ALEX Lesson Plan

     

Alabama's Pine Barren

You may save this lesson plan to your hard drive as an html file by selecting "File", then "Save As" from your browser's pull down menu. The file name extension must be .html.

  This lesson provided by:  
Author:Sara Womack
System: Hoover City
School: Greystone Elementary School
And
Author:blue horn
System: Hoover City
School: Hoover City Board Of Education
The event this resource created for:Alabama Department of Archives and History
  General Lesson Information  
Lesson Plan ID: 35089

Title:

Alabama's Pine Barren

Overview/Annotation:

Students will read a description of the pine barrens by Basil Hall and analyze the text by using the 3-2-1 strategy. Students will discuss the life and work of Basil Hall, including his travels and journaling in North America. They will observe how a camera lucida functions and debate whether using a camera lucida is "cheating" in art. Next, students will venture outside to create a sketch of their environment while appropriately utilizing materials. They will compare and contrast their products to the sketches of Basil Hall and critique each other's work. 

This lesson was created in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

 Associated Standards and Objectives 
Content Standard(s):
Social Studies
SS2010 (2010)
Grade: 3
Geographic and Historical Studies: People, Places, and Regions
3 ) Describe ways the environment is affected by humans in Alabama and the world. (Alabama)

Examples: crop rotation, oil spills, landfills, clearing of forests, replacement of cleared lands, restocking of fish in waterways

•  Using vocabulary associated with human influence on the environment, including irrigation, aeration, urbanization, reforestation, erosion, and migration
Unpacked Content
Strand: Economics, Geography
Course Title: Geographical and Historical Studies: People, Places, and Regions
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Describe ways environment is affected by humans in Alabama and the world.
  • Explain ways crop rotation, clearing of forests and replacement of cleared lands and other human activities has affected the environment of Alabama and the world.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • restocking of fish in waterways
  • irrigation
  • aeration
  • urbanization
  • reforestation
  • migration
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • How to correctly use vocabulary associated with human influence on the environment.
  • How to differentiate ways the environment is affected by humans in Alabama and the world.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Use vocabulary to relate the impact human activity has on the environment of Alabama and the world.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The environment in Alabama and the world is affected by human activity.

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SS.AAS.3.3- Identify how the environment is affected by humans in the local community, Alabama, and the world.


Social Studies
SS2010 (2010)
Grade: 3
Geographic and Historical Studies: People, Places, and Regions
11 ) Interpret various primary sources for reconstructing the past, including documents, letters, diaries, maps, and photographs.

•  Comparing maps of the past to maps of the present
Unpacked Content
Strand: History
Course Title: Living and Working Together in State and Nation
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Interpret legends, stories, and songs to identify the contributions each made to the development of the cultural history of the United States.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • interpret
  • legends
  • stories
  • songs
  • contributed
  • development
  • cultural history
  • tall tales
  • folk heroes
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The purpose and essential elements of legends, stories, and songs.
  • Examples of legends, stories, and songs that contributed to United States' cultural history including American Indian Legends, African American Stories, Tall Tales and stories of Folk Heroes.
  • Vocabulary: legends, stories, songs, cultural history.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Interpret legends, stories, and songs.
  • Identify the purpose and essential elements of legends, stories, and songs.
  • Identify the contribution that specific legends, stories, and songs had on the development of cultural history of the United States.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are legends, stories, and songs that have contributed to the development of the cultural history of the United States.

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SS.AAS.3.11- Compare documents, letters, diaries, maps, and photographs and explain how they are used to reconstruct the past.


Social Studies
SS2010 (2010)
Grade: 4
Alabama Studies
2 ) Relate reasons for European exploration and settlement in Alabama to the impact of European explorers on trade, health, and land expansion in Alabama.

