ANALYSIS OF A FIFTH GRADE MASTERPIECE

together, Beth erased at least half of the lines she drew, before proclaiming that she is somewhat
of a perfectionist, which makes the use of a pencil essential. As a teacher, this piece of
knowledge could be hugely important in planning instruction for Beth in other core subjects. For
example, if Beth is always struggling to finish her timed-writing in the allotted time period, this
insight may provide the teacher with sound reasoning for this occurrence. Using this knowledge,
I would provide and model select brainstorming and/or planning strategies that I believed could
best help Beth learn how to finish her timed-writing efficiently, without having to sacrifice the
feeling of order and completeness.
In completing this task, I believe that Beth proved to be in between the aforementioned
Gang Age and the Pseudo-Naturalistic stages. Beth demonstrated characteristics of both stages
equally, which leads me to believe that she is currently progressing from the fourth to the fifth
stage of artistic development. Beth demonstrated multiple characteristics of the Gang Age Firstly,
in Beths scene by the river, the skycomes down to horizon, (Brittain & Lowenfeld, 1970, p.
477). Also, Beth also demonstrated that she was self-conscious of [her] own drawings when
she erased her horrible, fat branch, because it was not realistic enough (Brittain & Lowenfeld,
1970, p. 477).
Next, Beths drawing is from the perspective of a spectator, which is commonly found
in the Pseudo-Naturalistic Stage (Brittain & Lowenfeld, 1970, p. 478). According to Burton
(1980), most children [choose] to draw [the object] either from a front or side view when
illustrating imagination drawings, (p.27). When asked how she creates her artistic visions,
Beth said, I see it in my head first, and then I draw it off my head. This thinking clearly
explains why Beths imagination drawing would be drawn from a flat, spectator-like
perspective. Beth also demonstrates the Pseudo-Naturalistic characteristic of details such as

AN ANALYSIS OF A FIFTH GRADE MASTERPIECE

wrinkles and folds become important for some, as she spent a prolonged period of time
perfecting the cracks and ridges within the tree bark (Brittain & Lowenfeld, 1970, p. 478).
Conclusion
In order for my young artist to fully progress into the Pseudo-Naturalistic stage, I would
challenge her to bring personal, non-literal meaning into her work. I would also challenge her to
try and complete a work of art without using her eraser; a task that would surely challenge her
perfectionist ways. I think these two simple tasks would help Beth grow as an artist, as well as
a learner. While it may sound ideal for a work of art to be perfect every time, I believe there is
beauty in mistakes. I think this task would benefit Beth in the other core subjects as well, as this
idea may allow her to be more confident in taking risks and making mistakes, knowing that
something positive happens every time we make an error; we learn from it!
After completing this task, I now have a greater understanding of how artistic
development can be beneficial to both the student and the teacher. As a student progresses from
one stage to the next, a teacher can learn about their students thought processes, interests, and
learning abilities. Artistic development is beneficial for students because it gives them an
additional channel in which to share their imagination and thoughts. As teachers, we want to
create an environment in which we foster our students creativity, because imagination is one of
the most important of human aptitudes, (Eisner, 2009, p.9). As I move forward with this new
knowledge, I will strive to get to know my students not only as learners, but as people, by
creating a classroom environment in which my students imagination can run free.

AN ANALYSIS OF A FIFTH GRADE MASTERPIECE

References
Burton, J. (1980). Representing experience from imagination and observation. School Arts, 2630.
Eisner, E. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Eisner, E. (2009). What education can learn from the arts. Art Education, 6-9.
Layne, S., & Silverstein, L. B. (2010). Defining arts integration. Retrieved Mar. 3, 2016
http://education.kennedy-center.org//education/partners/defining_arts_integration.pdf
Lowenfeld, V., & Brittain, W. L. (1970). Creative and mental growth. New York: Macmillan.
Luehrman, M., & Unrath, K. (2006). Making theories of childrens artistic development
meaningful for pre-service teachers. Art Education, 59 (3), 6-12.