Aluminum Foil Creatures
Art Educators: Jessica Grentz, Leah Marshall Ellert
Unit Title: On The Road: Exploring America Through Art
Project Title: Sculpture and performance art
Grade level: Middle Elementary
Estimated # of students: 25
Pennsylvania Visual Arts Standards:
9.1.3B- produce original work
9.1.3E-Know and demonstrate how arts can communicate experiences, stories or emotions through the production of works in the arts.
9.1.3H-Use and maintain materials, equipment and tools safely at work and performance spaces. (hot glue gun)
9.3.3A-Identify critical processes in the examination of works in the arts and humanities. Compare and contrast, Analyze, Interpret.
9.3.3B-Describe works in the arts comparing similar and contrasting characteristics
9.4.3C-Recognize that the environment of the observer influences individual aesthetic responses to works in the arts (learners travel experiences in New York City may influence works).
*PROJECT HYPOTHESIS AND SIGNIFICANCE:
This week in our journey across America we will be traveling to the North East. The students will be learning about population and that the North East is highly populated, leading to the exploration of urban areas. We hope to teach the students about street art and the images and graphics that can be found in the streets of New York City. Through investigation of street art and animal graffiti we will ask the students to bring those animals to life and turn them into sculpture. We the teachers believe that exploring street art is important to understanding different types of art and different cultures.
Sculpture Project:
After looking at images of graffiti that depict animals we will ask the students to use their imagination and morph an animal into a new type of creature. We will ask the students to make a creature that could survive underground in NYC without being discovered by humans. Students will be prompted to think about the features and attributes that the creature will possess. Questions may include, “would they have feet or claws? legs or wings?”, “What type of body will it have?” We hope through this project the students’ animals will come to life. Students will only use tin foil to construct the creatures, but teachers will have an area set aside with hot glue that the students can ask the teacher to attach body parts with glue, if there are construction problems. Students may not use the hot glue station independently, and teachers will specifically instruct the students of this rule during the introduction of the project.
Performance Art:
With a group of active eight year olds we would love to see them be able to really bring their animals to life by acting out the characteristics in a theatre setting. This would also become collaborative by students interacting with other creatures that peers have made in the sculpture project. Performance art is also important to teach in this lesson as we discuss different types of art like graffiti. Being able to express oneself through movement allows true experimentation and freedom to explore. This will allow the students to not only mold what the creature will look like, but embody the animal to fully explore its demeanor. We will play music for the students, so that they may feel more comfortable acting silly and may inspire those children who have shy personalities. We will encourage the students to crawl around on the floor, make animal noises and such, but the teachers will ensure that the students stay generally in the front of the classroom and do not harm any other students during the performance.
Sewing the flag center:
-Together the students will work to construct the flag by combining their individual pieces of art by sewing them together. Holes have been punched in the canvas to allow students to sew with plastic needles with yarn to make each row. The flag will be displayed row by row as it is constructed on the wall so that students can watch its progression. Each horizontal row will be connected by the students in class, and those completed rows will be attached by the teachers after class.
Mail Box Center:
The first few weeks there will be a labeled center for students to visit when free time arises. The station will focus on postcards and sending and receiving mail from different regions of the U.S. This will be an ongoing center throughout the semester where students will feel free to read and reply to postcards, or create new mail art. The center will create a pen pal idea but from many different sources.
*LESSON AND LEARNER OUTCOMES:
What will learners experience through this lesson? What specific knowledge, skills, and/or attitudes should learners gain?
Sculpture animals:
Through the sculpture project we hope to ignite students imaginations as they morph animals into creatures that could survive underground. Also through the process of making sculpture with tin foil the student can mold the animal with their hands and truly understand the way the medium works. They can pinch, fold, squeeze, and expand the foil to experience the medium in different ways.
Performance Art:
We hope that by teaching the students to act out their creatures they will learn how to express themselves as another art form. Students will also be working with one another to make decisions about their creatures interactions. This process will also give teachers a chance to observe how their students collaborate and give them freedom to express themselves.
Sewing Flag Center:
Last week the students each made a piece of the american flag that they will be sewing together as a center for this week. Our goal is to create a piece of artwork where each students art practice can be viewed together. We hope that making a quilt of the American flag will create a sense of unity in the classroom. In this center, the class will work as a group in order to combine their individual works by sewing all the pieces together. They will learn a practical skill of sewing while working with peers to construct the flag as a whole.
Mailbox center: introduce center as option when finished with flag
-learn to make and send postcards. teacher samples
-receive mail from different regions of the U.S. Have mail call, or learners check mailbox daily for new postcards
- Mailbox center will be a center where students will be able to read postcards and to respond. We intend to teach the learners about how the post office works and its history. The center will also have reference material on artist who work with postcards like Elizabeth Elsworth and Jamie Cruz.
- Ideas for sending a postcard will be suggested for inspiration. One option is that students can make a tourist postcard to represent State College. They can make the cards as a sort of advertisement for their own city. Another option could be to make up a fiction story about somewhere they wish to travel to.
