MOVING WORDS: INTEGRATING DANCE AND WRITING FOR CREATIVE EXPRESSION 6-8

INTEGRATING DANCE AND WRITING FOR CREATIVE EXPRESSION

MOVING WORDS: INTEGRATING DANCE AND WRITING FOR CREATIVE EXPRESSION

Learning Description

Integrating dance and choreography into writing can enhance the narrative by adding dynamic expression, rhythm, and movement to the storytelling process. The purpose of integration is for students to watch dance and use context clues to identify the main idea and supporting details. Students will also use brainstorming, identifying a main idea and supporting details, as a device to create choreography.

 

Learning Targets

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

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can identify the main idea and supporting details in a text, conversation, or performance to better understand and explain its overall message.
  • I can use the main idea and supporting details to create choreography.

Essential Questions

  • How can identifying the main idea and supporting details in choreography enhance our understanding and interpretation of a dance performance?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 6:

ELAGSE6RL2 Determine a theme and/or 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.

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

 

Grade 7:

ELAGSE7RL2 Determine a theme and/or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

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

 

Grade 8:

ELAGSE8RL2 Determine a theme and/or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

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

Arts Standards

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 dance as it relates to other areas of knowledge.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 6:

ELA.6.OE.2 Acquire, refine, and share knowledge through a variety of multimedia literacies to include written, oral, visual, digital, and interactive texts.

ELA.6.OE.3 Make inferences to support comprehension.

ELA.6.C.3.1 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences, memories, or ideas, using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

 

Grade 7:

ELA.7.OE.2 Acquire, refine, and share knowledge through a variety of multimedia literacies to include written, oral, visual, digital, and interactive texts.

ELA.7.OE.3 Make inferences to support comprehension.

ELA.7.C.3.1 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences, memories, or ideas, using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

 

Grade 8:

ELA.8.OE.2 Acquire, refine, and share knowledge through a variety of multimedia literacies to include written, oral, visual, digital, and interactive texts.

ELA.8.OE.3 Make inferences to support comprehension.

ELA.8.C.3.1 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences, memories, or ideas, using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and logically structured event sequences.

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.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Author – A writer of a book, article, or report
  • Main idea – The main idea is the central point or message of a text
  • Theme – The central idea, message, or underlying meaning in a piece of writing, art, film, or other forms of creative work
  • Supporting detail – The statements that support (go along with) the main idea
  • Setting – The place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place
  • Character – A person in a novel, play, or movie

Arts Vocabulary

  • Choreography: The art of designing and arranging sequences of movements, steps, and gestures to create a dance piece
  • Choreographer – The person who designs or creates a dance piece
  • Body – The dancer’s body and how it is used
  • Types of energy:
    • Percussive – Refers to the quality of movement characterized by sharp starts and stops;staccato jabs of energy
    • Suspended – Occurs in a moment of resistance to gravity, such as the instant in which a dancer hangs in space at the top of a leap
    • Sustained – Smooth and unaccented; there is not apparent start or stop, only a continuity of energy
    • Swinging – Established by a fall of gravity, a gain in momentum, a loss of momentum,and the repeated cycle of fall and recovery, like that of a pendulum
    • Vibratory – A quality of movement characterized by rapidly repeated bursts of percussive movements like “a jitter”
  • Space:
    • Level – One of the aspects of movement (there are three basic levels in dance: high,middle, and low)
    • Pathway – Designs traced on the floor as a dancer travels across space; the designs traced in the air as a dancer moves various body parts
    • Shape – Refers to an interesting and interrelated arrangement of body parts of one dancer; the visual makeup or molding of the body parts of a singular dancer; the overall visible appearance of a group of dancers
  • Time:
    • Tempo – Refers to the pace or speed of movement
  • Action:
    • Locomotor – A movement that travels through space
    • Non-locomotor – A movement that does not travel through space

 

Materials

  • A selected piece of choreography to watch
  • Brainstorm planning bubbles or concept map
  • Music
  • Paper and pencils

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Discuss the similarities between a choreographer and an author, such as how both are creators and storytellers.
  • Watch a selected piece of choreography.
  • Have students identify the story elements in the choreography–who are the characters? What is the setting? What was the beginning, middle, and end?.
  • Have students identify the main idea and supporting details in the choreography.
  • Have students infer what the choreography was about using supporting details from the choreography.

