Digital Unit Plan Template

Unit Title: Composition

Name: Aaron Jones

Content Area: Art

Grade Level:

CA Content Standard(s)/Common Core Standard(s):

DEVELOP PERCEPTUAL SKILLS AND VISUAL ARTS VOCABULARY

1.1 IDENTIFY AND USE THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN TO DISCUSS, ANALYZE, AND WRITE ABOUT VISUAL ASPECTS IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND IN WORKS
OF ART, INCLUDING THEIR OWN.

1.2 DESCRIBE THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN AS USED IN WORKS OF ART, FOCUSING ON DOMINANCE AND SUBORDINATION.
ANALYZE ART ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

1.3 RESEARCH AND ANALYZE THE WORK OF AN ARTIST AND WRITE ABOUT THE ARTIST'S DISTINCTIVE STYLE AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE
MEANING OF THE WORK.

1.4 ANALYZE AND DESCRIBE HOW THE COMPOSITION OF A WORK OF ART IS AFFECTED BY THE USE OF A PARTICULAR PRINCIPLE OF DESIGN.
IMPACT OF MEDIA CHOICE
Big Ideas:

Identify fundamental design principals

Verbally identify how compositional design principals work
Comprehension of compositional design stages
Verbally communicate compositional concepts and strategies
Use critical thinking to develop compositional ideas
Use critical thinking to derive meaning from compositional designs

Unit Goals and Objectives:

To introduce key vocabulary terms

To comprehend the compositional design stages
To verbally articulate compositional strategies and tie them back to the key terms
To engage in critical thinking and writing in regards compositional design processes

Unit Summary:

The unit objective is to teach students the 3 stages of compositional preparatory work. The unit will be broken down into 3
lessons. Unit one focuses on Vocabulary and Thumbnails (stage 1) Lesson 2 focuses on Poster Studies (Stage 2) Lesson 3 focuses
on Final compositions .(Stage 3) Each lesson will start off with a quiz in order to find either prior knowledge or material
retention from previous lessons. In addition all lessons will have lectures and formative assignments in order to gauge the
students retention levels for that specific lesson.
Assessment Plan:
Formative:

Entry-Level:

(Prior Knowledge)

QUIZ 1
GROUP DISCUSSION 1

Summative:
Quiz 2

Project 1
Rubric 1

Quiz 3

Project 2
Rubric 2

Project 3
Rubric 3

Project 4
Scoring guide

Project 5
Rubric 5

Group Discussion 2 Group Discussion 3

Lesson 1
Student Learning Objective:

(Stage 1) To
comprehend key
vocabulary terms and
the Thumbnail process

Acceptable Evidence:

1. Correct verbal
answers in
response to
specific guided
questions
regarding
vocabulary
terms (in class
dialogue)
2. Correct
application of

Instructional Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction

Lesson Activities:

1. Lecture and slides on key vocabulary terms

2. Group dialogue on prior knowledge of Thumbnails
3. Lecture and slides on Thumbnails
4. In this Project students will work in groups of 4 to

create 20 thumbnails (4x4 inches) that are based

off of ideas provided by the teacher. Each group
will have a different idea or concept to create
thumbnails from. (Idea list)

key terms
In completion of
Thumbnails.
(Project 1)
Lesson 2
Student Learning Objective:

(Stage 2) To
comprehend the
concept of Poster
Studies in relation to the
previous stage (stage 1
Thumbnails)

Acceptable Evidence

1. Correct answers
to lesson 2 Quiz
2. Correct verbal
answers in
response to
specific guided
questions
regarding
vocabulary
terms (in class
dialogue)

Instructional Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction

Lesson Activities:

1. Group Dialogue on prior knowledge of poster studies

2. Lecture and slides on Poster Studies
3. In this project students will create 4 poster studies

(color, value, shape, form) from thumbnails that are

provided to them by the instructor. All students will
have the same thumbnail to illustrate how artist think
differently in applying design principals.

3. Correct
application of
key terms
In completion of
Poster Studies.
(Project 2)
Lesson 3
Student Learning Objective:

Acceptable Evidence:

(Stage 3) To
comprehend the
concept of Final
Compositions in
relations to stage 2

Correct answers to
lesson 3 Quiz
Correct verbal answers
in response to specific

Instructional Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction

Lesson Activities:

1. Group Dialogue on prior knowledge of Final

Compositions
2. Lecture and slides on Final Compositions

(Poster Studies) and

stage 3 (Thumbnails)
To comprehend how a
Goal Pyramid works
To articulately express
Ideas and concepts in a
written format

guided questions
regarding vocabulary
terms (in class dialogue)
To express ideas and
concepts in written form
using critical and
analytical thinking
(Project 3)
Accurate construction of
the goal pyramid as
defined by the Rubric
(Project 4)
Correct application of
key terms
In completion of Final
Compositions.
(Project 5)

3. Project 3
Part 1
Search through the 4 art movements (Dada,
Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Post Modernism)
for inspiration and design ideas for a new
final compositional drawing. Choose three
images from those specific art movements
that inspire you in terms of design
mechanics and design content.
Part 2
Write a one paragraph assessment on why
those particular design mechanics and
design content inspired you. Be specific in
naming the key compositional principals
that that are embedded in those ideas or
mechanics
Part 3
Take the design mechanics and design
content that you wrote about and come up
with an original idea for a final
composition. Write a one page statement
of what the idea is and what compositional
foundational principals you will use.
4. Project 4
Students will work individually to create a
Goal Pyramid in order to organize the
foundational principals of composition for

their final composition. The information will

be modeled Through the 4 complete stages
of the visual art compositional process (the
Goal Pyramid). The Goal Pyramid will
reflect the design aesthetics, ideas and
goals that were written about in parts 2
and 3.

5. Project 5
Students will work with their Goal Pyramid
to create a new batch of Thumbnails (10)
and Poster Studies (4) for the completion of
the Final Composition (1) (Stage 3)

Unit Resources:

Lesson 1 Composition Composition Study

Lesson 1 Composition Composition Rhythm
Lesson 1 Composition Hue Value Chroma
Lesson 1 Composition Art 260 Greg Clayton
Lesson 1 Shapes and Forms Scott Robertson
Lesson 1 Application of vocabulary Robert Liberace

Lesson 1 Application of vocabulary James Gurney

Lesson 1 Application of vocabulary Charles Hu
Lesson 1 Application of vocabulary Esao Andrews
Lesson 1 Application of vocabulary Zimou Tan

Useful Websites:
Thumbnail Lessons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMJFrDjWFqU
Nelson Shanks (Line Color Shape) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emukvmd1qms
Brian Deleon (shape Form) http://briandeleon.com/