| Curriculum Map 2006-2007 | |||
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The Dwight School |
| Content | Purpose/ Objectives | Activities/ Assessments | Resources | ||
| Summer Experience (Week 1, 3 Weeks) |
Creating a drawing about summer adventures in conjunction with a verbal description. A review of art room rules and introduction to their art workbooks. |
Students recall a summer event that was important to them. They create a narrative drawing, i.e., art that tells a story; they tell their story in both words and pictures. Students have the opportunity to refresh drawing skills. To remind students of artroom rules. To introduce students to their art workbooks. |
Students make a drawing of a summer adventure and write a few sentences describing the event. Assessment: students complete a drawing describing a summer adventure. |
Art workbooks. |
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| Amazing Line (Week 4, 4 Weeks) |
The expressive possibilities of line; how line creates shapes, the variation in line, lines can be more than simply horizontal and vertical; drawing with line; inspiration from the line drawings of Vincent Van Gogh. |
Students learn to use the expressive potential of line to communicate their ideas and moods. Students explore the variation in line: short, long, fat, thin, wavy, straight, energetic, lazy, etc. Students study the line drawings of Vincent Van Gogh. Students practice observational drawing. |
Introduce the unit with the book "Harold and the Purple Crayon." Experimental line studies in the art workbook. Look at and discuss the line drawings of Vincent Van Gogh. Make a line drawing by re-interpreting one of Vincent Van Gogh's drawings. Make line drawings of vegetables and fruits by observing them closely and drawing from life. A drawing of intersecting lines that emphasizes the organic and geometric shapes that are formed by combinations of line. Field trip to Central Park to look at the landscape the way Vincent Van Gogh might of seen it -- how would he have drawn the row of trees, bushes, etc.? Students gather leaves to take back to the classroom. Leaves serve as subjects for observational drawings with oil pastel. |
Reproductions of Vincent Van Gogh's line drawings. "Harold and the Purple Crayon" |
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| Fish Sculpture (Week 8, 5 Weeks) |
Create a large stuffed paper fish sculpture. The sculpture is decorated with line, shapes, pattern, and collaged paper. |
Students apply the work with line done in the previous unit and review the concepts of shape and pattern. Students learn about symmetry and the meaning of collage. Students work in a 3-D media. |
Students look at the variety of shapes and sizes of fish. Students create a symmetrical paper cut-out in the shape of a fish. They decorate the fish with paper collage, line, and pattern. The two sides of the fish are stapled together and the fish is stuffed with paper. |
Images of fish. |
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| Starry Night (Week 8, 5 Weeks) |
Study of Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night." A painting inspired by "Starry Night" which includes a night time sky of swirling line and bright color, but also includes a personal interpretation of the New York City skyline. |
To continue the study of Vincent Van Gogh's work begun in the previous unit, emphasizing the linear, expressive brushwork in the painting and how that is related to his drawings. Students learn that ideas from the master artists can be appropriated and applied to their own visual expression. They learn to re-interpret art in personal, contemporary terms. Students review watercolor wash painting techniques and color mixing. |
Practice sheets of watercolor washes, the use of oil pastel with watercolor, and mixing colors. Students create a pastel drawing of swirling lines and marks to create a "starry night" style sky. They paint over the oil pastels with night time colors. They cut out shapes that represent the New York City skyline and glue them to the bottom of their painting. |
Reproductions of "Starry Night.: Children's book about the life of Vincent Van Gogh. |
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| Drawing Practice (Week 13, 3 Weeks) |
Basic drawing techniques with a focus on birds. |
To review and practice drawing methods. To approach drawing complex objects or images by first developing large basic shapes and then working with smaller shapes and details. Introduction of the concept of "helping lines." These are the use of lines and shapes as a way to create basic structure in a picture. These lines are then removed from the finished drawing. To enhance observational drawing skills. |
Drawings of birds with colored pencils. |
Images of a wide variety of bird species. |
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| Origami (Week 13, 3 Weeks) |
Origami fish. |
Students will learn simple origami folds to create objects. Students practice the sequential folding activities in the art of origami. They also practice listening and following directions, as origami is taught one step at a time, done as a group. |
Students fold origami figures. Assessment: the successful completing of origami figures with a minimum of assistance. |
Teacher: origami pattern books. Finished origami pieces. |
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| Self-Portraits (Week 16, 4 Weeks) |
A study of self-portraits by Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo. The creation of a self-portrait. |
Students study the portraiture of Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo. The consider how to convey the personality of the sitter, how color can be used in a self-portrait, and the feelings conveyed by them. Students look at themselves in mirrors and think about what they want to communicate about themselves in their portraits. Students study the basic proportions of the face. |
To study the portraits and self-portraits, students break into groups. Each groups analyzes a painting and then presents their observations to the class. This is done in one class session for Van Gogh and later for Kahlo. Students do studies of faces in their art workbooks to practice seeing and creating facial features and their proportions. Students create a final self-portrait with colored pencil. |
Reproductions of the art of Van Gogh and Kahlo. Books about the lives and work of Van Gogh and Kahlo. |
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| Aztec Art (Week 20, 4 Weeks) |
A study of Aztec art, culminating in a visit to the Aztec exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum. Each year this unit will study the art of another culture, focused on a traveling exhibition in an area museum. |
Students study the objects created by the Aztec culture. They learn about the history, culture, social habits, religion, and commerce of the Aztec people. Students learn to look at objects and notice details. They deduce meaning and function from what they see. Students appreciate the remarkable art of other cultures. |
