SOUNDSCAPES OF SOUTHWEST ASIA: MUSIC & THE ENVIRONMENT 6-8

SOUNDSCAPES OF SOUTHWEST ASIA

SOUNDSCAPES OF SOUTHWEST ASIA: MUSIC & THE ENVIRONMENT

Learning Description

Students will investigate how environmental factors such as drought, desertification, and resource availability affect people in Southwest Asia. They will apply their understanding by collaboratively creating a musical soundscape that represents an environmental issue, using elements of music to communicate meaning and reinforce geography vocabulary.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 7
CONTENT FOCUS: SOCIAL STUDIES & MUSIC
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

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"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can describe environmental challenges in Southwest Asia.
  • I can express the meaning of geographic vocabulary.
  • I can create music that represents an idea or problem.
  • I can explain how sounds connect to real-world issues.

Essential Questions

  • How do environmental conditions shape human life and settlement in Southwest Asia?
  • How can students use music to represent and communicate environmental challenges?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 7:

SS6G7 – Describe the impact of location, climate, physical characteristics, distribution of natural resources, and population distribution on Southwest Asia.

Arts Standards

Grade 7:

MSGM7.CR.1 Improvise melodies, variations, and accompaniments.

MSGM7.CR.2 Compose and arrange music within specified guidelines.

MSGM7.PR.2 Perform a varied repertoire of music on instruments, alone and with others.

MSGM7.RE.1 Listen to, analyze, and describe music.

MSGM7.CN.1 Connect music to the other fine arts and disciplines outside the arts.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 7:

Standard 2: Analyze the cultural, economic, environmental, physical, political, and population geographies of contemporary Asia.

7.2.2.ER Identify climate and vegetation regions of Asia and the spatial distributions and patterns of natural resources, including the impact of their location on human activities.

7.2.3.HS Explain Asia’s current human population distributions and patterns, and use geographic models to compare the conditions driving migration and demographic change.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can arrange and compose music.

Anchor Standard 2: I can improvise music.

Anchor Standard 4: I can play instruments alone and with others.

Anchor Standard 6: I can analyze music.

Anchor Standard 9: I can relate music to other arts disciplines, other subjects, and career paths.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Arable – Land that is good for farming and growing crops
  • Desertification – When fertile land slowly turns into desert because of drought, climate change, or poor land use
  • Drought – A long period of time with little or no rainfall
  • Resource Management – The careful use and protection of natural resources like water, land, and oil
  • Urbanization – The growth of cities as more people move from rural areas to live and work there

Arts Vocabulary

  • Body percussion – Percussive sounds made with the body, such as slaps, stomps, snaps, etc.
  • Soundscape – A piece of music that uses sounds to create a picture, place, or story
  • Rhythm – Long and short sounds and silence
  • Tempo – The speed of the beat
  • Dynamics - Loud and soft sounds; volume
  • Texture – How many layers of sound are happening at the same time (thin = few sounds, thick = many sounds)
  • Timbre (TAM-ber) – The distinctive quality of sounds; the tone color or special sound that makes one instrument or voice sound different from another
  • Steady Beat – A constant, even pulse in music
  • Pattern – A sound or rhythm that repeats
  • Silence (Rest) – A moment with no sound, used for effect or contrast
  • Layering – Adding different sounds on top of each other to build complexity

 

Materials

  • Map of Southwest Asia
  • Audio clips of desert wind, water, city sounds, middle eastern instruments
  • Classroom percussion and/or found sounds
  • Chart paper / smartboard
  • Sticky notes

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Ask how students are arriving/feeling in their body and begin with them echoing the teacher who models body percussion, vocal percussion (drum-set with voice), creating sound that might mirror the desert, water, urbanization sounds.