Work Session

  • As a whole group, discuss how choreographers plan choreography just how writers brainstorm for their writing/essay.
  • Practice a brainstorm for choreography together exploring different types of movements, levels, and energy qualities (see Arts Vocabulary).
  • Break students into small groups.
  • Assign or have groups select a main idea/topic for their choreography.
  • Have students brainstorm for their choreography using a concept map, web, brainstorming bubbles, or other type of strategy.
  • Remind students to keep in mind the elements of dance: body, action, space, time, and energy, and how they can be used to help express their thoughts/ideas (see Arts Vocabulary).
    • For younger students, focus on a limited number of elements.
  • Have students create and share their choreography.
  • Have students write the story of their choreography including the main idea and supporting details displayed in the dance.
  • Their stories should have characters; setting; a beginning, middle, and end; temporal words, and transitions.

 

Closing Reflection

  • After watching each group's choreography, the audience (class) will identify the movements they saw in the choreography that were the supporting details of the main idea of the choreography.
  • Students will answer: How did these movements help you understand the main idea/story?

 

Assessments

Formative

  • While groups are working on choreography, ask the students questions about their choreography and choreographic choices.
    • What is the main idea?
    • What supporting details are in your choreography?
    • Have them demonstrate them to you.

Summative

  • Have choreographers write or talk about their choreographic process and how they selected the movements.
  • Have students write the story of their choreography including the main idea and evidence/supporting details displayed in the dance.
  • Their stories should have characters; setting; a beginning, middle, and end; temporal words, and transitions.

 

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Have students add transitions to their choreography (beginning, middle, end). A transition in choreography serves the same purpose as a transition in writing. It helps to connect all the parts smoothly.

 

Remedial:

  • Create a dance collaboratively as a class.
    • Teacher will assign the main idea or it can be determined from a text.
    • Have each group create choreography for one of the supporting details.
    • As a whole class, arrange the supporting details in a sequence to best support the main idea.
    • Provide a graphic organizer, sentence stems, etc. to support students as they write their stories.

 

Credits

Ideas contributed by: Melissa Dittmar-Joy

*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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MOVEMENT BY CHANCE: EXPLORING DANCE AND DATA PATTERNS 9-12

EXPLORING DANCE AND DATA PATTERNS

MOVEMENT BY CHANCE: EXPLORING DANCE AND DATA

Learning Description

Students will explore the concept of chance dance, inspired by Merce Cunningham, while simultaneously developing data interpretation skills. Students will begin by learning about Cunningham’s innovative approach, where movements are determined randomly using dice, coins, or digital tools. Working in small groups, they will create short dance sequences by assigning movements to numbers and rolling dice to determine the movements in their choreography. After performing their sequences, students will record data on movement frequency, patterns, and transitions. They will then analyze this data discussing trends and drawing conclusions about how probability influences artistic composition. This lesson merges creative expression with mathematical thinking, encouraging students to see patterns in both dance and data.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 9-12
CONTENT FOCUS: DANCE & MATH
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can create a chance dance sequence using randomization.
  • I can analyze movement patterns by collecting and interpreting data.
  • I can use probability to determine the likelihood of using different movements in choreography.

Essential Questions

  • How can we use data interpretation to analyze and understand patterns created through chance dance?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Statistical Reasoning:

SR.DSR.2 Formulate statistical investigative questions of interest to students that can be answered with data

SR.DSR.3 Collect data by designing and implementing a plan to address the formulated statistical investigative question.

SR.DSR.4 Analyze data by selecting and using appropriate graphical and numerical methods

SR.DSR.5 Interpret the results of the analysis, making connections to the formulated statistical investigative question.

