Humanities
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Introduction to Course
Approx. Time Allotment:
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Benchmark/Skills
The student will:
1. Begin to develop proper mind-set for study of
cultural history.
2. See that elements of our own cultural heritage
predate the European culture from which we come.
3. Discuss the diversity of artistic styles and
motivations.
4. Recognize a need to understand the past in order to
deal with the present.
5. Define term “artistic convention” for future use.
6. Identify on a map the locations of early cultural
centers and their direction of movement.
Assessment
Aligned Materials/
Resources/Technology
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Class discussion
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Teacher observation
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Arts & Ideas, 9th ed.
Chapter 1
Film strips I, II, III from
History of Western Art
series (Egyptian art)
Slides of Stonehenge and
Avebury, England
Instructional Strategies
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Lecture/note taking
Discuss examples of art forms
found in contemporary society
Map study
Discuss list of individuals who have
caused civilization to leap forward
culturally (Pythagoras, Euclid,
Newton, da Vinci, Michelangelo,
Mozart, etc.)
Humanities
Approx. Time Allotment:
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Greek Unit
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Benchmark/Skills
The student will:
1. Understand general history of ancient
Greece and its principal city-states.
2. Recognize principal periods in Greek
history from earliest times to
absorption by Rome
3. Identify differences between Hellenic
and Hellenistic art and thought
4. Know difference between three major
types of Greek architecture.
5. Be able to identify principal structures
on Athenian acropolis.
6. Discuss differences between Plato’s
and Aristotle’s philosophies.
7. Become conversant with principal
figures, practices and conventions of
Greek theater.
Assessment
Aligned Materials/
Resources/Technology
Unit Exam:
 Day one: slide identification and
objective questions
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Day two: essays
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Arts & Ideas, ch. 2
Arts & Ideas, ch. 3
 “Ideas” section
Handouts:
 Pythagoras
 Plato/Aristotle
 Plato:Allegory of the
Cave
 Column Diagram
 Parthenon Diagram
 Acropolis diagram
 Greek theater diagram
Photos in Horizon Book of
Ancient Greece
Filmstrip: Sect. 4, IV
History of Western Art
series
Video Art of the Western
World, #1
Instructional Strategies
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Lecture/notetaking
Use of children’s blocks to understand
concept of post and lintel construction
Discussion of handouts
Drawing of cave to represent one in
Plato’s allegory.
Identification of local buildings which
show neo-classical elements.
Possible field-trip to Philadelphia to
observe architectural details firsthand.
Creation of bulletin board of Polaroid
photos of neo-classical buildings.
Option: making a model of a Greek
building.
Humanities
Approx. Time Allotment:
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Roman Unit
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Benchmark/Skills
The student will:
1. Understand the general history of
Rome, from its origins to its decline.
2. Trace Rome’s conquests in Europe
and elsewhere
3. Recognize the elements of Greek style
and civilization which were adopted
by the Romans.
4. Identify principal types of structures
used in Roman architecture: forum,
bath, basilica, triumphal arch, etc.
5. Identify Roman building innovations:
concrete, the arch, utilitarianism, etc.
6. Discuss Stoicism as a philosophy.
Assessment
Unit Exam:
 Day one: slide identification &
objective questions
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Aligned Materials/
Resources/Technology
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Day two: essays
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Arts & Ideas, ch. 4
Handouts:
 Cicero: On the Laws
 Epictetus and Marcus
Aurelius on Stoicism
 Photos from Horizon Book
of Ancient Rome
Slides:
 Rome
 Bath, England
 Pevensey
 Castle, England
 Richborough, England
Video tape: Art of the Western
World, #1
Instructional Strategies
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Read chapter 4 in text.
Lecture/notetaking
Locate examples in modern jurisprudence
which can be traced to Roman Law.
Discuss vestiges of Stoic beliefs in modern
behavior.
Create a model of Trajan’s forum from
building blocks.
