MANDALAS AND MEASUREMENTS 7

MANDALAS AND MEASUREMENTS

MANDALAS AND MEASUREMENTS

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will create a mandala utilizing concentric circles, pattern, color theory, circumference, and radius.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 7
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & MATH
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can calculate radius using the circumference of a circle.
  • I can calculate circumference using the radius of a circle.
  • I can create a mandala using concentric circles.
  • I can use pattern and color to create a visually interesting artwork.

Essential Questions

  • How can I calculate radius using the circumference of a circle?
  • How can I calculate circumference using the radius of a circle?
  • How can I create a mandala using concentric circles?
  • How can I use pattern and color to create a visually interesting artwork?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

7.GSR.5: Solve practical problems involving angle measurement, circles, area of circles, surface area of prisms and cylinders, and volume of cylinders and prisms composed of cubes and right prisms.

 

7.GSR.5.4 Explore and describe the relationship between pi, radius, diameter, circumference, and area of a circle to derive the formulas for the circumference and area of a circle.

 

7.GSR.5.5 Given the formula for the area and circumference of a circle, solve problems that exist in everyday life.

Arts Standards

VA7.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art. 

 

VA7.CR.3 Engage in an array of processes, media, techniques, and/or technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence. 

 

VA7.CR.4 Incorporate formal and informal components to create works of art.

 

VA7.CN.3 Utilize a variety of resources to understand how artistic learning extends beyond the walls of the classroom.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

7.GM.4 Investigate the concept of circles. 

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the proportional relationships between diameter, radius, and circumference of a circle. 
  2. Understand that the constant of proportionality between the circumference and diameter is equivalent to . 
  3. Explore the relationship between circumference and area using a visual model. 
  4. Use the formulas for circumference and area of circles appropriately to solve real-world and mathematical problems.

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

  • Radius - The distance from the edge of a circle to its center

 

  • Circumference - The perimeter of a circle

 

  • Diameter - The width of a circle

 

  • Pi - The ratio of the circle’s circumference to its diameter
  • Concentric circles - A circle within a circle that has the same central point

Arts Vocabulary

  • Radial balance - A type of balance in art in which all elements are symmetrically balanced in multiple directions from a central point

 

  • Line - One of the Elements of Art; a mark made by a moving point

 

  • Shape - One of the Elements of Art; a flat, enclosed object that has two dimensions

 

  • Pattern - Repetition of line and shape

 

  • Contrast - Two elements side by side that draw attention to their differences

 

  • Color wheel - A tool artists use to organize color schemes
  • Complementary colors - Two colors across from each other on the color wheel (ex: orange and blue)
  • Analogous colors - Colors next to each other on the color wheel (ex: yellow, orange, and red)

 

Materials

  • Ruler
  • White paper
  • Pencils
  • Colored pencils or markers
  • Compass

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Conduct the See, Think, Wonder visual literacy protocol using an image of Tibetan monks creating a sand mandala. 
    • First, students will identify what they see in the image. Emphasize that they should make objective observations about the mandala. 
    • Next, ask students to identify what they think about the image. Emphasize that students should be creating inferences using visual evidence from the mandala. 
    • Finally, ask students what they wonder about the image. 
  • Facilitate a class-wide discussion around students’ observations, inferences, and questions. Draw students’ attention to how the artist uses line and shape to make the mandala (observations could include circles within circles, repeating designs, etc.).
  • Explain to students that mandala art is an art form that dates back to 500 BCE in India. 
  • Tell students that they will be creating their own mandalas using mathematical concepts.

 

Work Session

  • Give each student a circumference measurement (it should be for a circle that could fit on an 8.5x11 inch piece of paper).
  • Explain to students that they will be creating their own mandala art using the circumference measurement given to them as a starting point.
  • Their mandalas will be made up of concentric circles–circles within circles with the same middle point. Show students an image of a mandala again and point out the concentric circles.
    • To create their first circle, each student will calculate the radius of their circle using the circumference they were assigned. 
    • Students will use a ruler to draw the radius of the circle. Then, using a compass, students will draw their circle on their white paper.
    • Next, students should divide their radius into three parts. For example, if their radius is 3 inches, they could divide their radius into increments of 1 inch. The parts do not have to be equal. For example, if the radius is 3.5 inches, students could divide the radius into .5 inch, 1 inch, and 2 inches. 
    • Students should then use their compass to create two more circles using the radiuses they created from the original radius. When this is done, students will have three concentric circles.
    • Students should then calculate the circumference of each of the two smaller circles. 
  • Explain to students that radial balance is a type of balance in art where all elements are equally arranged around a central point. Mandalas are examples of art with radial balance because all elements are equally arranged around a central point. Go back to an image of a mandala. 
  • Draw students’ attention to the patterns in the mandala. Explain to students that pattern in art is a repetition of line and shape. Explain to students that they will use line and shape to create three different patterns. One pattern will go in each circle.
    • Allow students time to work on designing their mandalas by adding patterns using pencil.
  • Next, show students an image of a Color Wheel. Explain that colors across from each other on the color wheel (such as yellow and purple) are complementary colors–they contrast each other. Explain that colors next to each other on the color wheel are analogous colors. 
  • Tell students that they will be adding color to their mandalas. One circle should have a complementary color scheme (red-green, yellow-purple, or orange-blue), and one should have an analogous color scheme (example–green, blue, and violet; red, orange, and yellow). Students can use any colors they choose for their final circle. 
  • Students should add color using colored pencils or markers.
  • Students should finish their mandalas by writing the equation for circumference followed by the three equations for their three circles.

