Art Integration Lesson Plan Template 1

Art Integration Lesson Plan Template

LTC 4240: Art for Children

Lesson Title & Big Idea*: Culture-Native American to Self

Lesson Overview/Summary*: (This is like an abstract of the structure and procedures section)
The idea of the lesson is to think about Native Americans by examining their art and by relating
their heritage and culture to the students in the classroom. Through research on Native
Americans, students will create a totem pole that reflects attributes of themselves and their
culture. Finally, students will present their section of the totem pole and a brief story about what
it represents to their classmates.
Key Concepts for each area (1-2 each): What you want the
students to know.*
1. Visual Art:
a. Create simplified art or abstract portrait. Identify and
use organic/free form shapes, identify realistic facial
proportions.
2. Literacy:
b. Compare and Contrast first and secondhand
information and interpret that information verbally,
visually, and/or quantitatively and to be able to explain
it.
c. How to read and comprehend informational texts, and
be able to integrate text and writing.
3. Social Studies:
d. Describe human characteristics of a place
e. Explore the relationships within places-how people
are affected/depend on/adapt, geography of the past
and how it predicts the future.

Grade Level*: 4
Class Periods Required:
(please circle)
1

Essential Questions (1-2)*:

How are Totem Poles built? (Did they use technology?)
What do the figures represent? (The features, and the
poles themselves)
What parts of the Native American Culture/Themes
resound in your own personal culture?

Lesson Objectives/Goals: (Excellent resource at http://www.teachervision.fen.com/curriculum-planning/newteacher/48345.html?for_printing=1&detoured=1): What you want the students to do. *
Art:
When examining a picture of a totem pole, students will be able to identify realistic facial proportions and
recreate them (using their own artistic abilities) with 75% accuracy.

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Literacy:
After reading first and secondhand information about totem poles, students will be able to create a list by
comparing and contrasting information and be able to integrate that information into a paragraph with 95%
accuracy.
Social Studies
When discussing Native American Culture and History, students will be able to accurately depict the human
characteristics of a place with 90% accuracy.
When discussing Native American Culture and History, students will be able to accurately depict the relationships within
places and be able to describe how people are affected with 80% accuracy.

Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) (3-4)

(http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/GLE/)
1. Visual Art (May use NAEA National standards):
Product and Performance
Communicate ideas about subject matter and
themes in artworks created for various purposes
Subject Matter: Fine Art
Exaggerate, distort, or simplify
features to create an abstract portrait
Element and Principles
o Select and use elements of art for their effect in
communicating ideas through artwork
Shapes
Identify and use organic (free-form)
shapes
Proportion
Identify realistic facial proportions
2. Literacy:
Reading Standards for Informational Text K5
o Craft and structure
Compare and contrast a firsthand and
secondhand account of the same event or
topic; describe the differences in focus and

Instructional Strategies (Teachers approach to helping

students achieve learning)
1. Discussions
a. Class discussions
i. Finding and evaluating the deeper
meaning,
b. Group discussions
i. Processing information
c. Pair discussion (think-pair-share)
i. Opinions and main ideas about a topic
2. Writing
a. Taking notes on the information
b. Writing their thoughts down about a topic and/or
what they have learned today
c. Explaining their art work
3. Group Project
a. When creating their totem poles, split class up
into groups so that each group does not have all
of the same themes of animal representation.
Each group will create a pole, and each student
in the group will create their own section of the
pole. Students will create a story outline to
represent the totem pole and then collaborate
on where each section shall go to create the
pole in relation to the story.

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the information provided.
Integration of knowledge and ideas
Interpret information presented visually,
orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts,
graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations,
or interactive elements on Web pages) and
explain how the information contributes to
an understanding of the text in which it
appears
Integrate information from two texts on the
same topic in order to write or speak about
the subject knowledgeably.
o Range of reading and level of text complexity
By the end of year, read and comprehend
informational texts, including history/social
studies, science, and technical texts, in the
grades 45 text complexity band
proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at
the high end of the range.
Foundational Skills
o Phonics and Word Recognition
Know and apply grade-level phonics and
word analysis skills in decoding words.
Use combined knowledge of all
letter-sound correspondences,
syllabication patterns, and
morphology (e.g., roots and affixes)
to read accurately unfamiliar
multisyllabic words in context and
out of context.
(Writing)
Text types
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic
and convey ideas and information clearly.
o

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o

o
o

Introduce a topic clearly and group related

information in paragraphs and sections; include
formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and
multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete
details, quotations, or other information and
examples related to the topic.
Link ideas within categories of information using
words and phrases (e.g., another, for example,
also, because).
Use precise language and domain-specific
vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
Provide a concluding statement or section related
to the information or explanation presented.

