As part of my work I teach writing classes, often for school pupils (primary and secondary) with some of these based in school and some based "on location" in places like museums ands galleries.
There's a team of us who do this, with 2 allocated per visit; we always pair up, so that if we get 30 kids we can have half the group each and then swap at lunchtime.
When I do museum/gallery sessions, rather than just throwing them into it (lots of kids won't ever have been to an art gallery before) I give them a "note" sheet with a few ideas/questions on it in quite a structured way, with the idea that this will form the basis for their writing. I often do a "grid" of questions with room to write ideas in for several paintings, with questions like "Who's in the picture?" "How did they get there?" "What time of year is it?" etc.
Sometimes this works well. Sometimes it doesn't. You can tell when it isn't going to, because you get lots of them asking THAT question about each part of the worksheet:
"Wot do we 'ave to put fer this?"
Primary school kids are usually better, because they are quite happy to use their imaginations and realise there is no "right" or "wrong" answer. But KS3/4 kids take it all so bloody literally. They want the exact answers, and they want to be spoon-fed them. (For "What time of year is it?" I swear nearly all of the last group copied down the date the picture was painted. And for "How did they get there?" I had some of them asking "Wassat mean?" and "Ow do we know?")
And they think that's it. Job done. All answers filled out. Hand in "the sheet" and, presumably, they think they can go off and do whatever they like. They are astonished to discover this is only intended to be the start of their piece of work.
Sorry if this sounds like a rant, because I have, often, worked with some great kids who have produced some really imaginative work. But to me the fact that I can be asked these god-awful literal questions is either a damning indictment of a National Curriculum which suppresses individual, imaginative thought, or of a generation of dullards who don't know how to use their imaginations.
Comments etc. welcome!