Introduction
This unit was developed through a lot of trial and error. A lot of our original ideas needed to be scrapped as we continued to build relationships and get to know our students. Our Unit consists of four lessons that we developed to pique student interest and ensure engagement. Students were allowed to comprehend, reflect, create, and transfer throughout our lessons within our unit. Students were introduced to many new art vocabulary terms, created different and unique projects, and reflected and communicated about those projects.
Through our various lessons, students were taught how artists connect to their communities, as well as how students can use these tools to communicate about their own story. Because we taught a Kindergarten class, our lessons were designed specifically around exploration and the idea of play. Students were able to learn through experiment and play, which made the lessons more relevant to them and their daily lives. At the end of each lesson, students participated in reflective activities that demonstrated how they were learning and their understanding of artists and the art world. Throughout our unit, we encouraged students to experiment, ideate, and play to achieve a greater understanding of art and artists in the art world.
Through our various lessons, students were taught how artists connect to their communities, as well as how students can use these tools to communicate about their own story. Because we taught a Kindergarten class, our lessons were designed specifically around exploration and the idea of play. Students were able to learn through experiment and play, which made the lessons more relevant to them and their daily lives. At the end of each lesson, students participated in reflective activities that demonstrated how they were learning and their understanding of artists and the art world. Throughout our unit, we encouraged students to experiment, ideate, and play to achieve a greater understanding of art and artists in the art world.
Lesson Descriptions
Our first lesson (The Enchantment of Color) was centered around color, how different materials work, and how one can combine materials to create something new. This lesson extended over three classes. We began the lesson by introducing the students to dry materials (i.e. oil pastels, markers, colored pencils), then wet materials (i.e. watercolor and chalk in water), then we had them create a piece using both dry and wet materials. For their last piece, we also introduced them to the idea of oil pastels acting as a resist with watercolor. Because our students are so young, most of them had not yet used any materials we had introduced to them. So we built up their knowledge by introducing them to the materials slowly and allowing them to experiment and ideate with the materials before assigning the final project for their lesson. During this lesson, we exposed our students to several artists using the various materials, as well as an artist that mainly produces art featuring the resist technique. At the end of the lesson, we had a class discussion where students talked about what they noticed using the materials, the similarities and differences in everyone's pieces, and which materials they would like to explore more moving forward.
Our second lesson (The Tell-Tale Diptych) involved students creating a diptych using illustrations they created while listening to stories. This lesson stretched across two classes. We began by reading a story to the students, with which they used as inspiration for their illustrations. This was more of an ideation activity as it gave students the chance to practice how to draw an illustration from a story. Students were given oil pastels, colored pencils, markers, and construction paper for their ideation illustrations. After their ideation, we had students create two different illustrations based off of two different stories. One of these illustrations was to be done with the materials on white paper while the other was done on black paper. This slight change in materials allowed our students to experiment and play while creating their illustrations. When introducing the lesson, we defined "diptych" for our students and showed them artists who had created diptychs. This gave the students a sense of what we were looking for and introduced them to diptychs in the art world. At the end of the lesson, we had a reflective activity that involved a class discussion where students talked about what they created, why they chose the imagery they chose, why they chose the materials they chose, and how their piece is different/similar to the pieces of their classmates.
Our third lesson (League of Extraordinary Toymakers) consisted of our students creating a unique toy and developing it's purpose. This lesson spanned over three classes. Because we transitioned from two-dimensional materials to three-dimensional materials, we went over those definitions and talked about the difference in the two types of materials. We showed them examples of work from Calder and Wilcox to demonstrate what a three-dimensional sculpture looks like and it's properties. We gave students a lot of time to ideate an experiment for this project because of the transition to three-dimensional materials. Students created a prototype toy that they would then have the choice of using for their final piece. The materials we used included found objects, pipe cleaners, straws, plates and bowls, cups, and cardboard tubes. Students were able to adhere materials with tape or hot glue, although we ran the hot glue station so they wouldn't injure themselves. Our reflective activity for this lesson involved the students presenting their toys one by one. Once the student had shown their toys, their peers were allowed to guess what the purpose of the toy was before the student explained the purpose and how they achieved it. This allowed our students to use their art skills to determine meaning based on elements within the piece.