Humanities
Approx. Time Allotment:
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Byzantine Unit
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Benchmark/Skills
The student will:
1. Understand general history of Byzantine Empire
from time of split of Roman Empire into halves.
2. Recognize eastern influence over exported Roman
arts, creating new style.
3. Follow rise of Christianity from its antecedents.
4. Understand theological differences between east and
west.
5. Recognize conventions of Byzantine art, especially
iconography of mosaics.
6. Identify contributions of St. Augustine to his times.
7. Understand mechanics of the dome.
8. Recognize sound and nature of Gregorian chant.
Assessment
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Unit Exam
Aligned Materials/
Resources/Technology
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Arts & Ideas, ch. 5
Handouts:
Byzantine trade route map
Map of Constantinople
Pendentive and squinch
diagram
St. Augustine’s City of
God, excerpt
St. Jerome’s letter
Byzantine musical
notation
Slides:
St. Mark’s Basilica,
Venice
Recordings of Gregorian
chant
Instructional Strategies
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Read chapter 4 of text
Lecture/notetaking
Listen to recordings of
plainsong (Gregorian chant)
Discuss St. Augustine’s
attitudes toward women, in
light of modern attitudes.
Discuss Augustine’s and
Jerome’s ideas about monastic
life.
Humanities
Approx. Time Allotment:
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Romanesque Unit
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Benchmark/Skills
The student will:
1. Trace transition from Roman rule in
Europe to medieval feudalism.
2. Discuss breakdown of hierarchical,
feudal system.
3. Realize supremacy of Catholic Church
in all human activities
4. Reach understanding of realities of life
during early Middle Ages.
5. Identify this period as marking the rise
of chivalry.
6. Learn a list of significant architectural
and musical terms.
7. Identify features characteristic of
Romanesque architecture
8. Understand monastic life and activities.
Assessment
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Unit Exam
Aligned Materials/
Resources/Technology
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Arts & Ideas, Ch. 6
Arts & Ideas, Ch. 7
“Ideas” section
Handout:
Lancelot, by Crtien de
Troyes
Video:
Art of the Western
World, #2
Field trip:
The Cloisters Museum,
and the Cathedral
Church of St. John the
Divine, New York City
Instructional Strategies
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Read appropriate text section
Lecture/notetaking
Discuss elements of medieval chivalry
that still exist today.
Make comparative list of life style
elements from 11th century and 20th
century.
Read part of “Song of Roland.”
Compare to modern hero literature.
Make list of words which would be
absent in our language if William the
Conqueror seized England.
Explore the Cloisters. Take guided
tour of medieval artifacts.
Humanities
Approx. Time Allotment:
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Gothic Unit
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Benchmark/Skills
The student will:
1. Understand general history of period
from 1150-1300 in Europe.
2. Recognize differences between
Romanesque and Gothic architectural
styles.
3. Identify differences in iconographic
depiction between these two periods.
4. Show grasp of principles of Gothic
architecture by using vocabulary
appropriate to structures, and
explaining means of construction.
5. Demonstrate knowledge of musical
innovations of the period – harmony,
etc.
6. Explain basic techniques in the
construction of stained glass windows.
7. Define Gothic Dualism and
Scholasticism.
Assessment
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Unit Exam
Aligned Materials/
Resources/Technology
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Arts & Ideas, ch. 8
Arts & Ideas, ch. 9
Handouts:
Chaucer’s Pardoner’s Tale in
trans.
Prologue to Canterbury Tales
in Middle English, excerpt
Diagram of cross-section of
Gothic cathedral
Slides
Chartres Cathedral
Westminster Cath.
Canterbury Cath.
Conwy Castle, Wales
Carnaervon Castle
Video tapes
Art of the Western World, #2
Cathedral, and Castle, by
David Macaulay
Instructional Strategies
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Read chapter 8 in text, take
notes.
Lecture/notetaking
View videos about Gothic
construction techniques
View slides of Gothic buildings,
discuss building techniques as
seen in example slides.