Work Session

  • Play audio clips and ask:
    • 1) What place do you imagine
    • 2) What might the environment be like there?
    • 3) How might weather and land affect people living there?
  • Have students describe the sounds using musical vocabulary, such as texture and timbre. Have students experiment with sounds that they can make with their bodies that could imitate the audio clips.
  • Locate Southwest Asia on map.
  • Introduce the following environmental challenges: drought, arable land, desertification, resource management, urbanization
  • Divide class into four groups each with an environmental challenge theme.
  • Each group creates a 30-45 second soundscape (no words - telling the story with sound).
  • Have students use their imagination by talking through a made-up story first. Remind students that stories should have a beginning, middle, and end, just like songs.
  • Then, students in their groups, “tell” their story through sound only using musical elements such as rhythmic and dynamic choices. They can use body percussion, found sounds, vocal percussion, voices etc.
  • Stories can be serious, funny, moralistic etc. provided they represent that group’s environmental challenge of drought, desertification, urbanization, or resource management

 

Closing Reflection

  • Each group performs their story. After each group performs, other groups make educated guesses about what story is told based on the theme.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Observe group soundscapes for accurate representation of environmental challenges.
  • Observe proper use of vocabulary in discussion.

Summative

  • Students can explain the environmental challenges in Southwest Asia based on performances.

 

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Students use rhythm choices and create sentence stems with rhythmic speech explaining their soundscape.

 

Remedial:

  • Exaggerate environmental challenges by adding dynamics swings, layered rhythms, tempo shifts.

 

 

Credits

Ideas contributed by: Lyn Koonce

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Revised and copyright:  April 2026 @ ArtsNOW

 

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DANCING UP A STORM 6-8

DANCING UP A STORM

DANCING UP A STORM

Learning Description

Students will plan a choreography that demonstrates how high and low-pressure systems, as well as warm and cool air, interact in the atmosphere.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 6-8
CONTENT FOCUS: DANCE, SCIENCE & STEAM
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can demonstrate how high pressure and low pressure systems interact in the atmosphere.
  • I can imagine and test ways in which movement communicates ideas about the interaction of high and low pressure, as well as warm and cool air
  • I can use the elements of dance to vary movements that will communicate multiple ideas in one choreography.

Essential Questions

  • How does dance movement demonstrate the cause and effect of weather events?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 6:

S6E4.d Construct an explanation of the relationship between air pressure, weather fronts, and air masses and meteorological events such as tornados and thunderstorms.

Arts Standards

Grade 6:

MSD.CR.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the choreographic process.

MSD.CR.2 Demonstrate an understanding of dance as a form of communication.

MSD.RE.1 Demonstrate critical and creative thinking in dance.

MSD.CN.3 Demonstrate an understanding of a dance as it relates to other areas of knowledge.

Grades 9-12:

DHSDC.CR.2 Demonstrate an understanding of dance as a form of communication.

DHSDC.PR.1 Identify and demonstrate movement elements, skills, and terminology in dance.

DHSDC.RE.1 Demonstrate critical and creative thinking in all aspects of dance.

DHSDC.CN.3 Demonstrate an understanding of dance as it relates to other areas of knowledge.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 6:

6-ESS2-5. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses result in changes in weather conditions.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use movement exploration to discover and create artistic ideas and works.

Anchor Standard 2: I can choreograph a dance.

Anchor Standard 3: I can perform movements using the dance elements.

Anchor Standard 4: I can perform movement skills and techniques

Anchor Standard 5: I can describe, analyze, and evaluate a dance.

Anchor Standard 7: I can relate dance to other arts disciplines, content areas, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Anticyclone - A mass of air with high pressure and light winds that blow in a clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere
  • Depression - A mass of air with low pressure, condensing water vapor, and possibly precipitation, with winds that blow in a counterclockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere
  • High pressure - A mass of air with relatively higher atmospheric pressure, descending air molecules, relatively lower cloud formation, and lighter winds that blow away from the center of the system
  • Low pressure - A mass of air with relatively lower atmospheric pressure, rising air molecules, relatively greater cloud formation and precipitation and strong winds

Arts Vocabulary

  • Choreography - The art of designing and arranging sequences of movements, steps, and gestures to create a dance piece
  • Clockwise - A movement pathway that proceeds in the same direction that hands of a clock move
  • Counterclockwise - A movement pathway that proceeds opposite of the direction that the hands of a clock move
  • High Level - In regards to dance, movements that are made in the space that is at a greater distance from the ground, such as a jump or stretching the arms above the shoulders
  • Low Level - In regards to dance, movements that take up space that is closer to the ground, such as a squat, crouch, or stretching the arms downward so that the hands touch the knees or toes while standing up
  • Steady - In regards to dance, movements that take place at a consistent and unchanged interval
  • Sudden - In regards to dance, movements that occur quickly and without warning, and may elicit a reaction of surprise by the observer