Arts Standards

DHSD1.CR.1 Demonstrate an understanding of creative/choreographic principles, processes, and structures.

DHSD1.CR.2 Demonstrate an understanding of dance as a form of communication.

DHSD1.RE.1 Demonstrate critical and creative thinking in all aspects of dance.

DHSD1.CN.3 Demonstrate an understanding of dance as it relates to other areas of knowledge.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Statistics and Probability:

SPMJ.2* Distinguish between experimental and theoretical probabilities. Collect data on a chance event and use the relative frequency to estimate the theoretical probability of that event. Determine whether a given probability model is consistent with experimental results.

SPID.1* Select and create an appropriate display, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots, for data that includes only real numbers.

SPMD.1 Develop the probability distribution for a random variable defined for a sample space in which a theoretical probability can be calculated and graph the distribution.

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.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Data - Facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis
  • Analyze - Examine methodically and in detail the constitution or structure of something, especially information, typically for purposes of explanation and interpretation
  • Interpret - Explain the meaning of information, words, or actions
  • Charts - A sheet of information in the form of a table, graph, or diagram
  • Graphs - A diagram showing the relation between variable quantities, typically of two variables, each measured along one of a pair of axes at right angles
  • Fraction - A numerical quantity that is not a whole number
  • Probability - The extent to which an event is likely to occur, measured by the ratio of the favorable cases to the whole number of cases possible.

Arts Vocabulary

  • Merce Cunningham - American modern dancer and choreographer who developed new forms of abstract dance movement
  • Chance Dance - Chance dance is a choreography technique that uses chance to determine the order of a sequence of movements. It can also refer to a movement activity where participants create a dance using a random method like rolling dice.
  • Choreography - The art of designing and arranging sequences of movements, steps, and gestures to create a dance piece
  • Choreographer - The person who designs or creates a dance piece
  • Form - How a dance/choreography is structured (put together)

 

Materials

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Create a short dance with students using a movement list to select from. Example movement list:
    • Jump
    • Hop
    • Clap
    • Turn
    • Slide
    • Change levels
    • Change directions
  • Explain to the students that a piece of choreography is a collection of data.
  • Using the data/choreography, create a chart/graph to represent all the steps in the dance.
  • Explore various types of charts/graphs that can be used to display the data/choreography.
  • Ask students how they think probability could be used to choreograph a dance.

Work Session

  • Watch the video The Six Sides of Merce Cunningham. Discuss who Merce Cunningham is and how he used the concept of chance to create dances.
  • Discuss how this concept applies to dancers and choreographers.
  • Break class into groups.
  • Give each group a set of movement cards (each group's cards should be the same) and one die.
  • After assigning a set number of movements that must be included in the dance, have students assign a numerical value (one to six) to each movement.
    • Have students determine the probability that they will use each of the movements in their choreography.
    • Have students roll their dice to determine what each movement in their choreography will be.
  • Students will then create choreography for the data they have.
  • Each group will share their choreography with the whole class.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Facilitate a discussion around the following questions:
    • How was each group's dance different even though each group had the same data to start with?
    • How did probability impact the outcome?

 

Assessments

Formative

  • The teacher will assess student learning throughout the lesson by observing students’ ability to use various movements in dance and their ability to use chance to create a unique piece of choreography.

Summative

  • Create a list of questions to ask about the students' choreography/data. Examples:
    • What is the probability that your dance has:
      • One turn
      • Two jumps
      • One slide and one clap
      • Compare all groups’ choreography–Example: What is the probability that all groups had a jump first?

 

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Students will compare statistical data and probability of all the groups.

 

Remedial:

  • Limit the data set.
  • Limit the complexity of mathematical questions about the data.

