ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Needs Assessment/Rational

My Exploratory Drawing/Painting Class was starting the painting unit. In a pretest, which I do verbally in the classroom, the students are questioned on their knowledge of the various painting styles used by impressionist artists. Included in the discussion, is any knowledge they have acquired in the past, that included color theory, art history, and the influence these artists had in the world. I used a book of impressionist artists that had examples of their work. Few students were able to identify the artists. I found after this class discussion, the students had little knowledge in this area. I want them to understand the influence the impressionists had in the world, how to identify their style and use of color, and how the time period influenced their work.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: 1. I want students to leave my classroom with an appreciation for the visual arts and an understanding of the process involved in creating art.  2. I want them to be able to correlate the importance of art and the role it plays in our history.  3. I want them to be able to identify the various styles and periods of art.  4. I want them to be able to visit a museum of fine art, and identify with what the artist is conveying in their artwork.  5. I want them to have the ability and desire to create art.  6. Most of all, I want them to see the importance art plays in their very own lives, and the influence it has on the world.
Goal(s): 1. Students will be able to gather and apply information using various resources.  2. Students will gain knowledge that will enable them to practice and apply painting techniques.

Questions Answered

Essential questions:1. Who were some of the impressionists?  2. What, if anything, influenced the impressionist style of the art movement - including historical, political, personal, economic social, cultural, or religious factors?  3. What do you like this style of art?  4. How did the impressionists create their style? What are the characteristics? What are some of their techniques?  5. What knowledge of color theory is required to paint this style?
Objectives:1. Given a picture of a painting, the student will be able to identify an impressionist painting by the style and use of color with less than two errors after viewing video clips of impressionist artists. 2. Given a canvas, the student will be able to illustrate their understanding of Impressionism in their painting by imitating the brush strokes with a variety of brushes and using various color combinations with acrylic paint.  3. Given acrylic paints, the students will illustrate their knowledge of color theory by creating visual effects in their painting through color mixing and application, using the basic color wheel. 4. Given the use of the computer lab, the student will be able to search various web sites using search engines for information on Impressionists and their work, using an art history worksheet with five specific questions, within two class periods.  5. Given a worksheet that has paintings of Impressionists, the student will be able to identify six Impressionist artists by their use of color, subject matter, and brush strokes, by matching the paintings to the artist.  6. Given acrylic paint and canvas samples, the student will be able to determine the best color choices for the background painting to enhance the impressionist style by experimenting with various color combinations, choosing the best one.  7. Given the use of their reference guides, and within a four week timespan, the students will be able to create on a canvas, their own painting, that displays their knowledge of the principles and elements of design, through the use of composition.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer)will provide evidence of understanding?
1. Using a matching worksheet, the students will match six artists to impressionist paintings. This will assess if the student is able to identify the artist and their style. 2. They are also tested on the color wheel involving single answers to test their knowledge on color theory.
What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding?
1.Students will complete an art history worksheet with five open-ended questions, four of which require paragraph form. Spelling, grammar, and sentence structure will count as part of the grade.
What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product)will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding?
1. The students will complete a painting using canvas, acrylic paints, and a variety of brushes. 2. This painting is to reflect the impressionist style and their knowledge of color theory.
What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect?
1. I will use a rubric created with Rubistar.com, to assess the various components of the final painting.  2. We will also do a class critique when the students are finished with the paintings. The students will participate in critiquing, citing what makes the painting a work of art. 3. Using the guidelines on the rubric, their grades can be validated. 4. The students can explain their choices and why they made those choices. 5. They can explain what influenced their decisions:  was it from their research, from communication with the instructor and/or other students, and were they influenced by past artists. 6. This will allow the students some ownership in deciding their final grade by taking part in the critique. 7. They will be allowed to make changes in their painting, if they so choose, in order to improve their grade.

Instructional Strategies

The project-based strategy promotes higher-order thinking and self-directedness in regard to my student learning objectives. Art is an hands on class that involves projects. The project is the end product. The students are working the right side of the brain, but still have problem solving using the left side. Problem-based strategy comes into play when the students comes across something that is not working for them, such as the combination of colors, or if the brush isn’t creating the desired effect. The teacher takes on the inquiry-based strategy, questioning the student to see if they can problem solve, and come up with a solution.
The next step is to actually try some of the solution, trial and error, finding one that will produce the desired results. We learn by our mistakes, and this provides us with useful information. By having the students try the ideas they came up with, and finding out which ones work, students learn how to think and problem solve. They learn to rely on their own judgment. This builds confidence so they are not afraid to try it again. The students are encouraged to view the other artwork in the class and to learn from each other. They problem solve together, addressing various individual needs. In creating art, students need to feel confident in themslevesm and this requires feedback from peers as well as from the teacher. I let the students know that their opinions are very important, and they should not only rely on my solution, but to search for all the possibilities. Creating an art project has many options and the students need to learn how to make all the choices involved to get the end product.
We use technology in all of my classes. This project involved using a web site our district had on a trial basis for two months. It was United Streaming and it is a web-based digital video delivery system. It is the largest and most current library of K-12 digital video/video clips (23,000) available today. We used the art/art history links for videos on various artists and art history. The students also used the internet for reference guides to be used in their paintings. Some students used digital photography, and we used our photo programs to work with these pictures. We had access to the computer lab for the class to research.
These strategies promote higher order thinking by using this approach. The students are encouraged to make better use of what they learn both inside and outside the art room. In the process, I engage in learning new ideas and use new methods, making the experience more meaningful and exciting for the students. By students understanding the aesthetic idea art portrays, they can build a foundation necessary for understanding the nature of art and culture. Skills help students organize knowledge so that problems can be solved.