A discussion period in which students look at reproductions of the art they will see in the exhibition. They work in groups, analyzing one particular object and then present their observations to the class. The listen to a story about the beginnings of the Aztec people and learn about their lives and culture. Students make drawing inspired by the objects they have seen. Students visit the Guggenheim Museum to see the Aztec exhibition. |
The catalog to the exhibition. Books about Aztec culture. |
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| Christo and Jean Claude's Gates Project (Week 20, 4 Weeks) |
The Gates Project in Central Park, created by artists Jean Claude and Christo. |
To explore other installation/environmental projects done by Christo and Jean Claude: the umbrella project, wrapped islands, wrapped buildings, etc. To explore the history, meaning, and aesthetics of the Gates Project. To encourage students observational skills and critical thinking skills, particularly when in the park with the guide. To experience the Gates Project in person, with a project guide to teach about the project. |
A field trip to Central Park to experience the Gates Project with the guidance of a project guide. Post-trip discussions of the project. Drawings of the Gates Project done from memory after the guided tour. Thank you cards and letters to our guide, explaining what students liked and didn't like about the project. |
Central Park. Books. |
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| Christo and Jean Claude's Gate Project (Week 24, 3 Weeks) |
The Gates Project in Central Park, created by artists Jean Claude and Christo. |
To explore other installation/environmental projects done by Christo and Jean Claude: the umbrella project, wrapped islands, wrapped buildings, etc. To explore the history, meaning, and aesthetics of the Gates Project. To encourage students observational skills and critical thinking skills, particularly when in the park with the guide. To experience the Gates Project in person, with a project guide to teach about the project. |
A field trip to Central Park to experience the Gates Project with the guidance of a project guide. Post-trip discussions of the project. Drawings of the Gates Project done from memory after the guided tour. Thank you cards and letters to our guide, explaining what students liked and didn't like about the project. |
Central Park. Books. |
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| Auction Project (Week 24, 3 Weeks) |
Art/craft project created for the annual fundraising auction. |
To work together to create a project that contributes to the non-profit fundraising efforts of the school. |
Each student paints a part of a piece of hand painted furniture. |
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| Knights and Medieval Art (Week 27, 3 Weeks) |
A study of Medieval Art and manuscript illumination. |
Students learn to use pictures to tell a story, i.e., the art of narrative. Students learn about the images used to tell stories in Medieval Art. Students explore the ways in which artists decorated pages in illuminated manuscripts. Students experiment with ways in which they can make text more interesting by exploring the decorative concepts used in illuminated manuscripts. |
Students develop characters that they would like to use in a story of their own. They draw the details, movements, environment of the characters in their art workbooks. Students examine samples of illuminated manuscripts and then decorate the letters of their initials in the style of the manuscripts. |
The Book of Kells. The Book of Hours. Examples of Medieval Art and illuminated manuscripts. |
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| Masks (Week 30, 5 Weeks) | Masks based on images of imaginary creatures found in Medieval Art. |
Students further explore the iconography of Medieval Art studied in the previous unit. Students learn about how masks in many cultures are used for story-telling. Students experiment with a new 3-D media -- papier mache. |
Students discuss the role of masks in storytelling. Students look at and study masks from other cultures. Students create a mask from papier mache; students decorate the masks with paint and craft items. |
Books. |
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| May: Spring Flowers (Week 30, 5 Weeks) |
Paintings of flowers using watercolors and pen and ink. Preparatory field trips and drawings are used as the basis for paintings. |
Students review watercolor techniques and are introduced to pen and ink. Students explore compositional choices and review the use of shape and pattern. Students review the terms: foreground, background. Students explore the art of Charles DeMuthe, Georgia O'Keefe, and other artists whose work focuses on flowers. Students also look at scientific drawings of flowers. Students "dissect" a flower and look at shapes and patterns inside the flower. To enhance observational drawing skills and the ability to see and discriminate detail. |
Lessons are introduced with flower images made by several artists. Students go to the community garden and look at still lives of flowers as inspiration for flower paintings. Students create flower drawings using watercolor and pen and ink. They use their own sketches to create their composition. Assessment: students are competent with the painting techniques explored. Students exhibit a thorough understanding of shape, pattern, color mixing and composition. |
Books. Reproductions of flower paintings. Flowers. |
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| Jun: Spring Flowers (Week 35, 2 Weeks) |
Paintings of flowers using watercolors and pen and ink. Preparatory field trips and drawings are used as the basis for paintings. |
Students review watercolor techniques and are introduced to pen and ink. Students explore compositional choices and review the use of shape and pattern. Students review the terms: foreground, background. Students explore the art of Charles DeMuthe, Georgia O'Keefe, and other artists whose work focuses on flowers. Students also look at scientific drawings of flowers. Students "dissect" a flower and look at shapes and patterns inside the flower. To enhance observational drawing skills and the ability to see and discriminate detail. |
Lessons are introduced with flower images made by several artists. Students go to the community garden and look at still lives of flowers as inspiration for flower paintings. Students create flower drawings using watercolor and pen and ink. They use their own sketches to create their composition. Assessment: students are competent with the painting techniques explored. Students exhibit a thorough understanding of shape, pattern, color mixing and composition. |
Books. Reproductions of flower paintings. Flowers. |
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Updated: Friday, January 05, 2007 |
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