 

Additional Resources

 

Credits

Ideas contributed by: Melissa Dittmar-Joy

*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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EXPLORING THEMES THROUGH PRINTMAKING 9-12

EXPLORING THEMES THROUGH PRINTMAKING

EXPLORING THEMES THROUGH PRINTMAKING

Learning Description

Students will analyze a text to determine a universal theme and track its development over the course of the text. They will then design and carve a symbolic representation of the theme onto a styrofoam plate for printmaking. Each student will contribute their individual print to a class-wide gallery display that visually represents diverse perspectives on universal themes.This high school printmaking lesson encourages critical literary analysis while allowing students to express their understanding through symbolic artwork. It fosters collaboration, creativity, and deeper engagement with universal themes in literature.

 

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 determine and analyze a universal theme in a literary text.
  • I can explain how key details contribute to a theme’s development.
  • I can create a symbolic representation of a theme through printmaking.
  • I can critique and compare my artistic interpretation with my peers'.

Essential Questions

  • How do authors develop universal themes in literature?
  • How can symbols visually communicate abstract literary themes?
  • How does artistic interpretation deepen our understanding of literature?
  • What connections can we draw between literary themes and contemporary issues?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

9th Grade Literature and Composition:

ELAGSE9-10RL2 Determine a theme and/or central idea of text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

 

10th Grade Literature and Composition:

ELAGSE9-10RL2 Determine a theme and/or central idea of text and closely analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

Arts Standards

VAHSVA.CR.1.a Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.

VAHSVA.CR.1.b Consider multiple options, weighing consequences, and assessing results.

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

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

ELA.AOR.2: Evaluate and critique the development of themes and central ideas within and across texts.

English I:

ELA.E1.AOR.2.1 Determine a universal theme(s) and explain how key details contribute to its development over the course of a literary text.

English II:

ELA.E2.AOR.2.1 Analyze the development of universal themes across literary texts from different time periods, places, and/or cultures.

English III:

ELA.E3.AOR.2.1 Evaluate the development of universal themes across literary texts from different time periods, places, and/or cultures.

English IV:

ELA.E4.AOR.2.1 Evaluate and critique the development of universal themes across literary texts from different time periods, places, and/or cultures.

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 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

  • Theme – The central idea or underlying message in a text
  • Symbolism – The use of images or objects to represent deeper meanings

Arts Vocabulary

  • Printmaking – The art or technique of making prints, especially as practiced in engraving, etching, dry point, woodcut or serigraphy
  • Relief print – A printmaking technique in which a design is carved into a material and inked for printing
  • Brayer – A tool used to roll ink evenly onto the printing plate
  • Composition – How an artist arranges the Elements of Art (line, shape, form, value, color, space, texture) to create an artwork
  • 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

 

Materials

  • Literary text (short stories, poems, novel excerpts)
  • Sketchbooks/pencils
  • Styrofoam sheets
  • Dull pencils or ball point pens
  • Brayers
  • Water based printing ink
  • Printing paper (white, colored, textured)
  • Colored pencils or art sticks
  • Drying racks or designated drying space

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

Engage (Text Selection & Theme Analysis)

  • Students will read and analyze a short story, poem, or novel excerpt (e.g., Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, Fahrenheit 451, Othello).
  • As they read, students will annotate how key details develop the theme over time.
  • In groups, they will identify a universal theme (e.g., power and corruption, isolation, identity, loss of innocence, resilience, fate versus free will) and discuss its relevance.

Work Session

Explore (Symbol Development & Sketching):

  • Students will brainstorm symbols that represent their theme (e.g., a broken clock for time’s passage, a tree with missing branches for loss, etc.).
  • Each student will sketch at least two possible symbols, refining their designs through peer feedback.
  • The class will discuss how symbols communicate deeper meaning in both literature and art.

