Personal Peace Symbols
A unit for grade 10
3-4 hours
Description: “Personal Peace Symbols” introduces students to symbolism as a tool
towards personal expression, while encouraging reflection on the subject of peace.
Goal: Students will produce a work of art on the subject of peace using their personal
experience as a basis for imagery, rather than ‘universal’ or stereotypical peace symbols.
By the end of the lesson, students will understand how to think through an idea before it
becomes a work of art. They will understand the importance of research and personal
reflection, and gain experience incorporating collage into traditional drawing and
painting. They will also learn how to present their work in a critique, and critique the
artwork of others.
Overall Expectations:
(1) Produce a work of art designed around specific objectives and challenges (e.g.
composition issues, subject matter, use of visual language)
(2) Explain the importance of process in relation to the final product
(3) Apply critical analysis processes to their artwork and works studied
Specific Expectations:
(1) Use various strategies in creating images (e.g. symbolism, interpretation of same
idea in both two and three dimensions)
(2) Use research from various sources (e.g. books, databases, conversation with local
artists) as part of the creative process
(3) Demonstrate the ability to review and evaluate the creative processes they use, as
well as the resulting artworks.
(4) Identify possibly meanings of a work by referring to background information and
specific visual indicators.
(5) Demonstrate an understanding of the use of symbols in creative expression
Prior Knowledge
(1) Basic experience in painting and drawing.
(2) Knowledge of the elements and principles of design, including: line, shape,
direction, size, texture, colour, value, balance, gradation, repetition, contrast,
dominance and unity.
Materials and Resources
- Blank Q-cards, 5 per student
- Black felt markers, 1 per student
- Canvas, approx. 18” x 24,” 1 per student
- Acrylic paint
- Brushes, 1 large, 1 small per student
- Pencils, 1 per student
- Charcoal, 1 box per table
- Scissors, 1 pair per student
- Acrylic medium, 1 bottle per table
- Magazines, newspapers
- Computer and colour printer for retrieving internet resources
Slides or Digital Images
Pablo Picasso, Guernica (1937)
Jasper Johns, Moratorium (1969) (Vietnam war)
Antonio Frasconi, Vietnam! (1967)
Keith Haring, Untitled (1984)- anti war painting
Norman Rockwell, The Golden Rule (1961)
Fransisco Goya, The Third of May, 1808 (1814)
Anselm Kiefer Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe (Faith, hope, love) (1984-86)
Karl Fredrik Reutersward, Non-violence (1980)- from the UN headquarters in NYC)
The Japanese Peace Bell
A Tibetan peace garden.
Groupings: Students will work individually except during the class discussion.
Procedure:
PART ONE: Theory and Process (Approx. 1 hour)
(1) Initial task (10-15 minutes)
- As students enter the class, each is presented with 5 blank Q-cards and a marker, and
instructed to quickly sketch 5 symbols associated with the idea of peace. (Additional
cards should be available for enthusiastic students).
- At the end of the task, the students are instructed to tape up their drawings on a wall
with masking tape, attempting to group similar symbols.
(2) Discussion (10-15 minutes)
- Students are asked to comment on the types of symbols which appear on the board.
Which symbols are the most common? Which can be identified as ‘universal symbols?’
What meanings do these symbols convey? What is the possible origin of these symbols?
Do symbols vary from culture to culture?
(3) Slide Presentation or Digital Projection (10-15 minutes)
- A presentation of images displaying how various artists have dealt with the concept of
peace (or resisted the idea of war)
- The presentation will be accompanied by a brain storming activity, in which (for each
artwork) students are asked which strategies the various artists have used to convey the
idea of peace in their work. These ideas can be written on the board and left up during the
following exercise.
(4) Reflective Writing Exercise (10-15 minutes)
- An informal, personal response, designed to help students examine their own ideas
about peace. Possible questions include:
- What is the importance of peace?
- Are there any current or historical events (relating to conflict or conflict
resolution) which resonate with you?
- Name any movies, TV shows, books, or other media which deal with the
issue. How did you respond to them?
- Discuss possibly strategies for promoting worldwide peace.
- At the end of class, the following assignment will be given, so that students may prepare
their ideas for a work period next class (if possible, give students a weekend to think over
and prepare for their assignment):
Assignment: Using mixed media (collage, painting, drawing, etc.), create a work
of art on the subject of peace which does not employ any of the ‘universal’ peace
symbols. Using your writing exercise as a stepping-off point, invest your work
with your own personalized symbolism to convey your own ideas about peace .
- Before the work period, students are encouraged to collect source imagery from the
newspaper, magazines, and the internet to use in their artwork.
PART TWO: Work Period (Approx. 1 hour)
Students are given class time to work on their projects. They are encouraged to
experiment with collage and refer to media images as a way of expressing their ideas.
Any questions or concerns may be addressed by the teacher on an individual basis.
