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Writing through Art History

Writing as the Focus

Part 1: Identification of Learning Problem

Target Audience
This instruction will take place in Jane Macon Middle School (JMMS) in the art class. The target
audience for this design of instruction will include middle school students grades 6-8,
approximate ages 10-14. All students that take Art as a connection will receive this instruction.

Problem Identification
Writing about art will be the problem that I am working to correct with in this design.Glynn
county school system has become a county with a focus in writing. All schools within the county
must have a writing initiative in place that is covered within every class in the building. Glynn
county school system gathered data from the CRCT examinations and made the decision three
years ago that writing was going to be the focus across the entire county. JMMS set forth the
initiative and goals of our school in particular. Teachers were given some tools to help
incorporate writing in the classroom, as well as separating the ELA into a writing class that is
separate from the reading class.
My problem identified within my own content is not just writing, but writing about art. I have
started the students writing every week in my class to help improve their writing. They respond
to an article by answering questions in paragraph form. This has improved some of their writing
skills but it has not given them the ability to identify what is important to write about without a
prompt. Since writing is our focus, I will use writing about Art throughout history to be the
content that drives the writing in my class. I am going to design instruction that will teach them
to write on a higher level and track their growth.

Instructional Goals
After successfully completing the instruction, students should be able to:
● describe the history behind the art piece.
● describe the artist’s intentions through the art piece art history.
● follow the Feldman’s process of critique

Writing Learners

Part II: Learner Analysis

Introduction

The targeted group of learners is 7th graders at Jane Macon Middle School in Brunswick,
Georgia. The students range in ages from 12 to 14 with the most common age being age 12.
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There are 27 girls and 29 boys among two class periods. These classes are made up of 37%
Black, 2% Mixed race, 51 % White, 9% Latina and 2% Asian. There are 18% of the students on
an IEP (Individual Education Plan). 5% have 504 accommodations. 14% are identified Gifted.
12% are Tier 2 Academic RTI (Response to Intervention) with 2 % on Behavior RTI. 19 % of
these students have been retained in a lower grade. 37 % of these students come from a
traditional home setting. 46% live with a single parent. 7 % live with one parent and a step-
parent. 11% live with non-parent guardians.

To attain this information, I took information from our student database at school. It houses all
information about students’ records, documents, enrollments, household information, and flags
on academic, medical, and legal matters.

Entry skills and Prior Knowledge

Students should be able to…

● log on to computer
● read on an elementary level

● use a search engine


Students should know…

● how to write in basic persuasive format

● The Elements and Principles of Art
● Code of conduct about using computers and devices on school property.
I collected data from by observations, previous class information, and assessments. I have
taught 90% of these students. I collected data from final exams from the previous year. I also
conducted a formative assessment of knowledge of the content. 67% of the students were not
at mastery level on the Elements of Art. Students were also given writing assignments to
craft an argument to assess their ability to write a persuasive paragraph. 85% presented
proficient on the paragraph.

Attitudes toward Content and Academic Motivation

According to an informal survey I gave the students, the majority of my students understand the
importance of connections classes. Most of the students enjoy the non-academic classes. When
interviewed, students stated that their connections classes were their favorite classes during the
day, even if Art was not necessarily their favorite. About 20% of students do not understand the
point of having to take Art. Their attitudes are reflected in their work ethic and grades within the
Art class.

Educational Ability Levels

After reviewing the Language Arts milestones scores for my students, I compiled the data about
the writing skills of my students. 32% of the students show proficient or better in ELA. 37% are
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developing and 19% beginning learners. There were some students that data was not available.
This data informs me that the push on writing in the county should definitely be in place.

General Learning Preferences

The learners are interested in hands-on project-based learning. They are interested in using
devices for learning, and prefer to investigate problems than having a lecture delivered to them,
according to an exit ticket survey question.

Attitude Toward Teachers and School

The students were interviewed about their attitude towards the teachers and school. The majority,
72% felt positively towards the teachers. 78% had a positive attitude about the school. When
asked if they would come to school if it wasn’t required, 30% said yes. The rest said they only
come because they had to. Our school system has low attendance among our entire system.

