Unit topic and Rationale
Topic Taught
The focus of this unit is the self. I wanted students to work on projects that were personal so they would learn about themselves. Each lesson they are asked to focus on what makes them unique. They were asked to find symbolism in items by drawing objects that represented them personally. They even had to create a story in which they were the hero. Every lesson revolved around them discovering things about themselves. This is because I believe that the best way to improve society as a whole is to start with the individual. The more we know about ourselves the better we can become. I want to have students learn about themselves because when you do that you become a better person. And when you become a better person the people around you become better people as well. It’s a waterfall effect; if we expand self-awareness we expand the possibilities for a community, a country, a world.
The first lesson was a still life. The students experimented with the crosshatching technique using both graphite and charcoal to help them build value within their art. They were constantly encouraged to expand their tonal range. The goal of the first lesson was to show students they could use symbolism in their art to create a visual language. I helped demonstrate this idea by showing students genre paintings from Flemish painters such as Jan van Eyck. This helped students gain an understanding that every objects and images can be used to imply a deeper meaning. In order to have students put this idea into action I had them choose the item they would add to the still life, the object they chose had to have personal meaning associated with it.
For the second lesson the students created a comic book in which they were the hero. Students used colored pencil to illustrate their ideas. They were also introduced to pen and ink to create a stippling effect in the panels of their comic book. I began the lesson by having students brainstorm characteristics they considered to be heroic. Then they applied those characteristics to themselves as the main character of their story. You could say that this lesson was creating a heroic self-portrait. The main goal of this lesson was to show students that the qualities the see in their heroes can also be found in themselves.
The third lesson started with the use of a grid to enlarge an image to scale properly. I took a photograph of the student’s eyes and then had them draw them
on a much larger scale. I wanted students to become technically skilled at drawing a difficult subject matter realistically, but I also wanted them to have room for creativity. To do this I then asked students fill in the eye with personal imagery and color. To complete this assignment students used charcoal, pen and ink, and collage. The goal of this lesson was to have students focus on their personal interests while developing technical skill in the arts.
The fourth lesson was an exploration in value. One of the key hooks to this lesson was to expose students to the idea that there is so much more value than lights and darks within an image. I started the lesson by looking at sides of the word value. Students were first asked to describe that which they valued most in their lives. They also created a value scale which was a list of the top ten personal characteristics they valued about themselves. I then showed them how to created a monochromatic value scale using acrylic paint. After this we painted a monochromatic self portrait and in the background the students wrote their personal value scale in the background. In this way we combined personal and artistic values in a single painting.
Significance of Topic
For this Population
When working with students at the middle school level it was quickly apparent what their greatest interest was, themselves. The most commonly discussed topics seem to be what music they listen to, what their favorite movies are, what they did this weekend, and who is friends with whom. Students will be interested in the lessons in my unit because it is all about them. I also provide a lot student choice in my lessons which allows them to become more personal. This is important because I know the best way to keepstudents engaged is to keep work personal.
Personally
This unit asks students to focus on aspects of their personalities. In turn I have also learned a lot about myself. Designing this unit has exposed strengths and weaknesses in my teaching strategies and practices. I have learned that not all of my students share my same interests. By asking students to focus on themselves I was reminded that every student is unique and it is therefore necessary to teach students in a variety of different methods. At times I felt as though I was learning alongside the students, this is good because a teacher should always be a student. If you are not learning something new then you are becoming stagnant.
Globally
Under this unit students will meet Grade Level Expectations under each of the four State Standards. The State Standards and GLE’s that will be met are;
Lesson 1
Comprehend: Visual art has inherent characteristics and expressive features.
Comprehend: The history of art, world cultures, and artistic
styles influence contemporary art
concerns.
Create: Achieve artistic purpose to communicate intent.
Create: Demonstrate technical proficiency and craftsmanship when
planning.
Lesson 2
Comprehend: The history of art, world cultures, and artistic
styles influence contemporary art concerns.
Reflect: Visual literacy skills help to establish personal
meaning and artistic intent in works of
art.
Create: Demonstrate technical proficiency and craftsmanship when
planning.
Transfer: Cultural traditions and events impact visual arts
within a community.
