Common Core: Principals of Arts: 3.Studying the social, political, cultural and economic contexts of works of arts while maintaining an in depth focus on each work, allowing students deeper understanding of the works of art that includes their connections with other areas of knowledge and in the evolution of the art disciplines.
WORKSHOP MODEL:
Do Now: Students will do a Google image search of portraits done by Frida Kahlo. Share DN! Clip about an artist that worked with Frida Kahlo’s husband. Click here for that clip!
Amy Goodman says, “the sculptor and printmaker Elizabeth Catlett has died at the age of 96 in Mexico. She was renowned for her portrayals of African-American and Mexican women. Born in Washington, D.C., she moved to Mexico in 1946 and became friends with the great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. In 1962, the State Department banned her from returning home for nearly a decade because of her political affiliations.” (11:52 time stamp)
Motivation: “Great artists who lived in Mexico like Elizabeth Catlett, Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera all expressed their feelings about their country through the art they created. When you create a piece of art, think about how you feel about something and express that feeling in what you create”.
Mini-Lesson: Read Frida Kahlo by Mike Venezia and/or click here for a brief biography. Discuss the element of art (line) and how the artist used it (pg 3). A line is the mark made by a moving point, such as a pencil or a brush. There are four categories of line: horizontal, vertical, diagonal and curve. Shoe Brainpop video of Frida Kahlo. Click here to go to Brainpop!
Independent/Group Practice: In groups, using a printed copy of the Frida's painting called 'Frida y Diego Rivera' and a worksheet, students will discuss the four different types of lines that are shown (see image of the worksheet below).
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| Image of worksheet identifying the four categories of line. |
Homework: Draw a portrait inspired by Frida Kahlo. Make sure you have horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and curved lines. You must also write at 10-12 sentences about how you used the four categories of line and the emotion that they show.
Materials: Copy or drawing paper and pencils.
Assessment and Rubric: Quiz Questions-
- What are the four categories of line?
- How might the lines show feeling?
- What did you learn about Frida Kahlo?
- What kind of lines did you see in her painting 'Frida y Diego' and what kind of emotion was shown using those lines?
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| Image of rubric for drawing with quiz questions. |
Donna, thanks for posting. Your post looks great! I love that your lesson includes so many different sources, like the Brainpop video and the art video. You pull a lot of different threads together to create a coherent, engaging lesson. I imagine it was hard finding Frida Kahlo clips on DN!, but I think the one you found works in that it brings up political affiliations and also provides a time frame. The homework is so fun, and I wish I could see what your students end up creating.
ReplyDeleteLisa:Your lesson flows very well and the use of a graphic organizer definitely helps students with understanding the concept . As a history teacher I'm wondering if you have the ability to augment the lesson by adding a piece about the history of mexico, ( i know its touched upon in the DN clip) and maybe having the students use their cultural background to influence their portraits
ReplyDeleteHi Donna,
ReplyDeleteHere are my thoughts:
Topic: So cool! Frida Kahlo’s artwork is so moving and you can look at it on so many different levels. I think the students will really enjoy seeing her work. Connecting her artwork to her life is great; it seems like people so often look at art and just say “I don’t get it” and move on. Knowing the backstory can really help them start to learn how to think about what’s really going on behind the artwork and what the artist is trying to express.
Task:
-Focusing on one aspect of the artwork is very manageable. I learned in a recent professional development how you can have the kids make little makeshift viewfinders to focus in on details within artwork (they basically cut two L-shaped pieces out of index cards, and by holding they together to make a rectangle, they can change the size of the viewfinder’s opening and focus in on details. Here’s a link that shows a picture of what they look like: http://painting.about.com/od/composition/ss/MakeViewFinder.htm). They can then sketch the different examples of lines they see in addition to writing out what the examples are.
-I like that they get to become the artists and emulate Kahlo’s self-portraits and that they have to explain their artwork in writing. Maybe they can have some sort of organizer to help them brainstorm what kinds of emotions they want to show in their own portrait and what kinds of lines the might want to use to help convey those emotions (will help them later with their written piece).
Media: The how-to video will be great for kids who are a bit nervous doing artwork because they feel like they’re just not good at it.