•  Locating on maps European settlements in early Alabama, including Fort Condé, Fort Toulouse, and Fort Mims
•  Tracing on maps and globes, the routes of early explorers of the New World, including Juan Ponce de León, Hernando de Soto, and Vasco Núñez de Balboa
•  Explaining reasons for conflicts between Europeans and American Indians in Alabama from 1519 to 1840, including differing beliefs regarding land ownership, religion, and culture
Unpacked Content
Strand: Economics, Geography, History, Civics and Government
Course Title: Alabama Studies (Alabama)
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Locate on maps European settlements in early Alabama, including Fort Condé, Fort Toulouse, and Fort Mims.
  • Trace on maps and globes, the routes of early explorers of the New World, including Juan Ponce de León, Hernando de Soto, and Vasco Núñez de Balboa.
  • Explain reasons for conflicts between Europeans and American Indians in Alabama from 1519 to 1840, including differing beliefs regarding land ownership, religion, and culture.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • settlement
  • European exploration
  • culture
  • expansion
  • trade (barter)
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The location, purpose, and importance of European settlements including Fort Conde, Fort Toulouse, and Fort Mims in early Alabama.
  • The routes taken by early explorers including Juan Ponce de León, Hernando de Soto, and Vasco Núñez de Balboa.
  • Reasons for conflicts between Europeans and American Indians in Alabama from 1519 to 1840, including differing beliefs regarding land ownership, religion, and culture.
Skills:
The students will be able to:
  • Explain the impact of European explorers on trade, health, and land expansion in Alabama.
  • Locate on maps European settlements in early Alabama, including Fort Condé, Fort Toulouse, and Fort Mims.
  • Trace on maps and globes, the routes of early explorers of the New World, including Juan Ponce de León, Hernando de Soto, and Vasco Núñez de Balboa.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There were specific reasons Europeans began exploring and settling in Alabama and this impacted existing settlements in Alabama.
Alabama Archives Resources:
Click below to access all Alabama Archives resources aligned to this standard.

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SS.AAS.4.2- Using maps, demonstrate an understanding that people from Europe explored and settled in Alabama.


Social Studies
SS2010 (2010)
Grade: 5
United States Studies: Beginnings to the Industrial Revolution
1 ) Locate on a map physical features that impacted the exploration and settlement of the Americas, including ocean currents, prevailing winds, large forests, major rivers, and significant mountain ranges.

•  Locating on a map states and capitals east of the Mississippi River
•  Identifying natural harbors in North America
Examples: Mobile, Boston, New York, New Orleans, Savannah (Alabama)

Unpacked Content
Strand: Geography, History
Course Title: United States Studies: Beginnings to the Industrial Revolution
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Discuss the influence that geographic features had on the exploration and settlement of Americas.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • impact
  • exploration
  • settlement
  • prevailing
  • legend (key)
  • physical features
  • cultural features
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • How geographic features such as ocean currents, prevailing winds, large forests, major rivers, and significant mountain ranges influenced exploration and settlement of the Americas.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Correctly use maps to identify various physical and cultural features, including natural harbors, states and capitals.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Geographical features influenced the exploration and settlement of the Americas.
Alabama Archives Resources:
Click below to access all Alabama Archives resources aligned to this standard.

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SS.AAS.5.1- Locate the boundaries of the United States on a map of North America; recognize state lines on a map and locate the state of Alabama; identify the location of major rivers, lakes, and mountain ranges, including Mobile Bay, the Mississippi River, the Great Lakes, and the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains.


Social Studies
SS2010 (2010)
Grade: 5
United States Studies: Beginnings to the Industrial Revolution
2 ) Identify causes and effects of early migration and settlement of North America.

Unpacked Content
Strand: Geography, History
Course Title: United States Studies: Beginnings to the Industrial Revolution
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Relate the causes and effects of early migration and settlement of North America.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • demography
  • cause
  • effect
  • migration
  • settlement
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The various causes of early migration and settlement on North America.
  • The effects of these early migration and settlement patterns.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Identify migration and settlement patterns on a map.
  • Identify causes of settlement and migration.
  • Identify effects of settlement and migration.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There were many causes and effects of early migration and settlement on North America.
Alabama Archives Resources:
Click below to access all Alabama Archives resources aligned to this standard.

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SS.AAS.5.2- Demonstrate an understanding that people often move from one place to another; recognize why people move from one place to another and how that applies to the early migration to North America.


Arts Education
ARTS (2017)
Grade: 3
Visual Arts
1) Elaborate on an individual or prompted imaginative idea.

Examples: Create an imaginative mask showing his/her personality.
Look at masks from different cultures such as Chinese, African and Native American.