Build “human cathedral” using
students as buttresses, arms as
vaults; show improvement in
strength from Romanesque to
Gothic vaulting.
Listen to examples of simple
harmony played on synthesizer.
Read and discuss Chaucer
selection.
Create list of Middle English
words and modern equivalents.
Humanities
Approx. Time Allotment:
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Italian Renaissance Unit
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Benchmark/Skills
The student will:
1. View the Renaissance as the beginning
of the modern world.
2. Identify elements of neo-classicism in
Renaissance.
3. Identify leading scientists of the time
and their contributions.
4. Identify leading artists of the time and
their innovations.
5. Develop understanding of contributions
of da Vinci and Michelangelo.
6. Become acquainted with Dante’s life
and works.
7. See the impact of St. Francis on period
thought.
8. Define Humanism, Naturalism,
Individualism.
9. Begin to identify composition
techniques in painting.
Assessment
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Unit exam
Aligned Materials/
Resources/Technology
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Arts & Ideas, Ch. 10
Arts & Ideas, Ch. 11
‘’
‘’ , Ch. 12
Readings:
Dante’s Inferno, Cantos I and
XXXIV
Dante biography
Machiavelli, The Prince,
excerpt
Slides:
Sistine Chapel
St. Peter’s Basilica
The David
Filmstrips:
Life and works of
Michelangelo
Life and works of da Vinci
Videotapes:
Art of the Western World, #3,
4
Biography:
Michelangelo
The Day the Universe
Changed, IV, “A Matter of
Fact”
A Tour of the Vatican Museum
Instructional Strategies
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Read appropriate text material,
take notes
Lecture/notetaking
View slides, videos; discuss works
of various artists.
View specific paintings; identify
compositional techniques
Label neo-classical elements in
Renaissance structures
Discuss modern concept of Devil
figure. Read Dante’s Inferno
excerpts; notice similarities.
List all uses of number 3 in Inferno
Humanities
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Northern Renaissance
Approx. Time Allotment:
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Benchmark/Skills
The student will:
1. Understand history and significance of Protestant
reformation.
2. Realize importance of invention of printing press and
moveable type.
3. Discern differences in technique between Italian and
northern Renaissance artists.
4. Continue to observe compositional choices made by
artists.
5. Recognize works by Bosch, Drer, et al, and notice
Protestant vs. Catholic influences.
6. Fit Shakespeare’s The Tempest into its historical
context.
7. Redefine Humanism (as distinct from Greek
Humanism).
Assessment
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Unit Exam
Aligned Materials/
Resources/Technology
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Arts & Ideas, Ch. 12
Reading
Shakespeare’s The
Tempest
Slides
Works by Drer,
Brueghel, Bosch, et al
Video
Art of the Western World,
#3
A Matter of Fact, James
Burke
Instructional Strategies
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Read appropriate test material,
take notes.
Read, and perform sections of,
The Tempest.
View slides and videos;
discuss works of various
artists.
Analyze symbolic elements in
works of Van Eyck and
Holbein
Scrutinize enlarged details of
Bosch’s Garden…
Humanities
Approx. Time Allotment:
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Baroque Unit
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Benchmark/Skills
The student will:
1. Understand general history of period,
16th and 17th centuries.
2. Explain stylistic aspects of Baroque art,
esp. in the works of Caravaggio,
Bernini. El Greco, Reubens,
Rembrandt, and Vermeer.
3. Discuss significant religious changes of
the period, including the Council of
Trent.
4. Explain the contributions of important
scientists and mathematicians of the
period, esp. Copernicus, Galileo,
Newton, and Kepler.
5. Recognize a musical fugue and explain
its development.
6. Be able to identify the various
movements of a Baroque symphony.
7. Discuss the impact of writers such as
Rousseau and Voltaire on their times.
8. Explain the importance of the reign of
Louis XIV.
