unit introduction
INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIT
b. Rationale for the Unit.
· Throughout the unit, I will teach about concepts of Identity. I will engage students in thinking about what defines their personal identities. I will teach them how gaining an understanding of our own identities can connect us with other human beings, and how identity is formed through the different associations that we connect with. I want to also teach about how identity can vary based on where an individual is living their life, because identity concepts do differ around the world, I want the students to grasp that concept through this unit. I will also teach how to appropriately use clay within one of the two projects in this unit, and the fundamental techniques associated with clay creation. The other project within this unit will help students reflect on themselves, along with providing an opportunity for the art students to create while continually developing their cognitive and fine-motor skills. The theme of Identity is something very important to incorporate into our teachings, because art making in general is something that can be very individual, and sometimes we have to look deep within ourselves in order to understand why we chose to do this or that. It is important to encourage frequent self-reflection, which is an aspect that will be introduced to the students throughout this unit. By sparking students’ interest in who we are and what people around the world identify with, we can teach with a global awareness in mind.
· Lesson 1: Students will be introduced to concepts of identity, such as what defines them or the people around them, and also about how different cultures around the world identity themselves. Through group/class discussion on Identity concepts, associations that help to form personal/group identities will be discovered. I will teach how Identities can connect individuals, and there will be personal reflection from the students shared in class about their new and prior knowledge of what Identity means to them. Students will also explore how other artists have created works revolving around themes/concepts of Identity. It is important that this lesson is taught at an early age, because as we grow, we change. Identity is something that is constantly forming for the young people.
· Lesson 2: This lesson will recap what was introduced in Lesson 1, more examples of Traditional and Contemporary artists and their work will be shown. Students will be required to demonstrate their understanding of Identity concepts discussed by visually representing themselves in 2D art making project in a sketch format. They will have a mini meeting with me to discuss their plans. Towards the end of the week, students will finalize their preliminary sketches and begin on final 2D projects.
· Lesson 3: This lesson is dedicated to giving the students time to finalize their 2D visual representation of themselves through a still life of personal objects, and then they will evaluate their works individually by writing about it, sort of like an artist statement or short narrative. This form of self-reflection is an important aspect to incorporate before moving on to deeper concepts and ideas on Identity, because it forces students to think. I can also assess their understanding before moving on.
· Lesson 4: I will continue to discuss and facilitate discussion about Identity throughout this lesson, touching on ideas about the project just completed. We will move into thinking about how else we as artists could represent ourselves, thinking about working in a 3D format. I will introduce some sculptural artworks that still revolve around notions of Identity. This lesson is especially important for it will also focus on clay as a medium and how to use clay in the classroom.
· Lesson 5: Students will do less preliminary planning for the project that will take place during this lesson time. They will again, demonstrate their understanding of Identity, although in a different format by using clay to make a 3D version of their 2D projects. I will want to assess their understanding at this point, through a type of class critique. Through this, they will be able to support their creative decisions during the class critique by verbalizing their thoughts.
· The unit that will directly precede my unit over Identity will be over Community. Teaching the art students first about Community, which is an aspect of Identity, will help them to make connections even further when working in the Identity unit.
· The unit that will follow directly after my unit over Identity will be on Fantasy. For the lessons over Identity, it seems like there is a differing structure than lessons taught over concepts of Identity. I feel that it is best to first focus on more realistic concepts, such as the personal being, before moving into abstract notions such as Fantasy.
b. Rationale for the Unit.
· Throughout the unit, I will teach about concepts of Identity. I will engage students in thinking about what defines their personal identities. I will teach them how gaining an understanding of our own identities can connect us with other human beings, and how identity is formed through the different associations that we connect with. I want to also teach about how identity can vary based on where an individual is living their life, because identity concepts do differ around the world, I want the students to grasp that concept through this unit. I will also teach how to appropriately use clay within one of the two projects in this unit, and the fundamental techniques associated with clay creation. The other project within this unit will help students reflect on themselves, along with providing an opportunity for the art students to create while continually developing their cognitive and fine-motor skills. The theme of Identity is something very important to incorporate into our teachings, because art making in general is something that can be very individual, and sometimes we have to look deep within ourselves in order to understand why we chose to do this or that. It is important to encourage frequent self-reflection, which is an aspect that will be introduced to the students throughout this unit. By sparking students’ interest in who we are and what people around the world identify with, we can teach with a global awareness in mind.
· Lesson 1: Students will be introduced to concepts of identity, such as what defines them or the people around them, and also about how different cultures around the world identity themselves. Through group/class discussion on Identity concepts, associations that help to form personal/group identities will be discovered. I will teach how Identities can connect individuals, and there will be personal reflection from the students shared in class about their new and prior knowledge of what Identity means to them. Students will also explore how other artists have created works revolving around themes/concepts of Identity. It is important that this lesson is taught at an early age, because as we grow, we change. Identity is something that is constantly forming for the young people.
· Lesson 2: This lesson will recap what was introduced in Lesson 1, more examples of Traditional and Contemporary artists and their work will be shown. Students will be required to demonstrate their understanding of Identity concepts discussed by visually representing themselves in 2D art making project in a sketch format. They will have a mini meeting with me to discuss their plans. Towards the end of the week, students will finalize their preliminary sketches and begin on final 2D projects.
· Lesson 3: This lesson is dedicated to giving the students time to finalize their 2D visual representation of themselves through a still life of personal objects, and then they will evaluate their works individually by writing about it, sort of like an artist statement or short narrative. This form of self-reflection is an important aspect to incorporate before moving on to deeper concepts and ideas on Identity, because it forces students to think. I can also assess their understanding before moving on.
· Lesson 4: I will continue to discuss and facilitate discussion about Identity throughout this lesson, touching on ideas about the project just completed. We will move into thinking about how else we as artists could represent ourselves, thinking about working in a 3D format. I will introduce some sculptural artworks that still revolve around notions of Identity. This lesson is especially important for it will also focus on clay as a medium and how to use clay in the classroom.
· Lesson 5: Students will do less preliminary planning for the project that will take place during this lesson time. They will again, demonstrate their understanding of Identity, although in a different format by using clay to make a 3D version of their 2D projects. I will want to assess their understanding at this point, through a type of class critique. Through this, they will be able to support their creative decisions during the class critique by verbalizing their thoughts.
· The unit that will directly precede my unit over Identity will be over Community. Teaching the art students first about Community, which is an aspect of Identity, will help them to make connections even further when working in the Identity unit.
· The unit that will follow directly after my unit over Identity will be on Fantasy. For the lessons over Identity, it seems like there is a differing structure than lessons taught over concepts of Identity. I feel that it is best to first focus on more realistic concepts, such as the personal being, before moving into abstract notions such as Fantasy.