Activities for Building Relationships - by Melissa Purtee
It’s that time of year again. We are planning, plotting, and enjoying the last days of vacation. A reader wrote to me yesterday and asked if I had any suggestions for activities that build relationships. This was an excellent and timely suggestion for a post because creating classroom spaces that are safe and welcoming creative communities is what we all aim to create.
What is Good Art? I often start new classes with this conversation-sparking activity. It always helps everyone understand each other better and the discussion breaks the ice. I like to have students first think about what the term “good art” means independently, then work in table groups to create a mindmap.
Autobiographical Assemblages are a project I developed during covid to help me connect to my online students. It was so effective I’ve kept doing it. The images created from this short activity are always packed with meaning and jumpstart community building when we share them as a class or in small groups.
The Bag Challenge is short and fun at just 30 minutes. It’s a game that demands quick creative thinking and problem-solving, but just as important is the bonding that always happens over the shared experience and appreciating the amazing, silly, beautiful work that is made with ridiculous materials and not nearly enough time.
Critique Games are an excellent way to build relationships through artwork-centered conversations. Prompts are provided as part of the game, so it’s low-pressure and I’ve found that more of my students participate than do when we have traditional critiques.
Pick 3 is another creative challenge that is time-bound and involves synthesizing ideas quickly. Students are asked to choose three words out of a cup and they came up with some incredible things when we played this game as part of our exam. Can you play during an exam? It felt fun! This activity would work just as well for a normal class period.
Thanks for reading!
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