Example:

C=2r

18.84 = 23

12.56 = 22

 6.28 = 21

 

Closing Reflection

  • Conduct a gallery walk so that students can see how their classmates used math to create their artwork.
  • Facilitate a discussion around the process of creating mandalas and how math is used in visual art.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess student understanding by observing whether students are able to: 

  • Find the radius of the first circle and circumference of the next two circles.
  • Identify analogous colors and complementary colors.
  • Write their equations for circumference using their own individual numbers.

 

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

  • Students can create mandalas using concentric circles.
  • Students can utilize a variety of patterns and color schemes in their mandala designs. 
    • Each circle should have a different pattern.
    • One circle should have an analogous color scheme.
    • One circle should have a complementary color scheme.
  • Students can correctly calculate circumference and radius.
  • Students can write the equation for circumference correctly on their artwork.

 

Differentiation

Acceleration: 

  • Do not give students a circumference. Instead, give students a sheet of 8.5x11 blank paper. Explain that students will need to create a circle on their paper that is large enough to draw two other circles in. Allow students to determine the radius of the first circle, draw the circle, and then calculate the circumference. 
  • Require students to also find the area of each of their circles.
  • Have students conduct an independent study on the history of mandalas focusing on how math is used in the design.
  • 7th Grade Georgia Social Studies connection - Have students research the history of mandalas in India, which is a country of study in Georgia Social Studies. 

 

Remediation: 

  • Allow students to trace half-circle templates with whole number diameters to create their three circles. Students will still need to measure and calculate circumference and radius. 
  • Allow students to work with a partner on calculations. Students will create their own artwork but will have the same measurements.
  • Use one set of calculations for the whole class; work through the calculations together. Students will create their own artwork but will have the same measurements.

 

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 

*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.

Ideas contributed by:  Katy Betts

Revised and copyright:  May 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

Back to Modules

SELF PORTRAITS TELL A STORY 6-8

SELF PORTRAITS TELL A STORY

SELF PORTRAITS TELL A STORY

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will explore the use of color in conveying mood and emotion. Students will create a self-portrait inspired by the work of Vincent Van Gogh, using color to express their own emotions and experiences. Additionally, students will write a personal narrative based on the experience that inspired their self-portrait, further connecting the visual representation with their own stories.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 6-8
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS, ELA,
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can create a self-portrait that communicates mood through color.

  • I can use my self-portrait as inspiration for a personal narrative.

  • I can create a mood in writing.

Essential Questions

  • How do visual artists use color to create mood?

  • How can visual art inspire writing?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 6

ELAGSE6W3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well structured event sequences.

  1. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey experiences and events.

 

Grade 7

ELAGSE7W3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well structured event sequences.

  1. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.

 

Grade 8

ELAGSE8W3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well structured event sequences.

  1. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.

 

Arts Standards

Grade 6

VA6.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art. 

VA6.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

VA6.CR.4 Incorporate formal and informal components to create works of art.

VA6.RE.3 Engage in the process of art criticism to make meaning and increase visual literacy. 

 

Grade 7

VA7.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art. 

VA7.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

VA7.CR.4 Incorporate formal and informal components to create works of art.

VA7.RE.3 Engage in the process of art criticism to make meaning and increase visual literacy. 

 

Grade 8

VA8.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art. 

VA8.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

VA8.CR.4 Incorporate formal and informal components to create works of art.

VA8.RE.3 Engage in the process of art criticism to make meaning and increase visual literacy.

 

 

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Standard 3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, well-chosen details, and well structured event sequences. 

3.1 Gather ideas from texts, multimedia, and personal experience to write narratives that: 

  1. develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well- structured event sequences; 
  2. use imagery, precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey experiences and events and develop characters

 

 

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 5: I can interpret (read) and evaluate the meaning of an artwork.

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

 

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Personal narrative - A story about one’s own individual experiences

 

  • Mood - The feeling that an author wants to convey through his/her writing

  • Descriptive details - Details that create vivid and sensory-rich images in the reader's mind

  • Imagery - The use of descriptive language that appeals to the senses and creates vivid pictures in the reader's mind
  • Sensory language - Descriptive language that engages the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch

Arts Vocabulary

  • Self-portrait - An artist’s rendering of themselves in a visual form
  • Color - One of the seven elements of art; it is how light is seen as reflected or absorbed off of a surface. Visual artists use color to create a mood in their artwork.

 

Materials

    • Mixed media white paper
    • Pencils
    • Crayons or oil pastels

     

     

    Instructional Design

    Opening/Activating Strategy

    • Engage students in the “Step Inside” artful thinking routine using Vincent Van Gogh’s Self-portrait as a painter, 1887.
      • In this routine, students will engage with three questions: 
    1. What can the person or thing perceive?
      2. What might the person or thing know about or believe?
      3. What might the person or thing care about?
    • Have students discuss these questions in small groups or with a partner.
    • Facilitate a class discussion around students’ responses. 
    • Share with students that the artist, Vincent Van Gogh, painted many self-portraits. Explain that a self-portrait is an artist’s rendering of themselves in visual form.

