PAIR

Professional Arts Integration Resource

 

Visual Art

6th Grade: Ratios, Visual Thinking Strategies

Richards Middle School

Sands – Meagan Cascone

Learning Objective/Exit Outcomes: 

  • Students will be able to have a conversation about the art they see, using various art terminology. 
  • Students will be able to let the art influence their thoughts about ratios. 
  • Students will be introduced to the basic rules of ratios. 
  • Students will be able to talk about art and ratios on the most basic level. 

Integration Area/Subject:

Math & Visual Art

State Standards:

MGSE6.RP.1 Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities.

VA6.RE.3 Engage in the process of art criticism to make meaning and increase visual literacy.

  1. Write responses to works of art through various approaches.

Materials/Playing Space: 

Multiple pieces of art

Description: 

The PAIR Specialist started the activity by asking the students what they thought of when hearing the word “art.” This allows the students to become art experts and doesn’t put any added pressure on the teacher to teach art standards. Instead, the teacher can simply apply the art they already know to the lesson. 

Once the students finished saying the different things they thought of when hearing the word “art,” the PAIR Specialist asked the students to look at three different pictures of art. They were Mondrian, a jelly bean rendition of Starry Night, and a Mandala with both 2D and 3D elements. (The key to picking art pieces is to find art that interests you and what you think your students would like. If you think it is boring, they will too. You don’t have to pick famous art for it to work.)

We talked about the different pieces using art terminology that the students had said at the beginning of the lesson. We talked about color, line, shape, texture, medium, 2D and 3D art, and shadow and how these words pertained to the art pieces. 

The teacher then introduced the very basic form of ratios. “Ratios compare two things.” 

We then looked at Mondrian and talked about shape and color. We made ratios for the number of squares and rectangles and ratios for the number of blue vs. red. We looked at the jelly bean art of Starry Night. And compared the number of jelly beans of the different colors and different shades of colors and formed ratios. Finally, we looked at the Mandala and created a ratio of the 2D parts and the 3D parts of the piece. 

The teacher wrapped up with a quick discussion about what they would be doing with ratios the next class.

Notes:

Have fun with it and let your students be the art experts! Pick pieces of art that you like to look at!

6th Grade: Rational Numbers, Relay Drawing

Richards Middle School

Ledwick/Sands – Meagan Cascone

Learning Objective/Exit Outcomes: 

  • Students will be able define positive integers, negative integers, and absolute value. 
  • Students will be able to work together to create an equation.
  • Students will be able to present an artistic visual representation of that equation.

Integration Area/Subject:

Math & Visual Art

State Standards:

MGSE6.NS.6 Understand a rational number as a point on the number line. Extend number line diagrams and coordinate axes familiar from previous grades to represent points on the line and in the plane with negative number coordinates.

MGSE6.NS.6a Recognize opposite signs of numbers as indicating locations on opposite sides of 0 on the number line; recognize that the opposite of the opposite of a number is the number itself, e.g.,–(–3) = 3, and that 0 is its own opposite.

MGSE6.NS.7c Understand the absolute value of a rational number as its distance from 0 on the number line; interpret absolute value as magnitude for a positive or negative quantity in a real-world situation.

VA5.CN.3 Develop life skills through the study and production of art (e.g.collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication).

VA6PR.2 Creates artwork reflecting a range of concepts, ideas, and subject matter.

Materials/Playing Space: 

  • Plain computer paper, tri-folded
  • Pencils

Description: 

The teachers pre-folded the computer paper into three (or four) boxes, labeling each box 1, 2, 3, (and 4), from top to bottom. For Relay Drawing, the paper is passed around the class, so, at the end, a single piece of paper has the work of three artists on it. The paper can be passed a final time, so that a student who had no hand in the creation of the art can assess it and explain what they see in the artwork created by their peers. Mrs. Sands had paper that was divided into three parts and Mrs. Ledwick had paper that was divided into four parts.

The teachers asked the students to write 5 different positive integers in box 1. Once all students were finished, we passed the papers one person to the right (depending on the setup of the classroom, the way you pass the papers will vary). The teachers then instructed the students to write 5 different negative integers in box 2. Once again, we passed the papers. (For Mrs. Ledwick’s class, they then wrote 5 absolute value integers in box 3 and then passed the papers.)

In the final boxes, the teachers asked students to write different equations. For example, a number in box 1 plus a number in box 2 and what it equals or a number in box 3 minus a number in box 1. The only rules were that a number could only be used once in any of the equations (For example, once you used the positive 5 that was written in box 1, a positive 5 could not be used in any other equations) and they had to use at least 2 different signs in their equations (+, -, x). Once the students had written 4 different equations, we passed the papers one last time. 

Once they received the paper after the last pass, the students had to choose an equation from box 4 and draw a visual representation on the back of the paper. Several students were then called on to show their visual representation and explain it to the class.