Students experiencing trouble with their ideas should be allowed time to research on the
internet or discuss informally with other students.
Depending on student progress, two work periods may be necessary.
PART THREE: Critical Analysis (Approx. 1 hour)
(1) Preparation (5 minutes)
- As students enter the class, their completed artworks are set up for display.
(2) Critique (40-45 minutes)
- The class will respond to each work of art, attempting to identify the strategies used by
the artist to communicate an idea about peace. The elements and principles of design will
also be addressed.
- Students will explain their own artworks, describing their own strategies and thought
processes.
(3) Follow-up questions for an open discussion (10 minutes)
- Did everyone agree on the meaning of these personal symbols? How are they different
from more conventional peace symbols?
- Through our discussions, your personal reflection, and the creation of your artwork, has
your idea of peace changed or become more complex?
- How can artists promote peace?
Assessment:
(1) Observation: Students will be assessed throughout the work period on their problemsolving skills as well as their technical ability, creativity, safety, and understanding of the
project.
(2) Process work: At the end of the project, students will hand in their rough work for
review. This will include their written personal reflection, any preparatory sketches, and a
bibliography of resources (if applicable).
(3) Oral Presentation: During the final critique, students’ understanding of concepts will
be evaluated based on how their describe their own work, and the work of other students.
(4) The final products will be evaluated according to a rubric (see appendix) which takes
into account the student’s understanding of the concepts, communication of ideas, use of
symbolism, creativity, problem-solving and technique.
Adaptations
A student with a physical disability which impairs dexterity could be accommodated by
using a larger painting surface, and allowed additional time to complete the project. The
student could also be accommodated by using computer resources. A collage of images
sampled from the internet and assembled using a program such as Photoshop could fulfill
the criteria of the project while being less physically demanding on the student.
A visually impaired student could express his or her personal ideas about peace through
carving into linoleum, or sculpting with clay or some other tactile medium. During
critiques, the teacher or fellow students could carefully describe the appearance of each
painting before the critique begins.
Appendix: Assessment Rubric
Process and
research
Participation
Presentation
Critique
Concept
Technique
4
-Was thoughtful and
thorough in the
reflective writing
exercise, generating
many insightful
ideas.
-Collected a large
variety of source
imagery.
-Excellent
participation in class
discussions.
- Almost always
worked hard the
entire class, and
sometimes outside of
class.
-Presentation was
articulate and showed
good insight.
-Excellent
explanation of ideas,
research and
technique.
-Excellent responses
to other students’
work.
- Exhibited a
complete
understanding of
concepts.
-Project showed
excellent creativity.
- Used personal
symbolism rather
than stereotypical
imagery
- Project exhibited
ingenuity and
problem-solving
techniques.
- Exhibited
awareness of most
elements and
principles of design.
- Excellent
integration of collage,
painting and drawing.
- Showed a high
interest in
experimentation and
risk-taking.
3
-Completed the
reflective writing
exercise and
generated several
useful ideas.
-Collected a
sufficient amount of
source imagery.
2
-Completed the
reflective writing
exercise and generated
at least one useful idea.
-Collected some
imagery.
1
-Writing exercise was either
incomplete or failed to
generate any ideas for the
project.
-Did not collect source
imagery.
-Good participation
in class discussions.
- Often worked hard
during class time.
-Moderate participation
in class discussions.
- Sometimes worked
hard during class time.
-Did not participate in class
discussions.
- Made poor use of class
time.
-Presentation was
easily understood and
showed some insight.
-Good explanation of
ideas, research and
technique.
-Presentation was
understandable.
-Explanation of ideas,
research and technique
were present, but lacked
depth.
-Presentation was vague and
did not properly address
main ideas, research or
technique.
-Good responses to
other students’ work.
- Exhibited a
moderate
understanding of
concepts.
-Responded to other
students’ work on a
surface level.
- Limited understanding
of concepts.
- Did not respond to other
students’ work.
- Project showed
moderate creativity.
- Used personal
symbolism rather
than stereotypical
imagery.
- Some indication of
ingenuity and
problem-solving
- Project showed some
creativity
- Used personal
symbolism which is
somewhat derived from
stereotypical imagery.
- Limited indication of
ingenuity and problemsolving.
- Project makes use of
stereotypical images with
little or no indication of
original thought.
- No attempt at ingenuity or
problem-solving.
- Exhibited awareness
of some elements and
principles of design.
- Good integration of
collage, painting and
drawing.
- Showed some
interest in
experimentation and
risk-taking.
- Exhibited limited
awareness of the
elements and principles
of design.
- Moderate integration
of collage, painting and
drawing.
- Little interest in
experimentation and
risk-taking
- No attempt to work with
the elements and principles
of design.
- Poor integration of
collage, painting and
drawing.
- No attempt to experiment
or take risks.