     

    Work Session

      ANALYZING ART

      • In small groups, have students read Tate Museum: Who Is Vincent Van Gogh? to learn about Van Gogh’s life.
      • Explain that Van Gogh used color to create mood in his artwork.
        • Project a Color Wheel on the board. In groups, ask students to identify several mood/feeling words that they associate with each color.
      • Display one of Van Gogh’s self portraits on the board. 
        • Ask students what colors Van Gogh used and how the colors create a mood. 
      • Give each group a different self-portrait by Van Gogh. Ask students to analyze the colors and mood of the painting as well as how they think Van Gogh viewed himself based on the colors he used.
      • Display each of the paintings. Facilitate a class-wide discussion about the similarities and differences in the paintings. 
        • Ask students how the colors change from painting to painting and how that change impacts the mood of the artwork. 
        • Ask students why they think most of Van Gogh’s self-portraits portray his face from an angle instead of straight. 
        • Next, look at the style–ask students to explain how they think Van Gogh made the brush strokes. Ask students whether they think the painting looks finished or unfinished.

       

      CREATING SELF-PORTRAITS

      • Explain to students that they will be creating their own self-portrait depicting themselves at the time of a specific personal experience (for example, the first time they scored a touchdown, when they moved to a new home).
        • Students should use color to create a mood that represents how they felt at the time of the experience.
      • Have students brainstorm a list of personal experiences that they can clearly recall. Students should select experiences from which they can generate enough content for a personal narrative.
        • Students should select one experience from their list as the inspiration for their self-portraits.
        • Next, students should identify the feeling or mood of their experience. Students will use colors in their self-portraits that communicate the mood. 
      • Instruct students to draw a large oval on their white paper using pencil. Project a facial proportions diagram to help students as they draw in their facial features on their self-portraits.
      • Next, remind students of Van Gogh’s style of painting with short, dashed brushstrokes. Demonstrate how to create short dashed lines with an oil pastel to create a similar effect. 
      • Allow students time to create their self-portraits using color to create mood. 

       

      PERSONAL NARRATIVE WRITING

      • Explain to students that they will be using their self-portraits as a basis for personal narrative writing.
      • Students will write a personal narrative about the experience they used to inspire their self-portrait.
        • In addition to grade-level specific expectations for narrative writing, students should focus on using descriptive details, imagery and sensory language to create mood in their writing that is consistent with the mood in their self-portraits.
        • Students should engage in peer-editing before producing their final narrative.
      • Students should give both their narratives and self-portraits a relevant title.

       

      Closing Reflection

      • Students should conduct a gallery walk of self-portraits.
      • After students have had the opportunity to observe each other’s work, facilitate a discussion around how each student as an artist used color to create mood in their self-portrait and how that mood connected to the personal experience in their narratives.

      Assessments

      Formative

      Teachers will assess student learning by observing students’ responses in whole-class and small group discussion and students’ responses to brainstorming sessions.

       

       

      Summative

      CHECKLIST

      • Students can create a self-portrait that communicates mood through color.
      • Students can write a personal narrative based on the experience that inspired their self-portrait. 
      • Students can create a mood in writing using descriptive details, imagery, and sensory language.

       

       

       

      DIFFERENTIATION 

      Acceleration: Students should conduct independent or collaborative research on Van Gogh’s life and how his personal experiences influenced his art. Students should pay special attention to the years his self portraits were painted and what occurred in his life at the time.

      Remediation: 

      • Allow students to use a graphic organizer to brainstorm three ideas that they could include in their self-portrait.
      • Provide a graphic organizer to assist students in organizing their personal narratives.

       ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

      *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.

      Ideas contributed by: Katy Betts 

      Revised and copyright:  May 2024 @ ArtsNOW

       

       

       
      Back to Modules

      UNDERSTANDING INFORMATIONAL TEXT THROUGH LANDSCAPE ART 6-8

      UNDERSTANDING INFORMATIONAL TEXT
      THROUGH LANDSCAPE ART

      UNDERSTANDING INFORMATIONAL TEXTTHROUGH LANDSCAPE ART

      Learning Description

      In this lesson, students will demonstrate their understanding of informational texts by using text evidence to create a landscape artwork.

       

      Learning Targets

      GRADE BAND: 6-8
      CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS, ELA, SOCIAL STUDIES
      LESSON DOWNLOADS:

      Download PDF of this Lesson

      "I Can" Statements

      “I Can…”

      • I can visualize supporting details in an informational text to create a landscape artwork.
      • I can annotate an informational text to identify the most important details.
      • I can synthesize the information presented in two different texts.

      Essential Questions

      • How can I visualize supporting details in an informational text to create a landscape artwork?
      • How can I identify the most important details using annotation?
      • How can I synthesize the information presented in two different texts?

       

      Georgia Standards

      Curriculum Standards

      Grade 6

      ELA

      ELAGSE6RI1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. 

      ELAGSE6RI2 Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

       

      SOCIAL STUDIES

      SS6G1 Locate selected features of Latin America.

      SS6G4 Locate selected features of Canada.