Assessment
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Unit Exam
Aligned Materials/
Resources/Technology
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Arts & Ideas, Ch. 14
Arts & Ideas, Ch. 15
Arts & Ideas, Ch. 16,
sections
Music
Bach Oratorio #140
Bach Brandenburg
Concerto #3
Vivaldi various
Slides
Versailles
St. Paul’s Cathedral
Videotapes:
Art of the Western
World, #5
Biography: Mozart
Instructional Strategies
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Read appropriate chapters of text,
take notes.
Lecture/notetaking
Read ancillary material; group
discussions of impact materials on
times.
Listen to musical selections; identify
component parts.
View videotapes of Baroque art;
discuss subjects of paintings,
composition, color, etc.
View slides and tapes of Versailles;
look at maps of Philadelphia and
Washington D.C.; notice similarity in
layout.
Humanities
Approx. Time Allotment:
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Neo-Classicism Unit
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Benchmark/Skills
The student will:
1. Know attitudes prevalent in Enlightenment
period: interest in exotic and bizarre, interest
in nature, love of freedom and hatred of
tyranny, idealization of common man.
2. Become aware of the part nationalism plays in
man’s life and how nationalism is expressed
in the arts.
3. Explain the effect of the Industrial Revolution
on the arts.
4. Cite examples of classical revivalism in 19th
century architecture.
5. Recognize on sight the work of several 19th
century artists, inc. David and Canova
6. Understand the concepts behind the
interconnectedness of the American and
French revolutions.
7. Come to understand how art can be used as
propaganda.
Assessment
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Unit exam
Aligned Materials/
Resources/Technology
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Arts & Ideas, Ch. 18
Music: Beethoven, Symphony
No. 3 in E flat M, op 55
(Eroica)
Slides: Napoleonic Paris
Video: Art of the Western
World, #6
Instructional Strategies
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Read appropriate sections of text; take
notes.
Lecture/notetaking
View slides of buildings, paintings;
identify elements of style.
Listen to recorded music; identify
sections of symphony, sonata, etc.
Field trip: attend a classical music
concert, if possible.
Field trip to Philadelphia museum of Art,
if possible.
Humanities
Approx. Time Allotment:
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Realism and Impressionism Unit
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Benchmark/Skills
The student will:
1. Understand Realism as a reaction to Romanticism.
2. See art as a means toward social reform.
3. Appreciate how Impressionism arose from Realism.
4. Become acquainted with the works of Impressionist
artists, inc. Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cassatt,
and Rodin.
5. See the revolutionary nature of Impressionist art, in
its defiance of the Academy.
6. Trace the evolution of Impressionism into postImpressionism through the works of Gauguin, van
Gogh, Seurat, Cezanne, et al.
7. Appreciate the way in which Cezanne’s works gave
rise to Modern styles of the 20th century.
Assessment
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Unit Exam
Aligned Materials/
Resources/Technology
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Arts & Ideas, Ch. 20
Music:
Debussy: L’Aprs Midi d’un Faun,
Claire de Lune, Reverie, etc.
Slides:
Pictures from the Muse d’Orsay,
Paris
Video:
Art of the Western World, #7
Instructional Strategies
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Read appropriate chapter in text,
take notes.
Lecture/Notetaking
Listen to musical selections,
compare to earlier forms;
understand connection between
Impressionist art and music.
View videotapes and slides;
discuss contents.
Humanities
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Early 20th Century Unit
Approx. Time Allotment:
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Benchmark/Skills
The student will:
1. Know the following art forms and techniques:
expressionism, abstractionism, neoprimitivism, fauvism, cubism, futurism, dada,
surrealism, psychic automatism, social realism,
non-objectivism, art deco.
2. Trace development of modern musical forms
from their antecedents.
3. Understand indebtedness of modern art forms
to 19th century antecedents.
4. Come to appreciate the increasing tendency of
artists to break with tradition.
