Standards

Comprehend

Prepared Graduate
Competencies
-Explain, demonstrate,
and interpret a range of
purposes of art and
design, recognizing that
the making and study of
art and design can be
approached from a
variety of viewpoints,
intelligences, and
perspectives

Grade Level
Expectations
- Artists and viewers
determine artistic
intent by comparing
and contrasting the
characteristics and
expressive features of
art and design

-Analyze, interpret, and

make meaning of art and
design critically using
oral and written
discourse

Reflect

-Critique personal work

and the work of others
with informed criteria

-Specific methods of
planning support the
development of
intended meaning

Relevance to Topic
At the start of every
lesson we talked
about how that days
activity was getting
us closer to the
objective of creating
the best possible
habitat for our
creatures. Weather we
were working with
clay, markers, plaster
tape, or mixed media,
we always made sure
students were able to
establish a reason for
their creative
decisions. For
example, in the first
lesson we were in the
library researching
how physical traits
of an animal
influence where it
lives and how it
interacts with that
environment. In the
next lesson we
discussed how an
artists could
manipulate things like
color and texture to
visually display this
relationship. Students
had to explain the
intended function
behind their design
decisions as they
completed this project
Before we went to
research our animals
in the library, we
discussed the main

Create

-Recognize, interpret,
and validate that the
creative process builds
on the development of
ideas through a process
of inquiry, discovery,
and research
-Develop and build
appropriate mastery in
art-making skills using
traditional and new
technologies and an

-Apply an
understanding of art
processes and
creative thinking to
plan and create art
-Use media to
express and
communicate ideas
about an issue of
personal interest
-Materials and
processes can be used

components that
every zookeeper
needs to address in
their enclosure. By
doing this students
were able to make a
set criteria of what
they would need to
address in every set
of project
development for their
artwork to be
successful. For
example, when
students were
drawing the plans for
their enclosure from
multiple perspectives
they continued to
address things like
water source and
social behavior,
which were included
in the criteria they
established in the first
place. Also, through
every step of the
planning and creation
process students were
able to explain how
their design decisions
regarding the criteria
related to the well
being of their animal.
Through the process
of discovering
information in the
library,
experimenting with
clay, envisioning
from multiple
perspectives, and
embellishing with
mixed media students
were able to create a
work of art. Through

Transfer

understanding of the
characteristics and
expressive features of
art and design
-Recognize, compare,
and affirm that the
making and study of art
and design can be
approached from a
variety of viewpoints,
intelligences, and
perspectives
-Identify, compare, and
interpret works of art
derived from historical
and cultural settings,
time periods, and
cultural contexts
-Transfer the value of
visual arts to lifelong
learning and the human
experience
-Explain, compare and
justify that the visual
arts are connected to
other disciplines, the
other art forms, social
activities, mass media,
and careers in art and
non-art related arenas

in traditional, unique,
and inventive ways

learning about art

processes students
were able to
communicate their
idea of a mythical
creature through the
creation of a detailed
work of 3-D art.

-Viewers and patrons

make personal
meaning and infer
artistic intent
-Artists, viewers, and
patrons assign
intended meaning to
works of art.

Given the role as

head zookeeper, each
student was
responsible for
making sure that the
enclosure was
pleasing for both the
animal to live in as
well as for zoo
members to visit.
This got them
thinking about how
viewers will perceive
their artwork. Also,
by putting this project
into a non-art context
students were able to
see how art plays a
major role in many
other disciplines. By
showing examples of
how artists engage in
the creative planning
process to develop
and create real zoo
enclosures allowed
students to see the
relevance of art to
non-art related arenas.