      SS6G7 Locate selected features of Europe.

      SS6G11 Locate selected features of Australia.

       

      Grade 7

      ELA

      ELAGSE7RI1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

      ELAGSE7W8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. 

       

      SOCIAL STUDIES

      SS7G1 Locate selected features of Africa.

      SS7G5 Locate selected features in Southwest Asia (Middle East).

      SS7G9 Locate selected features in Southern and Eastern Asia.

       

      Grade 8

      ELAGSE8RI1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

      ELAGSE8RI2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.

       

      SOCIAL STUDIES

      SS8G1 Describe Georgia’s geography and climate.

      Arts Standards

      Grade 6

      VA6.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art. 

      VA6.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

      VA6.CR.3 Engage in an array of processes, media, techniques, and/or technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence.

       

      Grade 7

      VA7.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art. 

      VA7.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

      VA7.CR.3 Engage in an array of processes, media, techniques, and/or technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence. 

       

      Grade 8

      VA8.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art. 

      VA8.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

      VA8.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

      ELA

      Reading - Informational Text (RI) - Meaning and Context 

      Standard 6: Summarize key details and ideas to support analysis of central ideas.

      6.1 Provide an objective summary of a text with two or more central ideas; cite key supporting details.

       

      Grade 7

      ELA

      Reading - Informational Text (RI) - Meaning and Context 

      Standard 6: Summarize key details and ideas to support analysis of central ideas.

      6.1 Provide an objective summary of a text with two or more central ideas; cite key supporting details to analyze their development. 

       

      SOCIAL STUDIES

      7.1.1.PR Identify select African physical systems and human characteristics of places.

      7.2.1.PR Identify select Asian physical systems and human characteristics of places.

      7.3.1.PR Identify select Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica physical systems and human characteristics of places.

      7.4.1.PR Identify select European physical systems and human characteristics of places.

      7.5.1.PR Identify select North American physical systems and human characteristics of places.

      7.6.1.PR Identify select South American physical systems (e.g., landforms and bodies of water), and human characteristics of places (e.g., countries and cities).

       

      Grade 8

      ELA

      Reading - Informational Text (RI) - Meaning and Context 

      Standard 6: Summarize key details and ideas to support analysis of central ideas.

      6.1 Provide an objective summary of a text with two or more central ideas; cite key supporting details to analyze their development.

       

      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 5: I can interpret (read) and evaluate the meaning of an artwork.

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

       

      Key Vocabulary

      Content Vocabulary

      • Informational text - Nonfiction writing that has the purpose of informing the reader
      • Synthesize - To combine two or more sources of information into one coherent source of information
      • Annotate - To take notes on a text
      • Physical feature - A landform such as a mountain, river, desert, etc.
      • Text evidence - Information that comes directly from the text that supports the main idea of the text

      Arts Vocabulary

      • Space - One of the seven Elements of Art; techniques artists use to create the illusion of depth on a 2D surface
      • Landscape - A type of art that shows a wide expanse of land–usually a countryside–and shows depth through a background, middle ground, and foreground
      • Foreground - The part of a landscape that is closest to the viewer
      • Background - The part of a landscape that is farthest from the viewer
      • Middle ground - The part of a landscape that is in between the background and the foreground
      • Texture - One of the seven elements of art; how something feels or looks like it feels
      • Printmaking - Printmaking is a process by which the artist creates an image that has texture and transfers that image repeatedly onto another surface like paper.
      • Collagraph printmaking - A form of printmaking in which texture is built up on a surface by layering materials. The artist then transfers the image through a process like a rubbing onto another surface like paper.

       

      Materials

        • Computer paper
        • Cardstock
        • Cardboard or additional cardstock for background
        • Scissors
        • Glue sticks
        • Pencils
        • Crayons or oil pastels (teacher tip: soak oil pastels or crayons in warm soapy water overnight; paper labels will easily come off the next day)
        • Informational text that describes a geographic location students are studying in Social Studies such as the Sahara Desert (7th grade SS, GA)
        • Optional - colored pencils

         

         

        Instructional Design

        Opening/Activating Strategy

        • Project a landscape painting such as Landscape from Saint Remy by Vincent Van Gogh. 
          • First, students will identify what they see in the image. Emphasize that they should make objective observations about the painting (i.e. physical features, colors, textures, etc.). 
          • Next, ask students to identify what they think about the image. Emphasize that students should be creating inferences using visual evidence from the painting. 
          • Finally, ask students what they wonder about the image. 
          • Ask students to work collaboratively to engage in the See, Think, Wonder protocol (Harvard University Project Zero - Artful Thinking Strategies). 
          • Facilitate a class-wide discussion around students’ observations, inferences, and questions.