3. Social Studies:
Elements of Geographical Study and Analysis
o Knowledge of major elements of geographical
study and analysis (such as location, place,
movement and regions) and their relationship to
changes in society and the environment
Understanding the concept of place
4th: Describe human characteristics
of a place, (such as population
composition, architecture, kinds of
economic and recreational activities,
transportation and communication
networks, etc.)
Relationships within places (HumanEnvironment Interactions) (Movement)
Describe how people are affected by,
depend on, adapt to and change
their environments
Using geography to interpret, explain and
predict

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Use geography to interpret the past

(e.g., why rivers have played an
important role in human
transportation) and predict future
consequences (e.g., what will likely
happen if the population of a city
increases considerably)
Tools of Social Science Inquiry
o Knowledge of the use of tools of social science
inquiry (such as surveys, statistics, maps and
documents)
Identify, select, use, analyze and create
appropriate resources, primary and
secondary, for social science inquiry
Identify, select and use visual,
graphic and auditory aids
Identify and use library and media
resources (electronic resources,
dictionaries, encyclopedias, videos,
periodicals, atlases, almanacs,
telephone directories, books, and
cartoons)
Identify and create artifacts (building
structures and materials, works of
art representative of cultures, fossils,
pottery, tools, clothing, musical
instruments)
Content Areas Integrated*:
1. Visual Art (Inspiration Artist: __Nathan Jackson__)
2. Literacy
3. Social Studies

Lesson Structure & Procedure(s) Sequence of events of the

lesson elements. (The before, during, and after the lesson,
e.g. Engagement/Opening, Procedures, Guided Practice,
Conclusion ,please be very specific, walk me through step by
step of the What of what is happening with a rationale as
to WHY you are doing this):
1. Before Lesson:
a. Gather all required materials.
b. Research and create a PowerPoint or other

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visuals about Nathan Jackson
c. Get VTS ready for the class to view and lay
out/think about the questions your going to ask
them.
2. Opening: Day 1 Lesson 1
a. VTS a picture.
i. Think-Pair-Share about the Picture. Ask
questions if the conversation is weak.
1. This will get the kids interested in
the topic, and give the educator an
idea of what the students already
know, and which topics need to be
discussed more in depth.
3. Day 1: Lesson 1- Nathan Jackson
a. Educator elaborates on the topics discussed
during the VTS. Introduces Nathan Jackson and
explain that the VTS image was his artwork.
Learn about Native American art through Nathan
Jackson and his pieces (through PowerPoint or
lecture style).
i. Jackson is an Alaska native artist. He is
among the most important living Tlingit
artists and the most important Alaskan
artists. He is best known for his totem
poles, but works in a variety of media.
Jackson has created more than 50 totem
poles, some of which are on display in the
National Museum of the American Indian,
the Field Museum in Chicago, Harvard
University's Peabody Museum, and other
museums in the United States, Europe,
and Japan.
b. Research on the Internet about Totem Poles,
Jackson, and Native Americans.

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c. Have students write a short reflection piece
about what they have learned about Jackson, or
a KWL chart. Reflection format is up to the
educator, but it does need to occur for the
lesson to be successful.
i. Reflection is important because it makes
students rethink everything that they had
learned that day. They are more likely to
retain that information if they write it
down and reflect after each lesson.
4. Day 2: Lesson 2- Reading and Research
a. Have students read the books out loud in groups
and discuss each book they read. Have one-two
people in the group be scribes and take notes on
the information read and on the discussion.
(Trade scribes with each new book so everyone
takes a turn)
b. After reading and group discussion, hold a whole
class discussion where each group adds
something new and interesting to the
discussion.
i. Discuss features of totem poles, what
they represent, colors, symbols, and
stories behind them.
ii. Discuss Native Americans and their
culture. Compare and contrast the Native
Americans culture with that of our own.
c. Finally, reflect over the days learning
experience.
i. Reading aloud and holding group
discussions makes sure that every person
in the group understands what is going on
in the book/information. The scribes are
put in place to help students remember

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5.

the important points for the class

discussion. The class discussion is held so
that if one group came up with an idea
and wanted to tell the whole class, they
could. Or if they interpreted the text in an
unusual way, it could be acknowledged
and maybe corrected if need be.
Day 3: Lesson 3- Connecting the dots to project
a. Discuss a common theme for your pole section
b. Discuss art aspects of Totem Poles. (Realistic
facial features, organic shapes, etc.)
c. Students choose a shape/animal that represents
the self.
d. Teacher puts students into groups-dont put all
the same animals in the same groups. Spread
them out.
i. Students get into groups and decide on a
story-outline the story
e. Make totem sections
i. Students use a variety of colored
construction paper and crayons/markers
to portray the colors and symbols they
want.
1. This day is very important because
students will take everything they
have learned in the previous two
days, and apply it here. Students
work together to come up with a
Native American themed story that
encompasses their sections of the
totem and can bounce ideas off
each other to create unique poles
that reflect individual students and
the overall story.

