Introduction:
The students of Polaris are a unique group. Their classroom community promotes students and teachers working together towards the common goal of learning. Therefore, Julia and I developed a unit that would engage student’s interests while introducing them to important artistic concepts such as planning, collaboration, transformation and personal expression. The students of Tom’s fourth and fifth grade class were exploring a unit on space, so we focused our lessons conceptually on the student’s personal narratives which could be expressed through their relationship to the Universe. The students voiced a strong interest in sculpture, so our unit allowed for students to work mainly with three-dimensional forms, fabricating works of art from an abundance of raw materials. Students explored how to express their ideas, emotions, and personal stories through artistic creation.
Lesson Descriptions:
Story of a Star:
Our first lesson introduced students to ideas about how cultures interpret the universe and in turn, how they interpret the universe through personal stories. Students were shown examples of the stories that describe the formation of the Milky Way Galaxy developed by the Khosian culture of Africa and the corresponding artwork created by Gavin Jantjes which depicted these myths. After this, students were asked to fill out “playsheets” that asked them to brainstorm ideas about what make them unique; their interests, their families, their stories. Next, students created Papier Mache structures in the shape of a star and fabricated objects that would help communicate their personal stories. Students were encouraged to creative problem solve when it came to choosing materials and were provided with multiple “art stations” with different mediums they could work with. Group discussions throughout the process facilitated student collaboration about what materials would be appropriate for their intended meanings. Finally, students partnered up to reflect on their work by participating in a “see, think wonder” activity which encouraged them to evaluate their own and their partner’s artistic choices and how they communicated their ideas.
Rescue Spaceship Mission Sculptures:
In “Story of a Star,” students explored the concepts of transformation and the power of art to express personal narratives. We noticed that students were especially engaged in the process of creating their stars because they were allowed a lot of choice in the materials they used for expression. For the next lesson, we decided to build on the concepts students were interested in and starting to master by asking them to create a more involved sculpture. They were introduced to the lesson with a narrative that involved Captain Julia being lost in space. It was their mission, as spaceship designers hired by NASA to create a model for a spaceship that could rescue Julia and return her safely to Earth. The mission would take many light years, so the spaceship had to include anything they would need to be comfortable in space for a long period of time. Students created a list of attributes they might want to include in their spaceships and the materials they could use to fabricate these objects. Group discussions throughout the process facilitated creative problem solving related to the appropriateness of materials as well as the effectiveness of student’s artistic communication. For this lesson, the external and internal structure of the spaceship was dependent on student ideation and the materials they used were chosen independently from the art stations. Students created beds, pets, hammocks, basketball hoops, televisions, food, tables, etc from cotton balls, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, tin foil, paint, cardboard, mesh netting, and many other materials. As they fabricated the items that would tell their personal stories, students explored how to truly transform the raw materials to communicate their narratives. Students reflected on their work by developing a written narrative to accompany their spaceship sculptures.
Prepared Graduate Competencies:
Observe and Learn to Comprehend: Prepared Graduate Competency 1 ,3, and 6:
In both lessons, students were asked to observe the work of contemporary artists and make connections between how they used art to tell their stories and how they could do the same. They evaluated the work of these artist and attempted to interpret the message the artist was communicating using artistic language to describe the works of art. They became participants in a genuine artistic process by planning their designs and completing their sculptures to tell their personal stories. As they progressed from the first lesson to the second, students became more confident in their abilities to choose the appropriate materials to express their ideas. They gained skills in creative problem solving as they worked together and collaboratively discussed their ideas throughout the process of planning and creating their works of art.
Invent and Discover to Create: Prepared Graduate Competency 6,7, and 9
Students were consistently acting on their imaginations and curiosities about their world to create works of art. They came up with ideas of attributes they wanted to add to their spaceship sculptures by transporting themselves to another reality where they were responsible for designing a spaceship to rescue Julia. By placing themselves into this narrative, students could imagine what types of things they needed to include in their spaceships to accommodate their interests for light years. As they moved from one lesson to the next, students developed confidence in their ability to communicate their ideas by transforming raw materials. It became second nature to envision an object they wanted to create, then choose the materials they would use to express their idea. In many situations, students hit walls when a material they were using wasn’t working, but they persisted in the artistic process by consulting peers that had similar issues they had overcome, or addressing the group with their issues during group discussions.
Envision and Critique to Reflect: Prepared Graduate Competency 1,2,4, and 6
Relate and Connect to Transfer: Prepared Graduate Competency 1, 2, 4, and 5
The students of Polaris are a unique group. Their classroom community promotes students and teachers working together towards the common goal of learning. Therefore, Julia and I developed a unit that would engage student’s interests while introducing them to important artistic concepts such as planning, collaboration, transformation and personal expression. The students of Tom’s fourth and fifth grade class were exploring a unit on space, so we focused our lessons conceptually on the student’s personal narratives which could be expressed through their relationship to the Universe. The students voiced a strong interest in sculpture, so our unit allowed for students to work mainly with three-dimensional forms, fabricating works of art from an abundance of raw materials. Students explored how to express their ideas, emotions, and personal stories through artistic creation.
