elementary unit plan: art & natural resources

Unit Plan: 3rd Grade Our Environment: A Visual Culture of Consciousness Raising

Developed by: Lillian Lewis, lillianllewis.com Free for educational use with author attribution

“I’m not one of these artists who is spending a lot of time imagining a better ecological future. I’m more the kind of artist who is holding up a mirror to the present. We’re at this moment in time where we have a great test ahead of us in terms of our relationship to the natural world. If we pass the test we get to keep the planet.” - Mark Dion

Overview: Students will research, design, and install a collaborative work of art that responds to a local issue affecting natural resources. Grade Level: 3rd grade Media: Installation art Duration: Seven to nine class sessions Entry Point For Generating Unit Ideas:

1. What are natural resources and how are they important to life? 2. What are the conditions or sources of problems for our local natural resources? 3. How are natural resources and issues related to natural resources represented in

visual culture? 4. How have artists addressed conditions affecting natural resources? 5. What kinds of artwork can we make to raise awareness of sources of problems for

our local natural resources? Artwork/Artists: Jenny Kindler

• Artist Website - http://jennykendler.com/home.html Mark Dion

• Art 21 video segment - http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/mark-dion • Artist’s bio/CV - http://www.tanyabonakdargallery.com/artists/mark-dion/series

Neukom Vivarium, Mark Dion, 2006



Subject Matter: installation art, environmental issues Concepts:

1. Issues affecting individuals and communities can be explored through collaborative art making.

2. Visual art can help students, teachers, administrators, parents and community members understand complex or non-visible social issues through visual interpretations created by students.

3. Installation art can provide individual students the opportunity to work collaboratively to create a shared work of art.

4. Researching, planning, creating, and installing collaborative installation art is a process many contemporary artists and artist collectives perform.

Enduring Ideas:

1. Our global and local environment and natural resources are represented in a variety of ways through visual culture.

2. Artists can use visual representations of issues related to natural resources to help raise awareness and create social action.

3. Artists use research and collaborate with communities to create works of art.

Rationale: Children are curious about the natural world and are interested in learning about the local environment and finding ways to help preserve natural resources. Learning about living artists who work with ideas and materials that are related to natural resources helps children relate to contemporary artistic processes. Learning how to incorporate research into the artmaking process and to work collaboratively helps to advance their abilities to think, see, and create as artists. Planning Objectives:

Students will: • Research local natural resources and issues that affect the quality and/or quantity of

natural resources. • Discuss and decide on a natural resource topic to investigate further se their

research to help develop a plan to create a collaborative artwork that will help their classmates, teachers, families, friends, and the community understand an issue facing a natural resource through visual form.

Installation Objectives: Students will create a collaborative installation incorporating:

• 2D and 3D materials that convey a message about an issue facing a natural resource.



• Thoughtful efforts to decide the location, arrangement, placement, and duration of the installation.

• Parts of the installation that are created individually or in small groups that work with the composition of the installation as a whole.

• A total composition that is both personally meaningful to each student and understandable by outside viewers.

Student Reflection Objectives: Students will:

• Make connections between their research, planning, and installation and contemporary artists and artistic processes.

• Be able to discuss ways their understanding of what contemporary artists do has changed through the process of creating the installation.

• Be able to discuss an issue facing an natural resource and the importance of how that issue is represented in visual form.

Planning Assessment: Has student:

• Participated in class discussion about natural resources? • Researched a local natural resource and issues affecting that resource?

Milkweed Dispersal Balloons, Jenny Kindler, 2014



• Sketched ideas and participated in the group discussion to plan an installation related to the natural resource?

Installation Assessment: Has student:

• Participated in the selection of materials and creation of a 2D or 3D component of the installation?

• Worked both individually and with the class to plan the location, arrangement, and final visual form of the installation?

• Engaged in the process of the installation of components of the installation? Reflection Assessment: Has student:

• Made verbal or visual connections between their research, planning, and installation and contemporary artists and artistic processes?

• Been able to discuss, verbally or in writing, ways their understanding of what contemporary artists do has changed through the process of creating the installation?

• Been able to discuss, verbally or in writing, an issue facing an natural resource and the importance of how that issue is represented in visual form?