 

Create (Printmaking Process):

  • Follow the printmaking process below.
  • Prepping the Styrofoam Plate:
    • Use a dull pencil or ballpoint pen to carve designs—press firmly but avoid puncturing all the way through.
    • Encourage students to sketch lightly first before carving to avoid mistakes.
  • Carving Techniques:
    • Keep lines simple and bold for clear prints; intricate details may not transfer well.
    • Reverse letters or numbers if including text, as prints will be a mirror image.
    • Vary line thickness for added depth—thicker lines hold more ink, while thinner lines create subtle details.
  • Inking the Plate:
    • Roll out a thin, even layer of ink on a tray before applying to the plate with a brayer.
    • Make sure ink covers the entire design, but avoid excessive ink, which can cause smudging.
    • Test prints on scrap paper before the final collaborative print.
  • Printing Process:
    • Place the inked plate face down on the final paper and press evenly with hands or a clean brayer.
    • Avoid shifting or sliding the plate while printing to prevent smudging.
    • Lift the plate carefully to reveal the design.
    • Encourage students to appreciate the imperfections as part of the artistic process!
  • Creative Enhancements:
    • Try different colors – Experiment with layering multiple prints in different colors.
    • Overlap prints – Print the same design multiple times on one page to create patterns.
    • Use mixed media – Combine printmaking with drawing, collage, or watercolor backgrounds for unique effects.

 

Classroom Tips:

  • Encourage students to work carefully.
  • Make sure there is a piece of newsprint under each printmaking station.

 

Extension:

  • Virtual Gallery: Upload finished prints to Padlet or Google Sites for peer review.
  • Video Reflection: Students can record a short video explaining their theme and artistic choices using Flipgrid or Canva Video.

 

Closing Reflection

Reflect (Gallery walk and discussion):

  • Students will display their final prints in a class gallery.
  • They write a reflection explaining their theme, symbol choice, and how it connects to the text in paragraph form.
  • Students will participate in a peer critique, providing constructive feedback on how effectively their peers' work communicates meaning.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Class Discussions: Check for theme identification and text analysis through guided questions.
  • Sketch and peer review: Monitor symbol development before carving begins.

Summative

  • Final print and reflection: Students submit their printmaking piece with a written analysis of their symbol, theme, and artistic choices.
  • Gallery walk participation: Students will evaluate and compare different artistic interpretations of universal themes.

 

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Encourage students to layer multiple prints to represent contrasting themes within one text.
  • Compare themes across two different texts and create a dual print composition.
  • Research how historical artists have used printmaking to explore social themes (eg: José Guadalupe Posada).

 

Remedial:

  • Provide graphic organizers to help break down theme development step by step.
  • Offer symbol examples and guided sketching activities.
  • Allow students to work in pairs to carve a shared printing plate.

 

Additional Resources

 

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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EXPLORING THEMES THROUGH PRINTMAKING 6-8

EXPLORING THEMES THROUGH PRINTMAKING

EXPLORING THEMES THROUGH PRINTMAKING

Learning Description

Students will work in groups to analyze a short story, identify one or more themes, and examine how they develop over the course of the text. Each student will design and carve a symbol that represents their group's chosen theme. The group will then collaboratively print their symbols on a single piece of paper, visually representing their analysis through art.

 

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 determine and analyze the theme of a literary text.
  • I can provide an objective summary of a text.
  • I can design and carve a symbol that represents a theme in a story.
  • I can collaborate with my peers to create a unified visual representation of a literary theme.

Essential Questions

  • How do authors develop themes in literature?
  • How can multiple themes emerge in a single text?
  • How can symbols visually represent a theme?
  • How does collaboration enhance artistic and literary interpretation?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 6:

ELAGSE6RL2 Determine a theme and/or 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.

Grade 7:

ELAGSE7RL2 Determine a theme and/or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

Grade 8:

ELAGSE8RL2 Determine a theme and/or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

Arts Standards

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

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

VA.PR.1 Plan, prepare, and present completed works of art.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

ELA.AOR.2: Evaluate and critique the development of themes and central ideas within and across texts.

Grade 6:

ELA.6.AOR.2.1 Analyze how key details contribute to the development of a theme(s) over the course of a literary text.

Grade 7:

ELA.7.AOR.2.1 Compare two or more themes within a literary text(s) and how each is developed over the course of a text(s).

