Richards Middle School
Casper/Yelkovich – Austin Sargent
Learning Objective/Exit Outcomes:
- Students will be able to identify the artistic qualities of a photograph.
- Students will be able to use art vocabulary to connect their artistic observation to the social studies content.
- Students will use maps of Latin America to hypothesize where the photographs might be from.
- Students will combine three seemingly unrelated images to form their own observations and opinions about the issue of deforestation in Latin America.
Integration Area/Subject:
Social Studies & Visual Art
State Standards:
SS6G2 Explain the impact of environmental issues in Latin America.
- Explain the environmental issue of destruction of the rainforest in Brazil.
VA6.RE.1 Reflect on the context of personal works of art in relation to community, culture, and the world.
- Identify how the issues of time, place, and culture are reflected in selected works of art.
- Interpret works or art considering themes, ideas, moods, and/or intentions.
- Define where and how we encounter images in our daily lives and how images influence our view of the world.
VA6.RE.2 Critique personal works of art and the artwork of others, individually and collaboratively, using a variety of approaches.
- Engage in supportive peer review through formal and informal assessment and idea development.
- Use the language of art to identify how meaning is conveyed in works of art.
- Describe and analyze the aesthetic qualities of specific works of art.
Materials/Playing Space:
Prep: Before the activity begins, it is important that the teacher prepare the photograph/visual art image by dividing the image into 3 separate sections. Images that work the best have a distinct demarcation between lush forest and barren deforestation.
Description:
This class began by looking at Image 1: Lush Forest. Students were split into groups and given the instruction to use adjectives to describe the image that they saw. Students could write these images in the margins of their photo for a verbal record. Students were then instructed to use their textbook as a reference and identify where in Latin America that photograph might have been taken.
Once guesses were made, Image 2: Barren Wasteland was handed out. The same process was followed; interpret the image, describe it in adjectives, and then identify using a map where this image could’ve been taken. Students then spent time defending their choices to other groups.
Then Image 3: Full Image was distributed. Verbal reactions and physical reactions were had, and students repeated the same process; adjectives & geography. The point here was that Deforestation is a major issue plaguing the Amazon Rainforest. Giving students this specific image provided a much more realistic context than just talking about it.
Notes:
For bonus points, specify which Artistic Vocabulary words you’d like students to concentrate on. You certainly could talk about texture and contrast, but also words like value, saturation, and density could also be helpful in guiding student discussion.
To strengthen the integration, make sure students understand how the images created the list of adjectives and how the adjectives reflect the geography of the selected images.