Art Integration Unit Plan Template

Art Integration Unit Plan Template

LTC Art for Children

Unit Title & Big Idea: (Define the BIG IDEA?) What is the big idea that is being investigated in this lesson?
How will you connect the big ideas about art and artists work with the art making part of this lesson?
Resourcefulness and the Great Depression. The big idea that students will be investigating
in this lesson is resourcefulness. The teacher will lead the students through a VTS session with
pictures from the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl taken by Dorothea Lange. The students will
then be given a task where they have to create something given few resources. This will allow the
students to try and be in a similar mindset of the people during the Great Depression and Dust
Bowl.
Unit Overview/Summary: Why is this important to teach? What do you hope to accomplish?
It is important for students to understand our countrys history, including times that it was not
prospering. Therefore, they need to learn about the Great Depression and how families struggled
yet were still able to survive. Students will come from all different backgrounds, some more
privileged than others and I think it will be beneficial for them all to understand resourcefulness.
Bringing together the ideas of resourcefulness and the Great Depression will show students some
of the extreme cases of resourcefulness that hopefully none of my students will experience.
However, I think them learning about that will help make sure they use the things they have and
not waste unnecessary stuff.

Key Concepts (3-4)

What will students learn and KNOW about art and art making from this
lesson?
Student s will learn about how photographs can capture
a moment in great detail
Students will discuss how a photograph can be candid
or staged and what the significance of this could be
Students will be able to create something new with
using used objects to understand resourcefulness

Grade Level/Class Periods

Required:
4th Grade
1 Class Period

Materials/Equiptment/Etc:
Dorothea Lange
photographs from the
Great Depression/Dust
Bowl
SmartBoard to project
the pictures
Scrap paper, old shoe
laces, empty jars

Essential Questions (3-4) What questions guide the investigation in this

lesson?
Why do you think photographs were the best way to
capture what was going on in the Great Depression?
How were families able to survive when they did not
have a lot and were not making a lot of money?
Do you think is it still important to be resourceful? Why
or why not?

Art Integration Unit Plan Template

Unit Objectives: (Excellent resource at http://www.teachervision.fen.com/curriculum-planning/new-teacher/48345.html?for_printing=1&detoured=1)

What learners will DO? List beginning with the student will
Students will be able to understand the significance of the Dorothea Lange photographs in connection to the Great Depression and Dust Bowl.
Students will be able to practice being resourceful by creating something new using old objects.
Students will be able to connect the activity to what it was like in the Great Depression and why it is important to be resourceful

Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) (3-4) (GLEs VISUAL ARTS)

National Core Art Standards
(http://www.nationalartsstandards.org)
GLEs Standards:
Strand III, A: Discuss and develop answers to questions
about art, such as What is art?
Strand V, A: Identify works of art from United States
Strand V, B: Compare and contrast two artworks on:
subject matter, purpose or art in culture
National Core Art Standards:
Anchor Standard #1: Generate and conceptualize
artistic ideas and work
Anchor Standard #8: Interpret intent and meaning in
artistic work
Anchor Standard #11: Relate artistic ideas and works
with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen
understanding
Content Areas Integrated:
1. Visual Art
2. Social Studies
3.

Core Academic Standards (Common Core State Standards)

(3-

4)
(http://www.corestandards.org/)

4-3a.B Knowledge of continuity and change in the history of

Missouri and the United States
4-4. Knowledge of economic concepts (including productivity
and the market system) and principles (including the laws of
of supply and demand)
4-7.A.b Knowledge of the use of tools of social science inquiry
(such as surveys, statistics, maps and documents)

Identify & define common vocabulary/concepts that

connect the art form with the other identified subject area(s):
VTS: Visualizing Thinking Strategies Session- Fosters
students visual understanding of artwork with three
questions:
o What's going on in this picture?
o What do you see that makes you say that?
o What more can we find?
Resourcefulness: The ability and creativity to cope with

Art Integration Unit Plan Template

difficulties
Lesson Titles in Sequence/Order with TIME and MATERIALS
needed for each portion
1. Introduction
Time: 5 minutes
Materials: none
2. Picture Exploration
Time: 5 minutes
Materials: Dorothea Lange photographs, Smart Board
3. VTS Session
Time: 20 minutes
Materials: Dorothea Lange photographs, Smart Board
4. Resourcefulness Activity
Time: 20 minutes
Materials: Scrap paper, shoe laces, jars, any other
miscellaneous objects
5. Class Discussion
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: Pictures and students final projects for them
to reflect on

Brief Lesson Descriptions

(2-3 sentences each)