Group Characteristics

The group are mostly appropriate age and maturity for 7th grade. All students speak proficient
English, even the ESOL student. The group is about half Caucasian with the other half made up
of majority African American. The group consists of athletes, musicians, artists, and academics.
Within this group, there is mostly a mutual respect for one another with few problems among the
students.

Writing through Art history

Key Assessment #2 Part III

Task Analysis

For the task analysis, I used topic and procedural analysis. I felt both were crucial to the task
analysis. I conducted the topic analysis first because it is important that students understand the
topic of art history, what constitutes art history, and what they should be looking for when
studying art history. Then I conducted the procedural analysis of writing about art history, what
components are vital, and in the order that students need to write.
I conducted the task analysis through observation, conducting some formative writing
assignments about art, as well as analyzing Georgia Milestones scores the students earned on
Writing/ELA. I looked at the information that told me that writing is a problem with about 75%
of the students. I also determined from interviewing with the student that they do not have a lot
of prior knowledge of Art history. So I accessed Kahn Academy to pull resources for some art
history basics.
The subject matter expert (SME) was interviewed on her opinions of the writing portion of the
assessment. She was insistent that there must be a clearly stated process of writing for the
students to follow for them to be and feel successful in writing. She reviewed tests scores and
writing assignments given to the students and agrees that writing is a problem that needs to be
addressed. She offered her help with breaking down the formula for writing about art.
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Task Analysis Outline

I. Selecting an artwork
a. Read about the art movement
b. Read about the important artists of the time period
c. Select an artwork that interests you
i. View different pieces by an artist that you like
ii. Make sure you can find information about the artwork.
d. Find as much information about the artwork as you can.
II. Description
a. Write down what you see
b. List the elements of art that are used in the piece
c. Also write down the Artist name, title of the artwork, date it was created, media,
and any other information that describes the piece.
d. Write a paragraph or two that includes all the information you wrote down.
III. Analysis
a. Determine the subject matter of the artwork
b. Determine the style of art it is
c. Write down how the principles of art are used.
d. Write down your initial reaction to the artwork.
e. Write two or three paragraphs using the information you wrote down.
IV. Interpretation
a. Determine the main idea and overall meaning of the artwork
b. Write a statement about what you think the artwork is about.
c. Write down evidence and examples that support your statement.
d. Write a paragraph or two using the information.
V. Judgement
a. Determine if the artwork is good
i. This is somewhat opinion based, but using knowledge gained from
reading about art and what makes it successful.
b. Determine the aspects of the artwork make artwork successful
c. Use evidence to back up your claim
d. Write a statement based on the evidence and criteria for a successful artwork
about the judgement of the success of the artwork you are writing about.
e. Write a paragraph stating your judgement, criteria, and evidence.
VI. Wrap up the paper with a conclusion paragraph
a. Restate the artist and title of the artwork
b. Wrap up the analysis, interpretation and evidence.

Subject Matter Expert (SME)

The SME that I used were a combination of myself and an ELA certified teacher, Alicia Futch.
As an art teacher I am the most qualified person that I know to analyze the art history content for
this particular instruction. I have worked as an art teacher for 4 years, and I received my B.S in
Art studio and marketing from North Georgia College and State University.
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Alicia Futch has been a teacher for 8 years. She was a 5th grade teacher at Burroughs-Mollette
Elementary for 5 years, and a Read 180 teacher at Jane Macon Middle School for three years.
She works with students that struggle with reading and writing on a daily basis. The students she
teach have all performed below a 2 on the Georgia Milestones End of Grade Exam. With the
experience of working with students who struggle with reading and writing I felt her input on
teaching a unit on Writing about art through history.
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Figure 1. Task Analysis Flow Chart

Writing through Art History

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Terminal Objective 1: Gain writing experience

1A: Write Summary of art movement
1B: Write Critique of artwork from movement

Terminal Objective 2: Learn about Art history

2A: Gain knowledge of artists from the past
2B: Gain knowledge of styles of art from the past

Terminal Objective 3: Create a Powtoon Presentation

3A: Use technology to create visual art
3B: Prepare and exhibit work for others to see.

