A Place in Time
Cindy Stricklin
Gra-Mar Middle School
575 Joyce Lane
Nashville, Tennessee 37216
The Big Idea: Place
Topic: Mind over matter
Place: noun
1. a physical place (a building)
2. an ordering position (1st place)
3. a particular spot (a hurt spot on a body,
lost my spot in a book)
4. numeral position (3 places after the decimal)
5. a suitable location (not the place for that)
6. situation formerly occupied (took the place of)
7. position (job)
Key Concepts
Place is a location, somewhere to go.
Place is a location, where you are from.
Place is a location, where you are.
Place is a state of mind.
Place is existance.
Essential Question: What is place?
How do people influence place?
How does community influence place?
How do you influence place?
Rationale
Middle school students question who they
are and where they belong. Through the
study of place, students can examine
their place, be it physical or a state of
mind, and those who affect it.
Lesson 1
Key Concepts:
Place is a location.
Place is where you are.
Essential Question:
What is place?
Artist
Frida Kahlo
1907 – 1954 Mexico
Frida Kahlo’s artwork was deeply influenced
by events in her personal life. Kahlo
contracted Polio when she was six years old
and when she was almost 18 had a serious
accident.
Kahlo regained the ability to walk, though she would be tortured by pain and fatigue
throughout her life and would undergo more than 30 operations for her injuries. "I
never lost my spirit," she once said, "I always spent my time painting."
Written by Jennifer Beck
Photos courtesy of Rachelle Drouin
Lesson 1
Frida Kahlo
Self Portrait Between the Borderline of Mexico and the United
States
On the left side of your
paper list the symbols
that represent Mexico.
List the symbols that
represent the United
States on the right side
of your paper.
Salvador Dali
May 1904 – January 1989
Spain
Salvador Dalí's artistic repertoire
also included film, sculpture, and
photography. He collaborated with
Walt Disney on the Academy
Award-nominated short cartoon
Destino, which was released
posthumously in 2003. He also
collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock
on Hitchcock's film Spellbound.
Salvador Dali
“ Persistence of Memory”
What do the
symbols
represent?
Write your
answers in you
journal.
John Biggers
1924 - 2001
North Carolina
Dr. Biggers retired from teaching in
1983 and devoted himself
exclusively to his art. The works of
John Biggers features prominently
in the history of African American
art and is included in private
collections and museums at home
and abroad.
John Biggers
Saltmarsh
Biggers uses symbols: turtle represents the setting sun and rabbit represents the rising moon;
symbols of water and nature represent pollution problems.
http://www.biggers.coe.uh.edu/mural10.htm
Sketch the first idea that comes to your mind.
PAST:
Where are you from?
What do you remember
about the place?
What objects do you
associate with your past?
Present:
What experiences have shaped where you are today?
Do you feel a special attachment to where you live now?
Why or why not?
Future:
How do you imagine yourself twenty-five years from now?
Where do you imagine yourself in twenty-five years?
Lesson 2
Key Concepts
Place is a location.
Place is where you are.
Essential Questions:
How do people influence place?
How does community influence
place?
Who creates place?
What places do you see
on the way to school?
Why do you notice these places?
Create a colorful
postcard depicting a
special place that best
represents your
community.
Lesson 3
Key Concepts
Place is a location.
Place is where you are.
Essential questions
What is place?
How do you influence place?
Activity
Describe your place:
(Answer these questions in your journal)
What does your place look like?
How do others describe your place?
What things influence your place?
How does your place change?
Lesson 4
Key Concepts
Place is a location.
Place is where you are.
Place is a state of mind.
Essential Questions
How do people influence place?
How do you influence place?
In the Video “A Wrinkle in Time”,
Meg had to learn some life lessons.
She had to learn to overcome her desire for conformity.
Meg had to learn to be patient.
How did Meg influence her place?
Write your answer in your journal.
Lesson 5
Key Concept
Place is a state of mind.
Essential Question
How do you influence place?
Create a self portrait
Include:
Who you are now …
Who you were in the past …
Who you want to be in the future.
Your drawing can be realistic or surreal.
Use linear perspective.
Books to read
From Far Away by Robert Munsch
The House That Jack Built by Jenny Stow
Mama Do You Love Me by Barbara Joosse
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
New Hope by Henri Sorenson
The House on East 88th Street by Bernard Waber
Power and Glory by Emily Rodda
Visit to a Green Planet by Mike Benton and Scott Deschsine