Unit Topic and Rationale
Introduction
Throughout the semester teaching first grade art at Polaris, all of our lessons have been related to storytelling through the use of multimedia. 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.
Lesson 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.
Planning/ideation: Students were asked to create a sketch of a time they lost a tooth. They were asked these questions: Where were you when you lost your tooth? Who were you with? How did you lose it? What objects were around you?
Materials and Techniques:
Sketchbooks
Model Magic Clay
Watercolor
Markers
Glue
Pre-cut unfoldable boxes (made from cardstock)
Plastic butter knives
Art expressive features/characteristics used: Students recreated an experience personal to them through visual representation. Students used personal symbols to tell their story by sculpting with clay and painting with watercolor.
Art community and culture: This project was introduced by showing a video on Instagram of the artist, Kleine Knetwelt. Students also observed artworks created by Sami and me.
Lesson 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.
Ideation/planning: Students were given a lesson menu to fill out to help them generate ideas to create a story. This menu asked these questions: How does your ship move? What is around your ship? What creatures will you see? Where are you going? Students were allowed to sketch in their sketchbooks if they wanted to.
Materials and Techniques:
Sketchbooks
Canvases
Acrylic Paint
Paint brushes
Aprons
Paper plates (for paint)
Water trays
Towels to wipe paint brushes
Students used different techniques to apply paint. For example, some students added more water to the acrylic to make a faded color. Some students also used their paint brushes to dab paint onto their canvas to make dots. Students also experimented with adding different mediums like oil pastels, markers, crayons, colored pencils and construction paper
Art/expressive features used: Students used shape, patterns and contrast to create elements to tell their imagined stories.
Art community and culture: Students discussed what they thought was going on in these artworks "Tugboat on the Seine, Chatou" (1906) by Maurice de Vlaminck 1906, “Boating” by Brian Simonos, 2017 and “Orange Bouy” by George Anderson
Lesson 3- Dream Homes
In this lesson, students will become architects and create their dream house using multimedia. After everyone is finished with their houses, stands will be attached so that students can put all of their 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.
Ideation/planning: Students were asked to identify what architectural elements were their favorite from the book and imagine their own dream house that includes some of the elements from the houses in the book. Students were also allowed to look at the book for inspiration
Materials and Techniques:
Sketchbooks
Cardstock
Cardboard
Acrylic Paint
Paint brushes
Aprons
Paper plates (for paint)
Water trays
Towels to wipe paint brushes
Pastels
Watercolors
Art/expression and features: This project used synthesis of art mediums used in previous projects. Students used materials chosen by them to express their imagined dream house through the used of color, pattern and shapes.
Art community and culture: Students were shown houses from around the world in the book If you Lived Here: Houses of the World by Giles Laroche.
Lesson 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.
ideation/planning: Students were asked to pick 5 emotions and sketch a time when they felt that emotion.
Materials and Techniques:
scissors
Buckets
Printing plates
Paper towels
Towels
Glue
Construction paper
Drawing paper
Markers
Colored pencils
Students used a new printmaking technique: marker on plexiglass to transfer to paper. They had to get a damp piece of paper and press it onto the plexiglass to transfer the image.
Tools: Plexiglass, markers, water buckets, towels
Art expression/features: In this project, students were encouraged to express emotions that they feel and experiences they had when they felt these emotions. They created personal stories to add to their book of emotions.
Art community and culture: Students will be shown a clip from the animated movie Inside Out as well as Sami's created emotion book.
Prepared Graduate Competencies
Observe and Learn to comprehend
Lesson 1, 2, 3, 4
Recognize, articulate, and debate that the visual arts are a means for expression
Lesson 2, 4
Analyze, interpret, and make meaning of art and design critically using oral and written discourse
Envision and Critique to Reflect
Lesson 1, 2, 3, 4
Recognize, articulate, and implement critical thinking in the visual arts by synthesizing, evaluating, and analyzing visual information
Lesson 4
Use specific criteria to discuss and evaluate works of art
Lesson 2, 3, 4
Critique personal work and the work of others with informed criteria
Invent and Discover to Create
Lesson 1, 2, 3, 4
Recognize, interpret, and validate that the creative process builds on the development of ideas through a process of inquiry, discovery, and research
Lesson 3, 4
Develop and build appropriate mastery in art-making skills using traditional and new technologies and an understanding of the characteristics and expressive features of art and design
Relate and Connect to Transfer
Lesson 3
Identify, compare and justify that the visual arts are a way to acknowledge, exhibit and learn about the diversity of peoples, cultures and ideas
Lesson 1, 2, 3, 4
Transfer the value of visual arts to lifelong learning and the human experience