Auction today: elementary. (Clip Card).

Years ago, I worked at a gallery where fine art was frequently auctioned. Now that I am an art teacher, I enjoy recreating the auction experience for my students.

Postcard books of famous paintings are a good way to acquire a lot of small prints relatively cheaply. I tack up more than enough prints for the class so that those coming in last can still have a choice. Every print gets a number for identification.

When students are seated, I tell them they are attending an auction of the paintings of the famous artist. As auction patrons, they should first look at all of the artworks and decide which ones they would like to bid on. I advise them that it is always wise to choose more than one in the event that someone outbids them on their first choice. The students come up to the display board in groups of five or six and make notes on which prints they like the best.

When they are all back in their seats, I walk around the class and have each student pull a slip of paper numbered five to thirty from a jar. I tell them that their number represents how many thousands of dollars they have to spend, and demonstrate how an auction works. Good sportsmanship is encouraged, and a reminder that this is good fun, not serious competition.

As the auction begins, students quickly see how it works and throw themselves into the bidding process. When the highest bidder gets the painting, I yell, "Sold to the lady in the diamond tiara in the, last row!" The buyer goes over to the bookkeeper, gives him the money, and takes the paintings from the display board. The bookkeeper records their purchase.

I have found that I cannot allow anyone to trade a painting for one of the remaining ones, as this begins a chain reaction of trading that quickly becomes chaotic. One of the lessons learned today is to accept what you have acquired in a fair process.

In a follow-up project, each student learns about his or her painting and paints an interpretation of it.

ClipCard submitted by Joan C. Frank, an art teacher at Doyon Elementary School in Ipswich, Massachusetts.