*MATERIALS FOR LESSON:
Art Educator Materials:
-Giant map for class reference and decoration
-mailbox for center
-postcard materials- index cards, different mediums to draw (colored pencils, markers)
-Projector to show images, artists
-teacher examples
-foil
-hot glue
-fabric paint and markers
- yarn
-sewing needles
Learner Materials:
-sketchbooks
-Projector and computer with dongle cord
-Books from the library
-Use of internet for powerpoint prep
-Pictures from Google Images
*PROJECT ORGANIZATION:
Pedagogical approaches:
-Direct instruction- Teaching about street art. Demo of how to make animals out of foil. Directions for sewing the pieces of the map together
-Sketchbook time- exploring art making practices. An opportunity for collaboration and student interactment.
-Whole Group discussion- Discuss types of animals and how they would interact, what types of characteristics they would posses.
-Group investigation- what do you see in these images (VTS- visual thinking
strategies) Investigating interaction between animals/ creatures.
-Independent brainstorming- What type of creature would they like to create
-One on one instruction: for specific questions/ help
-facilitating clean-up- encourage specifics
Initiating the Project:
Project Sequence:
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Teaching Approach/Teacher Actions: |
Learner Actions: |
Documentation Strategies: |
Environmental Designs: |
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-Teachers will greet student as they enter the room and instruct them to find seats, put on nametags, and start working in their sketchbooks -Students will be given 15 minutes to work on sketchbooks. If encouragement is needed a sketchbook prompt of “What is your favorite animal?” will be provided.
-After sketchbook time students will return books to the suitcase and sit on the carpet.
-Introduce the North East to the students (point to region on the map). Present grafitti art and discuss street art. Transition into animal art. Prompt discussion with the students about what they see. Ask questions like, “What do you see?” “What makes this art?” (brief, 5 minutes)
-Introduce Sculpture project: Making creatures that live below NYC. Small demo on how to use tin foil. - Allow students to return to seats and have independent work time. create animal. encourage students to think about characteristics of their creatures
** First hour!
-Group snack on the carpet. Teachers will show a video of graffiti art or video of monsters and creatures.
- During snack teachers will rearrange classroom. Centers will be set up for a later period of time. Chairs will be moved to the front of the classroom to make a theatre for performance art.
-Act out your animals! 1 teacher will take video and facilitate, while 1 teacher sets up materials for centers
-Transition in center time giving students the option of what they would like to do. A sewing center will be set up to assemble the collaborative map. One teacher will remain at this center to oversee the sewing process. A catch up center will also be available for those students who did not make a piece of the flag. The mailbox center will remain in the same place. An option to make more foil creatures will also be available. The other teacher will circulate the three centers to assist and encourage work from students. -other center options are sketchbook or reading.
-Final 5-10 minutes of class teachers will initiate clean up. Ask students to gather on the carpet for a discussion about class. |
-Students will enter the classroom and find their sketchbooks and nametags.
-students will work on sketchbooks at their seats
-students will return sketchbooks to suitcase and sit nicely on the carpet.
-Students will listen to teachers and participate in conversation about artwork.
-Students will brainstorm ideas of their creature
- Students will enjoy their snacks on the carpet and watch the videos
- Students will watch one another act out their creatures. Groups of 3-4 students will take turns playing out their created animals
- Students will have an option to choose what center they would like to work at for the remainder of class. Those students who have not created a flag piece will be encouraged to complete one first.
-Students will help clean up materials and return them to appropriate areas. All students will gather on carpet and participate in discussion. |
- Teachers will have a camera as well as use of iphones to capture video, take pictures, and record sound.
- while circulating the room during sketchbook time, teachers will transcribe conversations when possible.
-After class teachers will upload videos, and pictures to an online blog. through the blog parents will be able to access student work.
-During class discussion while one teacher asks the questions, the other transcribes some answers that match up with pre-written and printed teacher questions
- A video camera will be set up behind the rows of chairs to take video of the students as they perform the characteristics of their animals
-Teachers will take pictures, record video, and write in notebooks about students’ work and conversation
-Teachers will end class by uploading pictures and notes to the blog for parents and relatives to view |
- sketchbooks and markers/ pencils
-Seats around the tables stay the same throughout the first hour of class. unless a problem arises and students need to be moved
-The large projector screen will be pulled down over the chalkboard and images will be shown large enough for all students to see. Those who are not facing the screen will be asked to turn their chairs around to participate and see
-Teachers will ensure that there is enough walking space to circulate the room properly and be able to access each student.
Centers will begin to be set up for the last part of class. Teachers will bring chairs towards the front of the room in rows to create a theatre to view the act out your creature part of the morning.
- Centers will be set with supplies students will need.
-Materials will be returned to appropriate areas. Students will be on carpet at front of the room. |
*ENDING THE PROJECT:
Closure: Thanking the students for their hard work and cooperation throughout the morning. We may be individual students, but we are all going on this road trip together!
Transition: During carpet time we will tell the kids next week class will be traveling to the South East and experiment with Maps.
ASSESSMENT:
How do we KNOW learners have met goals?
Students engage in presentation group lecture by contributing with comments and questions, as well as looking at the screen and seeing the images of sample artworks displayed. we will know the students have met the goals of the projects by having conversations with students about their work. We can also observe students working together with classmates to ensure they are a part of the social aspects of the classroom.
REFERENCES:
graffiti images
artists