         

        Work Session

          • Explain that the artwork students are looking at is an example of a landscape painting. Landscape paintings show a wide expanse of land–usually a countryside–and show depth through a background, middle ground, and foreground. 
          • Show students the diagram of a landscape. Explain that the background is what is farthest away from the viewer, the foreground is directly in front of the viewer, and the middle ground everything in the middle. 
          • Ask students to try to identify the background, middle ground, and foreground in Landscape from Saint Remy by Vincent Van Gogh.
          • Explain to students that texture in art is how something feels or looks like it feels. Ask students to identify textures in the landscape painting.
          • Tell students that they will be creating their own landscape artwork based off of an informational text. Provide each student with a copy of the informational text that connects to a region students are studying in Social Studies (if applicable). 
          • With partners, have students annotate the text as they read, looking for details that describe how the region looks such as landforms, colors, etc. 
          • Facilitate a discussion with students around what details they might include in the background, what details they might include in the middle ground, and what details they might include in the foreground. 
          • Instruct students to locate and research an additional informational text on the same region. 
            • Students should use their knowledge of research practices to identify a reliable source. Students should annotate the text as they did previously. 
            • Students will synthesize the details that they found in the two sources to create their landscape artwork. 
          • Introduce students to the term Collagraph Printmaking. 
            • Printmaking is a process by which the artist creates an image that has texture and transfers that image repeatedly onto another surface like paper. 
            • Tell students that the printing press is an early example of printmaking. 
          • Explain the process of creating their artwork. 
            • Students will draw a rough draft of their landscape on blank paper using evidence from both texts. Students’ rough drafts should have a background, middle ground, and foreground.
            • Out of cardstock, students will cut out landforms like mountains and physical features like forests that they included in their rough draft. 
              • Students should glue the landforms down to a piece of cardstock or cardboard starting with the background and moving to the foreground. 
              • Students should use overlapping as they glue each layer down.
            • Once they have created their landscapes, students will create a rubbing by placing a piece of computer paper over their landscape. Using a crayon or oil pastel, they will rub across the surface to pick up the texture of the landscape.
          • Students can then add in details and additional texture using colored pencil, crayon, or oil pastel.

           

          Closing Reflection

          • Students will write a one paragraph artist statement about their work. They should include a relevant title for their landscape and what they showed in their artwork citing text evidence from both sources.
          • Allow students to conduct a gallery walk within small groups to compare and contrast how they and their classmates visualized the text. Emphasize that students should look for similarities and differences in artwork and how that reflects the sources that students used.

          Assessments

          Formative

          Teachers will assess learning by determining whether students are able to identify the background, middle ground, and foreground in the example landscape and whether students can identify all the important supporting details from both texts that describe how the region looks.

           

           

          Summative

          CHECKLIST

          • Students’ landscapes included a background, middle ground, and foreground. 
          • Students’ landscapes visualize the details from both texts that describe how the location looks.
          • Students’ artist statements include a relevant title for their landscapes and what they showed in their artwork citing text evidence from both sources.

           

           

          Differentiation

          Acceleration: 

          • Allow students to research the landscape paintings of Vincent Van Gogh or another landscape artist. Students can create their artwork in the style of Van Gogh (Post-Impressionism) or another artist of their choice. 

           

          Remediation: 

          • Allow students to work with partners to create their landscapes. Each partner can create their own rubbing. 
          • Provide students with an “answer key” of the passage to use to check their annotations. 
          • Have students only use one text rather than two.
          • Provide students with a graphic organizer to fill out with landforms, physical features, and agriculture as they read the text. 

           

           ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

           

          *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.

          Ideas contributed by:  Katy Betts 

          Revised and copyright:  2023  @ ArtsNOW

           
          Back to Modules

          ARTISTIC EXPLORATIONS 6-8


          ARTISTIC EXPLORATIONS 

          ARTISTIC EXPLORATIONS

          Learning Description

          In this lesson, students will learn about how portrait artists convey characteristics through color and style. Students will then use what they learned to create an artwork to express the changes that a character in a text undergoes due to a conflict or event in the text.

           

          Learning Targets

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

          Download PDF of this Lesson

          "I Can" Statements

          “I Can…”

          • I can identify and explain how a character changes throughout a text due to a conflict or event. 

          • I can use color and style to describe a character in a text.

          Essential Questions

          • How does a character change throughout a text due to a conflict or event? 

          • How can I use color and style to describe a character in a text?

           

          Georgia Standards

          Curriculum Standards

          Grade 6

          ELAGSE6RL3 Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves towards a resolution.

           

           

          Grade 7

          ELAGSE7RL3 Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how settings shape the characters or plot).

          ELAGSE7RL6 Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.

           

          Grade 8

          ELAGSE8RL3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

           

           

           

           

           

          Arts Standards

          Grade 6

          VA6.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art.

          VA6.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

          VA6.CR.3 Engage in an array of processes, media, techniques, and/or technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence.

          VA6.CR.4 Incorporate formal and informal components to create works of art.

           

          Grade 7

          VA7.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art.

          VA7.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

          VA7.CR.3 Engage in an array of processes, media, techniques, and/or technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence.

          VA7.CR.4 Incorporate formal and informal components to create works of art.

           

           

          Grade 8

          VA8.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art.

          VA8.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

          VA8.CR.3 Engage in an array of processes, media, techniques, and/or technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence.

          VA8.CR.4 Incorporate formal and informal components to create works of art.

           

           

           

           

           

          South Carolina Standards

          Curriculum Standards

          Grade 6

          Standard 8: Analyze characters, settings, events, and ideas as they develop and interact within a particular context.

          8.1 Describe how a plot in a narrative or drama unfolds and how characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution; determine the impact of contextual influences on setting, plot and characters.

