AN ANALYSIS OF A 2ND GRADE MASTERPIECE

An Analysis of a 2nd Grade Masterpiece

Lauren Hotchkiss
University of Missouri

AN ANALYSIS OF A 2ND GRADE MASTERPIECE

Analysis of a 2nd Grade Masterpiece

Art is a magical thing in the world of child development. Its been said that, The
arts help children learn what cannot be said (Eisner, 2002, p. 3). When a child has the
opportunity to express themselves through art, the skies the limit. At younger ages,
students stumble with words to express themselves. If they do not know the words to
use or the emotions to have when communicating with someone, art can serve as that
bridge to communication for them. When they can express themselves through shapes,
colors, and lines it can make it easier. The limits of our language do not define the
limits of our cognition (Eisner, 2002, p. 3). Just because a student struggles to find the
words to say, does not mean they are not fully capable to communicate in a different
form. As teachers, we need to build relationships with each of our students so we can
understand how each student best learns and their strengths and weaknesses. Unrath
and Luehrman said, It is important for art teachers to understand how children develop
artistically. This kind of knowledge is essential for choosing age-appropriate teaching
strategies and content for the units and lessons that the art teacher develops
(Luehrman & Unrath, 2006, p. 66). When we combine our students learning abilities and
their artistic development stage, we can use art integration in their curriculum to have
them flourish.
Children go through six stages of development in their artistic skills. Brittain &
Lowenfeld (1970) goes thoroughly into each step beginning with the Scribbling Stage.
From age 2-4 children are in this stage where they begin to learn self-expression in the

AN ANALYSIS OF A 2ND GRADE MASTERPIECE

scribbles they draw. From age 4-7 they enter the Preschematic Stage where they first
start practicing how to make meaning or use geometric shapes to represent something
in their drawing, but lose their meaning when removed from the whole (Brittain &
Lowenfeld, 1970, p. 48). Next they enter the Schematic Stage from age 7-9 where
their drawings finally have meaning and form a concept. Next is The PseudoNaturalistic Stage in ages 12-14 where they have the ability to focus upon selected
parts, and are critically aware of own shortcomings in art (Brittain & Lowenfeld, 1970,
p. 51). Last they enter the Adolescent Art at age 14-17 where they have mastery of
any material, and have control of purpose development (Brittain & Lowenfeld, 1970,
p. 52). By the time they are at this stage they have mastered the development stages
and are able to express themselves through critical art forms.
Even though Brittain & Lowenfeld have created these stages does not mean that
all students will fall into these categories at these ages. Every student develops
differently depending on their upbringing and what they are exposed to. Teachers need
to be aware that, It is imperative to remember that they are not prescriptive in terms of
what to expect of an individual child at a specific age (Luehrman & Unrath. 2006, p.
68). After being exposed to a few different aged classrooms, I have actually gotten to
see these stages at their correct age or not. When I conducted my interview/hang out
time with my 2nd grade student, Sam, I was able to see in action these categories and
examine it. I was also exposed to seeing how the teacher affects each of these
development stages too which was very impactful for this study.
Method

AN ANALYSIS OF A 2ND GRADE MASTERPIECE

For my study, I chose one of my students Sam (pseudonym) who is in second

grade. I chose Sam because he is an outgoing energetic boy who loves to draw with
whatever he can get his hands on. All young children take great pleasure in moving a
crayon or pencil across a surface and leaving a mark (Roland, 1990, p. 2). He even
told me he hates to stop coloring that to sharpen pencils and colored pencils he just
scrapes them on his desk to sharpen so he does not have to get up. His imagination is
so intriguing to me that I knew his artistic abilities were something I wanted to learn
more about. Sam and I brainstormed different drawings that he could do but will also
have meaning and interest to him. He finally came to the decision to draw him and his
family together. He had access to colored pencils, lead pencils, and white printer paper.
Sam colored for about 20 minutes while he non-stop talked my ear off and I back. Since
we can no longer record, during this time I took notes on the side so I could use them
for further use to reflect on.
Findings
During my 20-minute time observing and interacting with Sam while drawing, I
got to see a lot of sides to him. He told me all about his family and his favorite things to
do with them. I also got to learn a lot of cool facts about him like what superpower he
would want or his favorite games to play with his family. Sam is a boy who loves to talk
and tell you all about himself. So for me, a similar personality, we flourished during this
activity.