Lesson Descriptions:
Story of a Star:
Our first lesson introduced students to ideas about how cultures interpret the universe and in turn, how they interpret the universe through personal stories. Students were shown examples of the stories that describe the formation of the Milky Way Galaxy developed by the Khosian culture of Africa and the corresponding artwork created by Gavin Jantjes which depicted these myths. After this, students were asked to fill out “playsheets” that asked them to brainstorm ideas about what make them unique; their interests, their families, their stories. Next, students created Papier Mache structures in the shape of a star and fabricated objects that would help communicate their personal stories. Students were encouraged to creative problem solve when it came to choosing materials and were provided with multiple “art stations” with different mediums they could work with. Group discussions throughout the process facilitated student collaboration about what materials would be appropriate for their intended meanings. Finally, students partnered up to reflect on their work by participating in a “see, think wonder” activity which encouraged them to evaluate their own and their partner’s artistic choices and how they communicated their ideas.
Rescue Spaceship Mission Sculptures:
In “Story of a Star,” students explored the concepts of transformation and the power of art to express personal narratives. We noticed that students were especially engaged in the process of creating their stars because they were allowed a lot of choice in the materials they used for expression. For the next lesson, we decided to build on the concepts students were interested in and starting to master by asking them to create a more involved sculpture. They were introduced to the lesson with a narrative that involved Captain Julia being lost in space. It was their mission, as spaceship designers hired by NASA to create a model for a spaceship that could rescue Julia and return her safely to Earth. The mission would take many light years, so the spaceship had to include anything they would need to be comfortable in space for a long period of time. Students created a list of attributes they might want to include in their spaceships and the materials they could use to fabricate these objects. Group discussions throughout the process facilitated creative problem solving related to the appropriateness of materials as well as the effectiveness of student’s artistic communication. For this lesson, the external and internal structure of the spaceship was dependent on student ideation and the materials they used were chosen independently from the art stations. Students created beds, pets, hammocks, basketball hoops, televisions, food, tables, etc from cotton balls, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, tin foil, paint, cardboard, mesh netting, and many other materials. As they fabricated the items that would tell their personal stories, students explored how to truly transform the raw materials to communicate their narratives. Students reflected on their work by developing a written narrative to accompany their spaceship sculptures.
Prepared Graduate Competencies:
Observe and Learn to Comprehend: Prepared Graduate Competency 1 ,3, and 6:
In both lessons, students were asked to observe the work of contemporary artists and make connections between how they used art to tell their stories and how they could do the same. They evaluated the work of these artist and attempted to interpret the message the artist was communicating using artistic language to describe the works of art. They became participants in a genuine artistic process by planning their designs and completing their sculptures to tell their personal stories. As they progressed from the first lesson to the second, students became more confident in their abilities to choose the appropriate materials to express their ideas. They gained skills in creative problem solving as they worked together and collaboratively discussed their ideas throughout the process of planning and creating their works of art.
Invent and Discover to Create: Prepared Graduate Competency 6,7, and 9
Students were consistently acting on their imaginations and curiosities about their world to create works of art. They came up with ideas of attributes they wanted to add to their spaceship sculptures by transporting themselves to another reality where they were responsible for designing a spaceship to rescue Julia. By placing themselves into this narrative, students could imagine what types of things they needed to include in their spaceships to accommodate their interests for light years. As they moved from one lesson to the next, students developed confidence in their ability to communicate their ideas by transforming raw materials. It became second nature to envision an object they wanted to create, then choose the materials they would use to express their idea. In many situations, students hit walls when a material they were using wasn’t working, but they persisted in the artistic process by consulting peers that had similar issues they had overcome, or addressing the group with their issues during group discussions.
Envision and Critique to Reflect: Prepared Graduate Competency 1,2,4, and 6
Relate and Connect to Transfer: Prepared Graduate Competency 1, 2, 4, and 5
- 1: See oneself as a participant in visual art and design by experiencing, viewing, or making
- 2: Visually or verbally articulate how visual art and design are a means for communication.
- 3: Practice critical and analytical skills by using academic language to discuss works of art and visual culture.
- 4: Critique connections between visual art and historic and contemporary philosophies.
- 5: Interpret works of art and design in the contexts of varied traditions, histories, and cultures.
- 6: Create works of visual art and design that demonstrate increasing levels of mastery in skills and techniques.
- 7:Allow imagination, curiosity, and wonder to guide inquiry and research.
- 9:Persist in the creative process and innovate from failure.