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6. Day 4: Conclusion
a. If students have not finished their sections, here
is the time to finish them.
b. Once they have finished, students will write/type
out their overall reflections on their pole, their
section, and what they have learned during this
unit.
c. Finally, the students show their peers what the
have accomplished.
i. Students are asked to reflect over the
unit. This is the most essential element
to the lesson, because it shows what they
took away from the unit, and overall what
they learned. This reflection paper is
equivalent to a test.
Opening (Gaining Attention, what will you show, or
demonstrate)*:
VTS a picture:
Ask questions about it to stimulate conversation.
What is this?
What does it symbolize?
What do the colors stand for?
What do the symbols/animals stand for?
I will show the class a picture of Jacksons art and
will demonstrate a proper VTS discussion before
the students try (if they have not done VTS
before). This will gain their attention by looking
at an interesting piece of art and deciphering
what it means.

Closure (Reflecting Anticipatory Set, how will student share

what they learned):
Class sharing party: Student groups share their story
and totem pole with their peers.
Finally, students will write a paper about what they
have learned over the entire unit.
Students will use all of the knowledge they have learned over
the previous days to explain to their peers what decisions
were made and why the totem looks the way it does.

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Formative Assessment strategy: (how will you assess while
the learning is happening?)
After each lesson day is over, students write a small paragraph
or KWL chart about what they know from previous
experiences, what want to learn, and what they have learned
today. This will assess what learning happened that day, and
will tell the educator what points he/she need to focus on for
tomorrow to drive the point home.

Summative Assessment strategy*:

The assessment will be a final group project totem pole and a
final reflection paper over learned material. The paper will
discuss:
a. An overall reflections on their pole
i. The story behind it
ii. Choices of colors, shapes, and
placements of the different sections
b. A reflection of their section
i. Choices of color, shapes and choice
of animal/shape
c. Overall reflection of what they have
learned during this unit.

What student prior knowledge will this lesson require/draw upon? (what do they need to already know)
Students will need little to no prior knowledge about Totem Poles. They will however, need to know who Native Americans are,
a basic idea of what they do, and their culture. Students will also need to know how to form a thoughtful paragraph, basic
grammar skills and note taking strategies.
Technology Instructional and/or assistive technology incorporated into the lesson to enhance instruction and student learning
Students can read art and social studies books on an iPad, or other e-reader. This can help students highlight important
information in the text and make digital notes about the information that they may use later on in their art project. Students
with a reading disability, language barrier, and/or do not read on grade level can use a device that will read the books to them
(text to audio device). This device will serve students in multiple ways, especially in completing the language standards.
Students who have difficulty writing, and who have difficulty getting the information from their mind on paper can use speech
to text software to be able to put their thoughts into words. Students with disabilities or have difficulty seeing can use a
magnifier to be able to read the texts easier. All students are able to use computers to type out their responses and to be able
to do research on.
How will this lesson allow for/encourage students to solve problems in divergent ways?
This lesson will give students a view on Native Americans that is politically correct (i.e. not the Pocahontas vision/version). It
will also encourage students to expand their thinking about the world. Especially the way they look at stories and everyday
objects, animals and people. Native Americans believe that all animals have a spirit and almost a personality. This is reflected

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in the stories used to teach people a lesson. Students will learn to look at stories in a different light by looking for the moral of
the story and thinking in a different way about the characters.
How will you engage students in routinely reflecting on their learning? (How will the students know they have learned
something?)
After every lesson, students will write a reflective piece on what they have learned. This makes the student think about each
detail of the lesson, and make them compare this knowledge to each day they learn something new and different. Each time
they reflect, their writing will become a little longer on the page. This shows the student that they are really thinking about
the topic because they will have more to say. On day 2, students are asked to be scribes for the group. This is especially
pertinent for reflection because the students are asked to take notes and then discuss the information read in small group and
in the class group. Discussion is another tool used to show student they are learning because they continue to dig deeper in
the conversation and express their feelings and viewpoints on the subject. Through these steps, students will continue
reflecting on information through discussions, note taking, and short writings, long after this lesson has ended.
Differentiated/Accommodations/Modifications/Increase in Rigor To help meet the needs of all learners, learning
differences, cultural and language differences, etc.
All students: Computers for all students to conduct research and to type responses.
Accommodations/Modifications: Repeating directions, magnifier, text to audio, speech to text, e-reader, write in native
language, modify required length of paragraph. (Please see technology for details)
Lesson Resources/References (please be very specific by providing links, authors, titles, etc.):
Whale in the Sky by Anne Siberell
Totem Pole by Deb Hoyt-Goldsmith
Totem Tale by Deb Vanasse, Erik Brooks
Totem Poles and Native Sites in Western Canada by Pat Kramer