Table 1: Classification of Instructional Objectives: Performance

Content Recall Application

Fact 1A, 2A, 2B 2, 3

Concept 1B

Principles 1B, 3A, 1,2,3

Procedures 1B, 3B 1,3

Interpersonal 3

Attitude

Table2: Relationship between Instructional Objectives and Standards:

Instructional Objectives Georgia Performance Standards

1, 1A VA7MC.4 Participates in dialogue about his or her

artwork and the artwork of others.
VA7AR.2 Critiques personal artworks as well as artwork
1B of others using visual the and verbal approaches.

2, 2A VA7MC.3 Interprets how artists create and communicate

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meaning in and through their work.

2B VA7CU.1 Discovers how the creative process relates to
art history.

3, 3A VA7PR.1 Understands and applies media, techniques,

and processes with care and craftsmanship.
VA7AR.4 Plans and presents appropriate exhibition(s)
3B for work(s) of art.

Assessing Writing through Art History

Lesson 1: Defining Feldman’s process for critique.

Objective 1: Gain writing experience

1A: Write Summary of art movement
1B: Write Critique of artwork from movement

Assessment:
Students will choose an artwork and write a critique on that artwork. They will use the four steps of Feldman’s
process for critique.
Table 3: Rubric for Critique
Exceeds standards Meets Standards Needs Improvement

Describe The student can describe The student describes few

many details found in the details. Students does not
artwork. They can name name the Artist, Title,
the artist, title, media and media, and date.
date of the artwork.

Analyze The student can identify
elements and principles of
art in the painting. They
can explain how the
elements are used
together. The student will
reason how the elements
and principles of art create
aesthetic value.
The student can identify
elements and principles of
art in the work of art.
The student has not
demonstrated knowledge
of the elements and
principles of art and/or
which may include
misinterpretations.

Interpret The student can explain
from his or her own point
of view the mood,
meaning, and message of
the artwork using prior
knowledge. The student
also includes the use of
elements and principles of
art in the interpretation of
The student can explain The student makes no
from his or her own point attempt at interpretation.
of view the mood,
meaning, and message of
the artwork using prior
knowledge. The student
also includes the use of
elements and principles of
art in the interpretation of
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mood, meaning, and mood, meaning, and

message of the artwork.
The students can interpret
using inferences backed
by artistic ideas by
answering the question,
“What does the piece of
art mean and explain your
thoughts?”
message of the artwork.
The students can answer
the question, “What is
happening in the piece of
art?”

Judge The student can answer The student can answer The student gives no
the question “Do you like the question “Do you like justification for his/her
the work of art?” The the work of art?” The answer.
student uses the elements student uses general terms
and principles of art to to justify his/her answer.
justify their answer. The
student can also decide if
the artist is successful
using more sophisticated
artistic language.

Lesson 2: Art throughout history.

Objective 2: Learn about Art history

2A: Gain knowledge of artists from the past
2B: Gain knowledge of styles of art from the past

Assessment:
Students will be given a quick quiz over the art movements that they learned about in the lecture. It will show them a
picture of an artwork from a time period and they will write the name of the movement on a number piece of
notebook paper. They will hand the paper in at the end of the quiz.

Lesson 3: How to create a Powtoon.

Objective 3: Create a Powtoon Presentation
3A: Use technology to create visual art
3B: Prepare and exhibit work for others to see.

Assessment:
Students create a Powtoon presentation.

Table 4: Rubric for presentation

Exceeds Standards Meets Standards (2 Needs Improvement Unacceptable (0 pts)
(3 pts) pts) (1pts)
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Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction No introduction

includes, names, includes names, includes names and included
grade, homerooms, grades, homerooms, art movement
ages, interests, art ages, art movement. chosen.
movement chosen,
and extra details

Summary Summary includes Summary includes Summary has basic No summary

basic information as basic information as information about included
well as interesting well as interesting the art movement
facts about artists, facts.
regions, and art
styles.

Critique Critique includes all Critique includes all Critique is missing No critique included
steps and include steps of the process. steps.
extra details laid out
in the critique
rubric.

Timing All frames are timed Approximately ¾ of Approximately half Few or no frames are
to allow readability. frames are timed to frames are timed to timed to allow
allow readability. allow readability. readability.