Donna,
ReplyDeleteI recall how deep into this project you had gotten. Your enthusiasm for the topic and for the students' understanding of what you want them to get out of it comes through in the lesson.
Could you add more history, or an element of history? I do think that could add something, OR (that's the enthusasim), maybe you offer different historical moments and they could find an artist that fits the time. I was thinking of PIcasso; or to find an American artist that speaks to them. I'm just thinking-out-typing.
I like this since they get into something they may not have had the opportunity to explore, they find something new in the world.
Fun!
--Maureen
- This lesson plan is excellent. I am enjoying reading and watching these clips. I think the questions you raise will get students to think deeply. Maybe you can have students do a drawing of their own to reflect their feelings/ hopes and dreams. For the non artistic type, maybe research the historical context of this artist?
ReplyDelete- Henya
Donna,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great lesson plan. You included a variety of media that supports the plan and is high interest for the students. The lesson also offers differentiation for multiple learning styles. There is so many directions you could take with developing other lessons that connect with this artist; a comparison of another female artist, perhaps, or an artist from another country or time period. The options are limitless.
Ellen
Donna, this is clearly very close to your hear! You conveyed that in your lesson here. Great differentiation for the visual, aural learners. I enjoyed the different types of visuals here!
ReplyDelete-Jane Yuk Fung Lam
Im starting a Friday Kahlo unit in a few weeks! Were going to study her work and then make our own socially conscious self portraits. This might be another way for them to show you they understand. By incorporating a social aspect of their lives the way Frida did.
ReplyDelete-Stacy
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDonna, The way you engage your students and motivate them to think critically is inspiring. This lesson can transpose into a memoir unit or as a cross curricula assignment. I am thinking Social Studies, ELA and Art. Your lesson plan is one I will refer to as a SPED teacher to engage my student when planning my next memoir unit. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteDonna, this is a great lesson to learn about self expression, the line, drawing and to become familiar with one of the most prolific women artists Frida Kahlo.
ReplyDeleteI love the “motivation” encouragement to “create a piece of art, think about how you feel…”. And it’s helpful to have outlined how your lesson fits into the common cores.
Your lesson provides a great opportunity to incorporate more history of Mexico. Perhaps some readings would be helpful. I think you were also going to add clips from the movies that have been made on Kahlo’s life right? It may be interesting for the students to compare the various ways the media work differently, paintings, movies, readings through this lesson.
The media literacy questions from the palm card can also be applied with Kahlo’s paintings. This could lead to a discussion about what can be expressed in a painting and what goal an artist may have with her work. I love that you picked Kahlo’s work, because it’s clear to see that she used art to express her sadness, frustrations and struggles as a woman. The assignment to create their own portrait will be so much stronger because your students will know about her life and how she brought her life struggles into her work. It’s a very valuable lesson for the students.
Sorry that there is no specific clip about Kahlo on our DN! site. I’m pleased you found a headline though.
Take care.
Simin
Hi again,
DeleteI wanted to elaborate on the idea of using media literacy in your lesson on Kahlo. Students will be able to discuss how making a movie with a beginning, middle and end is such a different medium than a flat two dimensional painting is. Both media provide many clues to Frida Kahlo as a woman, an artist and individual, but each uses very different methods to get there. How does each medium pull the viewer in? A movie is seen in a dark room where you sit alone usually and are drawn into the frame like in a dream, a painting on the other hand is seen either in a museum or on a slide or picture. It is a very different experience.
Take care.
Simin
Donna, I wanna applaud you for choosing a FEMALE artist for this lesson, only because we teach HIStory and not HERstory, majority of the time. Personally, not being aware of Frida Kahlo, before this post, its amazing how you were able to find a media piece about her from DN! This comes to show that we can use DN for just about anything, in any lesson.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of your lesson, you use some great techniques in your lesson. The use of visuals( both images and videos), graphic organizer, analyzing skills, and applying the knowledge for their own drawing is excellent for all learners for their learning experiences. The fact that you a rubric shows that your assessment isn't just to keep students busy but that its meaningful and students know exactly why they received the grade their received. I wonder if your students know what a 4,3,2,1 translates into. Something to look at with the rubric is: what if a student doesn't get any of the questions correct on the quiz but uses all the techniques and lines, how would you grade that?