Unpacked Content
Artistic Process: Creating
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
Process Components: Investigate, Plan, Make
Essential Questions:
EU: Creativity and innovative thinking are essential life skills that can be developed.
EQ: What conditions, attitudes, and behaviors support creativity and innovative thinking? What factors prevent or encourage people to take creative risks? How does collaboration expand the creative process?
Concepts & Vocabulary:
  • Creativity
  • Criteria
  • Critique
  • Design
  • Media
  • Mixed media
  • Monochromatic
  • Principles of design
    • Rhythm
  • Technology
  • Visual image
Skill Examples:
  • Use a variety of materials to create a three-dimensional mask showing a student's personality.
  • Use torn paper scraps to create rhythm in a landscape.
  • Plan a community/city; then, build a model of it with recyclable materials, such as cardboard, boxes, containers, and tubes.
  • Collaborate with a group to demonstrate how to care for tools used in class (such as paintbrushes).
  • After looking at Vincent van Gogh's painting, Bedroom, create a narrative painting depicting a memory of a student's personal bedroom.
  • Use appropriate visual art vocabulary during the art-making process of two-and-three-dimensional artworks.
  • Collaborate with others to create a work of art that addresses an interdisciplinary theme.
  • Read and explore books like Imagine That by Joyce Raimondo or Dinner at Magritte's by Michael Garland and then create a Surrealistic style artwork.
  • Recognize and identify choices that give meaning to a personal work of art.
  • Create a drawing using monochromatic colors (paint, oil pastels, etc.).
  • Explore individual creativity using a variety of media.
  • Understand what effects different media can have in a work of art.
Arts Education
ARTS (2017)
Grade: 3
Visual Arts
2) Demonstrate skills using available resources, tools, and technologies to investigate personal ideas through the art-making process.

Examples: Choose from a variety of resources and materials to create a work of art.
Use books Imagine That by Joyce Raymond or Dinner at Magritte's by Michael Garland.

Unpacked Content
Artistic Process: Creating
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
Process Components: Investigate, Plan, Make
Essential Questions:
EU: Artists and designers shape artistic investigations, following or breaking with traditions in pursuit of creative artmaking goals.
EQ: How does knowing the contexts, histories, and traditions of art forms help create works of art and design? Why do artists follow or break from established traditions? How do artists determine what resources and criteria are needed to formulate artistic investigations?
Concepts & Vocabulary:
  • Creativity
  • Criteria
  • Critique
  • Design
  • Media
  • Mixed media
  • Monochromatic
  • Principles of design
    • Rhythm
  • Technology
  • Visual image
Skill Examples:
  • Use a variety of materials to create a three-dimensional mask showing a student's personality.
  • Use torn paper scraps to create rhythm in a landscape.
  • Plan a community/city; then, build a model of it with recyclable materials, such as cardboard, boxes, containers, and tubes.
  • Collaborate with a group to demonstrate how to care for tools used in class (such as paintbrushes).
  • After looking at Vincent van Gogh's painting, Bedroom, create a narrative painting depicting a memory of a student's personal bedroom.
  • Use appropriate visual art vocabulary during the art-making process of two-and-three-dimensional artworks.
  • Collaborate with others to create a work of art that addresses an interdisciplinary theme.
  • Read and explore books like Imagine That by Joyce Raimondo or Dinner at Magritte's by Michael Garland and then create a Surrealistic style artwork.
  • Recognize and identify choices that give meaning to a personal work of art.
  • Create a drawing using monochromatic colors (paint, oil pastels, etc.).
  • Explore individual creativity using a variety of media.
  • Understand what effects different media can have in a work of art.
Arts Education
ARTS (2017)
Grade: 3
Visual Arts
4) Demonstrate an understanding of the safe and proficient use of materials, tools, equipment, and studio space.

Unpacked Content
Artistic Process: Creating
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
Process Components: Investigate, Plan, Make
Essential Questions:
EU: Artists and designers balance experimentation and safety, freedom and responsibility while developing and creating artworks.
EQ: How do artists and designers care for and maintain materials, tools, and equipment? Why is it important for safety and health to understand and follow correct procedures in handling materials, tools, and equipment? What responsibilities come with the freedom to create?
Concepts & Vocabulary:
  • Creativity
  • Criteria
  • Critique
  • Design
  • Media
  • Mixed media
  • Monochromatic
  • Principles of design
    • Rhythm
  • Technology
  • Visual image
Skill Examples:
  • Use a variety of materials to create a three-dimensional mask showing a student's personality.
  • Use torn paper scraps to create rhythm in a landscape.
  • Plan a community/city; then, build a model of it with recyclable materials, such as cardboard, boxes, containers, and tubes.
  • Collaborate with a group to demonstrate how to care for tools used in class (such as paintbrushes).
  • After looking at Vincent van Gogh's painting, Bedroom, create a narrative painting depicting a memory of a student's personal bedroom.
  • Use appropriate visual art vocabulary during the art-making process of two-and-three-dimensional artworks.
  • Collaborate with others to create a work of art that addresses an interdisciplinary theme.
  • Read and explore books like Imagine That by Joyce Raimondo or Dinner at Magritte's by Michael Garland and then create a Surrealistic style artwork.
  • Recognize and identify choices that give meaning to a personal work of art.
  • Create a drawing using monochromatic colors (paint, oil pastels, etc.).
  • Explore individual creativity using a variety of media.
  • Understand what effects different media can have in a work of art.
Arts Education
ARTS (2017)
Grade: 3
Visual Arts
10) Speculate about processes and purposes an artist used to create a work of art.