5. Appreciate art which is not readily accessible.
6. Become familiar with 20th century architectural
styles, inc. skyscraper and International Style.
7. Become familiar with the works of: Picasso,
Modigliani, Brancusi, Matisse, Leger, Dali,
Mir, Duchamp, Mondrian, Frank Lloyd
Wright, Le Corbusier
Assessment
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Unit Exam
Aligned Materials/
Resources/Technology
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Arts & Ideas, Ch. 21
Music:
The Rite of Spring, Stravinsky
Schoenberg, various
Slides: pictures of modern art
works from the Pompidou Museum
and others.
Video: Art of the Western World,
#8
Instructional Strategies
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Read appropriate text material; take
notes.
Lecture/notetaking
Listen to recordings of 20th century
music; see how this music differs from
antecedents.
Make careful analysis of modern
artworks to understand artists’ intentions.
Observe modern architecture; make lists
of elements from earlier times, and those
clearly innovative.
Humanities
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Later 20th Century Unit
Approx. Time Allotment:
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Benchmark/Skills
The student will:
1. Begin to understand the art and architecture
which surrounds them.
2. See modern and post-modern art as the most
recent step in the evolutionary process begun
in ancient Greece.
3. Understand how modern technology affects
art forms.
4. Realize our century’s continued indebtedness
to the past.
5. Become conversant with new art forms,
including: action painting, color field ptg.,
serialism, minimalism, pop art, op art,
conceptual art, new realism, post-modernism.
6. Realize that even seemingly content-free art
has a purpose.
7. Sense the interconnectedness of current art
forms.
8. Become aware of the social and political
forces at work behind the contemporary art
world.
Assessment
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Unit Exam
Option to replace unitspecific questions with
a survey question
covering entire course:
(a) Trace change in role
of artist through each
time period studied.
(b) Trace change in
representation of
human form over
time covered in
course, including
purpose, materials,
and appearance.
Aligned Materials/
Resources/Technology
 Arts & Ideas, Ch. 22
 Arts & Ideas, Ch. 23
 Slides:
Various modern buildings: Storm
King, Park, NY
Works from Pompidou Center,
Paris
 Video
Art of the Western World, #9
Instructional Strategies
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Read appropriate text material,
take notes.
View slides, videos; participate in
discussion of various artists and
all forms.
Attempt to answer, “What is
Art?” by establishing criteria.
Make careful observations of
buildings in our area; discuss
arch elements.
Create “junk sculpture”
Humanities
Essential Question, Concept or Theme: Multicultural Connection
Approx. Time Allotment:
Standards: 1.1.11 A-H, 1.2.11 A-C, 1.4.11 B, 1.5.11 A-F, 1.6.11 D, 1.8.11 A-C
Adaptations/Inclusion
Techniques
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As per student’s IEP
Audio tape assignments
Extend time parameters
Give advance notice
regarding future
assignments
Note taking by classmates
for reproduction
Offer alternative
assignments
Offer reading and study
guides
Peer tutoring and pairing
Provide classroom aide
Reduce the length of
assignment
Use computer technology
Provide variety in
classroom
Enrichment
Strategies
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Additional reading
After school or lunch period
learning activities (films,
mini-discussion groups) to
emphasize unit learning
objectives
Examining other art genres
and making connections
Field trips (museums, plays)
Independent study
Make given assignments
multi-layered and multifaceted
Student designed activities
Provide challenging books in
classroom library
Provide extra credit options
Remediation
Strategies
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Teacher/student conference
After school support as needed
Mini-lessons on basic skills and
test preparation as needed
Multicultural/
Interdisciplinary Connection
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Humanities is an inherently multicultural
course in that the art and architecture
under study are drawn from peoples of
different nations, ethnicities, and time
periods, within the confines of European
and American art. The course deals with
universal themes that transcend individual
artists’ origins.
Furthermore, the course is
interdisciplinary by nature, as it addresses
such diverse areas as art, music, history,
science, religion and psychology.