Procedure: Lesson day 1 – (45 minutes) Introduction: Show students a video about natural resources to introduce the topic. Suggested videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=071lUxclTBw Discussion Questions: What is a natural resource? Which natural resources are living? Which are nonliving? Why are natural resources important to us? Can you name some natural resources that are near where we go to school and live? What does it mean to conserve natural resources? Why should we conserve and protect natural resources? What kinds of issues affect the natural resources in our area? Studio Time: The teacher should give students 8.5 x 11 drawing paper and drawing tools (teacher choice) and ask them to draw and/or write about all the natural resources they can think of near their home, school, and surrounding areas. Encourage students to think of things that can deplete or contaminate the natural resources such as pollution, overuse, or other human impacts. Student Research: Students should explore books, publications, and/or visit websites to learn more about



specific issues affecting local natural resources. Have students write about these issues on the back of their sketches Conclusion: Collect student drawings/writings/research about natural resources and issues for later use. Lesson day 2 – (45 minutes) Introduction: Explore Jenny Kindler’s website with students (10+ minutes) Show Mark Dion Art 21 video (approx. 20 minutes) Discussion Questions: What kinds of natural resources did you notice on the website and in the video? How do these artists represent natural resources? What are other ways you have seen natural resources represented in books, on websites, in movies, on TV or other places? Does it matter how natural resources are represented? Why or why not? Can the way artists represent natural resources affect how people learn about natural resources? Why or why not? Conclusion: Wrap up the discussion about natural resources by telling the students that the discussion will continue at the beginning of the next class meeting. Ask students to spend some time looking for ways that natural resources are represented in various media forms in school, at home, and other places they go before their next class meeting. Lesson day 3 – (45 minutes) Introduction: Revisit the conversation about visual representations of natural resources by asking students if they found any representations at home, in school, or other places they visited after the last class. Remind students about the artworks and artists we learned about during the previous class (you can show a digital slide show of the works during class as well.) Pass out the natural resources brainstorming sheets from lesson 1 for students to use during discussion. Discussion Questions:

Buttons given to participants as part of the Milkweed Dispersal Balloons project, Jenny Kindler, 2014



Ask the entire class to suggest one issue facing a local natural resource that they would like other people to know more about. Have the class vote on the ideas to determine the issue the class will work together on for the installation. Next, divide the students into groups of 3-5 and have them work together to answer the following discussion questions: Why is this issue important? What do people need to know about this issue? How can we represent this issue in a visual form? Studio Time: Students should work in their small groups to develop sketches for ideas of how to represent the issue in a visual form. Each student should create their own sketch, but open discussion within the groups and collaboration should be encouraged. Encourage students to work together if they want to make related 2D or 3D elements for the installation. Conclusion: Give each group 2-3 minutes to talk about their ideas for the installation. Provide feedback and allow classmates to ask questions or provide suggestions. Collect the natural resources brainstorming sheets and the installation idea sketches. Teacher Follow-Up: Based on the ideas students propose, the teacher will need to collect appropriate supplies for the students to create the components of the installation prior to the next class meeting. Lesson day 4 – (45 minutes) Introduction: Ask students to get back into their small groups. Designate one person in each group to be responsible for picking up the supplies, one or two people in the group to help with cleaning up supplies, and one or two people to put away artworks in process at the end of class. Let students know that they will have 2-3 class periods (at the teacher’s discretion) to make the components of their installation artwork. Pass the installation idea sketches back out to each group. Remind students that the sketches are to help them create their components, but they can change their idea a little bit along the way. Studio Time: Provide 30-35 minutes of class time for students to begin creating the components of the installation in their small groups. The teacher should engage actively in providing supervision but students should be encouraged to explore the supplies and ideas in their small groups. Check to make sure each student is either working to create a component of the installation individually or with a partner. Provide help with any issues that arise with materials but encourage students to explore their own ideas about the installation components. Conclusion: Have the one or two students assigned to clean up begin picking up supplies and replacing them 10 minutes before class ends and have the one or two students assigned to put away artworks in process place them in the designated area. Remind students they will have one or two more class periods to complete their components.