Example: Observe and compare similar themes in artwork from historical and contemporary eras.

Unpacked Content
Artistic Process: Responding
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Process Components: Perceive, Analyze, Interpret
Essential Questions:
EU: Individual aesthetic and empathetic awareness developed through engagement with art can lead to understanding and appreciation of self, others, the natural world, and constructed environments.
EQ: How do life experiences the way you relate to art? How does learning about art impact how we perceive the world? What can we learn from our responses to art?
Concepts & Vocabulary:
  • Creativity
  • Criteria
  • Critique
  • Design
  • Media
  • Mixed media
  • Monochromatic
  • Principles of design
    • Rhythm
  • Technology
  • Visual image
Skill Examples:
  • Identify the basic elements of art in a work of art through discussion and writing.
  • Observe and compare similar themes in artwork from historical and contemporary eras.
  • Theorize how individuals can have different opinions about works of art.
  • Demonstrate and apply critiques of personal work and the work of others in a positive way.
  • Select an art object and explain reasons why it is a work of art.
  • Use feedback and self-assessment to improve the quality of personal artwork.
  • Discuss the difference between Meret Oppenheim's Object and an everyday cup.
  • Discuss how art can be related to other subject areas.
Arts Education
ARTS (2017)
Grade: 3
Visual Arts
14) Create works of art based on observations of surroundings.

Unpacked Content
Artistic Process: Connecting
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences.
Process Components: Interpret
Essential Questions:
EU: Through artmaking, people make meaning by investigating and developing awareness of perceptions, knowledge, and experiences.
EQ: How does engaging in creating art enrich people's lives? How does making art attune people to their surroundings? How do people contribute to awareness and understanding of their lives and the lives of their communities through artmaking?
Concepts & Vocabulary:
  • Creativity
  • Criteria
  • Critique
  • Design
  • Media
  • Mixed media
  • Monochromatic
  • Principles of design
    • Rhythm
  • Technology
  • Visual image
Skill Examples:
  • Discuss how art can be used to express ideas in poems and short stories.
  • Observe and compare similar themes, subject matter and images in artworks from historical and contemporary eras.
  • Discuss the relationships between the elements of art.
  • Use historical and cultural artworks to answer questions about daily life.
  • Discuss how we encounter art and artists in everyday life.
Arts Education
ARTS (2017)
Grade: 4
Visual Arts
4) When making works of art, utilize and care for materials, tools, and equipment in a manner that prevents danger to oneself and others.

Unpacked Content
Artistic Process: Creating
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
Process Components: Investigate, Plan, Make
Essential Questions:
EU: Artists and designers balance experimentation and safety, freedom and responsibility while developing and creating artworks.
EQ: How do artists and designers care for and maintain materials, tools, and equipment? Why is it important for safety and health to understand and follow correct procedures in handling materials, tools, and equipment? What responsibilities come with the freedom to create?
Concepts & Vocabulary:
  • Constructed environment
  • Cultural traditions
  • Digital format
  • Engagement
  • Tertiary color
  • Preservation
  • Proportion
  • Principles of design
    • Unity
  • Shade
  • Style
  • Tints & shades
Skill Examples:
  • Create a list of multiple ideas, sketches, or thumbnail-sketches before beginning the final version of an artwork.
  • Identify, select, and vary art materials, tools and processes to achieve desired results in their artwork.
  • Brainstorm (alone or with others) potential art styles for a given piece of art, such as Monet's Water Lilies.
  • Create an artwork from direct observation (still-life, self-portrait, figure drawing, etc.).
  • Design a two-dimensional drawings of a futuristic art room, town, or planet
  • Use wood, found objects, wire, paper, or clay-based materials to construct a three-dimensional form.
  • Locate business logos in the community and explore the visual arts skills and materials that were used to create these works.
  • Engage in group critiques of one's work and the work of others.
  • Experiment with art materials by using them in unusual and creative ways to express ideas and convey meaning.
  • Use and care for materials, tools, and equipment in a manner that prevents danger to oneself and others.
  • Mix equal parts of a primary and a secondary color located beside each other on the color wheel to create a tertiary color.
  • Use the design principles of repetition and alignment to add visual unity to an artwork.
  • Create a painting using a monochromatic color scheme by using one color (red) adding white to create a tint (a lighter value--pink) and adding black to the color (red) to create a shade (darker value).
Arts Education
ARTS (2017)
Grade: 4
Visual Arts
5) Document, describe, and create real or imagined constructed environments.