1. During this part of the lesson, we will review what we

have been talking about and what the students know
about the Great Depression/Dust Bowl. The teacher will
introduce Dorothea Lange and her photographs.
2. The teacher will display the photographs that they
chose
to
represent
resourcefulness
with
the
SmartBoard. They will ask the students to just observe
the photographs silently for 5 minutes. The students
will think of things they notice in the picture and be
prepared to share during the VTS session.
3. The teacher will facilitate a VTS session with the
students, going through each picture while asking the
three questions. The students will hopefully notice how
trying times had to be for families back then. They will
also start to notice how families had to be resourceful
with what they had.
4. Introduce the activity that the students will be
partaking in. They will be given old resources and
given the task to create a new object. The students will
be given 20 minutes to create something they are
proud of.
5. After the students finish the activity we will discuss the
objects they created and the difficulties they had when
creating them. We will discuss how this was a minor
problem compared to what families were dealing with
during the Great Depression/Dust Bowl. As a class we
will also discuss why it is important to be resourceful
even if times arent as hard as they were back then.

Art Integration Unit Plan Template

What student prior knowledge will this unit require/draw upon?

The students should already know what the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl are. This will not be the first day we are
talking about these topics therefore they will have some prior knowledge just from the unit.

What activities will you use to engage students in imagining, exploring, and/or experimenting in this unit?
The teacher will lead the students through a VTS session of the pictures from the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. They
should first let the students look at the pictures for a couple of minutes without saying anything about them. This will allow the
students to notice things they might not have if they just looked at it and said something right away. After they get to explore

Art Integration Unit Plan Template

the pictures the teacher will ask the questions that go along with the VTS session. Once the students are in the mindset of
resourcefulness they will do an activity where they have to create something with the few resources the teacher provides. This
will allow them to try and imagine what life must have been like during the Great Depression/Dust Bowl.

How will this unit permit/encourage students to solve problems in divergent ways?
This unit not only allows the students to understand resourcefulness in terms of the Great Depression/Dust Bowl, but lets them
create art with old resources so they get first hand experience at being resourceful. This will help them understand why this is
important in life, so that they are not wasting things that can have multiple uses. If they understand this in life they can
connect this to art making. They will realize they can create art using recycled materials that is just as beautiful as using new
resources.

How will you engage students in routinely reflecting on their learning/learning processes?
I think the three questions that are used during a VTS session will have students thinking about the photographs and how they
show what was happening during this time and what that meant for families during the Great Depression. During and after the
activity the teacher can ask the students questions about what they found difficult about this project and what would they
change if they could change anything during the process. This will allow the students to think about what they are doing while
and after they are doing it.

How will this unit engage students in assessing their own work?
The VTS session will be one way that students are able to assess themselves. They will get to hear the ideas they have and
what their fellow classmates think about the photographs and how this might be similar or different. They will also get to try
and create an object while being resourceful so they will get to see how well they can do that. Finally, the class discussion will
allow students to get any other ideas they might have out during this time and see how other students handled the project.

Art Integration Unit Plan Template

What opportunities/activities will students be given to revise and improve their understandings and their work?
When the students first do the VTS session they might notice that the families were forced to be resourceful to survive.
However, students might not think much about this at the time. After the discussion and activity that they will partake in they
will be much more educated about what it is like to be resourceful and how much of a struggle this had to be. They will be able
to revise and improve their understanding of resourcefulness.

What opportunities/activities will you provide for students to share their learning/understanding/work in this unit?
After the students create their new object using the old resources they will share them with the class. This will allow the
students to see the different objects that can be created using basically the same stuff. This will also show different ways
resources can be used that students might not have originally thought about.

How will you adapt the various aspects of this lesson to differently-abled students?
I think a VTS session is a good way to make sure that the students who need to be challenged can participate and think deeper about what they see in the
photographs. For the students who are shy or do not feel comfortable sharing also benefit from this activity. They are able to hear what other people see in the
photographs and see things differently than they might have originally. The teacher can also allow students to work with partners when creating the new object
so the students who want to be challenged can create something by themselves and the ones who want extra help can work with a partner.

TEACHER REFLECTION: How will you know that this lesson is successful and meaningful? List indicators.

Art Integration Unit Plan Template

I will know this lesson is successful and meaningful if I can get the students to understand the struggles people were going
through during the Great Depression/Dust Bowl. I will also hope that students will be able to tell me that they think it important
to be resourceful no matter what financial stage they are at in their life. I want them to know it is better to reuse or recycle
something instead of throwing it away because they dont like it anymore. All of this will benefit my students understanding or
resourcefulness and they will be able to emphasize with the people of the Great Depression a lot better.

References
Silverstein, L. B. & Layne, S. (n.d.). Defining arts integration. Retrieved from
http://www.americansforthearts.org/networks/arts_education/publications/special_publications/Defining%20Arts
%20Integration.pdf

Art Integration Unit Plan Template