Visual Aesthetic All Frames have Frames aesthetic are There are minimal No consideration of
been well designed. well considered and aesthetic elements aesthetic value
Elements have been flow with a similar
considered and the theme.
flow from frame to
frame creates a
natural sense of
movement.

Writing through Art History

Table 5: Instructional Sequencing

Sequence Description Objective

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1 Define the 4 steps to writing a critique, using Feldman’s critique 1

process.

2 Choose and Art movement from pre-selected list. 2

3 Discuss responsible researching and reliable resources. 2

4 Research the art movement that was chosen 2

5 Choose artwork from the movement to write about 1

6 Write summary and critique 1

7 Create a powtoon under teacher account 3

8 Create Powtoon from your summary and critique 3

Lesson 1: Defining Feldman’s process for critique.

Objective 1: Gain writing experience

1A: Write Summary of art movement
1B: Write Critique of artwork from movement

Pre-instructional activity
Students will receive a worksheet that is like a mad-libs. There will be a picture of a famous
artwork on the projection screen. They will have the worksheet that has a critique written out
that is missing keywords. The worksheet will specify a noun, adjective, adverb, etc. that will
need to be added to the critique to finish it out. The activity will be fun and it will get them
thinking about words to use to describe art. (10 minutes)

Presentation: Teacher will Introduce Feldman’s process for critique. Describe, analyze,
interpret, and judge. Teacher will break down the parts of the worksheet the students completed
into the four steps. (10 minutes)

Learning activities:
1. Students will pair up with someone and each pair will get a picture of an artwork. They
will work together to come up with descriptive words for the first step. Each pair will then
add a descriptive word from their list to the menti on the screen. (mentimeter.com) Class
will discuss. (2 minutes for discussion and adding word, 2 minutes for class discussion)
2. Students will then pair back up and work on the analyze step. Coming up with a
sentence telling how the artist used a principle of art. One student will write their
sentence on the whiteboard. Class will discuss. (3 minutes for discussion and sentence,
1 minute to write sentence on board, 2 minutes for class discussion)
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3. Students will pair back up and work on interpretation. They will come up with what the
artist is trying to say through the artwork and add a slide to the google slides that is on
the screen using the laptops.. They may add words and images that help them present
their thoughts. Class will discuss. (8 minutes to discuss and create slide. 5 minutes class
discussion)
4. Students will decide if they think the artwork is a success. They will take a sticky note
that is either green or red/pink. They will write down why they think it is good or not on
the sticky and put it on the poster of the artwork in the room. This is their exit ticket. (5
minutes or less)

Differentiation:
Students will be paired based on their needs. Students that are lower will be paired with
students that are higher. Students will be able to use their design choices for the slides.
Students will use their own opinions when judging and artwork.

Lesson 2: Art throughout history.

Objective 2: Learn about Art history

2A: Gain knowledge of artists from the past
2B: Gain knowledge of styles of art from the past

Pre-instructional activity:
Students will come into the classroom and their will be a sorting activity on their table. The
sorting activity would have categories that are art movements. They would have characteristics
of the art movement and some important artists listed in the category heading. There would also
be pictures of artwork from those time periods, Students would work as a group at their table to
sort the correct artworks into the time periods that they belong to.

Presentation:

1. Teacher will give the answers to the sorting activity via a powerpoint.
2. Teacher will use another powerpoint to introduce each Art movement and time period
through a short lecture and images to peek the interest of students in the different
movements.

Learning activity:
1. Students will chose a movement from the list.
2. Media Specialist will do a short lesson on responsible researching and reliable
resources. (Teacher will have collaborated with the media specialist ahead of time to
explain the project and come up with a plan)
3. Students will be guided to Galileo to start their research. Media Specialist will guide them
through the links from the school website.
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4. Students will gather information about the art movement. They will gather information
about an artwork they choose that was created during the art movement.
5. Students will write a summary about the art movement.
6. Students will write a critique following the 4 steps of Feldman’s method.

Differentiation:
Students will be able to choose the movement and the artwork they are researching. Links will
be set up from the media center website as well as the teacher’s website for students to use for
research. Students will also be partnered based on their choices of Art movement. They will
work in groups of 2-3 people.