 

Materials

  • A variety of music selections
  • Music source and speakers
  • Projection or printed cards showing dance terms in PART 1
  • Cards printed with weather conditions; one card per small group

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Show students one card at a time from a projection or a stack of cards printed with dance vocabulary words: high level, low level, sudden, steady, clockwise, counterclockwise (note that the terms fast/slow in PART 1 are not included in this list for an activating strategy).
  • Ask students to execute the movement while you play music for 5-10 seconds. When the music stops, students will freeze.
  • Change cards when the music stops and repeat this activity several times so that students become introduced to the different movements.
  • All students should move at the same time to create a low-stakes activity. Variation in movement is encouraged so that students produce individualized movements rather than copying peers. This is a time for students to experiment with movement and individuality.

Work Session

PART 1

  • Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a set of three cards that list conditions expected during a three-day period in the atmosphere over a given fictitious city. Each card should include conditions that do not completely describe the weather, such as:
    • CARD EXAMPLE 1 (discusses pressure systems)
      • Day 1: Winds 5 MPH, sunny skies; temperatures are 80-90 degrees.
      • Day 2: Low pressure passes over the city at 12 p.m. and 12:30 p.m.
      • Day 3: Winds return to 5 MPH with sunny skies; temperatures are 50-60 degrees.
    • CARD EXAMPLE 2 (discusses weather conditions)
      • Day 1: Light rain all day and night. Temperatures are 60-70 degrees.
      • Day 2: Light rain all day. Rain ends at sunset. Temperatures are 60-70 degrees.
      • Day 3: Sunny skies all day. Temperatures are 65-75 degrees.
    • Students consider the problem: Create a dance that reflects the weather forecast for the next three days by showing how high and low-pressure systems, as well as warm and cool air, will interact in the atmosphere.
      • Use the following dance elements:
        • Speed: Fast/Slow
        • Level: High/Low
        • Energy: Sudden/Steady
        • Rotation: Clockwise/Counterclockwise
      • Students list the questions that they need to answer before brainstorming dance movements.

PART 2

  • Create three movements to show the changing conditions. Each movement should show the weather for one day, making sure to focus on the cause and effect relationship/interaction between the high- and low-pressure systems that will create the predicted weather conditions. Students need to prioritize their questions listed in PART 1 in order to focus on the cause and effect relationship of atmospheric systems. Students identify the dance elements that they will use in their movements.

PART 3

  • Students will order their dance movements to communicate the forecast based on the conditions printed on their cards.

PART 4

Students will write down their forecast. They will review the forecast to make sure that it represents the assigned conditions on their cards. Students will correct any inaccuracies, focusing on the high-and-low-pressure systems.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Ask students to describe the interaction of high and low pressure in various situations (i.e., a slow-moving high-pressure system versus a fast-moving system), using vocabulary of the Elements of Dance (dance vocabulary words on cards or their own words).
  • Ask students to explain how moving their bodies or observing dances in this lesson helps them to understand and describe the differences between high-and-low-pressure systems and how those systems interact in the atmosphere to create weather that we experience on the surface of the planet.

 

Assessments

Formative

Visually observe students formulating questions and exploring movement while discussing atmospheric concepts.

  • Teacher observes students correlating temperature, precipitation, and winds with anticyclones and depressions.
  • Teacher observes students using vocabulary of the Elements of Dance and vocabulary of atmospheric pressure, together, as they create and sequence movement.
  • Teacher observes students arranging movements so they demonstrate atmospheric systems that create weather conditions.

Summative

MATTER IN MOTION CHECKLIST

  • Students first list questions, and then prioritize the questions.
  • Movement qualities focus on cause and effect/interaction between atmospheric conditions, rather than the weather observed at the surface of the planet.
  • Movements are imagined first and then ordered.
  • The choreography effectively uses dance to communicate properties of atmospheric systems that contribute to weather conditions.

 

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Ask students to consider the impact of land forms in their forecast and vary their movements to show how the atmospheric conditions would change due to the presence of an ocean, mountain, etc.
  • List fewer details about weather or atmospheric conditions on the cards so that students have to draw more conclusions to create their predictions.

