Introduction to Unit
Instruction and Management
Introduction to Unit
Throughout this semester in our 1st-grade art class, we have explored storytelling through multimedia creations. Stories have been the drive in our lessons including the story box, pirate ship, dream house and emotion books. In our lessons, students came up with stories to create an artwork about. Storytelling through art relates to all of the Colorado visual art standards for first grade. This unit topic is relevant to this age of students because they are just starting to learn how to read and write. Since they are learning these skills, art can be another way to tell stories. Using multimedia art-making is also appropriate for this age because younger children have shorter attention spans which makes it more difficult to keep them engaged. By using multimedia, students can redirect their focus to something different to satisfy their curious and active minds. Using a variety of materials allows students to explore and make new discoveries about art-making.
Every lesson was introduced by reading a storybook or personal stories told by Sami and I. Through their art projects, students made art to retell their own personal experiences as well as create their own stories using their imaginations.
Click here to view the unit plan for Julie's first-grade class.
Methods for Integrating Literacy, Numeracy, Technology, and other Components
Throughout the semester, literacy was a significant component integrated into our lessons. Literacy was integrated mainly through the used of oral explanations when discussing artworks. Art vocabulary terms were introduced and students demonstrated their understanding of these words by identifying elements in artworks shown. Literacy was also incorporated through storybook telling to introduce each lesson. Students would listen to a story that related to the lesson. In addition to discussions and storytelling, literacy was also incorporated in lesson menus and written critiques. For one of our lessons, students used a lesson menu to come up with an idea. The lesson menu included words and pictures to help students learn what the written words are associated with. The image to the right shows a picture of the lesson menu. Finally, for one of our critiques, we had students write one word on a sticky note to describe an artwork made by a classmate.
Numeracy was incorporated into some of our lessons. For example, when students asked me to help them draw themselves I would ask them questions like, "Do you have three eyes? No? How many eyes do you have?" Numeracy was also incorporated in our emotion book lesson because students had to make sure that they had the required amount of at least five pages for their book. Students also used templates to measure shapes. For example, they had to trace the shape of their pirate ship construction paper cutout onto foam paper to make a sturdy backing. Students also created sketches to help assist them in the planning process of art-making. For example, for the story box lesson, students were asked to draw the shape of their opened box with the four sides open.
Technology was incorporated into our lessons to show students artworks and video clips. We showed students that art can be created through technology by showing them the clip from the animated movie Inside Out. We used the smartboard to show this video clip as well as pictures of artworks. We also incorporated art technology by introducing a new printmaking technique of marker on plexiglass.
In addition to literacy, numeracy, and technology, 21st-century skills were also incorporated throughout our lessons. These skills include:
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Creativity/innovation- students used creativity to come up with ideas for their unique artworks.
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Communication/collaboration- students learned how to work with others by using communication to share materials and respectfully waited for their turn when wanted to go to a different art station.
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Flexibility/adaptability- in the emotion book lesson, students were flexible and adaptable when their prints didn't turn out as they planned
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Initiate/self-direction- students chose what materials they wanted to incorporate in their dream houses
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Productivity/accountability- students were held accountable for finishing their work because we told them that their projects need to be completed to be in the art exhibit.
Classroom Management Strategies related to Instruction
To build a respectful classroom environment where learning, exploration, and art-making can flourish, Sami and I implemented a few strategies to manage Julie's first-grade art class. On the first day of class, we created an art sign with rules and expectations of the class. The art sign included illustrations and the following rules:
1. Raise your hand when you want to talk
2. Be kind to others, we do not laugh at our classmates!
3. When it’s clean up time, we expect everyone to help, do not sit around while others pick up. Cleaning up includes cleaning tables AND picking up the floor around your tables. If you don’t participate in cleaning, you will not be allowed to participate in the next art lesson.
4. Raise your hand if you need help instead of yelling across the room at Laine or Sami
5. Share materials with your classmates
In order to hold students accountable if a rule was broken, we would ask them what they need to do to fix their behavior.
To start, we used a routine of meeting at the purple carpet at the beginning of class, so that students had expectations to listen to the introduction of each day. If students were talking while the teacher was talking, we would tell students that we won't get started until everyone is quiet. This technique worked well because students were always excited to participate in the art lessons.
At the beginning of the semester, cleanup and preparation were not well planned out. This lack of planning resulted in a chaotic classroom of students running around not knowing what to do. To build respect for the classroom and art materials, we decided to assign jobs to each student and dismissed whichever table was the quietest. For example, during material preparation, some students gathered markers for their table. Job assignments were used to manage cleanup time as well. For example, Sami and I would give some student paper collector jobs, while others table cleaning jobs. This also held students accountable because they knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing.
Lesson Plans and Documentation
Lesson Plan 1- What's in the Box?
In this lesson, students will create a three-dimensional box that tells a story about a time they lost a tooth. To introduce the lesson, “The Night Before The Tooth Fairy” by Natasha Wing will be read to get students thinking about a time that they have lost a tooth. Students will first come up with their own story to illustrate, paint their box and create 3D objects out of clay to go inside to tell their own story.
Lesson Plan 2- Ahoy come Aboard my Ship!
In this lesson, students will create their own story about being a pirate including where they will journey to, what their ship will look like and what creatures they will run into. In this lesson, students will learn that artists use color and shape to tell stories through art. To introduce the lesson, three artworks will be discussed: "Tugboat on the Seine, Chatou" (1906) by Maurice de Vlaminck 1906, “Boating” by Brian Simonos, 2017 and “Orange Bouy” by George Anderson. These questions will be asked about each artwork: What is going on in the artwork? Where do you think the boat is headed and why? What colors and shapes do you see? Students will first paint their background, then create cut-out pirate ships to add to their painting.
Lesson Plan 3- Dream Homes
In this lesson, students will become architects and create their dream house using multimedia. After everyone is finished with his or her houses, stands will be attached so that students can put all of his or her houses to make a collaborative city. To introduce the lesson, the book If You lived here: Houses of the World by Giles Laroche. After reading the book, students will discuss what their favorite house was and why. Students will create their own dream houses and tell stories about what they would do in their house and what purpose it would serve.
Lesson Plan 4- Emotion Books
In this lesson, students will learn that artists create artwork that can represent emotions and feelings. To introduce the lesson, a clip from the movie Inside Out will be shown and discussed. Students will be asked about the different emotions that they saw and how they know what emotion. Then they will guess what emotions the teacher is trying to convey in the example book through observations and evidence to support their thinking. To create a book of emotions, students will illustrate a time when they felt an emotion by using marker on plexiglass printmaking. They will also be able to add colored pencil and marker for detail after printing, then they will create a cover for their book.