          Grade 7

          Standard 8: Analyze characters, settings, events, and ideas as they develop and interact within a particular context.

          8.1 Analyze how setting shapes the characters and/or plot and how particular elements of a narrative or drama interact; determine the impact of contextual influences on setting, plot, and characters. 

          Grade 8

          Standard 6: Summarize key details and ideas to support analysis of thematic development.

          6.1 Determine one or more themes and analyze the development and relationships to character, setting, and plot over the course of a text; provide an objective summary.

          Standard 8: Analyze characters, settings, events, and ideas as they develop and interact within a particular context.

           

          Arts Standards

          Artistic Processes: Creating-I can make artwork using a variety of materials, techniques, and processes.

          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.

          Artistic Processes: Responding- I can evaluate and communicate about the meaning in my artwork and the artwork of others.

          Anchor Standard 5: I can interpret (read) and evaluate the meaning of an artwork.

          Artistic Processes: Connecting- I can relate artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context.Anchor Standard 7: I can relate visual arts ideas to other arts disciplines, content areas, and careers.

           

          Key Vocabulary

          Content Vocabulary

          • Characterization - The process throughwhich an author develops anddescribes the personalities of thecharacters in a story
          • Theme - A central or underlying idea ormessage that the author conveys
          • Point of view - The perspective fromwhich a story is narrated or presented
          • Perspective - An individual's particularway of seeing, understanding, orinterpreting something
          • Internal conflict - When a characterexperiences a struggle or dilemmawithin themselves
          • External conflict - The struggle or clashbetween a character and an externalforce, which can be another character,society, nature, or

           

           

          Arts Vocabulary

          • Color - One of the seven elements of art; reflected or absorbed light
          • Style - The distinctive and recognizable way in which an artist expresses themselves through their artwork
          • Subject - The primary object, scene, or concept that the artwork is about
          • Portrait - An artist’s depiction of a person

           

           

          Materials

            • Pencils
            • Scissors
            • Tape or glue sticks
            • Colored pencils and/or markers
            • Blank color wheel
            • Cube template
            • Color and Feelings/characteristics graphic organizer

             

             

            Instructional Design

            Opening/Activating Strategy

            • Organize students in small groups of 2-3. Give each group a copy of one of the following artworks. Multiple groups can have the same image. 

            ○ The Scream by Edvard Munch 

            ○ Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso 

            ○ Rembrandt Laughing by Rembrandt van Rijn 

            ○ Self Portrait in a Cap by Rembrandt van Rijn 

            ○ Sorrowing old man ('At Eternity's Gate') by Vincent Van Gogh 

            • Ask students to identify and write down what they think the person in the artwork might be thinking and feeling. Direct students’ attention to the style, color, and subject of the artwork. 
            • Then, ask students to write down how they came to that conclusion using evidence from the image. Encourage students to talk about how the artist uses color. 
            • Project each of the images on the board. Students will share their conclusions with the class. 
            • Explain to students that they will be creating artwork that shows how a character in a literary work changes over the course of the text.

             

            Work Session

            • Review perspective and point of view with students. 
            • Each student should select a character from the text being studied. 
            • Students should determine what the catalyst for change is that the character experiences in the text, such as an internal or external conflict, a specific event, etc. 
            • Show students an image of a color wheel. Tell students that color can communicate different things to different people, and that artists use color as a means of 

            communication. Show students Woman with Folded Arms by Pablo Picasso. Ask students how Picasso uses color as a tool of communication. 

            • Provide each student with a blank color wheel. In the same small groups at the activating strategy, have students label their color wheels with the colors and the 

            feelings/characteristics they associate with that color. Students can use multiple words for each color. Use blue as an example–it can represent sadness, melancholy, calm, peacefulness, etc. 

            • Next, pass out cube templates. Tell students that they will write a summary of the event, conflict, etc. that propelled change in the character on the bottom inside of what will become the cube/box. 
            • On each of what will be the sides of the cube, students should briefly explain how the character changed due to the event, conflict, etc. See here. 
            • Next, students will create four artworks on the reverse side of each character change explanation that illustrate the character of choice at four different points in the text. Each artwork should represent the character at different points in the text as he/she has changed. These will be on the outside of the cube/box when the box is constructed. See here.

            ○ Students should think about how artists from the activator portrayed different characteristics and emotions. 

            ○ Students should also use their color wheels to help them determine what colors they will use in each illustration. 

            ● Finally, students should use tape or glue to put the cube together. Artwork should be on the outside of the cube and explanations on the inside. See here.

            Closing Reflection

            Group students in groups of 4-5. Students should see if they can determine which character from the text each of their classmates selected for their artwork. 

            Then, students should present their artwork stating which character they selected, identifying the catalyst for change, and explaining how each of their illustrations show the change the character experienced.

            Assessments

            Formative

            Teachers will assess understanding through the following questions: 

            • Are students able to explain how artists communicate characteristics and emotions visually? 
            • Are students able to identify an event or conflict that leads to change in a character and explain how that character changes over the course of the text? 
            • Are students able to connect color to emotions/characteristics?

             

            Summative

            CHECKLIST 

            • Does students’ artwork: 

            ○ Identify the event or conflict that leads to change in a character? 