Notes:

It is important, as much as possible, to use visual art to assist in teaching the content, not just relaying it. In the reverse, the same is true: use the core content to assist in teaching the visual art. When looking at the visual representations drawn, discuss color, line, shading, pattern, etc. Be sure to discuss how collaboration on math led to the artwork being created. These two ideas should be taught hand in hand.

6th Grade: Rainforest Destruction, Slow Reveal/Close Looking

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.

  1. 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.

  1. Identify how the issues of time, place, and culture are reflected in selected works of art.
  2. Interpret works or art considering themes, ideas, moods, and/or intentions.
  3. 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.

  1. Engage in supportive peer review through formal and informal assessment and idea development.
  2. Use the language of art to identify how meaning is conveyed in works of art.
  3. 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.

6th Grade: Critiquing Art, Exploding Atom

Richards Middle School

Purvis – Jen Weisphal

Learning Objective/Exit Outcomes: 

  • Students will engage in collaborative discussion.
  • Students will be able to state an opinion and defend that opinion with their knowledge of the content.
  • Students will be able to recognize group movement as a form of storytelling.
  • Students will learn to think critically about other opinions.
  • Students will recognize that all opinions are valid and should be treated respectfully even if the opinions differ from their own.

Integration Area/Subject:

Visual Art & Dance

State Standards:

VA6.RE.2 Critique personal works of art and the artwork of others, individually and collaboratively, using a variety of approaches.

  1. Engage in supportive peer review through formal and informal assessment and idea development.
  2. Use the language of art to identify how meaning is conveyed in works of art.
  3. Describe and analyze the aesthetic qualities of specific works of art.

VA6.RE.3 Engage in the process of art criticism to make meaning and increase visual literacy.

  1. Write responses to works of art through various approaches.

MSD.CR.2 Demonstrates an understanding of dance as a form of communication.

  1. Compare and contrast abstract and literal movement.
  2. Explore the qualities of expression in performance.

MSD.PR.2 Understand and model dance etiquette as a classroom participant, performer, and observer.

  1. Demonstrate attentiveness, focus, concentration, initiative, and self-discipline when participating in the dance learning and performance environment.
  2. Demonstrate concentration and focus with respect to self and others in the performance of skills.
  3. Exhibit initiative in modeling appropriate behaviors and skills as an audience member and dance observer.

Materials/Playing Space: 

All open space in the classroom

Description: 

The teacher had students stand in a circle around the desks in the room. The PAIR Specialist explained that, should you agree with the statement made about the piece of art being looked at, you should move to the center of the room. If the students disagree with the statement, they should move to the walls of the room. As with any statement, there may also be a variance where the students partially agree or disagree and, in this case, the students are welcome to find a place in between the center and outside of the room.

The PAIR Specialist made a statement about the art, such as, “The woman standing up in this painting is the most important part of the piece.” Students then made their choice on whether they agreed, disagreed, or partially agreed with their body movement. The PAIR Specialist and teacher then took thoughts from students on what made them agree or disagree with that statement.

The PAIR Specialist also encouraged students to move within the space should someone else’s thoughts and opinions challenge and change their own, so that students are considering, in real time, how other people’s thoughts can affect their own views.

The teacher then asked specific questions to do with the art being looked at, connecting to perspective, foreground, background, and the story behind the various works of art to further encourage the thought process of what the artist intended for you to look at and to derive from their paintings.

5th Grade: WWII, Relay Drawing

Brewer Elementary

Boddie-Baker – Jen Weisphal

Learning Objective/Exit Outcomes: 

  • Students will be able to recall important causes, leaders, and events of World War II.
  • Students will be able engage in creating visual ideas by using subject matter to communicate meaning.
  • Students will be able to engage in discussion with their peers.
  • Students will be able to reflect on personal works of art and the work of peers.
  • Students will practice critiquing works of art by interpreting mood, theme, and intention of the artist, rather than giving an opinion on the art.

Integration Area/Subject:

Social Studies & Visual Art

State Standards:

SS5H4 Explain America’s involvement in World War II.

  1. Describe German aggression in Europe and Japanese aggression in Asia.
  2. Describe major events in the war in both Europe and the Pacific; include Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima, D-Day, VE and VJ Days, and the Holocaust.
  3. Discuss President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
  4. Identify Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill, Hirohito, Truman, Mussolini, and Hitler.
  5. Describe the effects of rationing and the changing role of women and African Americans or Blacks; include “Rosie the Riveter” and the Tuskegee Airmen.
  6. Explain the role of Eleanor Roosevelt and the U.S. in the formation of the United Nations.

VA5.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

  1. Utilize multiple approaches to plan works of art, incorporating imaginative ideas, universal themes, and symbolic images.

VA5.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes

  1. Create works of art inspired by historical, contemporary, and/or social events.

VA5.RE.1 Use a variety of approaches for art criticism and to critique personal works of art and the artwork of others to enhance visual literacy.