Grade 8:

ELA.8.AOR.2.1 Analyze how key details contribute to the development of two or more themes within and across literary texts.

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

  • Theme – The central idea or underlying message in a text
  • Symbolism – The use of images or objects to represent deeper meanings

Arts Vocabulary

  • Symbol – A visual representation of an idea or theme
  • Printmaking – The art or technique of making prints, especially as practiced in engraving, etching, dry point, woodcut or serigraphy
  • Brayer – A tool used to roll ink evenly onto the printing plate
  • Composition – How an artist arranges the Elements of Art (line, shape, form, value, color, space, texture) to create an artwork
  • Collaboration – Working together to achieve a common goal

 

Materials

  • Selected short stories
  • Pencils
  • Copy paper
  • Styrofoam sheets
  • Ball point pen or dull pencils
  • Water based printing ink
  • Brayers
  • Large sheets of paper for group prints
  • Colored pencils or art sticks
  • Drying rack or space to lay prints

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

Engage (Research & Discussion)

  • Divide students into small groups.
  • Assign each group a short story to read and analyze (e.g., "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, "Thank You, Ma'am" by Langston Hughes, "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant).
  • In their groups, students will discuss and identify one or more themes present in the story.
  • Groups will create an objective summary of the text, focusing on how the theme develops over time.

Work Session

Explore (Sketch & Plan):

  • Each student will sketch a symbol that represents the identified theme.
  • Students will collaborate with their groups to refine their individual symbols to ensure coherence in their final composition.

 

Create (Printmaking Process):

  • Follow the printmaking process below.
  • After students have created their symbols on styrofoam plates, they will print their individual symbols onto a shared sheet of paper, creating a collective representation of their theme.
  • Review these printmaking tips with students:
    • Prepping the styrofoam plate:
      • Use a dull pencil or ballpoint pen to carve designs—press firmly but avoid puncturing all the way through.
      • Encourage students to sketch lightly first before carving to avoid mistakes.
    • Carving techniques:
      • Keep lines simple and bold for clear prints; intricate details may not transfer well.
      • Reverse letters or numbers if including text, as prints will be a mirror image.
      • Vary line thickness for added depth—thicker lines hold more ink, while thinner lines create subtle details.
    • Inking the plate:
      • Roll out a thin, even layer of ink on a tray before applying to the printing plate with a brayer.
      • Make sure ink covers the entire design, but avoid excessive ink, which can cause smudging.
      • Test prints on scrap paper before the final collaborative print.
    • Printing process:
      • Place the inked plate face down on the final paper and press evenly with hands or a clean brayer.
      • Avoid shifting or sliding the plate while printing to prevent smudging.
      • Lift the plate carefully to reveal the design.
      • Encourage students to appreciate the imperfections as part of the artistic process!
    • Final Touches:
      • Allow prints to dry completely before handling.
      • Once dry, encourage students to add color and hand-drawn details.

 

Classroom Tips:

  • Encourage students to work carefully.
  • Make sure there is a piece of newsprint under each printmaking station.

 

Extension:

  • Virtual Gallery: Upload finished prints to Padlet or Google Sites for peer review.
  • Video Reflection: Students can record a short video explaining their theme and artistic choices using Flipgrid or Canva Video.

 

Closing Reflection

Reflect (Gallery walk and discussion):

  • Groups will present their collaborative prints, explaining their theme choice, how it was developed in the text, and how their symbols represent it.
  • Students will write an exit ticket explaining how their symbol represents the theme in paragraph form.
  • Facilitate a class discussion on the effectiveness of visual symbolism in interpreting literature.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Group discussions and teacher observation during analysis and sketching phases

Summative

  • Final collaborative print with a written reflection on the theme’s development and symbolic representation
  • Group presentation assessing comprehension and understanding of thematic analysis

 

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Encourage students to incorporate multiple symbols within their group’s composition to represent nuanced themes.
  • Have advanced students compare themes across different texts and integrate symbols accordingly.