            ○ Demonstrate visually and verbally how the character changes throughout the text? ○ Use color to communicate feelings and characteristics of the character? ● Are students able to present their artwork stating which character they selected, identifying the catalyst for change, and explaining how each of their illustrations show the change the character experienced?

            Differentiation

            Acceleration: Students should select one of the artworks discussed in class. Students should conduct an independent study on the artwork and artist. Students should create their artwork in the style of this artist. 

            Remediation: 

            ● Allow students to orally explain how the event or conflict changed the character. ● Allow students to use bullet points or a numbered list to explain how the event or conflict changed the character. 

            ● Allow students to work in small groups on the same artwork and character. Each student can create one small artwork that they will cut out and glue onto the box to make the collaborative artwork.

             

            ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

            ● Artworks: 

            ○ Woman with Folded Arms by Pablo Picasso 

            ○ The Scream by Edvard Munch 

            ○ Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso 

            ○ Rembrandt Laughing by Rembrandt van Rijn 

            ○ Self Portrait in a Cap by Rembrandt van Rijn 

            ○ Sorrowing old man ('At Eternity's Gate') by Vincent Van Gogh 

            ● Cube template 

            ● Color wheel 

            ● Color and Feelings/characteristics graphic organizer

             

            *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. 

            Ideas contributed by: Katy Betts 

            Revised and copyright: 2024 @ ArtsNOW
            Back to Modules

            VISUALIZING ECONOMIC SYSTEMS 6-7

            VISUALIZING ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

             

            VISUALIZING ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

            Learning Description

            In this lesson, students will explore how they can express the characteristics of different economic systems through line, shape, and color. Students will then write about their artwork explaining how their artwork shows the different characteristics of each economic system.

             

            Learning Targets

            GRADE BAND: 6-7
            CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & SOCIAL STUDIES
            LESSON DOWNLOADS:

            Download PDF of this Lesson

            "I Can" Statements

            “I Can…”

            • I can describe the characteristics of a command, market, and mixed economy.

            • I can use line, shape, and color to express the characteristics of different economic systems.

            • I can explain the connection between my artwork and the characteristics of different economic systems.

            Essential Questions

            • What are the characteristics of a command, market, and mixed economy?

            • How can I use line, shape, and color to express the characteristics of different economic systems?

            • How can I explain the connection between my artwork and the characteristics of different economic systems?

             

            Georgia Standards

            Curriculum Standards

            Grade 6

            SS6E, SS6E7, SS6E10 

            Analyze different economic systems. a. Compare how traditional, command, and market economies answer the economic questions of 1-what to produce, 2-how to produce, and 3-for whom to produce. b. Explain that countries have a mixed economic system located on a continuum between pure market and pure command.

             

            Grade 7

            SS7E1, SS7E4, SS7E7

            Analyze different economic systems. a. Compare how traditional, command, and market economies answer the economic questions of 1-what to produce, 2-how to produce, and 3-for whom to produce. b. Explain that countries have a mixed economic system located on a continuum between pure market and pure command.

             

            Personal Finance and Economics

            SSEF3 Analyze how economic systems influence the choices of individuals, businesses, and governments. 

            1. Analyze how command, market and mixed economic systems answer the three basic economic questions (what to produce, how to produce, and for whom to produce) to prioritize various social and economic goals such as freedom, security, equity, growth, efficiency, price stability, full employment, and sustainability.

             

             

             

             

            Arts Standards

            Grade 6

            VA6.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art. 

            VA6.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

            VA6.CR.3 Engage in an array of processes, media, techniques, and/or technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence.

            VA6.CR.4 Incorporate formal and informal components to create works of art.

             

            Grade 7

            VA7.CR.1 Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art. 

            VA7.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and/or methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

            VA7.CR.3 Engage in an array of processes, media, techniques, and/or technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence. 

            VA7.CR.4 Incorporate formal and informal components to create works of art.

             

            High School

            VAHSAD.CR.4 Incorporate formal and informal components to create applied design art products and/or designs.

             

            VAHSAD.RE.3 Engage in the process of art criticism to make meaning and increase visual Visual Art Georgia Standards of Excellence 

             

            VAHSAH.RE.3 Compare and contrast works of art, artists, cultures, and eras based on visual and contextual evidence.

             

            VAHSAH.CN.1 Evaluate the influence of historical, political, economic, social, cultural, religious, and technological factors on the development of selected works of art from prehistoric to contemporary times and in a variety of societies 

             

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

             

            VAHSAH.PR.1 Identify and discuss related themes throughout the history of art (e.g. power and authority, sacred spaces, human figure, narrative, nature, spiritual objects) as expressed in different media within each culture and time period (e.g. two-dimensional work, three-dimensional work, architecture, multi-media).

             

            VAHSAH.RE.1 Identify and describe how artistic expression is conveyed visually through subject matter, media, technique, and design (e.g. composition, color scheme). Visual Art Georgia Standards of Excellence 

             

            VAHSAHRE.2 Discuss aesthetic issues (e.g. why humans create, criteria for defining an object as art, the effect of how content affects value, standards of beauty and beauty’s role in defining art, how needs are fulfilled by art in varied societies). 

             

            VAHSAH.RE.3 Compare and contrast works of art, artists, cultures, and eras based on visual and contextual evidence. 