 

Remedial:

  • Divide the class into three groups. Work with only one card printed with weather/atmospheric conditions. Each group creates one movement to show the interaction between low-and-high-pressure systems for one day. As a whole class, order the movements to show the forecast for the three days suggested on the printed card.

 

Additional Resources

Classroom Tips:  Use the opening activities as opportunities for students to identify movements that they will use later in the lesson. If as a whole class students struggle with a movement during this creative time, then recognize effective movement and ask the whole class to model it.

Execute each part of the main activity one at a time, revealing each subsequent step after the current one is completed. In other words, do not permit students to work ahead to encourage the creative effect that results from the scaffolded directions.

 

Credits

Ideas contributed by: Julie Galle Baggenstoss

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Revised and copyright:  January 2026 @ ArtsNOW

 

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A MATTER OF ISOLATION 6-8

A MATTER OF ISOLATION

A MATTER OF ISOLATION

Learning Description

Students will create a game in which players use movement to show how changes in thermal energy change the behavior of particles.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 6-8
CONTENT FOCUS: DANCE, SCIENCE & STEAM
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can demonstrate the effect of thermal change on particles through choreography.
  • I can relate the elements of dance to states of matter.
  • I can use the elements of dance to vary movements to communicate multiple ideas in one choreography.

Essential Questions

  • How does dance movement demonstrate states of matter and change in thermal energy?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 8:

S8P1.b Develop and use models to describe the movement of particles in solids, liquids, gases, and plasma states when thermal energy is added or removed.

Arts Standards

Grade 8:

MSD.CR.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the choreographic process.

MSD.RE.1 Demonstrate critical and creative thinking in dance.

MSD.CN.3 Demonstrate an understanding of a dance as it relates to other areas of knowledge.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 6:

6-PS1-4. Develop and use a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use movement exploration to discover and create artistic ideas and works.

Anchor Standard 2: I can choreograph a dance.

Anchor Standard 3: I can perform movements using the dance elements.

Anchor Standard 5: I can describe, analyze, and evaluate a dance.

Anchor Standard 7: I can relate dance to other arts disciplines, content areas, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Particle – A small object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties; matter is made up of particles
  • Thermal Energy – The motion of particles within a substance that is responsible for its temperature

Arts Vocabulary

  • Isolation – Movement created by moving one part of their body while keeping the rest of the body still or controlled
  • Axial – Movement that occurs in place, without traveling to a new location
  • Locomotor – A movement that travels through space
  • Choreographic process - The steps taken to create movement sequences for dancers, which include testing, revising, and editing work
  • Choreography - The art of designing and arranging sequences of movements, steps, and gestures to create a dance piece
  • Engineering Design Process -
    • Ask – What is the problem? What do we need to do?
    • Imagine – What are some possible solutions?
    • Plan – Which idea will we try? How will we build it?
    • Create – Build the solution.
    • Test & Improve – Does it work? How can we make it better?

 

Materials

  • Blank index cards, blank paper
  • A variety of music selections
  • Music source and speakers
  • Word bank of dance vocabulary:

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Students improvise movements in a hand dance. Using only their hands and fingers, students work in pairs, with one being the leader and the other the follower. Students sit facing one another so that when they extend their arms in front of them their hands do NOT touch.
  • The leader extends one arm and faces the palm of the hand to the other student. The follower extends one arm and faces the palm of one hand to the leader to create a mirror image of the other student’s hand. The leader moves the one hand and fingers in slow steady motions while the follower imitates the movement. The teacher plays music and students move in silence, without talking or making any noise, until the music stops.
  • The teacher pauses the music. Partners change roles and repeat the process.
  • Partners should mentally note which movements are successful or when they find a movement that they would like to remember for use later in the lesson.

Work Session

PART 1

  • Divide students into small groups of three members. Each group will create a game in which players earn points when they use their hands and fingers to show how particles move in reaction to increasing or decreasing thermal energy.
  • For the game, participants should be organized into teams. Team members isolate their hands and fingers to create dance movements that represent states of matter to successfully earn points.
  • Students list a few of their favorite games and think about the strategy/rules of those games.
  • Give each group a few sheets of paper and index cards to use as game materials.

PART 2

  • Students list the information that they need to know in order to create the game. In other words, they list questions and answers about scientific concepts, dance concepts, and game rules.
  • Students gather the details that they need to plan the game.