  1. Interpret and evaluate works of art through thoughtful discussion and speculation about the mood, theme, and intentions of those who create works of art.
  2. Use a variety of approaches to engage in verbal and/or written art criticism.
  3. Use a variety of strategies to critique, discuss, and reflect on personal works of art and the work of peers.

Materials/Playing Space: 

  • Plain computer paper, tri-folded
  • Pencils

Description: 

The teacher did Relay Drawing. Students were at tables of 4 and 5.  They were instructed to fold their paper in 3s and label each section ‘1’, ‘2’, and ‘3’. Each table turned and talked about the causes, leaders and events of World War II.

Once students had time to review themes of World War II in groups, students began the Relay Drawing strategy. In section 1 at the top of the page, students were instructed to draw one important aspect about WWII, whether it be a drawing of a cause, a leader, or an event. 

Then, the teacher instructed students to switch papers with someone at their table.  In section 2, students were instructed to draw something else about WWII. Students were instructed to switch papers again with a new person at their table and in section 3, draw a third image representing a cause, leader, or event of World War II.

Once everyone completed section 3, the students passed their papers once more to a student who had not drawn on the paper they were receiving. Students were then tasked with reviewing each section’s artwork and trying to identify, from the elements given, what the picture must be representing from World War II. Students then discussed the art work with their table, seeing if they were correct in critiquing the art’s message by talking to the artists themselves.

This strategy is a great way to practice soft skills of communicating kindly and critiquing peers’ work with the content given and not imposing an opinion on the work itself.

Notes:

It is important to keep the element of visual art and drawing, otherwise this will no longer be an arts integrated lesson. For instance, some students may be inclined to just write a fact about World War II instead of create a drawing about that fact. It is important to challenge to students to step out of their comfort zone in this way.

It may also be necessary to review Visual Thinking Strategies and how to critique art without students potentially offering negative and personal opinions on the artwork of their peers or their own artwork.

5th Grade: Tall Tales, Relay Drawing

Brewer Elementary

Walls – Jen Weisphal

Learning Objective/Exit Outcomes: 

  • Students will be able to identify hyperbole in a story.
  • Students will be able to identify a story as a tall tale: a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true.
  • Students will learn to envision a story and create pictures showing the events they read about.
  • Students will review the beginning, middle, and end of a story.
  • Students will create new stories based on the drawings of their fellow students.
  • Students will learn to collaborate with art work.

Integration Area/Subject:

ELA & Visual Art

State Standards:

ELAGSE5RL4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

ELAGSE5RL5 Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.

ELAGSE5W10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

ELAGSE5L5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. 

  1. Interpret figurative language, including similes and metaphors, in context.

VA5.RE.1 Use a variety of approaches for art criticism and to critique personal works of art and the artwork of others to enhance visual literacy.

  1. Interpret and evaluate works of art through thoughtful discussion and speculation about the mood, theme, and intentions of those who create works of art.
  2. Explain how selected elements and principles of design are used in works of art to convey meaning.

VA5.CN.3 Develop life skills through the study and production of art (e.g. collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication).

Materials/Playing Space: 

  • Plain computer paper, tri-folded
  • Pencils

Description: 

The teacher had the students read Mighty Kate, a tall tale about a young girl who was incredibly strong and saved a train from a broken down bridge. Once the students heard the story and saw a couple of images from the storybook artist, the students were then asked to recreate some beginning, middle, and end drawings based on the story of Mighty Kate, using the visual art strategy, Relay Drawing.

For the Relay Drawing, the teacher pre-folded papers into thirds, labeling each third 1, 2, and 3, from the top of the page to the bottom. Students were given the papers folded, so they could only see box 1. In box 1, students drew something from the beginning of the Mighty Kate story, asking the students to reach back to information they were just given a few minutes before. Students were given two minutes to complete their drawing of an important detail from the beginning of the story.

Once time was up, the students flipped their paper over to only show box 2. Students then traded papers around the room, so that they received a new paper to work on that was not theirs. In box 2, the teacher gave the students two minutes to draw an important detail from the middle of the story. Once the two minutes was up, students folded the paper so that only box 3 was showing and passed their papers around again to a new student, thus creating a single piece of paper with three different artists’ drawings on it.

In box 3, students drew an important detail from the ending of the story. Once two minutes was up for the last box, the paper was passed around one last time. Now, the students were able to open the paper all the way to see the beginning, middle, and end drawings. 

The teacher then told the students to create a brand new tall tale based on the drawings they saw on the paper. While the images were guided by the story of Mighty Kate, the students may interpret the drawings of their peers much differently, thus being inspired to create a whole new story. Students were to write their new story on the back of the Relay Drawing paper.

Notes:

An additional Visual Art Standard can be added to this strategy, by having the class discuss the job of a storybook artist, someone who creates cartoon-like drawings and paintings to enhance a children’s book with visual art:

VA5.CN.2 Integrate information from other disciplines to enhance the understanding and production of works of art.

  1. Describe and discuss various art-related careers and how design impacts daily life (e.g. art historian, art critic, curator, web designer, game designer, fine artist).