Our fourth lesson (Secrets of the Treasure Box) expands on three-dimensional materials and making a piece with meaning. This lesson will span across two classes and involves our students created a treasure box using clay. We introduced clay building techniques, as well as different properties of clay. We also introduced the students to the term "reliquary" and to artists who create reliquaries. We also touched on how other cultures use reliquaries within their culture. Our students were asked to create a box using clay to either express and emotion or hold an important object. This allowed students to choose what they want their art work to be about and to create a piece that mattered to them individually. After building their treasure boxes, students were given acrylic paint to paint and add designs to their treasure box. Our reflective activity is similar to the reflective activity for our toy lesson. This time, we had students present their treasure boxes one-by-one. Before telling the emotion they expressed or the object they wanted to hold, the other students are allowed to guess. This allows students to again use skills to interpret meaning from elements of art. It also allows students to show their projects, which they've spent a lot of time on.
Our second lesson (The Tell-Tale Diptych) involved students creating a diptych using illustrations they created while listening to stories. This lesson stretched across two classes. We began by reading a story to the students, with which they used as inspiration for their illustrations. This was more of an ideation activity as it gave students the chance to practice how to draw an illustration from a story. Students were given oil pastels, colored pencils, markers, and construction paper for their ideation illustrations. After their ideation, we had students create two different illustrations based off of two different stories. One of these illustrations was to be done with the materials on white paper while the other was done on black paper. This slight change in materials allowed our students to experiment and play while creating their illustrations. When introducing the lesson, we defined "diptych" for our students and showed them artists who had created diptychs. This gave the students a sense of what we were looking for and introduced them to diptychs in the art world. At the end of the lesson, we had a reflective activity that involved a class discussion where students talked about what they created, why they chose the imagery they chose, why they chose the materials they chose, and how their piece is different/similar to the pieces of their classmates.
Our third lesson (League of Extraordinary Toymakers) consisted of our students creating a unique toy and developing it's purpose. This lesson spanned over three classes. Because we transitioned from two-dimensional materials to three-dimensional materials, we went over those definitions and talked about the difference in the two types of materials. We showed them examples of work from Calder and Wilcox to demonstrate what a three-dimensional sculpture looks like and it's properties. We gave students a lot of time to ideate an experiment for this project because of the transition to three-dimensional materials. Students created a prototype toy that they would then have the choice of using for their final piece. The materials we used included found objects, pipe cleaners, straws, plates and bowls, cups, and cardboard tubes. Students were able to adhere materials with tape or hot glue, although we ran the hot glue station so they wouldn't injure themselves. Our reflective activity for this lesson involved the students presenting their toys one by one. Once the student had shown their toys, their peers were allowed to guess what the purpose of the toy was before the student explained the purpose and how they achieved it. This allowed our students to use their art skills to determine meaning based on elements within the piece.
Our fourth lesson (Secrets of the Treasure Box) expands on three-dimensional materials and making a piece with meaning. This lesson will span across two classes and involves our students created a treasure box using clay. We introduced clay building techniques, as well as different properties of clay. We also introduced the students to the term "reliquary" and to artists who create reliquaries. We also touched on how other cultures use reliquaries within their culture. Our students were asked to create a box using clay to either express and emotion or hold an important object. This allowed students to choose what they want their art work to be about and to create a piece that mattered to them individually. After building their treasure boxes, students were given acrylic paint to paint and add designs to their treasure box. Our reflective activity is similar to the reflective activity for our toy lesson. This time, we had students present their treasure boxes one-by-one. Before telling the emotion they expressed or the object they wanted to hold, the other students are allowed to guess. This allows students to again use skills to interpret meaning from elements of art. It also allows students to show their projects, which they've spent a lot of time on.
Prepared Graduate Competencies
During our unit, we touched on many PGCs with our students. These PGCs were achieved throughout our unit in many different ways. The main purpose of our unit was to give our students the tools to creatively express themselves. Through exploring these PGCs in our unit, students grew and developed as artists and developed an understanding of artists and the art world. At the end of the semester, our biggest goal was to help them find successful ways to creatively communicate with the world and express who they are. The PGCs we covered within our unit were:
- See oneself as a participant in visual art and design by experiencing, viewing, or making.
- Visually and/or verbally articulate how visual art and design are a means for communication
- Practice critical and analytical skills by using academic language to discuss works of art and visual culture.
- Critique connections between visual art and historic and contemporary philosophies
- Interpret works of art and design in the context of varied traditions, histories, and cultures
- Create works of visual art and design that demonstrate increasing levels of mastery and techniques
- Persist in the creative process and innovate from failure