             

             

             

             

            South Carolina Standards

            Curriculum Standards

            Economics and Personal Finance

            Standard 1: Demonstrate an understanding of fundamental economic concepts at an individual, business, and governmental level.

            EPF.1.IN Research and utilize evidence to explain how various economic systems address the basic economic questions regarding distribution of resources.

             

             

            Arts Standards

            Artistic Processes: Creating- I can make artwork using a variety of materials, techniques, and processes.

            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.

            Artistic Processes: Responding- I can evaluate and communicate about the meaning in my artwork and the artwork of others.

            Anchor Standard 5: I can interpret (read) and evaluate the meaning of an artwork.

            Artistic Processes: Connecting- I can relate artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context.

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

             

             

             

             

            Key Vocabulary

            Content Vocabulary

            • Market economy - An economic system in which all economic questions are answers by consumers and producers
            • Command economy - An economic system in which all economic questions are answered by the government
            • Mixed economy - An economic system in which economic questions are answered by both the government as well as producers and consumers

             

             

            Arts Vocabulary

            • Line - One of the Elements of Art; the path of a moving point
            • Shape - One of the Elements of Art; a two-dimensional or flat object; an enclosed line
            • Color - One of the Elements of Art; how light is seen as reflected or absorbed on a surface
            • Symbol - An image that has meaning

             

             

            Materials

               

               

              Instructional Design

              Opening/Activating Strategy

              • Display the painting, Chairman Mao en Route to Anyuan by Liu Chunhua (7th grade Social Studies) or The Bolshevik by Boris Kustodiev (6th grade Social Studies). Direct students to engage in the Artful Thinking “Step Inside” protocol. In this protocol, students ask themselves: 
              • Allow students time to discuss in small groups.
              • Provide context for the painting shown: Chairman Mao and the communist revolution in China or the Russian Revolution of 1917. 
              • Engage students in a conversation about what they know about economic systems in communist and socialist countries.

               

              Work Session

              ***Teacher note: If students have not learned about market, command, and mixed economies, pause the arts integrated lesson to teach these economic systems.

              • Provide students with a graphic organizer on the three main economic systems. 
                • One column has the economic system, one has a place for students to write characteristics, and one has a place for students to draw symbols, lines, shapes, and colors that represent characteristics of that economic system.
              • Show students images of lines, shapes, and colors. 
                • Examples: A straight line might symbolize complete control while a very wavy/curly line might symbolize total freedom; a slightly wavy line would represent a mixture of both a straight and very wavy/curvy line. A solid primary color (red, blue, yellow) or white or black might symbolize something that is absolute while gray or a secondary color, which is a mix of primary colors (orange, purple, green), might symbolize a mix of two economic systems.
                • In collaborative groups, direct students to identify what they think these lines, shapes, and colors represent. 
                • Help students connect these elements of art to characteristics of the three main economic systems. 
              • Show students an example of an abstract artwork such as Cossacks by Wassily Kandinsky versus a representational artwork like Chairman Mao en Route to Anyuan or The Bolshevik. 
                • Discuss with students how abstract artists use the Elements of Art (line, shape, form, value, space, color, and texture) to communicate meaning while representational artists use recognizable images to communicate meaning. Ask students what they see in Chairman Mao en Route to Anyuan or The Bolshevik that might symbolize meaning.
              • Explain to students that they will use symbols, lines, shapes, and colors to create an artwork that represents each economic system. 
                • Students will use these elements of art to represent something representational or abstract. Whichever they choose, they should be able to explain how their use of symbols, lines, shapes, and colors communicate the characteristics of each economic system.
              • Demonstrate to students how to create a trifold with their paper. Each section will represent a different economic system. 
              • Allow students time to complete their artwork.
              • Students should then write an artist statement in paragraph format that answers the following questions:
                • What are the three economic systems and what are their characteristics?
                • How did you show the characteristics of each economic system using symbols, lines, shapes, and colors (students should  be specific citing each characteristic and how it was represented.

              Closing Reflection

              • After students have created their artwork, students should present in collaborative groups how they represented each economic system using line, shape, and color.

              Assessments

              Formative

              Teachers will assess student learning using the following criteria:

              • Are students able to explain the characteristics of command, market, and mixed economic systems?
              • Are students able to identify symbols, lines, shapes, and colors that represent the characteristics of the economic systems?

               

              Summative

              CHECKLIST

              • Does the student’s final artwork demonstrate an understanding of the three economic systems through the use of symbols, lines, shapes, and colors?
              • Does the artist statement demonstrate a logical connection between the characteristics of each system and the symbols, lines, shapes, and colors that the student used?

              Differentiation

              Acceleration: Students can choose an economic system of one of the countries they are studying. Students will use what they learned in the economic systems artwork to create one large piece of art specifically about their selected country’s economic system. Students can work with partners or independently.

              Remediation: 

              • Provide guided notes in the graphic organizer under the “characteristics” section.
              • Allow students to work in groups of three–each student will create an artwork for one economic system. Students will put their artwork together once they’ve finished.
              • Allow students to explain how they showed the characteristics of their system(s) in their artwork orally.

               

               ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

               

              *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.

              Ideas contributed by:  Katy Betts

              Revised and copyright:  2023 @ ArtsNOW
              Back to Modules