Example: Design a futuristic art room, town, or planet.

Unpacked Content
Artistic Process: Creating
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
Process Components: Reflect, Refine, Continue
Essential Questions:
EU: People create and interact with objects, places, and design that define, shape, enhance, and empower their lives.
EQ: How do objects, places, and design shape lives and communities? How do artists and designers determine goals for designing or redesigning objects, places, or systems? How do artists and designers create works of art or design that effectively communicate?
Concepts & Vocabulary:
  • Constructed environment
  • Cultural traditions
  • Digital format
  • Engagement
  • Tertiary color
  • Preservation
  • Proportion
  • Principles of design
    • Unity
  • Shade
  • Style
  • Tints & shades
Skill Examples:
  • Create a list of multiple ideas, sketches, or thumbnail-sketches before beginning the final version of an artwork.
  • Identify, select, and vary art materials, tools and processes to achieve desired results in their artwork.
  • Brainstorm (alone or with others) potential art styles for a given piece of art, such as Monet's Water Lilies.
  • Create an artwork from direct observation (still-life, self-portrait, figure drawing, etc.).
  • Design a two-dimensional drawings of a futuristic art room, town, or planet
  • Use wood, found objects, wire, paper, or clay-based materials to construct a three-dimensional form.
  • Locate business logos in the community and explore the visual arts skills and materials that were used to create these works.
  • Engage in group critiques of one's work and the work of others.
  • Experiment with art materials by using them in unusual and creative ways to express ideas and convey meaning.
  • Use and care for materials, tools, and equipment in a manner that prevents danger to oneself and others.
  • Mix equal parts of a primary and a secondary color located beside each other on the color wheel to create a tertiary color.
  • Use the design principles of repetition and alignment to add visual unity to an artwork.
  • Create a painting using a monochromatic color scheme by using one color (red) adding white to create a tint (a lighter value--pink) and adding black to the color (red) to create a shade (darker value).
Arts Education
ARTS (2017)
Grade: 4
Visual Arts
15) Through observation, infer information about time, place, and culture in which a work of art was created.

Example: Look at the statue of Vulcan in Birmingham and talk about its relationship to history of the city.

Unpacked Content
Artistic Process: Connecting
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
Process Components: Synthesize
Essential Questions:
EU: People develop ideas and understandings of society, culture, and history through their interactions with and analysis of art.
EQ: How does art help us understand the lives of people of different times, places, and cultures? How is art used to impact the views of a society? How does art preserve aspects of life?
Concepts & Vocabulary:
  • Constructed environment
  • Cultural traditions
  • Digital format
  • Engagement
  • Tertiary color
  • Preservation
  • Proportion
  • Principles of design
    • Unity
  • Shade
  • Style
  • Tints & shades
Skill Examples:
  • Create a quilt square in the style of the Gee's Bend Quilters.
  • State what materials or processes you prefer and why.
  • Discuss how art and design serves multiple functions such as to inform, entertain, invest, persuade, ritualize or assist in everyday tasks.
  • Observe and discuss the statue of Vulcan in Birmingham and talk about its relationship to history of the city.
  • Investigate differences in cultural style, genres, and context through historical time periods.
  • Discuss how art reflects the interests, accomplishments and conflicts of culture and society over time.
  • Use details and descriptive language to identify universal themes, subject matter and ideas expressed across arts disciplines.
  • Identify and describe how artists have depicted Alabama history.
Arts Education
ARTS (2017)
Grade: 5
Visual Arts
2) Demonstrate the methods of the art-making process, including brainstorming, sketching, reflecting, and refining, to create a work of art/design.