 

Remedial:

  • Provide graphic organizers to help students track how the theme develops over the story.
  • Provide examples of symbols to help students visualize their ideas.

 

Additional Resources

 

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 SC FOUNDATIONAL 4-5

ART BOTS

ART BOTS

Learning Description

In this integrated STEAM lesson, students explore motion and energy by designing and building simple “Art Bots” using battery packs, hobby motors, pool noodles, and markers. As they construct their bots, students observe how an electric circuit powers movement and how unbalanced design causes wobbling motion that produces abstract art.

After building and testing their robots, students will personify their bot in a creative writing prompt: “What do you think your Art Bot would say if it could talk?”.

They will write a narrative describing their bot’s personality, drawing style, and movement patterns. This encourages the use of descriptive language while reinforcing the science concepts of energy and motion. Students conclude with a gallery walk, where they display their robot-generated artwork.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 4-5
CONTENT FOCUS: STEAM & ELA
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

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"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can build a simple circuit to power a motor.
  • I can explain how unbalanced forces affect motion.
  • I can use the engineering design process to create and improve my Art Bot.
  • I can analyze how design choices impact the movement and artwork created by my bot.
  • I can create a character for my Art Bot.
  • I can write a fictional narrative inspired by my Art Bot.

Essential Questions

  • How do unbalanced forces affect motion?
  • How do a motor and battery work together to power movement?
  • How can I use the engineering design process to improve my Art Bot?
  • What design choices influence how my bot moves and draws?
  • How can creating an Art Bot character inspire narrative writing?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

SCIENCE

Grade 4:

S4P3: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces and the motion of an object.

Grade 5:

S5P3: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about magnetism and electric circuits.

ELA

Grade 4:

4.T.T.1.e Apply narrative techniques (e.g., character, setting, problem, resolution, and dialogue) to develop a real or imagined experience using descriptive details, clear event sequences, and a conclusion.

Grade 5:

5.T.T.1.e Apply narrative techniques (e.g., character, setting, conflict, climax, resolution, and dialogue) to develop a real or imagined experience using descriptive details, clear event sequences, and a conclusion.

Arts Standards

VA.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

VA.CR.4 Understand and apply media, techniques, and processes of three-dimensional art.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

SCIENCE

Grade 4:

4-PS3-2. Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.

4-PS3-4. Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.

ELA

Grade 4: ELA.C.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences using effective techniques.

ELA.4.C.3.1 Write narratives developing real or imagined experiences. When writing: a. establish a situation and setting; b. introduce a narrator and/or characters; c. organize a plot structure; d. use narrative techniques such as dialogue, descriptive language, and sensory details to develop events, setting, and characters; e. use a variety of transitional words and phrases to sequence events; and f. provide an ending that follows from the narrated experiences or events.

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

  • Circuit – A complete path through which electricity flows
  • Motor – A device that converts electrical energy into movement
  • Unbalanced force – A force that causes an object to start moving, stop moving, or change direction
  • Vibration – A rapid back-and-forth motion that can create movement

Arts Vocabulary

  • Line – A continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point. It may be two dimensional, like a pencil mark on a paper or it may be three dimensional (wire) or implied (the edge of a shape or form) often it is an outline, contour or silhouette.
  • Shape – A flat, enclosed line that is always two-dimensional and can be either geometric or organic
  • Pattern – Repetition of specific visual elements such as a unit of shape or form
  • Texture (visual) – The surface quality, or "feel" of an object, such as roughness, smoothness, or softness. Actual texture can be felt while simulated textures are implied by the way the artist renders areas of the picture.
  • Composition – How an artist arranges the Elements of Art (line, shape, form, value, color, space, texture) to create an artwork
  • Collaboration – Working together to create something new
  • Abstract art – Art that does not try to represent real life realistically; often made with shapes, colors, and lines

 

Materials

  • Hobby motors
  • Battery packs (with AA batteries)
  • Pool noodles (cut into smaller sections)
  • Thin markers
  • Tape (masking or electrical)
  • Small weights (paperclips, washers, etc.)
  • Scissors
  • Googly eyes
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Foam shapes

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Engage:
    • Hook: Show a short video of a scribble bot or demonstrate an Art Bot in action.
    • Discussion–Ask students:
      • What do you notice about how it moves?
      • What might be making it move this way?
      • How could we create something similar?