Topic Taught:
Building a humane zoo! Historically, zoos are places where collections of exotic animals from
all over the world are held and displayed as entertainment for zoo visitors. In more recent years,
the issue of weather or not it is humane to keep wild animals in captivity has become a
controversial topic. Some argue that captivity is wrong while others argue it is necessary to avoid

extinction. In this unit, students explored how they could create the best possible habitat for
animals so exotic they are out of this world! The main focus of the unit is relationships, more
specifically the relationship between form and function. Given what you know about your sixheaded dragon or unicorn, how can you create an environment that best meets all of the creatures
needs?
Lesson 1: Breaking Ground
To begin, students get their unique imaginations rolling by sketching ideas for their creature/
mystical animal in their sketchbook. After a bit of brainstorming, Students will look through
books that focus on natural biology while sketching down their ideas and building upon previous
knowledge. Research done by each student will depend on the creature they choose. The
students will be able to use traditional resources for ideation of new art. One visual element we
will ask students to focus on is how the texture of their creature is influenced by the environment
it lives. We want students to understand how physical features of their creature are related to the
environment they live in. This art lesson is focused on developing ideas and showing students
the importance of understanding your subject matter when creating a work of art. To assess what
the students have learned, the teachers will collect a ticket out the door consisting of a quick
write that explains what the creature eats, where it lives, and how big it is.
Lesson 2:Feeling it out
This lesson focused on visual elements of 2-D texture and how they relate to creating texture in a
3-D form. This lesson is also geared towards getting the students to experiment with and explore
the new material of clay. Whether they are building it up, scratching away at it, or imprinting
things into it, students will work towards replicating textures they recognize from the world
around them with. Through this process, students will explore a variety of tools that can be used
with clay. This will be one of the guiding steps towards figuring out which direction they want to
take their zoo enclosure. This time will also be spent thinking about connections between the
creatures physical traits and their environment. For example a creature that is purple and scaley
probably would not live in the arctic.
Lesson 3:Creature Creation
In this lesson students will begin to actually build their creature out of clay. The beginning of this
lesson will focus on traditional clay building techniques such as slip and score, coil building, use
of armature, and pinch pots. In this lesson we will also emphasize how to transfer drawn 2-D
plans for the animals into 3-D clay creations. Once students have become more comfortable with
the material of clay we will focus on deepening the relationship between the creature and its
environment by reiterating the importance of physical features such as texture and animal
anatomy.
Lesson 4:Art of planning
The overarching theme of this lesson is how to take an idea in your head and bring it to life by
creating an art object. In this lesson we will look deeper into the planning process by focusing on
how artists use 2-D mediums to create 3-D works of art. Students will look at how several artists
plan for 3-D production by drawing from several perspectives. Students will then plan for their
own 3-D production by drawing their enclosure from 3 different perspectives: that of a zoo
visitor, of the creature they created, and of a bird flying overhead. After creating 2-D plans for

their creatures environment students will bring their ideas to life using a wide variety of mixed
media materials. Once they have finished their individual enclosures we will talk about the
importance of presentation by putting the enclosures together to prepare for the big opening of
their zoo. Students will refelect on their design decisions by putting together informational
brochures that are intended to let visitors know more about their animal.
To see photos and detailed documentation of this unit follow the link below:
http://artedufall.weebly.com/
Globally:
Our unit, building a humane zoo, allowed students to identify relationships through exploring
the creative process and materials. Relationship was a great focusing lens for students to
practice making connections between prior knowledge and new information in every element of
their artwork. It is important for students to explore different creative routes they may take while
still keeping their intention to express a specific idea the same. This unit also allows students to
master several tools that can be transferred to other content areas. Students worked
collaboratively with each other while creatively problem solving on their own to enhance their
21st century skills. Through ideation, research, planning, and articulation students fulfill the
literacy component.
Personally:
When my team of teachers and I were creating this unit, we were very excited about the idea of
incorporating a non- art related context that most of the students had experienced before. Being
personally fascinated by zoos and exotic animals I knew there were many ways I could use this
familiar context, which is not normally associated with art, to help students realize that art is
really all around us. I am also very attached to this lesson because, with all of the room we left
for creative choice, I was excited to see how students would justify the creative decisions they
were making during the process.
For this population:
Animal captivity is increasingly becoming a highly debated topic in this generation, and it is
often associated with the abuse of exotic animals for human entertainment. Regardless of a
students stance on this issue, animal rights issues are quickly making there way into the public
eye. Either way if students have a personal connection to lessons, then they are more likely to be
engaged and passionate about their artwork. A childs attitude towards their world tends to be
greatly influenced by what they have direct access to. With this project students were able to
explore the impact of their own creative decisions, thus encouraging them to continue to
independently make decisions about their own world.