Exploring Art Movements

Created By:
Lacey Rotier
Title/Role:
Graduate Student
Organization/School Name:
St. Catherine University
Location:
Minnesota

Grade Level:
11, 12
Type of Lesson:
Lesson in a unit
Type of Schedule:
Flexible
Collaboration Continuum:
Moderate
Content Area:
The Arts
Content Topic:
Researching art movements, artists, and their historical context.
Standards for the 21st-Century Learner
Skills Indicator(s):
1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
Dispostion Indicator(s):
1.2.2 Demonstrate confidence and self-direction by making independent choices in the selection of resources and information.
1.2.7 Display persistence by continuing to pursue information to gain a broad perspective.
Responsibilities Indicator(s):
1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community.
Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator(s):
1.4.2 Use interaction with and feedback from teachers and peers to guide own inquiry process.
Scenario:
The art teacher came to the media specialist with an idea for a research project. The class is an elective art class and the art teacher would like to add a component working with art history. They come up with an idea for a semester-long project that incorporates research, art history, and studio art.

Overview:
First students will be introduced to the concept of art movements in the classroom, with examples of each, and come to the library for an introduction to CAMIO. Then the students will go on a fieldtrip to a local art museum to look at the artwork. Students choose an artistic work and art movement to imitate and create their own version/interpretation.

Final Product:
Students will create an artistic work reflecting a museum artwork. They will create a presentation that incorporates information on the art movement, artist, art piece, historical context, and how their work reflects the movement/artist/piece. The students create a portfolio with their process work (including visual studies, photographs, field notes from the museum, research notes, etc), reflection paper, and final piece.

Library Lesson:
1. Using CAMIO (an ELM database) to search for artistic works in a time period or by an artist. 2. Researching an artist (biography). 3. Researching historical information. 4. Citing sources and presentation creation.

Estimated Lesson Time:
30 minutes
Assessment
Product:
The completed artwork is assessed as a part of a portfolio for the project that included both artistic process pieces (sketches, studies, mockups, etc.), research process work (notes, bibliography, graphic organizers), and a written reflective piece.

Process:
Students fill out a graphic organizer at the museum and during the CAMIO presentation. A separate organizer is used for the citation lesson. Art pieces and research are discussed in a critique held at the halfway point. Students discuss how their research is going, a thing they have discovered, and any problems they are facing. Their peers and instructor give them feedback on their artwork and research. Each student will meet privately with the classroom teacher three times throughout the project. The process is also assessed as part of the final portfolio.

Self Questioning:
Did I find enough information about my chosen artwork? Did I convey that information clearly in my presentation? How does my created artwork reflect the art movement, artwork, or artist I chose? How does it reflect my life and cultural context?

Instructional Plan
Resources students will use:
Dataset (ie. lists, tables, databases)
Still image (i.e.paintings, drawings, plans, and maps)
Interactive Resource (i.e. webpages, multimedia learning objects, chat services)
Text (books, letters, poems, newspapers, etc.)

Interactive Resource URL:
http://www.artsmia.org/

Resources instructor will use:
Projector

Instruction/Activities
Direct instruction:
1. Students are told about ELM databases and CAMIO, shown where to find it on the library website, and shown how to use CAMIO. 2. Students are reminded where to find databases on the library website and are told which ones are helpful when researching a person. The LMS also points out the various books/reference materials that would be useful. 3. Students are shown specific databases and online resources to find historical information. They are also shown where to find information about different countries’ historical information. Print materials are also pointed out. 4. Students are shown how to use MLA citation, where to find the information they need to complete the citation fully.

Modeling and guided practice:
The LMS uses their own example art piece to demonstrate the research process, keeping the art piece the same throughout the lessons. So, if the librarian chose the Mona Lisa, they would demonstrate by searching artist biographies for Leonardo da Vinci and cite material from previous lessons. For the citation lesson, the LMS shows students where to locate the information needed to create a citation in the databases that were demonstrated in previous lessons. Students are encouraged to search for their own artwork when shown databases and ask questions.

Independent practice:
Students use the skills taught in library lessons to research their own topic.


Have you taught this lesson before:
No

Strategies for differentiation:
Student might focus on just the artist or the art movement.