AN ANALYSIS OF A 2ND GRADE MASTERPIECE

He decided to draw his mom, Elizabeth (left), himself (middle), and his step dad (right).
The words Superparer that he wrote was meant to spell superpower to he describe
his step dads hand. He accidentally made it very large and he decided to just change
having a super large hard to meaning he had a magic super power hand. He chose to
have his mom and him wear the same colors because they always love to match
together. During our discussion I was able to hear all about his relationship with his

mom, which was incredible. Because his mom had him at such a young age, for most of
his life it was just him and his mom. In result to this, their bond together is something to
AN ANALYSIS OF A 2ND GRADE MASTERPIECE

special. Sam spends so much time on detail, for example the shoelaces he drew in, that
he did not have time to draw a background. He accidentally made the circle of his head
taller than
his mom's too. So instead of erasing he decided to draw him standing on his moms foot
to show that was why he looked taller. They are all holding hands and having a great
time together because they are about to go outside and play together. This is why his
mom is wearing pants so they can play yard games and climb on playgrounds. Lastly,
he pointed out that they all are smiling because he always has such a great time with
his family.
Watching Sam draw his most important people in his life, I got to learn a lot about
his life outside of school. Most too personal to share outside of our conversation, he
was really expressive about it when he drew. He told me I love to draw because
anything I put on the paper I can make into a story. I could see this when he made the
story of his step dads superpower or why he was taller than his mom. I also was able to
observe how much of a perfectionist he is. Every detail he put on was intentional and
had a reason. From the way they way their hair was and the color their clothes were, he
has a reason. Even looking at his face, when he got to super detailed areas like the
shoelaces, his tongue would be hanging out and he was very focused. This perfectionist
characteristic is important to know about if I had Sam as my student in class. If Sam
takes a long time doing certain activities that may involve art or construction, it could be

because he wants everything to be perfect. Having this as prior knowledge to class

activities, I may have to go about planning them more detailed. Maybe brainstorming
AN ANALYSIS OF A 2ND GRADE MASTERPIECE

ideas of what the project could be, showing examples, or limiting resources they can
use could be beneficial for him and his time management.
When looking at the stages of development, I categorized Sams drawings in the
Schematic Stage which perfectly fits his age. The drawings reflect a childs active
knowledge of the environment (Brittain & Lowenfeld, 1970, p. 49). He has a general
concept of what a human should look like (legs, arms, feet, etc.). Although he did not
have enough time to add as much detail as he wanted, I have seen him in other
activities show me that he has the ability to do so. Even when Sam made an accidental
feature in his drawing, he was able to create something new to his story that made it
okay to have.
By observing my student artistically express himself I was able to see many other
capabilities he has. By facilitating a relaxed setting where I just wanted to have him
draw for me with no pressure or scoring type of atmosphere, he was more comfortable
to interact. I could listen to him use vocabulary a lot higher than I would expect for a 2nd
grade student. HIs social skills were amazing with how he could keep conversation and
equally contribute and ask questions to me as I to him. It seemed very natural and
comfortable between us that made this activity easier for me to put what we learn from
class into action and for this project.
Conclusion

If I were to further challenge my student to deepen their art, I would ask him to
add more detail to set up the environment they are in. If he had ample amount of time, I
would love to challenge him to add things varying from the ground they are on to the
AN ANALYSIS OF A 2ND GRADE MASTERPIECE

game that they are all playing. Since he is detail oriented normally, I would love to
observe him add all of that. I would also challenge Sam to use his imagination in other
subjects too. For example, when he made his step dads hand too large, he made it into
a superpower. I would push him to have that mentality in other ways. In math he could
use this when finding multiple ways to solve something. When he goes off course, I
would push him to continue and look for other ways to solve problems.
After completing and reflecting on this activity, I have realized the impact that art
can have on students. Not only can it be very beneficial for the students in learning
concepts, but also for the teacher. When a teacher understands where each student's
artistic level is at, they then can integrate other core subjects into art to further their
learning in the topic. For students, art is beneficial because it gives then an alternate
channel to express them if language is not as easy for them. Whether through language
spoken, written, or drawn, it contributes. When the going gets tough we should
remember that there are few higher compliments that one can assign to an individual for
his or her work than to say of that work, it is a work of art (Eisner, 2009, p. 6). This
quote is so important to remember. No matter what a student can produce, if it is the
best of their ability, it is a work of art.

AN ANALYSIS OF A 2ND GRADE MASTERPIECE

Sources
Brittian, W.L. & V. Lowenfeld. (1970) Creative and Mental Growth. New York, NY.
MacMillan Co. pgs 474-479.
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.
Luchrman, M., & Unrath, K. (2006). Making theories of childrens artistic development
meaningful for pre-service teachers. Art Education.
Roland, C. (n.d.). Young in Art: A developmental look at child art.