“I enjoyed watching them learn about new artists and apply the concepts to their art.[…] We went beyond the questions to further understand the different learning challenges that the artists had”
Ms. Lindstrom

K-5th Grade Art Teacher, Rochester Discovery, Rochester, NY

PROJECT OVERVIEW:

LEARNING:  In this project, student artists learn about four different artists who faced mental or physical challenges and turned these challenges to their advantage.

CREATING:  Student artists are tasked with creating a sculpture, but as they create they are faced with a series of challenges that they have to work through. 

CONNECTING: This project is part of our ‘Art & Literacy Curriculum’. You are welcome to use it independently, and it is easily adaptable to use across multiple grades. However, it was designed to support the topic ‘embracing challenges’, which is often found in 3rd grade ELA curricula, and ‘Human Rights’,  found in many 5th grade ELA curricula. Text sets and vocab are pulled for 3rd and 5th grade students.

Specifically, this project addresses the idea of overcoming challenges through initiative, creative problem solving, and perseverance. Through books, conversation, and reflection, students dig deeper into some of the human rights issues that would have effected the artists they study in this unit.

Scope & Sequence:

Lesson 1:  SW learn about Judith Scott, an artist born with down syndrome who created abstract fiber sculptures; they then use found or recycled materials to begin building a sculpture.

Lesson 2: SW learn about the artist Chuck Close, who is has a mental disorder called ‘Face Blindness’ as well as paralysis later in life; they then use found or recycled materials to begin building a sculpture.

Lesson 3: SW learn about the artists Wassily Kandinsky who had synesthesia (heard colors); they then participate in a color mixing challenge.

Lesson 4: SW learn about Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese artist known for immersive installations full of patterns and bright colors who states that her art is primarily inspired by her hallucinations; they then have time to paint their sculpture.

Lesson 5: SW have a fifth day for adding a layer of paint to their sculpture and refining their work.

Lesson 6: Optional: a final day for finishing.

(you can preview the first lesson in a project without enrolling by clicking on ‘lesson 1’ above).

 

The above will take you to a supply list that assumes a class size of 30. Adjust according to your needs. 
The above will take you to a list of core texts, as well as a text set. More information is included in the link. 
List of Tier 2 & 3 vocabulary

Art Elements:

form, color, value, texture

Art Principles: 

Pattern, proportion/scale, balance

CCS:

SL.3.1b, SL.3.1c., SL.3.2, SL.3.4, SL.3.6, W.3.2

NCAS: 

VA:Cr1.1.3a, VA:Cr2.1.3a, VA:Cr3.1.5a, VA:Re.7.1.3a, VA:Re.7.2.3a, VA:Re9.1.3a, VA:Re8.1.1a

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Navigation tip: when you first go through the project, you must hit the 'mark complete' button, at the bottom of the page, to unlock the next lesson. After 'mark complete' has been hit, you've unlocked that lesson, and you can then use the sidebar to easily click to different lessons within the project (helpful if you are working through the project with more than one class).

Why do I need to hit mark complete? Certain lessons have email triggers (such as teaching tips when there is a painting lesson), and this helps us know when to send them. It also helps us track completion rates.

Our art projects are free. To access them: 

1. Enroll in any course with your email

2. Access courses you are enrolled in through your personal 'Artroom' at the top of the page.


Terms of use: We are a non-profit, and the materials made available for download are freely available for anyone to use, adapt and share (with attribution), but no one is permitted to sell either the original program, an adaptation of it, or lesson plans that reproduce any part of it.

Affiliate Links: On the pages, you may find affiliate links to art supplies, books, and misc materials. We encourage you to use these, as we do make a small percentage off of them, and by doing so you support our mission. More, we link to products that are expert-recommended; for our supplies, art teachers have helped us choose the most effective brands to use. For our books, literacy consultants have vetted our selection.