Collage is a great way to introduce children to the concept of artistic expression, and it’s easy to do in any classroom, as the materials you need are minimal — found materials, paper and glue. I appreciated Lois Lord’s mention of how collage also helps children learn about various surfaces, textures, colors and patterns. That means that as the teacher, it’s our duty to provide a variety of materials for our students to use.
The collage activity can also be used as a way to connect art and curriculum. A trip to the park as part of a social studies or science lesson can be the catalyst to gather materials for our collages later. As Lord (1996) notes, “Selecting materials for collage not only gives children intense pleasure, but also gives them an opportunity to make independent choices” (p. 13). And if done properly, it can also give them an insight into an aspect of social studies or science as it connects to the materials they have chosen.
Presenting our students with a variety of different materials also plays an important role in construction. “If we believe that children should have three-dimensional experiences, we should expose them to many additional materials which have other kinds of possibilities and limitations. These experiences will add to their knowledge of materials and enable each boy and girl to find the kind of medium best suited to his [or her] expression” (Lord, 1996, p. 39). By allowing our students to explore various materials, we are allowing them to discover what materials they are drawn to and want to use in the future, as opposed to forcing them into a pigeonhole of one type of artistic expression.
One thing that Lois Lord really emphasized was the aesthetic role of the teacher in the choosing and presenting of collage materials. Materials should be neatly presented, and easy to reorganize for the class at clean-up.
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