Unpacked Content
Artistic Process: Creating
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
Process Components: Investigate, Plan, Make
Essential Questions:
EU: Artists and designers shape artistic investigations, following or breaking with traditions in pursuit of creative artmaking goals.
EQ: How does knowing the contexts, histories, and traditions of art forms help create works of art and design? Why do artists follow or break from established traditions? How do artists determine what resources and criteria are needed to formulate artistic investigations?
Concepts & Vocabulary:
  • Cultural context
  • Formal & conceptual vocabulary
  • Genre
  • Linear perspective
  • Preserve
  • Principles of design
    • Movement
    • Emphasis
  • Relief
  • Vanishing point
Skill Examples:
  • Use a variety of materials (wood, found objects, wire, paper, clay, etc.) to construct a three-dimensional work of art.
  • Have students keep journals to reflect on and combine ideas for their works of art.
  • Draw a still life of students' favorite objects, while adding color with a variety of media (paint, pastels, collage, etc.).
  • Draw an object or other images (landscapes, hallways, etc.) in linear one-point perspective.
  • Create tessellations in connection with interdisciplinary subjects such as mathematics.
  • Write a short story and illustrate the story with original drawings.
  • Draw and transform two-dimensional shapes into three-dimensional forms.
  • (squares to cubes, circles to spheres, triangles to pyramids and cones)
  • Write a personal artist statement to accompany an original work of art.
  • Draw a landscape including foreground, middle ground, and background.
  • Create an artwork integrating observational and technical skills to solve a problem or address contemporary social issues.
  • Create a bas-relief by carving into a clay slab.
Arts Education
ARTS (2017)
Grade: 5
Visual Arts
4) Demonstrate proper care and use of materials, tools, and equipment while creating art.

Unpacked Content
Artistic Process: Creating
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
Process Components: Investigate, Plan, Make
Essential Questions:
EU: Artists and designers balance experimentation and safety, freedom and responsibility while developing and creating artworks.
EQ: How do artists and designers care for and maintain materials, tools, and equipment? Why is it important for safety and health to understand and follow correct procedures in handling materials, tools, and equipment? What responsibilities come with the freedom to create?
Concepts & Vocabulary:
  • Cultural context
  • Formal & conceptual vocabulary
  • Genre
  • Linear perspective
  • Preserve
  • Principles of design
    • Movement
    • Emphasis
  • Relief
  • Vanishing point
Skill Examples:
  • Use a variety of materials (wood, found objects, wire, paper, clay, etc.) to construct a three-dimensional work of art.
  • Have students keep journals to reflect on and combine ideas for their works of art.
  • Draw a still life of students' favorite objects, while adding color with a variety of media (paint, pastels, collage, etc.).
  • Draw an object or other images (landscapes, hallways, etc.) in linear one-point perspective.
  • Create tessellations in connection with interdisciplinary subjects such as mathematics.
  • Write a short story and illustrate the story with original drawings.
  • Draw and transform two-dimensional shapes into three-dimensional forms.
  • (squares to cubes, circles to spheres, triangles to pyramids and cones)
  • Write a personal artist statement to accompany an original work of art.
  • Draw a landscape including foreground, middle ground, and background.
  • Create an artwork integrating observational and technical skills to solve a problem or address contemporary social issues.
  • Create a bas-relief by carving into a clay slab.
Arts Education
ARTS (2017)
Grade: 5
Visual Arts
10) Compare one's interpretation of a work of art with the interpretation of others.

Unpacked Content
Artistic Process: Responding
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Process Components: Perceive, Analyze, Interpret
Essential Questions:
EU: Individual aesthetic and empathetic awareness developed through engagement with art can lead to understanding and appreciation of self, others, the natural world, and constructed environments.
EQ: How do life experiences the way you relate to art? How does learning about art impact how we perceive the world? What can we learn from our responses to art?
Concepts & Vocabulary:
  • Cultural context
  • Formal & conceptual vocabulary
  • Genre
  • Linear perspective
  • Preserve
  • Principles of design
    • Movement
    • Emphasis
  • Relief
  • Vanishing point
Skill Examples:
  • Compare and contrast artworks in terms of content, stylistic characteristics, and techniques.
  • Collaboratively observe, analyze, and interpret a body of artworks about places, focusing on content, style, and technique.
  • Identify and analyze the terracotta Army and its relationship to Chinese Culture.
  • Describe the relationship between works of art from different cultures being respectful and mindful of cultural sensitive themes.
  • Discuss differences in art of familiar and unfamiliar cultures.
  • Discuss the reasons and value of documenting and preserving works of art and objects for a culture.
  • Recognize what was learned and the challenges that remain when assessing a work of art.
  • Use criteria to assess works of art individually and collaboratively.
  • Use contextual cues to discuss notions of beauty and aesthetic value.
  • Compare and contrast different media and techniques.
Arts Education
ARTS (2017)
Grade: 5
Visual Arts
13) Recognize differences in criteria used to evaluate works of art depending on styles, genres, and media as well as historical and cultural contexts.

