School Tours: Every Picture Tells a Story
Grades 3–12
Request this tour | Pre-visit Video (for Grades 2–6)
Paintings are more than just pictures in a frame—they are unfolding stories with multiple perspectives. In this tour, learn to "read" works of art by identifying characters, setting, and plot, and by creating dialogue.
Looking and Learning Skills
During four or five tour stops in the galleries, students engage in activities—such as looking exercises, small group work, and sketching—that foster conversations about works of art. The following skills are promoted:
- making and articulating careful observations
- formulating questions that demonstrate curiosity and engagement
- examining paintings from the perspectives of peers, the artists, and the people in the paintings
- comparing and connecting different paintings
- reasoning with evidence from the artworks themselves—developing narratives based on what's seen in the work of art
- connecting new ideas learned from the tour to prior knowledge and experience
Download the Art in the Classroom Poster for Manet's The Railway (522kb)
Logistical Information
Group Size: Up to 75 students
Length: 60 minutes for grades 3–4, 75 minutes for grades 5–12
Meeting Location: West Building, Rotunda, Main Floor
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