Three teams of teachers from across the state were selected to create Arts Integrated lessons to be published and made available for free in the summer 2016.
Arts Integration Model Lessons:
Living Through a World War (PDF, 196KB) This lesson, while designed for middle to upper high school, may be adapted to other levels through development of content detail. We believe that it has the flexibility to foster understanding of the role of the arts from a propaganda perspective during the time of WWI, and advance concepts that connect the arts, history and literature of the times. At a more advanced level, the lesson proposes the option of connecting these concepts to contemporary situations and provide opportunities for students to explore applications within contexts of their own choosing.
The application of "choice" in the production of a propaganda poster medium is, of course, optional to any teacher following this plan, but with a variety of media available to students, cross-media learning can also take place, increasing student interest and ability to choose materials they are most comfortable with.
Assessments focus around the "poster checklist" and the website rubric, with the "comparison matrix" establishing evidence that each student understands the criteria for critiquing propaganda images, and can interpret and develop their own criteria for their work. The "process rubric" identifies each of the arts standards to examine and proficiencies for each one, as well as essential questions.
Owl Moon (PDF, 1129KB) This lesson was written for third grade students for use in either the art room or the classroom. The goal of this lesson is for students to see the connection between writing, illustration and drama as well as how they complement each other. Throughout the lesson students will have the opportunity to work individually and collaboratively. In this lesson students will focus on a small moment in their life, like the story of Owl Moon, in which a child describes going into the woods with her father in hopes of seeing an owl. Through the combination of illustration, tableaux and narrative writing students will demonstrate to the viewer, the relationship between the arts and writing, how they are similar and how they compliment each other.
The Power of Poetry Performance (PDF, 553KB) This unit was created with the intention of bringing the art back into Language Arts. It is mainly a poetry unit, but also focuses on speaking and listening and adds in elements of drama. The essential question for the unit is:How does poetry expose and express a sense of self and one’s own identity and community? It explores the idea of people's identity based on their surroundings, struggles, and the time period they are in. Many of the poems are classic, some are current, but they all tie in to the idea that poets are artists and they use words in a way that paints images in the reader's minds. Students became analytical readers and learned the importance of annotation and inference. Students practiced performing poetry and used their bodies to express emotions and tone. Students learned about symbolism, figurative language, and many other poetic devices. They practiced using the vocabulary and they wrote poems of their own. It is a unit that can be used in its entirety or one that you can pick a few lessons from to get students engaged in poetry. It explores many topics that tie into novels and current events, so can also have a historical tie in.
Sewn Circuits (PDF, 1319 KB) Sewn Circuits integrates visual and performing arts with science to foster deep student learning. Design Thinking, Studio Thinking, the Maker Movement and the Maine Learning Results for Visual Arts and Science are combined in this unit by using artistic practice and science investigation to learn about electricity as students design a product that contains electric circuits sewn with conductive thread and featuring circuit boards that cause LEDs to flash.
Creating Community: Looking at the Impact of the Arts on Community through WWII (PDF, 244) In this unit, Creating Community; Looking at the Impact of the Arts on Community through WWII , students will explore how artists create works in response to their communities. This work can reference identity of the community and / or critical events in the community’s past. These are concepts are explored using murals, illustrations and propaganda art. Artworks will be looked at within the historical context of WW II and analyzed using visual arts strategies and as “visual texts” using ELA standards. In addition, to help students explore the content more deeply, various theater and language arts activities are used. The work is assessed, both summatively and formatively using standards from Visual Arts, Theater, History and English Language Arts.