LESSON PLAN #2: WHY IS ART IMPORTANT?
Day Two: 40~45 minute lesson
1. Lesson Objectives
a. Knowledge Outcomes
i. Standard: 3.7 After reading a biography of a person from
Massachusetts in one of the following categories: the arts (John
Singleton Copley)
ii. 3.12 Explain how objects or artifacts of everyday life in the past tell us
how ordinary people lived and how everyday life has changed.
b. Skills Outcomes
Students will
i. Observe visual sources such as historic paintings and portraits that
accompany historical narratives, and describe details such as clothing,
setting or action
ii. Observe and describe local or regional historical artifacts and sites
and generate questions about their function, construction and
significance
iii. Apply critical thinking skills to consider the various choices artists
make in depicting daily life around them
2. Assessment:
a. Formative assessments: observation of student participation in brainstorm
and facilitated art decoding practice, Face It exercise
b. Summative assessment: quick write
3. Materials:
-Video projector: Art Babble link
-Powerpoint presentation-Art Elements (examples of different elements-use
compare/contrast)
-Notes for art elements
-Computers/Ipads
4. Sequence of activities
a. Hook: (5min) Art Babble video on exploring Copley’s portraits (2min. 36)
http://www.artbabble.org/video/dma/dallas-museum-art-collection-johnsingleton-copley
-Vocabulary/ phrases to clarify meaning: ‘at the height of his
career’ ‘to convey’ ‘being a pillar’ ‘angularities’ ‘to equate’
-What does it mean “to convey textures”? How can artists do this?
b. Activities:
a. (5min) Exploring art elements: colors, textures, shapes and lines—the
tools artists have to tell a story, to convey a feeling and moment
o Hand out art elements notes
(10min) Teacher facilitated art decoding practice (Mrs.
Ezekiel Gondthwait)
1. Look, Wonder and Find
2. Support use of art elements as evidence: colors, lines
(soft or hard, curved or straight)
o (10-15min) Face it! Online tool for children to explore
portraiture, it allows students to manipulate art elements
(colors, shapes, lines) and observe their effects on the
painting, as well as create their own portrait
http://www.show.me.uk/site/resource/teachers/tArt-andDesign/STO270.html
1. Explain briefly but mostly allow students to explore
the tools
2. Walk around and connect with students, connect back
to the art elements we learned about earlier, ask
questions and listen
(10 min) Brainstorm activity—Why is art important?
o Think Pair Share: Why is art important?
o Whole group brainstorm: Why is art important? Why is art
important in social studies?
o Introduce other GQ for our uni-- How does art connect to
history? How does art help us understand historical events
and processes? And preview activities that we will do for
this unit (collaborative museum guides, personal history
paintings)
o
b.
c. Differentiation:
a. Art Babble video
o Introducing students to some of the higher level vocabulary
used by the curator in the video- creating an art word
wall/incorporating words into a current word wall
o Scaffolding the video’s content—asking clarifying questions
“what clues ‘convey texture’?”, point out what is meant by
“angularities” and comparing to the curves of the woman’s
portrait
o Making the video available for students to re-watch during
learning centers to reinforce concepts and understanding
b. Face It:
o Art elements can be quite abstract if presented solely in
lecture-style format, it is much easier to understand them
when you actively explore and manipulate them. An online
simulation allows for a level of manipulation that is difficult
to achieve if using actual materials—you can easily “undo”
and change the various effects.
o Allows students who may not consider themselves “artistic”
“good drawers/painters” to begin to build that confidence
by exploring alternative ways of creating art. It also gives
them access to the art content material by allowing them to
manipulate the various elements in systematic ways. This
activity allows students to move at their own place and
explore their own questions about art elements.
o A very interesting adaptation recommended on the website
is the use of line drawings, which can be printed out on a
raised image printer for students with visual impairments as
a tactile image.
c. Brainstorm
o Using TPS allows students who need extra time to think
and/or like to prepare/practice what they are going to say
before saying it to the whole group (ELLs, timid students,
students with communication challenges), it helps students
build confidence in their ideas, strengthen their
communication skills and collaborate with each other to
create stronger ideas
o Free-flowing nature of the brainstorm gives significant
flexibility for student input and observing where the class
takes the question will be highly informative regarding
where students are at in their understanding of art and art’s
place in social studies
d. Quickwrite—allows more student voices to be added to the group,
collectively brainstorming resembles the pre-writing step that
students would be familiar with from Writers’ Workshop. Students
are allowed to either write in physical journals or keep electronic
versions to accommodate diverse motor needs and challenges.
d. Wrap-Up: (5min) Quick write: Why is art important to you? (in social studies
journal OR using other technological adaptations as needed) (play music to
focus group)
5. Potential Pitfalls
a. Ideally each student or pair of students would have access to either a
computer or an Ipad to use Face It! Potential pitfall is unavailability of
technology—potential solutions would be do one as a whole class, have
students actually draw it out or use this activity later as part of a learning
center.
b. Time—both Face It and Brainstorm activities are relatively unstructured to
allow for student exploration of the concepts and discovery of knowledge,
skillful facilitation on behalf of the teacher would help ensure that
conversation and exploration stays grounded in the objectives of the class
6. Reflections Fill this section out after teaching your unit—if you do so as part of your class
or student teaching. Otherwise, you may leave this section blank.