Art & Writing Unit

Essential Questions
1. What can art communicate?
2. What can words communicate?
3. How do you tell a story with words?
4. How do you tell a story with an image?

Unit Objectives
Students will understand that:
1. Words and images have the power to communicate.
Students will know:
2. The elements and principles of art.
3. The elements of narrative structure.
4. How to give and receive writing feedback with peers.
Students will be able to:
5. Critically discuss artworks.
6. Create a short story inspired by an artwork.
7. Revise their writing for clarity and description.

Assessments

Formative:
o 9/4: 3-2-1 exit card: 3 things art is, 2 things art is not, 1 question about
art

o 9/8: Students will place their names under the novice to expert
categories on the board to show how they feel about their mastery of
the elements and principles of art.
o 9/10: writing exercise: creating a story to incorporate a random object
into an artwork
o 9/12-9/18: curator project: Students will work in groups to design an
exhibition centered on a chosen theme or topic. They must select
artworks and write a description of each, analyzing the work and
explaining how it contributes to the theme, as well as a description for
the entire exhibit.

Summative:
o Writers Eye short story

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Unit Schedule

Week 1: Introduction to Art

Thursday, September 4: What is art? How do you look at art?

What is art? Starter, think-pair-share

Is This Art? Game: Students will be shown slides of images, and they must
state whether it is or is not art by walking and standing under yes and no
signs. We will have a brief discussion about views of each artwork.

How to look at art: Students will have 15 seconds to look at an artwork, and
then they will answer questions about it to see how much they remembered.
We will then look at the work again and discuss it in detail. We will practice
looking and discussing with several other artworks.

Small group practice:

3-2-1 exit card: 3 things art is, 2 things art is not, 1 question about art

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wn3jjQxXV6gQ1w6scZD1vQCDLg2c
M3cHfXzecAs77Ww/edit?usp=sharing

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Week 2: Elements of Art & Stories, Fieldtrips & Project

Monday, September 8: What makes good art? What makes a good story?

Elements & principles of art note taking and practice

Formative Assessment: Students will place their names under the novice to
expert categories on the board to show how they feel about their mastery of
the elements and principles of art.

Look at previous winners, identify strengths

[Tuesday PAW]

Wednesday, September 10: How do you construct a story?

Narrative structure note taking

Writing exercise: Students will be split into small groups and assigned to an
artwork. One member from each group will go up to select one of seven
numbered brown bags, each with an object inside. Each member of the group
will write a story that incorporates the object into the painting.
o paintings: TBD (posters)
o objects: jar of buttons, Plato finger puppet, paintbrush, sock, Common
Native Trees of Virginia field guide, seashell, bar of soap

Feedback: point and summarize, identify narrative structure

[Wednesday PAW]

[Thursday PAW]

Friday, September 12: Fieldtrip & Exhibit Project

1. Day 1
2. Day 1 (9:55-10:45) (sub 10:45-11:15)
3. Fieldtrip 11am (leave 10:45)
Project: The students will be broken into groups and tasked with curating a museum
exhibit centered on a theme of their choice. Using the Google art project, each group
must select several different artworks. For each artwork, they must write a card
describing it, and a mentor text will be provided. They also must write a brief
description of the entire exhibit and what it says about the theme. At the end of Day
1, each group must fill out an exit card that lists the members of the groups, what
they accomplished today, and what they need to do to complete the project.

Connections between treatment of theme in stories and artworks

Description and clarity in writing

___________________________________________________________________

Week 3: Fieldtrips & Project

Tuesday, September 16: Fieldtrip & Exhibit Project

1. Fieldtrip 9:30am (leave 9:15)
2. Day 2 (sub beginning)
3. Day 1
[Tuesday PAW]

work on project

writing response

[Wednesday PAW]

work on project

writing response

Thursday, September 18: Fieldtrip & Exhibit Project

1. Day 2
2. Fieldtrip 11am (leave 10:45)
3. Day 2 (mostly sub)
[Thursday PAW]

work on project

writing response

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Week 4:

Monday, September 22: How are stories told with words? With an image?

Sharing of projects? giving feedback?

Narratives in writing vs. narratives in art: Students will read the text of a myth
and then look at artworks depicting in the myth and then make comparisons.

Writing exercise (TBA) about artwork of choice (?)

[Tuesday PAW]

writing

Wednesday, September 24

Perspective and space in art: comparing medieval to Renaissance, Vermeer,

Tims Vermeer video, influence of photography

o connection to writing: using techniques to make something more real,

building off what others have done (lead into mentor text?)

[something else]

[Wednesday PAW]

writing

[Thursday PAW]

writing

Friday, September 26: *Rough Draft Due*

Description in writing exercise(?)

Question flood: model process, students flood partners story, students flood
own story; (to find partners: class has one minute to line up in birthday order,
count off 1-12, find partner)

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Week 5: Revision
[Tuesday PAW]
Wednesday, October 1

Writing groups

Conferences

[Wednesday PAW]
[Thursday PAW]
Friday, October 3

Tentative due date for story; time to work in class?