Unpacked Content
Artistic Process: Responding
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
Process Components: Perceive, Analyze, Interpret
Essential Questions:
EU: People evaluate art based on various criteria.
EQ: How does one determine criteria to evaluate a work of art? How and why might criteria vary? How is a personal preference different from an evaluation?
Concepts & Vocabulary:
  • Cultural context
  • Formal & conceptual vocabulary
  • Genre
  • Linear perspective
  • Preserve
  • Principles of design
    • Movement
    • Emphasis
  • Relief
  • Vanishing point
Skill Examples:
  • Compare and contrast artworks in terms of content, stylistic characteristics, and techniques.
  • Collaboratively observe, analyze, and interpret a body of artworks about places, focusing on content, style, and technique.
  • Identify and analyze the terracotta Army and its relationship to Chinese Culture.
  • Describe the relationship between works of art from different cultures being respectful and mindful of cultural sensitive themes.
  • Discuss differences in art of familiar and unfamiliar cultures.
  • Discuss the reasons and value of documenting and preserving works of art and objects for a culture.
  • Recognize what was learned and the challenges that remain when assessing a work of art.
  • Use criteria to assess works of art individually and collaboratively.
  • Use contextual cues to discuss notions of beauty and aesthetic value.
  • Compare and contrast different media and techniques.

Local/National Standards:

 

Primary Learning Objective(s):

  1. Students will locate the path of a European explorer in America using a map and explain the importance of waterways in migration and settlements.
  2. Students will analyze the technical aspects in the primary sources of Basil Hall, including texture, details, balance, and unity and variety.
  3. Students will sketch the environment outside the school using pencil and paper.
  4. Students will properly utilize supplies for the environment and purpose.
  5. Students will compare and contrast personal environmental sketches to those of Basil Hall.
  6. Students will describe human impact on the environment.
  7. Students will critique the products of their classmates in small groups.

Additional Learning Objective(s):

 
 Preparation Information 

Total Duration:

31 to 60 Minutes

Materials and Resources:

Technology Resources Needed:

  • Computer
  • Projector
  • Internet Access
  • Audio Playback Capabilities

Background/Preparation:

Teachers should have technology prepared before the lesson begins and be familiar with the content of the lesson. The Encyclopedia of Alabama contains more useful information on the Forest Products Industry in Alabama and Longleaf Pine Forest Ecosystem.  Basil Hall's Forty Etchings can be found as a PDF at the Library of Congress and a biography of Basil Hall can be found in the Encyclopedia Britannica. Students should have knowledge of reading maps and be familiar with art principles and basic drawing techniques.

  Procedures/Activities: 

Before

  1. Display the attached description of pine barrens as written by Basil Hall in Forty Etchings and ask students to read it silently or have students take turns reading the text aloud. 
  2. Complete a 3-2-1 strategy chart with 3 discoveries, 2 interesting points, and 1 remaining question. One is linked in the materials section. The chart can be completed individually, in small groups, or as a class depending on time and needs.

