Teacher's Circle

teachers' Circle

Welcome educators to the Teacher's Circle - your online resource for teaching resources relating to KW|AG's exhibitions and permanent collection. You'll find free resources for teaching art in the classroom, downloadable teacher kits with ready-to-use lesson plans, pre-visit Gallery information to prepare for your trip to KW|AG, post-visit teaching resources, school tour information, and additional online resources.

KW|AG currently welcomes approximately 5,000 students each school year and our programs continue to thrive and expand. We welcome your feedback on this area as we continue to expand our resources for educators.

Expressions 35 Forms

Waterloo Regional Public, Catholic, and Independent Schools are invited to submit original student artwork for our 35th Expressions exhibition:

Expressions 35 Call for Submissions Form (PDF) - letter overview detailing dates and the process for submitting work
Expressions 35 Label Form (PDF) - for details on the student artist and his/her contribution
Expressions 35 Parental Release Form (PDF) - parental consent form for exhibiting works at the Gallery

Teacher Kits

KW|AG's Teacher Kits are essential handbooks for working with KW|AG's permanent collection and a great way to access ready-to-use lesson plans, new art making techniques, and curriculum-aligned materials and resources to engage your students. Written by professional arts educators, they are packed with ideas and activities to help you plan and follow up a successful visit to the Gallery. Background information, questioning frameworks and transferable skills for analyzing artworks are included in each kit and they are free of charge.

Teacher Kit Workshops

Our Teacher Kit Workshops are open to all K-12 and pre-service teachers. Make a work of art, discover helpful resources and take home curriculum-aligned materials to engage your students in innovative art making techniques.

Pastels - Beat the Basics
Monday, February 8, 2010, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Wow yourself with simple pastels techniques!

Evenings for Educators

Free | Wednesday, April 12, 2010 | 4-6 p.m.

All K-12 and pre-service teachers are welcome. Relax and unwind with fellow educators. Create a work of art, explore art from our permanent collection, tour Expressions 35, and take home ready-to-use lesson plans and materials for your classroom.

Pre-Visit Information

In-School Sessions

Requirements for Think Art Sessions:

A dark room, suitable for a media presentation
Blackboard or whiteboard
Each student will need a pencil

Please allow the Artist Educator 10 minutes to set up, prior to the session. For multiple presentations, one central location (e.g., library) is preferred to ease with set-up and transitions.

Your Visit to the Gallery

Group Supervision

We ask that all groups are supervised by a teacher and adult supervisors. The following is recommended:

Grade JK/SK = 5 students to 1 adult
Grades 1-3 = 8 students to 1 adult
Grades 4-6 = 10 students to 1 adult
Grades 7-8 = 15 students to 1 adult
Grades 9-12 = 1 adult per class

Both teachers and accompanying parents are responsible for the conduct of their students and should remain with them during the gallery visit. KW|AG does not charge a fee for teachers, adult supervisors, or bus drivers. We encourage all adults to actively participate in the tour and aid students during the workshop.

At the Gallery

Please make sure all students, teachers and volunteers have:

Name tags (if possible)
Indoor shoes (during inclement weather)
Upon arrival your classes will be met by an Artist Educator or docent. At this time, the lead teacher should make their way to the front desk to register. If there are 2 groups, one class will do the tour while the other does the workshop. Both the tour and workshop are an hour in length.

Gallery Etiquette

Look, listen, discuss and participate! Food is not permitted in the gallery for protection of the art.
Art is often delicate. Please do not touch unless otherwise advised. Oils, salts and moisture on your hands will cause damage to the art.
To protect the artwork, please refrain from running, touching works and leaning against walls.
Sketching with graphite pencils is permitted in the galleries unless otherwise posted.
While docents and artist educators accommodate and modify programming to meet the needs of all visitors, please note that teachers are responsible for student behaviour while at the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery.
Photography in the galleries is prohibited. However, please feel free to take pictures in the Studio Workshop.

Additional Resources

Evaluation Forms

Think Art Evaluation Form (PDF)
Tour and Studio Workshop Evaluation Form (PDF)