Concept Assignment Lesson Notes
1) What is a concept?

Read dictionary definition: “A general idea or understanding,
especially one derived from specific instances or occurrences.”
William Morris, Ed. (1982). The American Heritage Dictionary of the
English Language. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

So abstract concepts are usually built on/grounded in concrete
experiences with people, places, and things

Discuss the idea that a concept allows us to generalize about
things—to frame a set of rules that can be used to predict causes
and effects
2) Can you brainstorm a list of abstract concepts?








CPCTC (mathematical concepts)
Love – “The” universal theme!
War – There are tons of wonderful pieces by Spanish-speaking artists
on this subject—Francisco de Goya’s Los fusilamientos del dos de
mayo, Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, Diego Velásquez’s Las Lanzas de
Breda, Joan Miro’s Still Life with Old Shoe, Salvador Dalí’s The
Enigma of Hitler, Fernando Botero’s War, and any number of pieces
by Diego Rivera and José Guadalupe Posada.
Peace – Picasso has done some things on this subject, as have
many Spanish-speaking musicians.
Prejudice – The issue of the Colors magazine put out by Benneton
about prejudice makes a good springboard for discussion here
because relies so heavily on a symbiotic relationship between
images and text to communicate its concept. Any of the issues of
this magazine (previewed by the teacher in advance) would be
good examples to show students for this assignment.
Hate
Faith – Nearly every Spanish-speaking artist I can think of (Dalí,
Velásquez, Botero, and El Greco, for example) has done a piece
related to faith, religion, or Christ—but each one shows very
different conceptions of these topics.
Hope – Read Dickinson poem from below, then listen to I Hope You
Dance as kids look at the book that comes with it, then have kids
write own hope statements for the new year (using the
Teens, Toys, Talkin’, & Tech ♦ MiWLA, 2006 ♦ Cherice Montgomery ♦ chericem@msu.edu
subjunctive—similar to some of the Christmas activities that Irene
Moon posted some years ago).
«Esperanza» es la cosa con plumas –
Que se posa en el alma –
Canta la melodía sin palabras –
Y no se para – nunca –
La más dulce – que en la Galerna – se oye –
Y áspera la tormenta debe ser –
Que abatir pueda al Pajarillo
Que dio calor a tantos –
En la más fría tierra la he oído –
Y en el Mar más ajeno –
Aunque, nunca, en Apuros,
Me ha pedido una miga.
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –
I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of Me.
-
Emily Dickinson
3) Are concepts the same for everyone? (Use the following activities to
illustrate that concepts tend to be multifaceted and can be viewed from
multiple perspectives.)

Education – What particulars do you think of when you think of
education

As a class, brainstorm about the topic from the perspective of
parents, teachers, students, and administrators.
Teens, Toys, Talkin’, & Tech ♦ MiWLA, 2006 ♦ Cherice Montgomery ♦ chericem@msu.edu

Consider the statement: “The kind of deliberately designed tasks
students are offered in school help define the kind of thinking they
will learn to do. The kind of thinking students learn to do will
influence what they come to know and the kind of cognitive skills
they acquire.” Elliott W. Eisner. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of
the Mind. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 13.

Now do the same thing for the concept of lunch – Brainstorm about
the topic from the perspective of parents, teachers, students, and
administrators here in the United States, then do the same from the
perspective of a student from a Spanish-speaking country. (So,
most people eat a meal in the middle of the day, but our
conception of that act is different depending on who we are,
where we live, and what our role is in that society.) [Incidentally, this
a great place to bring in the Cultures and Comparisons standards
and the idea that there are some concepts in the U.S. that, for all
intents and purposes, do not really exist in other countries—such as
the idea of cheerleaders.]
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Parents - $ & safety
Teachers – Break, work time
Students – Social time, down time
Administrators – Detention, fights, discipline, problems, etc.

Share with students excerpts from the Suzanne Thomas & J. Gary
Knowles article entitled from the Journal of Critical Inquiry Into
Curriculum and Instruction 4(3) that suggest that the people with
the information about education (students) are often silenced in
the discussion and decision-making process.

Read examples from the students David & Katherine in the article
(pp. 9 and 10) and show their photos.

Discuss how Katherine’s art wouldn’t have made as much sense
without her poetry and vice versa. (Art informs text and text informs
art.)
4) It is your turn!


Choose a concept about which you feel passionate and about
which you feel you have a unique perspective to share.
Tell what you want to say about it (what you think and how you
feel).
Teens, Toys, Talkin’, & Tech ♦ MiWLA, 2006 ♦ Cherice Montgomery ♦ chericem@msu.edu



Choose a person, place, or thing that can represent or depict the
concept.
Brainstorm words and images needed to express your thoughts and
feelings about it.
Sketch what a static display might look like.
5) Tips from the photography teacher:




If you are using a disposable camera – stay 4 ft. away so that the
image remains in focus.
Pay attention to the background.
Focus on the figure.
Check with a friend (without leading questions) to be sure that what
you have in the image communicates what you meant for it to
communicate.
6) Some examples:

Play Mi amigo Sebastián from Franco de Vita’s Voces a mi
alrededor as an example of a song that characterizes a person.

Play La Sagrada Familia from the Alan Parsons Project CD Gaudi as
an example of a song that commemorates a place.

Play I Hope You Dance as example and show how images and text
and music are layered using the book by Mark D. Sanders and Tia
Sillers (CD included in book) – ISBN 1-55853-844-5.

Have students divide their papers into 3 columns – Nouns, verbs,
adjectives and write down key words as they listen to the songs.
Use the key words they extract to show them how to think
concretely in order to express abstractions. Stress the power of
metaphoric language as you do this.
7) Encourage students to AVOID THE “RIGHT ANSWER” SYNDROME! There
are MANY ways to accomplish this assignment effectively and they do not
all look, feel, sound, smell, or taste the same!
Teens, Toys, Talkin’, & Tech ♦ MiWLA, 2006 ♦ Cherice Montgomery ♦ chericem@msu.edu