During

  1. "The description that we just read was written by Basil Hall in 1829." Show the attached engraving of Basil Hall.
  2. "He was a European explorer that traveled through North America in 1827 and 1828. He wanted to report on the new United States." Show the attached map of his travels and ask the students to detail his route by sharing his starting location. Hall traveled down the St. Lawrence and in New England, then down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans, across to Savannah, and north along the Atlantic coast to Canada. "Why do Basil Hall's travels follow many rivers?" (ease of transportation and location of resources) "Why are so many cities located on waterways?" (transportation, food, trading, rich soil)
  3. "Why do you think he was exploring North America?" (identifying possible trade opportunities, opportunities for land acquisition) 
  4. "He not only wanted to tell about the new country but to show Europeans what it looked like. So, he used a tool called the camera lucida to sketch accurate representations of his travels. Why wouldn't he used a camera to make photographs of what he saw?" (Cameras were not commonly used until about 10 years later.) Show a YouTube video about the camera lucida and how it works.
  5. Show the attached picture of the pine barren sketch by Basil Hall. "This is the sketch made by Basil Hall that he described in the writing at the beginning of class. He used the camera lucida in this drawing."
  6. "Some people think artists that use a camera lucida are cheating. Others think that they using it as another tool, like pencils and erasers. Do you think Basil Hall was cheating or using the camera lucida as a tool?" Encourage discussion and debate between the two points of view. 
  7. "After he returned to Europe, he put together his journal about his travels and his sketches made from the camera lucida into a book called Forty Etchings: From Sketches Made with the Camera Lucida in North America in 1827 and 1828. He included sketches of cities, people, and landscapes." Show the attached pictures of Hall's sketches of Rochester, Creek Indian chiefs, and the pine barrens. While viewing these sketches, remind students that they were made with the camera lucida. 
  8. Show the sketch of Rochester. "Hall described the village of Rochester as a fast growing city that grew from a forest of trees in 1812 to nearly 8,000 residents in 1826. The Erie Canal went through the middle of the city. It connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes in the middle of the country." Show map of the Erie Canal linked in the resources section. "Why do you think the city grew so fast?" (access to trade and travel, food and water)
  9. Show the sketch of the Creek Indian chiefs. "During the time Hall was exploring North America, Native Americans were removed from their homes by American troops and forced to march to Indian territory in Oklahoma. This is known as the Trail of Tears. Why were the Native Americans removed from their land?" (to take their fertile land for farming) 
  10. "Some Native Americans tried to remain on their land in the southern states. These are two chiefs from the Creek tribe in Georgia that were sketched by Hall. The chief on the left was known as Little Prince and was very well respected in the area. He was about 80 years old when Hall met him and died just a few weeks later. The chief on the right was sketched a few days after the first. The American in the center is a squatter, someone that lives on land owned by someone else until he is asked to leave. He lived by hunting."
  11. Show the sketch of pine barrens. "This is the sketch that we looked at earlier with Hall's description of Alabama forests that he called pine barrens. Why is this picture important to the growth of Alabama?" (People became familiar with the resources of Alabama.) "Now, Alabama is one of the most heavily forested states in the country. And the southern long-leaf pine has even been named as our state tree. What products are made from Alabama trees?" (paper, lumber to build houses and furniture, tar, resin) "What is a negative consequence of heavy foresting?" (environment, animal habitats) "What is a way to help our forests?" (plant more trees)
  12. Analyze the sketches through discussion. Texture, details, balance, unity, and variety should be examined. Some questions could include the following: "Can you see the texture of the tree bark?" (no) "Is Hall concerned with texture?" (no) "Does he sketch each leaf of the tree?" (no) "Is detail important to this artist in the sketches?" (no) "How does Hall utilize balance? Are the sketches symmetrical or asymmetrical?" (symmetrical) "Does he focus on unity or variety?" (unity)
  13. "We are going to share the surroundings of our school like Hall shared his view of America. When we go outside, what materials will we need?" (paper, pencil, eraser, clipboard) "How should we properly use these materials?"
  14. "Let's sketch our surroundings in the style of Basil Hall. Don't focus on the details or texture. You don't need to sketch every brick or every pine cone, but do balance your work with symmetry and unity." 
  15. Allow sufficient time for students to sketch an outdoor scene around the school. It can be a landscape, another building or city scene, or a residential area. 

After

  1. Display the map of Basil Hall's exploration route. Ask students to identify Alabama and show the path of his travels. Students should detail his route along waterways, including the Alabama River. Students may need to reference a current Alabama map that identifies the names of the rivers.
  2. Compare and contrast student sketches with the pine barren sketch of Basil Hall. "How did Hall describe the forests of Alabama?" ("vast ocean of trees," "as far as the eye could reach") "Look at your sketch. How is it different from Hall's sketch? How is it the same? How has the environment changed? Why has it changed? Do we still live in areas where resources are readily available?" Encourage students to use art vocabulary like texture, details, balance, variety, and unity. 
  3. "Think about the environment when Native Americans lived across Alabama. How is your sketch different from the landscape at that time? Why are Native Americans no longer living in all areas of the state?" (Native Americans were forcibly removed from their lands, so that settlers could take the land for farming.) "Why are waterways so important during this time?" (travel, farming, food, water)
  4. In groups of 3-5 students, students will look at one sketch at a time from the group. Ask the following questions and remind students that negative comments are not allowed: "What did you notice first about the sketch? Why do you notice that? What feeling do you get by looking at the sketch? How did the artist use details, texture, balance, and unity and variety? How is the sketch the same or different from Basil Hall's sketch?" 

  Assessment  

Assessment Strategies

Before the lesson, the 3-2-1 strategy assesses student comprehension. During the lesson, the teacher will assess student learning through questioning, discussion, and observation. The teacher will review and reassess as needed. Summative assessment consists of the collaborative critique. A written self-critique can also be used for summative assessment. One example can be found at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Acceleration:

Intervention:

  • Provide additional time to complete the environmental sketch.
  • Seat struggling students with stronger artists.
  • Encourage struggling students to focus on one aspect of the environment. For example, sketching a tree instead of an entire landscape.

View the Special Education resources for instructional guidance in providing modifications and adaptations for students with significant cognitive disabilities who qualify for the Alabama Alternate Assessment.
Alabama State Department of Education