Final Project Timeline:
Working in groups of 2 or 3, you will develop two (2) one-hour lesson plans that integrate contemporary art-making practices, visual literacy, and/or media literacy with other core discipline(s) -- such as literacy, math, science, history -- and an emphasis on building students’ critical thinking skills. Secondarily, your lessons might address the social and interpersonal dynamics of the class you are working with. You will teach your lessons in a classroom setting of your choosing (K – 8). Lastly, you will also develop an oral presentation about your project. Class readings, lectures, discussions, and your own research should inform your approach.
Phase 1
Due February 15
1) Make contact with a school teacher at an Elementary/Middle School of your choice
2) Introduce yourself as a liberal studies student at USD, enrolled in an art fundamentals course. Let the teacher know that your final project for this course consists of teaching two 1-hour integrated art lessons in a classroom setting. Set up a time to meet so that you can find out what the class curriculum is focusing on in Late March or April.
3) Prior to meeting with the teacher, print out and read the California Content Standards for
your grade level available on-line at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/. Review Chapters 2 and 3 of Handbook for K – 8 Arts Integration and make a copies of page 54 (Figure 2.1) and page 73 (Figure 3.3) 4) Send me an email with your name(s), teacher, and date that you have set up for your first meeting with the teacher.
Phase 2
Due March 1
1) Meet with the teacher and take notes on what classroom curricula s/he will be focusing on Late March or April. Let the teacher know that you are planning to create an integrated curriculum (Refer to your readings and class lectures).
Be sure to ask the teacher:
What units of study are you focusing on in Late March or April?
Do you have any special social needs in your classroom (i.e students have trouble collaborating)?
2) Together with the teacher, you may want to do some preliminary brainstorming, therefore it is important that you have an idea of what media (drawing, painting, photography, installation, bookmaking, etc.) you would like to work with. Remember to discuss materials with the teacher. What materials can the school realistically contribute to the project? Be aware that many schools have limited budgets especially when it comes to art materials. If there are materials you really want to use for the project that the school cannot provide, you may want to ask art supply stores for donated materials.
3) Take enough notes so that you will be able to fill out Figure 2.1: What Students Need to Know and Figure 3.3 What Students Already Know worksheets after the meeting. Alternately, you can bring the worksheets with you to fill out with the teacher if time permits.
4) At the end of your meeting, let the teacher know that you will e-mail him/her a curriculum outline for your arts integration project around March 22nd. Be sure to let the teacher know that you will need her/his assistance with classroom management when you are teaching in the classroom since s/he knows her/his students best. Also inform the teacher that you are required to visually document the lessons. Some teachers are hesitant to have you photograph their students, hence you may need to have a permission slip to video or photograph sent home with students in advance of your lessons.
5) Set up dates/times to go into the classroom in Late March or April for both lessons.
6) Turn in Figure 2.1: What Students Need to Know and Figure 3.3 What Students Already Know worksheets from Handbook for K-8 Arts Integration (pg. 54 and 73).
Phase 3
Due no later than March 22
1) Re-read Chapters 4 and 5 of Handbook for K – 8 Arts Integration.
2) Make copies of and fill out Figures 4.4 and 4.5, and 5.3 (first part) in Handbook for K – 8 Arts Integration; submit by March 22 (pgs. 94-97 & 98-100).
3) Submit a lesson plan that includes an evaluation component and a bibliography of sources (minimum of 10 sources) that you are using for your research to teach the lessons.
4) After you receive my feedback, e-mail a revised copy of the lesson plan to me at least 5 days prior to teaching your first class.
Phase 4
March 28 – April 26
Teach your two lessons in the classroom. You must document your teaching via video or photography. You can also ask to collect the student artwork to scan but don’t forget to return the artwork to the students before the end of the year. Students will most assuredly feel attached to their artwork and we need to respect their sense of ownership of the piece. Remember: Some teachers are hesitant to have you photograph their students, hence you may need to crop out faces when you take photographs in the classroom or have a permission slip to video or photograph sent home with students well in advance of your lessons.
Phase 5
Due May 3
Create a 15-minute media presentation (powerpoint/video/slide show/web) for Artv350 that documents your process. Please practice your presentation before class as you will be graded on the professionalism of your presentation as well as the content of the work presented. The presentation must include visual documentation of the project using technology.
Note: If you are using images and video in a powerpoint presentation, you must also save these onto your CD-Rom or USB drive, otherwise you may have problems playing them during your presentation.
In addition to your in-class presentation, please turn in:
Copy of your lesson plans (1 copy to me and a pdf file copy e-mailed to class members).
Each member of the group will also submit filled out copies of part 2 of Figure 5.3 and all of Figure 6.3 in Handbook for K – 8 Arts Integration. These worksheets must be done individually. Previous worksheets submitted should also be bound into the final project folder.
Grammar and spelling must be checked. Lesson plans should be typewritten, MLA format.
Phase 6
Final Presentation teams will be divided into two groups. One half of the class will present on May 3rd and the remainder on May 17th. Please note there is no class meeting on May 10th.