Lesson 3: How to create a Powtoon.

Objective 3: Create a Powtoon Presentation
3A: Use technology to create visual art
3B: Prepare and exhibit work for others to see.

Pre-instructional activity: Students are going to watch a few Powtoon video presentations.

Presentation:
Teacher is going to present creating an account on Powtoon for students. Although students will
be using the Teacher account to create the Powtoon, some may want to use the tool in the
future and create their own account.

Learning Activity:
1. Teacher will have all students log into the computer using their school login.
2. Teacher will have students go to Powtoon.com
3. Teacher will have students log into Powtoon using the login that is provided for them.
4. Teacher will demonstrate how to create a new Powtoon by using a template.
5. Students will choose a template to use for their Powtoon about themselves.
6. Teacher will demonstrate how to change text items in a Powtoon
7. Students will change the title of their Powtoon.
8. Teacher will demonstrate how to change icons on a Powtoon.
9. Students will delete/add/change icons on their title slide.
10. Teacher will demonstrate how to change colors.
11. Students will change colors of text.
12. Teacher will demonstrate how to change the time lapse for a slide.
13. Students will change the time lapse.
14. Teacher will demonstrate how to preview the Powtoon.
15. Students will Preview their Powtoon.
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16. Students will continue to work on their “About Me”section of the Powtoon for the
remainder of the class period.

Differentiation:
Students will be able to choose their templates. Students create using text and icons of their
choice.

Writing through Art History

Table 6: Asessments

Instructional Goals Objectives UDL Assessments

Strategies
Lesson 1: Students will be Objective 1: Students are Mentimeter.co
The students pair able to write a Gain writing given multiple m
up to complete critique using experience means of Think-pair-
1A: Write
different steps of Feldman’s Summary of art expression of share
the critique process. movement ideas Exit ticket
process. 1B: Write throughout the
Critique of lesson.
artwork from
movement

Lesson 2: Students will Objective 2: Students are

The students will learn more Learn about Art given multiple
research the art about art history means of
2A: Gain
movement that history and be knowledge of engagement
they have chosen able to use artists from the through choice
for their research past of movements
presentation. strategies to 2B: Gain to research as
learn more. knowledge of well as research
styles of art from methods, and
the past
group
assignments.
Lesson 3: Students will be Objective 3: Students are Powtoon
Students learn to able to create a Create a given the presentation
use Powtoon Powtoon Powtoon option to
Presentation
through presentation to 3A: Use present their
demonstration present critique technology to information
and practice. and summary create visual art using their
they have 3B: Prepare and choice of
written. exhibit work for templates and
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others to see. design.

Learner Evaluation for Writing Through Art History

I will administer a survey to the students to evaluate the effectiveness of the instruction that was
given to the students. I will administer the evaluation after each time this instruction is given to
the students. Students will rate the value of the instruction, their level of understanding, and the
interest of the subject matter. I created the evaluation using Google forms. The students will be
able to answer the questions anonymously.

Figure 2: Unit Instruction Evaluation

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I will create another form so that my SME on writing can give feedback on the instruction. I
serve as the SME on the Art content, but I asked Alicia Futch to serve as my SME on writing.
She is a Resource teacher for Reading and Writing. She teaches the students within our school
that need the most accommodation and remediation in writing, so she has a good insight into
whether the instruction will be able to reach the students and continue their success forward.

Figure 3: Peer Evaluation

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I will take data from the surveys and analyze the answers. I will change the design of the
instruction based on the answers of how well the students understood the instruction and their
knowledge level from beginning and ending. I will take suggestions from students and peer to
revise the instruction on critique and also on the presentation tool. If there is a majority on that
the Powtoon was not the best tool, based on peer feedback and if students felt comfortable with
the tool, then I will find a tool that might better serve the purpose of the unit.

References:
Alder, R. (2015, February 27). 5 Highly Effective Teaching Practices. Retrieved from Edutopia:
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/5-highly-effective-teaching-practices-rebecca-alber
Powtoon. (2016). Powtoon. Retrieved from Powtoon.com: https://www.powtoon.com/edu-home/
Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of Education Research Based Strategies All Teachers Should
Know. American Educator, 12-19.
Menitimeter.com