PART 3

  • Students brainstorm different ways in which players could move their fingers and hands to play the game. They write down dance terms from a word bank derived from the Energy or Time columns of the Elements of Dance to describe the movements.
  • Students correlate the dance vocabulary with descriptions of how particles move when matter is a solid, liquid, or gas.

PART 4

  • Students imagine how teams could interact in a game so that players earn points by showing the movement of particles when thermal energy is applied, removed, increased, or decreased. Students should consider the different ways that players could describe the presence/absence/increase/decrease of thermal energy, including using words such as warmer or cooler, or absolute measures of temperature, i.e., 32 degrees F or 212 degrees F.
  • Students write down the rules of the game.

PART 5

Students test their games by playing them. They note where improvements need to be made and revise their rules. 

 

Closing Reflection

  • Ask students to explain how moving their bodies in this lesson helps them to understand and describe the properties of thermal energy and how it impacts matter.
  • Ask students to describe how the process of asking questions up front helped them create the game.
  • Ask students to describe how brainstorming movements first helped them imagine the play strategy (writing the rules).
  • Ask students how they revised their games after the testing phase.

 

Assessments

Formative

Visually observe the students during the process of creativity.

  • Teacher observes students discussing and writing questions during PART 2.
  • Teacher observes students using vocabulary of the elements of dance and vocabulary of states of matter and thermal energy together, as they brainstorm ways that teams will move to earn points and as they imagine the rules of the games.

Summative

A MATTER OF ISOLATION CHECKLIST

  • Movements are limited to hands and fingers.
  • Game options contain variation of time and energy elements.
  • The game rules effectively use dance to communicate changes in thermal energy so that observers can identify distinct states of matter.

 

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Rather than limiting movements to hands and fingers, students explore whole-body axial and locomotor movements to exaggerate molecular activity and/or thermal energy change.

 

Remedial:

  • Complete PART 2 as a whole class.
  • Stop the activity at the end of PART 2. Assess the use of the first step of the engineering design process, which is to define the problem.

 

Additional Resources

Classroom Tip:  Use the opening activity as an opportunity for students to identify movements that they will use later in the lesson.

 

Credits

Ideas contributed by: Julie Galle Baggenstoss

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Revised and copyright:  January 2026 @ ArtsNOW

 

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ART BOTS 6-8

ART BOTS

ART BOTS

Learning Description

In this hands-on STEAM lesson, students will explore the relationship between electricity, motion, and unbalanced forces by designing and building their own wobbling art bots. Using hobby motors, battery packs, pool noodles, and markers, students will follow the engineering design process (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve) to construct a bot that moves and draws in unpredictable patterns.

Through experimentation, students will discover how unbalanced forces affect motion, how simple circuits power their bots, and how small design changes can alter movement. They will analyze their bots' performance, make modifications, and reflect on their design choices. By combining science, engineering, and art, this lesson fosters creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking while reinforcing foundational physical science concepts.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 6-8
CONTENT FOCUS: STEAM
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can build and test a simple circuit to power a motor.
  • I can explain how unbalanced forces influence motion.
  • I can describe how energy is transformed in my Art Bot.
  • I can use the engineering design process to test and improve my design.

Essential Questions

  • How do unbalanced forces affect the motion of an object?
  • How does a motor convert electrical energy into motion?
  • What design choices impact the movement and artistic output of an Art Bot?
  • How can the engineering design process help improve a design?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 6:

S6P2: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between force, mass, and the motion of objects.

S6P3: Construct an explanation of the relationships among electric force, magnetic force, and motion.

Grade 7:

S7P2: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain the effects of forces on the motion of an object.

Grade 8:

S8P2: Develop models to illustrate the relationship between potential and kinetic energy.

Arts Standards

VA.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art.

VA.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

VA.CR.2.b Produce three-dimensional artworks using a variety of media/materials (e.g. clay, papier-mâché, cardboard, paper, plaster, wood, wire, found objects, fiber).

VA.CR.3 Engage in an array of processes, media, techniques, and/or technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 6:

6-PS3-4. Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample.

Grade 7:

7-PS3-2. Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.

7-PS3-5. Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.

Grade 8:

8-PS2-3. Analyze and interpret data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.

8-PS2-5. Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.

Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Anchor Standard 7: I can relate visual arts ideas to other arts disciplines, content areas, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Unbalanced force – A force that changes the motion of an object
  • Friction – A force that opposes motion
  • Circuit – A closed path through which electricity flows
  • Kinetic energy – Energy of motion
  • Potential energy – Stored energy that can be converted into motion
  • Energy transformation – The process of changing one form of energy into another

Arts Vocabulary

  • Movement – This principle of design is associated with rhythm and refers to the arrangement of parts in an artwork that creates a sense of motion to the viewer's eye through the work.
  • Balance – This is a sense of stability in the body of work. Balance can be created by repeating the same shapes and by creating a feeling of equal visual weight.
  • Form – An object that is three-dimensional and encloses volume (cubes, spheres, and cylinders are examples of various forms)
  • Kinetic art – Art that incorporates real motion
  • Contrast – The arrangement of opposite elements in a composition (light vs. dark, rough vs. smooth, etc.) Similar to variety, which refers to the differences in a work, achieved by using different shapes, textures, colors and values.
  • Mark-making – The lines, textures, and marks made by tools or gestures
  • Negative space – The space around and between subjects in an artwork
  • Engineering Design Process – A problem-solving approach that involves identifying a need, researching, brainstorming possible solutions, developing and testing prototypes, and improving the design until the optimal solution is achieved; the steps are Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve

 

Materials

  • Hobby motors
  • Battery packs (with AA batteries)
  • Pool noodles (cut into sections)
  • Thin markers
  • Electrical tape or masking tape
  • Small weights (washers, paperclips, clay, etc.)
  • Switches (optional for advanced circuits)
  • Scissors
  • Image of the Engineering Design Process

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Engage:
    • Hook: Show a short video of a scribble bot or demonstrate a pre-made art bot.
    • Discussion–Ask students:
      • What do you notice about how it moves?
      • What forces might be acting on it?
      • How does the energy from the battery turn into movement?

Work Session

Explore – Building the Art Bots

  • Ask:
    • How can we design an art bot that moves unpredictably?
    • How do we make sure our bot stays powered and balanced?
  • Imagine:
    • Students will brainstorm ideas and sketch potential designs for their bots.
  • Plan:
    • Show students a list of materials that they have available to them to build their bots.
    • Students will create a sketch of their bot with materials labeled before beginning to build their bots.
  • Create:
    • Show students how to create their bots.
      • Connect the battery pack to the motor, ensuring a working circuit.
      • Insert the motor into the pool noodle.
      • Attach markers as "legs" using tape.
      • Add weights off-center on the motor shaft to create an unbalanced force.
    • Have students place the bot on plain white paper and turn it on to observe its movement.
    • Improve: Elaborate – Improving the Design
      • Students will analyze their bot’s movement and adjust:
        • Marker placement for different drawing effects.
        • Weight distribution to change speed and wobbling direction.
        • Motor positioning to alter how much it vibrates.
      • Students will compare designs and discuss how small modifications affect motion.
      • Optional: Students can add to their designs with markers.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Explain: Facilitate a discussion on the science behind the bots.
    • Discuss how unbalanced forces create movement.
    • Explain energy transformations (chemical → electrical → kinetic).
    • Relate movement patterns to force, friction, and weight distribution.
  • Have students complete the following exit ticket:
    • What forces acted on your bot?
    • How did changes to your design affect motion?
    • How did energy transform from the battery to movement?
    • What worked well in your bot, and what would you improve if you could do it again?

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Assess students’ learning through observations of student engagement, problem-solving, and questioning during discussions.

Summative

  • Assess students’ learning through the exit ticket questions and closing discussion.

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Introduce data collection by having students measure and compare drawing patterns.
  • Use Micro:bit or Arduino to program bots to change motion patterns.

 

Remedial:

  • Provide pre-made circuits.
  • Provide extended time for building and reflecting.
  • Offer verbal instructions paired with written guides.
  • Allow for alternative methods of documentation (photos, audio).

 

 

Credits

Ideas contributed by: Shannon Green

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Revised and copyright:  May 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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ART BOTS ELA 6-8

ART BOTS

ART BOTS

Learning Description

Students take on the role of designer-engineers and artists by constructing “drawing robots” that demonstrate how energy transforms into motion. Using motors, batteries, and weighted components to intentionally create imbalance, students will explore concepts like kinetic energy, unbalanced forces, and vibration.