Lesson day 5(+) – (45 minutes) Introduction: Ask students to get back into their small groups. Designate one person in each group to be responsible for picking up the supplies, one or two people in the group to help with cleaning up supplies, and one or two people to put away artworks in process at the end of class. Let students know if this is their last class period to make the components of their installation artwork. Pass the installation idea sketches back out to each group. Remind students that the sketches are to help them create their components, but they can change their idea a little bit along the way. Studio Time: Provide 30-35 minutes of class time for students to begin creating the components of the installation in their small groups. The teacher should engage actively in providing supervision but students should be encouraged to explore the supplies and ideas in their small groups. Check to make sure each student is either working to create a component of the installation individually or with a partner. Provide help with any issues that arise with materials but encourage students to explore their own ideas about the installation components. Conclusion: Have the one or two students assigned to clean up begin picking up supplies and replacing them 10 minutes before class ends and have the one or two students assigned to put away artworks in process place them in the designated area. Remind students they will have one or two more class periods to complete their components. Discussion on the final studio day: Allow the class to view all the completed components of the installation at once. Ask students to reflect on ways the components can be displayed. Let students brainstorm arrangements while you write ideas on a whiteboard or other large visible surface. Have the students vote on the arrangement for display. Encourage students to discuss a location they would like to install their collaborative work. The teacher can provide a few choices for the locations or leave it open to the students to make suggestions. Have students vote on the location for installation. Installation day – (45 minutes) Gather the students together with each of their components at the location for installation. Allow students to work freely to install the components based on the previously agreed on design. Some students will want to work alone, others will want to collaborate, while some may want to direct – allow students the opportunity to find their role in this process and take charge of the installation process. Provide conflict mediation if necessary and provide physical assistance with installing any components that are not physically safe or easily feasible for students to install alone or with a classmate. Reflection/Assessment day – (45 minutes) Gather the students at the location of the completed installation for a discussion. You may also want to invite other classes, administrators, and parents to join in the discussion. Ask



the group the following questions (and add your own questions as you find appropriate to the individual installation process and product.): What you see and what it makes you think about? How do each of the parts relate to the whole? What story does the whole installation tell? Why is this story important? What questions does this installation make you think about? Resources: Ohio EPA Programs for student/teacher research:

• http://www.epa.ohio.gov/dsw/tmdl/index.aspx • http://www.epa.ohio.gov/ocapp/ComplianceAssistanceandPollutionPrevention.aspx • http://www.epa.ohio.gov/derr/EnvironmentalResponseandRevitalization.aspx • http://www.epa.ohio.gov/oee/EnvironmentalEducation.aspx

Natural Resources Defense Council • http://www.nrdc.org/

USGS Ohio Water Science Center • http://oh.water.usgs.gov/ • http://oh.water.usgs.gov/reports/wrir/wrir02-4122.pdf (Youngstown report)

Additional articles/chapters for information about student choice & environment • Student choice:

https://www.academia.edu/1509346/Building_Forts_and_Drawing_on_Walls_Fostering_Student-Initiated_Creativity_Inside_and_Outside_the_Elementary_Classroom

• Anthropocene & art education: http://www.sponpress.com/books/details/9781315769165/

Ohio State Standards: Science - EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE (ESS): Earth’s Resources – This topic focuses on Earth’s resources. While resources can be living and nonliving, within this strand, the emphasis is on Earth’s nonliving resources, such as water, air, rock, soil and the energy resources they represent. Visual Arts - PERCEIVING/KNOWING (PE): 1PE – Observe and compare similar themes, subject matter and images in artworks from historical and contemporary eras; 3PE – Use historical and cultural artworks to answer questions about daily life. PRODUCING/PERFORMING (PR): 3PR – Find and solve problems of personal relevance and interest when developing artmaking ideas; 6PR – Collaborate with others to create a work of art that addresses an interdisciplinary theme. RESPONDING/REFLECTING (RE): 4RE – Identify artworks from their communities or regions and communicate how they reflect social influences and cultural traditions; 5RE – Use feedback and self-assessment to improve the quality of personal artworks. Differentiated Instruction: Students with diverse abilities should work with materials that are suitable for their abilities. Allow students to work with partners in the process of making their installation component. Provide appropriate assistance with the installation process should students need help.

elementary unit plan: art & natural resources

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