Work Session

Explore – Building the Art Bots

  • Ask: What materials and design choices will help us create a wobbling Art Bot?
  • Imagine: Have students brainstorm ideas for how to make an artbot using the provided materials.
  • Plan: Students sketch their design and label the parts and materials they will use.
  • Create: Show students how to create their bots.
    • Attach a motor to a small battery pack.
    • Insert the motor into the center of a pool noodle piece.
    • Tape thin markers as "legs" to hold the bot upright.
    • Add weights to one side of the motor shaft to create an unbalanced motion.
  • Have students place their bot on plain white paper. Turn on the motor and test the movement.

Explain – Connecting to Science Concepts

  • Discuss how the unbalanced forces created by the off-center motor make the bot wobble.
  • Relate the motion to concepts like vibration, force, and circuits.
  • Ask students to describe what happened when they turned their bot on.

Improving the Design

  • Improve: Students analyze their bot’s movement and adjust its design to change the motion or artwork produced.
  • Encourage experimentation:
    • Change marker placement for different drawing effects.
    • Add or remove weights to alter movement.
    • Adjust motor positioning to control wobbling direction.
  • Ask your students to think of their Art Bot as an artistic partner! Ask students what they could add to this artwork to bring it to life. Could they turn the bot's movements into something meaningful or funny or beautiful?
    • Students will use crayons, colored pencils, or markers to transform the bot’s random motion drawings into imaginative creations (e.g., turning loops into flowers, zig-zags into roller coasters, spirals into galaxies).
  • Ask students to name their collaborative artwork.
  • Have students respond to the following writing prompt: What do you think your Art Bot would say if it could talk? Describe its personality, how it moves, and what kind of art it creates. Be creative and use descriptive details.
    • Encourage students to:
      • Give their bot a name and voice.
      • Use descriptive language to explain the movement (e.g., wiggle, spin, shake).
      • Describe the bot’s drawing style (e.g., messy, circular, zigzaggy).

Have students write a fictional narrative in which the art bot is the main character. Students’ writing should have a setting, plot structure, characters, descriptive words and phrases, and a clear ending.

 

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

  • Teachers will assess student learning through:
    • Observation of student engagement and participation.
    • Questioning during discussions to check understanding.
    • Peer discussions about design choices.

Summative

  • Art Bot demonstration: Each student will showcase their bot and explain how design choices impacted movement answering the following questions.
    • How did unbalanced forces affect your bot’s motion?
    • What design change improved your bot the most?
  • Students’ written response to the prompt and students’ narratives.
  • Reflection: Students’ will complete a written or oral discussion of how they followed the engineering design process and what they would do differently next time.

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Ask students to modify their bot to create a specific pattern or shape.
  • Challenge students to:
    • Write a first-person narrative from the Art Bot’s point of view.
    • Use figurative language (similes/metaphors).
    • Add a conflict or challenge: e.g., “My markers ran out of ink in the middle of my masterpiece!”.
    • Create a dialogue between their Art Bot and another Bot.
  • Introduce Scratch: Students can create digital “bot” animations or stories reflecting the movement of their physical bots.

 

Remedial:

  • Provide pre-wired circuits to simplify the process.
  • Provide extended time for building and reflecting.
  • Offer verbal instructions paired with written guides.
  • Allow for alternative methods of documentation (photos, audio).
  • Provide a sentence starter template: “My Art Bot’s name is ____. It moves like a ____. It draws with ____. If it could talk, it would say, ‘’”
  • Use a word bank with words like: Spin, shake, draw, color, happy, silly, messy, fast, slow
  • Allow oral storytelling
  • Use a partner storytelling activity where students build the story with peer support.

 

 

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