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Sami Auster
Art Educator/Artist/ Student
Unit Topic and Rationale
Introduction
This unit of study is designed to create a baseline art experience for first grade students. The lessons within take into account that, this may be the first time that student's are using specific art materials. The students will explore techniques and characteristics of various mediums. The students will spend time making and sharing discoveries they make while using new mediums. Even though each lesson will end with the students having a completed work of art, my hope is that my student's will also walk away having learned crucial decision and problem solving skills that will help them throughout their lives.
Unit Plan
Lesson Descriptions
"What's in the Box?" (Lesson 1)
In this lesson, students created a 3d box that told a story about a time they lost a tooth. To introduce the lesson we read the book, “The Night Before the Tooth Fairy,” by Natasha Wing. After reading, students brainstormed in their sketchbooks and drew out a time when they lost their tooth. Then the students used watercolors and 2d techniques to paint the background of their boxes. The students then used model magic and hand building techniques to create 3d objects to illustrate their story. Finally the students participated in a gallery walk. We asked students if they saw anything they really liked and why they liked it, they also reflected upon how their classmates portrayed their own personal stories by having a group discussion.
"Ahoy, Come Aboard My Ship!" (Lesson 2)
In this lesson, students created a two dimensional composition with three dimensional elements through the use of shapes and patterns. The lesson started out by the students listening to a story called, “How I Became A Pirate” by Melinda Long. After listening to the story the students were introduced to the following artists artwork, “Tugboat on the Seine, Chatou" (1906) by Maurice de Vlaminck 1906, “Boating” by Brian Simonos, 2017 and “Orange Bouy” by George Anderson.Then we had a group discussion about the elements of design the artists used such as shapes and colors. After our discussion students invented a story about where they will travel on their pirate ship and what they will encounter on the way. Then using Using acrylic paint, students applied painting techniques to paint a background and then created pirate ships by using cut up paper shapes and patterns. After the student's completed their project as a class we did a gallery walk of all the students artwork, at each table the teachers proposed questions about the artwork and the students talked about the work. The questions we asked were the following:
Where do you think this artists pirate ship is headed? How do you know that?
What colors to you see? Are the colors repeated? Where?
What shapes do you see? Are there any patterns?
Dream House (Lesson 3)
In this lesson students will became architects and designed their own dream home. Student’s learned how artists draw inspiration from their culture to influence the shapes and space in their artwork. The lesson started off by students being shown illustrations from the book, “If You Lived Here: Houses of the World,” by Giles Laroche. We then had a discussion about how/why each culture/place has different types of houses. Next students formulated ideas about what they want their dream house to look like. Then using acrylic paint, pastels, watercolor paints students applied painting/drawing techniques to decorate their buildings. Once all the students are done we set up all the buildings to stand next to each other to create our own city. Afterwards we had a group discussion about the power of collaboration and how the meaning of their house changed when it was viewed alongside other artworks.
Emotion Book (Lesson 4)
In this lesson students explored how artists draw inspiration from memories and emotions by letting them influence the colors, shapes and patterns used in their artwork. The lesson started off by the students viewing a video clip from Inside Out. Then we had a discussion about how different emotions were portrayed in the video. Next students were introduced to a printmaking technique called mono prints. The students used mono printing to create pages for their very own emotion book. Within their book they illustrated memories of a time when they felt a specific emotion. Once all the students completed their books we split the class into two groups each group led by one teacher. Then we had each student pick one page of their book to show to the group and the group took turns guessing the emotion the student illustrated.
Prepared Graduate Competencies
The prepared graduate competencies for first grade that was used within each lesson are the following:
Comprehend
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Create works of visual art and design that demonstrate increasing levels of mastery in skills and techniques
Reflect
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Visually and/or verbally articulate how visual art and design are a means for communication.
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Critique connections between visual art and historic and contemporary philosophies.
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Create works of art and design that demonstrate increasing levels of mastery in skills and techniques.
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Persist in the creative process and innovate from failure.
Create
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Create works of visual art and design that demonstrate increasing levels of mastery in skills and techniques
Transfer
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See oneself as a participate in visual art and design by experiencing, viewing or making.
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Visually and/or verbally articulate how visual art and design are a means for communication.
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Critique connections between visual art and historic and contemporary philosophies. Interpret works of art and design in the contexts of varied traditions, histories, and cultures.
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