Lesson 3
Comprehend: Art criticism strategies are used to analyze,
interpret, and make informed judgments about works of
art.
Reflect: Visual literacy skills help to establish personal
meaning and artistic intent in works of art.
Lesson 4
Comprehend: Conceptual art theories explain how works of art are
created.
Reflect: Visual literacy skills help to establish personal
meaning and artistic intent in works of art.
Create: Achieve artistic purpose to communicate
intent.
Prepared Graduate Competencies addressed in Lesson 1
Recognize, articulate, and debate that the visual arts are a
means for expression.
Analyze, interpret, and make meaning of art and design critically
using oral and written discourse.
Identify, compare, and interpret works of art derived from
historical and cultural settings, time periods, and cultural
contexts
Create works of art that articulate more sophisticated ideas,
feelings, emotions, and points of view about art and design through an expanded
use of media and technologies
Prepared Graduate Competencies addressed in Lesson 2
Identify, compare and justify that the visual arts are a way to
acknowledge, exhibit and learn about the diversity of peoples, cultures, and ideas.
Create works of art that articulate more sophisticated ideas,
feelings, emotions and points of view about art and design through an expanded
use of media and technologies.
Recognize, interpret, and validate that the creative process
builds on the development of ideas through a process of inquiry, discovery, and research
Prepared Graduate Competencies addressed in Lesson 3
Create works of art that articulate more sophisticated ideas,
feelings, emotions, and points of view about art and design through an expanded
use of media and technologies.
Analyze, interpret, and make meaning of art and design critically
using oral and written discourse.
Develop and build appropriate master in art-making skills, using
traditional and new technologies and an understanding of the characteristics and
expressive features of art and design
Prepared Graduate Competencies addressed in Lesson 4
Recognize, compare, and affirm that the making and study of art
and design can be approached from a variety of viewpoints, intelligences, and
perspectives.
Identify, compare and justify that the visual arts are a way to
acknowledge, exhibit, and learn about the diversity of peoples, cultures and
ideas.
Analyze, interpret, and make meaning of art and design critically
using oral and written discourse.
Topic Taught
The focus of this unit is the self. I wanted students to work on projects that were personal so they would learn about themselves. Each lesson they are asked to focus on what makes them unique. They were asked to find symbolism in items by drawing objects that represented them personally. They even had to create a story in which they were the hero. Every lesson revolved around them discovering things about themselves. This is because I believe that the best way to improve society as a whole is to start with the individual. The more we know about ourselves the better we can become. I want to have students learn about themselves because when you do that you become a better person. And when you become a better person the people around you become better people as well. It’s a waterfall effect; if we expand self-awareness we expand the possibilities for a community, a country, a world.
The first lesson was a still life. The students experimented with the crosshatching technique using both graphite and charcoal to help them build value within their art. They were constantly encouraged to expand their tonal range. The goal of the first lesson was to show students they could use symbolism in their art to create a visual language. I helped demonstrate this idea by showing students genre paintings from Flemish painters such as Jan van Eyck. This helped students gain an understanding that every objects and images can be used to imply a deeper meaning. In order to have students put this idea into action I had them choose the item they would add to the still life, the object they chose had to have personal meaning associated with it.
For the second lesson the students created a comic book in which they were the hero. Students used colored pencil to illustrate their ideas. They were also introduced to pen and ink to create a stippling effect in the panels of their comic book. I began the lesson by having students brainstorm characteristics they considered to be heroic. Then they applied those characteristics to themselves as the main character of their story. You could say that this lesson was creating a heroic self-portrait. The main goal of this lesson was to show students that the qualities the see in their heroes can also be found in themselves.
The third lesson started with the use of a grid to enlarge an image to scale properly. I took a photograph of the student’s eyes and then had them draw them
on a much larger scale. I wanted students to become technically skilled at drawing a difficult subject matter realistically, but I also wanted them to have room for creativity. To do this I then asked students fill in the eye with personal imagery and color. To complete this assignment students used charcoal, pen and ink, and collage. The goal of this lesson was to have students focus on their personal interests while developing technical skill in the arts.
