The best lesson plans must be measured by student engagement
Lesson Title: What’s on Your Mind? International Art Exchange
Grade: High School, (IB)
Description: A cultural exchange through artwork with a focus on the daily lives of high school students in two different countries. Students from either country will visually depict “what’s on their minds” to help students in the other country better understand their culture. The lesson concluded with a presentation of the other schools’ artwork along with a written description of each piece.
The exchange took place between schools in Lagos, Nigeria and Cumberland, Maine.
Why this is a highlight: The homogeneity of the lesson on either end made it equally beneficial for both schools. This lesson was about connecting peers across the ocean. It made me happy to see the students take pride in representing their individual ideas, and thoughts as well as their country through their art. The students saw how art can be a powerful tool of communication firsthand.
Maine Learning Results: Media Skills, The Arts and History and World Cultures, Aesthetics and Criticism
Feedback: As a summative assessment, students were required to fill out an exit ticket after watching the presentation of the other school’s artwork. Most students wrote that they took away new insights and now think differently about the partner country.
Lesson Title: Plastic bag collagraphs
Grade: Elementary
Description: This lesson was carried out individually with kids at a children’s hospital. The lesson was introduced through the lens of environmental health since we were reusing plastic to make a print. The kids were introduced to the idea of printmaking by using everyday objects such as the plastic bag and also cutting out forms to make shapes.
Why this is a highlight: Being able to observe one student, instead of an entire class, I gained a lot of insight into the subtleties of attention spans. I’m always energized by learning things from my students that make me better.
Maine Learning Results: Composition skills, Elements of Art and Principles of Design, Aesthetics and Criticism
Feedback: This particular student (pictured) had a ball and even though we were under tight time constraints, convinced me that we had time for one more. How can you say no?
Lesson Title: Missing Character
Grade: High School
Description: As the third lesson in an illustration unit, we take a mini field trip to the elementary library to spend the day looking for a distinct style to imitate. The students are tasked with analyzing the work and paying attention to line weights, color patterns, and character shapes, to name a few factors. They then must create a secondary character that could exist in the book.
Why this is a highlight: Students who are naturally into art and always creating, typically draw their favorite characters. Why not just make it more structured? For many, this was creating new habits and for others, it was lending legitimacy to what they already do. I was surprised at how much growth I saw when a little analysis was added to their process. As part of a unit, they use these skills to develop their own characters and style.
Oregon Learning Results: Creating-Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
Feedback: This is one of the more enjoyable critiques for the students because they get to show off their characters’ backstory as well as their art and how they kept in line with their chosen illustrator’s style choices. Some of the works get the honor of being displayed in the elementary library next to the original book, in a lot of the students’ first exhibition.
Lesson Title: Art Appreciation at the PMA
Grade: Middle School
Description: A lesson given at the Portland Museum of Art for students to gain an understanding and appreciation of art through interactive museum activities based on individual artworks. For a painting by Dahlov Ipcar (pictured), the students studied the artwork, then were turned around from it and had to name as many animals in the painting as they could remember. This lesson taught them about the powers of observation.
Why this is a highlight: Students learned to approach art differently through a simple activity and were able to sit on the floor and move around in an unorthodox manner for a museum. Facilitating in an environment outside of the classroom, knowing they can come back and use these skills for the rest of their life is rewarding.
Feedback: The smiles from the activities spoke for themselves with the students gaining insights about how to look at art and having a lot of fun doing it.
Lesson Title: Body Tracing
Grade: 3-5
Description: This was a simple lesson that took on some meaning with the promise of their works being exhibited. The students planned their life-sized works by filling in small body shapes on a worksheet to practice planning. They were instructed to “draw how you want to be seen”. The activity culminated with the bodies hung on the wall in a big art exhibition.
Why this is a highlight: This was a particularly rowdy class so to cater to their learning styles by giving them a lesson that involved moving their bodies around was magic. It was obvious they all put in an extra effort because they knew their community and parents were going to see them exhibited. It was a simple lesson made ideal with a few small tweaks.
Maine Learning Results: Media Skills, exhibition, making meaning
Feedback: Students could not stop taking pictures in front of their body prints hung on the wall next to their friends. They loved the art show as much as making it!
Narrated Video: How I Lesson Plan with Online Learning
Lesson Title: Seeing the Light
Grade: High School
Description: Sculpture lesson using light. Online learning.
Why this is a highlight: Because of the COVID-19 lockdown students unwillingly had to transition to an online class format, I could imagine the most frustrating part of that would be learning new systems and formats. Students had no problems or issues with the format of this lesson and were able to complete everything intuitively. The video demonstrates how I was able to accomplish this.
Maine Learning Results: Media Skills, Artist’s Purpose, Aesthetics and Criticism
Feedback: Every student did something very different. I loved seeing the variety of creativity coming from each individual’s home.