After testing and refining their bots, students will respond to the prompt: “Write an explanation of how your Art Bot transforms electrical energy into motion and artwork. Reflect on your design process and explain how art and engineering work together”.

This writing task reinforces content vocabulary and scientific reasoning while inviting students to make connections between disciplines. The lesson culminates with students presenting their bot’s visual output and reading their explanatory writing aloud in a collaborative critique session.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 6-8
CONTENT FOCUS: STEAM & ELA
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

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"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can build and test a simple circuit to power a motor.
  • I can explain how unbalanced forces influence motion.
  • I can describe how energy is transformed in my Art Bot.
  • I can use the engineering design process to test and improve my design.

Essential Questions

  • How do unbalanced forces affect the motion of an object?
  • How does a motor convert electrical energy into motion?
  • What design choices impact the movement and artistic output of an Art Bot?
  • How can the engineering design process help improve a design?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

SCIENCE

Grade 6:

S6P2: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between force, mass, and the motion of objects.

S6P3: Construct an explanation of the relationships among electric force, magnetic force, and motion.

Grade 7:

S7P2: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain the effects of forces on the motion of an object.

Grade 8:

S8P2: Develop models to illustrate the relationship between potential and kinetic energy.

ELA

Grade 6:

6.T.T.1.e Apply narrative techniques to enhance writing, engage audiences, and achieve specific purposes.

Grade 7:

7.T.T.1.e Apply narrative techniques to enhance writing, engage audiences, and achieve specific purposes.

Grade 8:

8.T.T.1.e Apply narrative techniques to enhance writing, engage audiences, and achieve specific purposes.

Arts Standards

VA.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art.

VA.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

VA.CR.2.b Produce three-dimensional artworks using a variety of media/materials (e.g. clay, papier-mâché, cardboard, paper, plaster, wood, wire, found objects, fiber).

VA.CR.3 Engage in an array of processes, media, techniques, and/or technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

SCIENCE

Grade 6:

6-PS3-4. Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample.

Grade 7:

7-PS3-2. Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.

7-PS3-5. Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.

Grade 8:

8-PS2-3. Analyze and interpret data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.

8-PS2-5. Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.

ELA

Grade 6:

ELA.6.C.2.1 Write informative texts to examine a topic and analyze information from one or more sources. When writing:a. introduce a topic clearly and organize information logically; b. develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, details, quotes, or other information and examples; c. use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts; d. use precise language and vocabulary to inform or to explain the topic; and e. provide a concluding statement or section.

Grade 7:

ELA.7.C.2.1 Write informative texts to examine a topic and analyze information from one or more sources. When writing:a. introduce a topic and organize ideas, concepts, and information using structures such as definition, compare and contrast, and/or cause and effect; b. develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, details, and/or quotes; c. use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships between ideas and concepts; d. use precise language and thoughtful elaboration to inform or to explain the topic; e. establish a tone appropriate to the task and audience; and f. provide a concluding statement or section that supports the information presented.

Grade 8:

ELA.8.C.2.1 Write informative texts to examine a topic and analyze information from multiple sources. When writing:a. introduce a topic clearly and organize ideas, concepts, and information, using a structure such as definition, compare and contrast, and/or cause and effect; b. develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, details, and/or quotes; c. use varied transitions to clarify the relationships between ideas and concepts; d. use precise language and thoughtful elaboration to inform or to explain the topic; e. establish a tone appropriate to the task and audience; and f. provide a concluding statement or section that supports the information presented.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.

Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Anchor Standard 7: I can relate visual arts ideas to other arts disciplines, content areas, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Unbalanced force – A force that changes the motion of an object
  • Friction – A force that opposes motion
  • Circuit – A closed path through which electricity flows
  • Kinetic energy – Energy of motion
  • Potential energy – Stored energy that can be converted into motion
  • Energy transformation – The process of changing one form of energy into another

Arts Vocabulary

  • Movement – This principle of design is associated with rhythm and refers to the arrangement of parts in an artwork that creates a sense of motion to the viewer's eye through the work.
  • Balance – This is a sense of stability in the body of work. Balance can be created by repeating the same shapes and by creating a feeling of equal visual weight.
  • Form – An object that is three-dimensional and encloses volume (cubes, spheres, and cylinders are examples of various forms)
  • Kinetic art – Art that incorporates real motion
  • Contrast – The arrangement of opposite elements in a composition (light vs. dark, rough vs. smooth, etc.) Similar to variety, which refers to the differences in a work, achieved by using different shapes, textures, colors and values.
  • Mark-making – The lines, textures, and marks made by tools or gestures
  • Negative space – The space around and between subjects in an artwork
  • Engineering Design Process – A problem-solving approach that involves identifying a need, researching, brainstorming possible solutions, developing and testing prototypes, and improving the design until the optimal solution is achieved; the steps are Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve

 

Materials

  • Hobby motors
  • Battery packs (with AA batteries)
  • Pool noodles (cut into sections)
  • Thin markers
  • Electrical tape or masking tape
  • Small weights (washers, paperclips, clay, etc.)
  • Switches (optional for advanced circuits)
  • Scissors
  • Image of the Engineering Design Process

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Engage:
    • Hook: Show a short video of a scribble bot or demonstrate a pre-made Art Bot.
    • Discussion–Ask students:
      • What do you notice about how it moves?
      • What forces might be acting on it?
      • How does the energy from the battery turn into movement?

Work Session

Explore – Building the Art Bots

  • Ask:
    • How can we design an Art Bot that moves unpredictably?
    • How do we make sure our bot stays powered and balanced?
  • Imagine:
    • Students will brainstorm ideas and sketch potential designs for their bots.
  • Plan:
    • Show students a list of materials that they have available to them to build their bots.
    • Students will create a sketch of their bot with materials labeled before beginning to build their bots.
  • Create:
    • Show students how to create their bots.
      • Connect the battery pack to the motor, ensuring a working circuit.
      • Insert the motor into the pool noodle.
      • Attach markers as "legs" using tape.
      • Add weights off-center on the motor shaft to create an unbalanced force.
    • Have students place the bot on plain white paper and turn it on to observe its movement.
    • Improve: Elaborate – Improving the Design
      • Students will analyze their bot’s movement and adjust:
        • Marker placement for different drawing effects.
        • Weight distribution to change speed and wobbling direction.
        • Motor positioning to alter how much it vibrates.
      • Students will compare designs and discuss how small modifications affect motion.
      • Students will respond to the following writing prompt: Write an explanation of how your Art Bot transforms electrical energy into motion and artwork. Reflect on your design process and explain how art and engineering work together. Use specific vocabulary and examples from your experience.
        • Writing Criteria:
          • Introduce the topic clearly: “My Art Bot transforms energy into motion through a simple electric circuit”.
          • Use content-specific vocabulary, such as: circuit, energy transformation, kinetic energy, friction, unbalanced force, vibration.
          • Describe the sequence of events in the engineering design process: Ask → plan → create → test → improve.
          • Explain connections between scientific concepts and artistic outcomes.
          • Use transitions, such as first, next, as a result, finally, to clarify progression.
          • Conclude with insights about what was learned or how the design evolved.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Turn your classroom into a gallery!
    • Lay artworks on desks or hang them around the room.
    • Have students walk through the gallery, viewing each other’s bot collaborations.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Observations of student engagement and problem-solving
  • Questioning during discussions
  • Peer feedback on bot performance

Summative

  • Students’ written responses to the writing prompt.

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Introduce data collection by having students measure and compare drawing patterns.
  • Additional writing prompts:
    • Compare how the energy transformation in your Art Bot is like what happens in a real machine or natural system.
    • How would you redesign your Art Bot to make it draw letters or words? Justify your choices using science vocabulary.
  • Use Micro:bit or Arduino to program bots to change motion patterns.

 

Remedial:

  • Provide pre-made circuits.
  • Provide extended time for building and reflecting.
  • Offer verbal instructions paired with written guides.
  • Allow for alternative methods of documentation (photos, audio).
  • Additional writing prompts:
    • Draw and label how your Art Bot moves.
    • Write three to five sentences explaining how the battery made your Art Bot move.
    • List three problems you solved while building your bot.

 

 

Credits

Ideas contributed by: Shannon Green

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Revised and copyright:  May 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

Back to Lessons