The fourth lesson was an exploration in value. One of the key hooks to this lesson was to expose students to the idea that there is so much more value than lights and darks within an image. I started the lesson by looking at sides of the word value. Students were first asked to describe that which they valued most in their lives. They also created a value scale which was a list of the top ten personal characteristics they valued about themselves. I then showed them how to created a monochromatic value scale using acrylic paint. After this we painted a monochromatic self portrait and in the background the students wrote their personal value scale in the background. In this way we combined personal and artistic values in a single painting.
Significance of Topic
For this Population
When working with students at the middle school level it was quickly apparent what their greatest interest was, themselves. The most commonly discussed topics seem to be what music they listen to, what their favorite movies are, what they did this weekend, and who is friends with whom. Students will be interested in the lessons in my unit because it is all about them. I also provide a lot student choice in my lessons which allows them to become more personal. This is important because I know the best way to keepstudents engaged is to keep work personal.
Personally
This unit asks students to focus on aspects of their personalities. In turn I have also learned a lot about myself. Designing this unit has exposed strengths and weaknesses in my teaching strategies and practices. I have learned that not all of my students share my same interests. By asking students to focus on themselves I was reminded that every student is unique and it is therefore necessary to teach students in a variety of different methods. At times I felt as though I was learning alongside the students, this is good because a teacher should always be a student. If you are not learning something new then you are becoming stagnant.
Globally
Under this unit students will meet Grade Level Expectations under each of the four State Standards. The State Standards and GLE’s that will be met are;
Lesson 1
Comprehend: Visual art has inherent characteristics and expressive features.
Comprehend: The history of art, world cultures, and artistic
styles influence contemporary art
concerns.
Create: Achieve artistic purpose to communicate intent.
Create: Demonstrate technical proficiency and craftsmanship when
planning.
Lesson 2
Comprehend: The history of art, world cultures, and artistic
styles influence contemporary art concerns.
Reflect: Visual literacy skills help to establish personal
meaning and artistic intent in works of
art.
Create: Demonstrate technical proficiency and craftsmanship when
planning.
Transfer: Cultural traditions and events impact visual arts
within a community.
Lesson 3
Comprehend: Art criticism strategies are used to analyze,
interpret, and make informed judgments about works of
art.
Reflect: Visual literacy skills help to establish personal
meaning and artistic intent in works of art.
Lesson 4
Comprehend: Conceptual art theories explain how works of art are
created.
Reflect: Visual literacy skills help to establish personal
meaning and artistic intent in works of art.
Create: Achieve artistic purpose to communicate
intent.
Prepared Graduate Competencies addressed in Lesson 1
Recognize, articulate, and debate that the visual arts are a
means for expression.
Analyze, interpret, and make meaning of art and design critically
using oral and written discourse.
Identify, compare, and interpret works of art derived from
historical and cultural settings, time periods, and cultural
contexts
Create works of art that articulate more sophisticated ideas,
feelings, emotions, and points of view about art and design through an expanded
use of media and technologies
Prepared Graduate Competencies addressed in Lesson 2
Identify, compare and justify that the visual arts are a way to
acknowledge, exhibit and learn about the diversity of peoples, cultures, and ideas.
Create works of art that articulate more sophisticated ideas,
feelings, emotions and points of view about art and design through an expanded
use of media and technologies.
Recognize, interpret, and validate that the creative process
builds on the development of ideas through a process of inquiry, discovery, and research
Prepared Graduate Competencies addressed in Lesson 3
Create works of art that articulate more sophisticated ideas,
feelings, emotions, and points of view about art and design through an expanded
use of media and technologies.
Analyze, interpret, and make meaning of art and design critically
using oral and written discourse.
Develop and build appropriate master in art-making skills, using
traditional and new technologies and an understanding of the characteristics and
expressive features of art and design
Prepared Graduate Competencies addressed in Lesson 4
Recognize, compare, and affirm that the making and study of art
and design can be approached from a variety of viewpoints, intelligences, and
perspectives.
Identify, compare and justify that the visual arts are a way to
acknowledge, exhibit, and learn about the diversity of peoples, cultures and
ideas.
Analyze, interpret, and make meaning of art and design critically
using oral and written discourse.