AshleyCox

BigIdea:Journey
ArtUpgraded:7th&8thGradeStudents

Standards
VA:Cr1.1.8a
VA:Pr6.1.7a
VA:Pr6.1.8a
VA:Re.7.2.8a
VA:Re.7.2.Ia

ISTE1A
ISTE2A
ISTE5a

MajorLearningActivities

21stCSkills

CriticalThinking
1.

IntroduceBigIdeaandEssentialQuestion

Activity:
IntroduceBigIdeabyreadingthema
Creativity
poemaboutajourney.WewillalsoVTSthe

imagesofartistsinterpretationofjourney.(1class
Communication
period)

Objective:
Wewillbeintroducedtoourbigideaof
Collaboration
journeybyreadingthepoemTheRoadNot
TakenbyRobertFrostandbeingabletointerpret
anartworkandreaditspossiblemeaning.

StudentwilluseVisualThinkingStrategies
todiscussanartworkortwosuchas

JatiPutraWinslowHomer
usingtheVTSquestions:
Whatisgoingoninthisimage?
Whatdoyouseethatmakesyousaythat?
Whatmorecanwefind?

Discussion:Studentswilldiscusshowthe
artworkweVTSreflectsintoourlivesand

journey.Wewillfurtherdiscusswhatthe
wordjourneymeansandhowitrelatesto
ourlivesasmiddleschoolstudents.

Extension:Studentscanusesocialmediaor
aclasswebsite(suchasSchoology)to
continuethediscussionandasbonusfind
anartistthatusesjourneyasinspirationfor
theirwork.
Resources:
JatiPutraArtistArticle
HuffingtonPostCartographyArticles
VisualThinkingStrategyResource

VA:Cr1.1.8a
VA:Cr2.1.7a
VA:Cr2.1.8a

ISTE1A
ISTE2A

2.
ExploringtheBigIdea
Activity:
Postcardtoself(12classperiods)
Objective:
Wewillbeintroducedtodifferent
designelementsandtheabilitytocommunicate
ourthoughtsvisuallyandarticulatethem
throughwrittentext.

Studentswilldesignandcreateapostcard
totheir5yearoldselfusingamultitudeof
classroommaterials
Studentswillbeaskedtoanswerthe
following:
Whatwouldyousaytoyourfiveyear
oldself?Why?
Whatimagewouldbestrepresent
whatyouwouldliketosaytoyour
fiveyearoldself?
Extension:Studentscanusesocialmediaor
aclasswebsite(suchasSchoology)to
continuethediscussionandasbonusfind
anartistthatusesjourneyasinspirationfor
theirwork.

CriticalThinking

Creativity

Communication

VA:Cr1.1.8a
VA:Cr2.1.7a
VA:Cr2.1.8a
VA:Cn10.1.8
a

3CVA1

ISTE2A

3.
ExploringtheBigIdea

Activity:
AgeShowcase(12classperiods)
Objective:
Wewillcreateoriginalartworkthat
communicatesideasaboutthefollowingtheme:
personalidentity,groupidentity,time(past,
present,andfuture).

Studentswillcreate5differentsetsof
imagestoportraydifferentagegroups.(1:
13yearsold,2:46yearsold,3:79years
old,4:1011,5:1215yearsold)Thesewill
stayanonymoustoallowformore
conversationtooccurduringthe
collaborativetime.

Studentswillhavecollaborativetimeby
creatingjourneyislands/visualtimelines
toshowcaseeachagegroup.Thejourney
islandorvisualtimelines,ifyouwill,is
essentiallyacollaborativeclassroom
timelineofsorts.

Afterwards,teacherwillleadadiscussion
askingthestudentstoreflectbackonwhat
theylearnedaboutthemselvesortheir
peers.

Extension:Studentscanuseaclass
website(suchasSchoology)towritea
discussionpostabouttheirexperiencewith
thejourneyislandandanyinsightsthey
learnedaboutthemselvesorothersthrough
theprocess.

Resources:

CriticalThinking

Creativity

Communication

Collaboration

TeachingResourceforcreating"Timelines"

VA:Cr1.2.7a

ISTE3B

4.
ExploringtheBigIdea

Activity:
Journeyofan

________________________________
CriticalThinking

ARTIST/SCIENTIST/MUSICIAN/INDIVIDUALOFCHOICE

(12classperiods)
Creativity
Objective(s):
Wewillresearchsomeonewhothey

identifywith.Wewilltheninvestigatethejourneyof
thoseindividualsthatthestudentshavechosen
theyidentifywith.

Studentwillidentifysomeonewhothey
admireoraspiretobe.Thestudentmay
chooseapersonwhomayormaynotbe
famous.
Studentwillusepreviouslytaughtresearch
methodstoinvestigatefurtherinformationof
theseindividualsandtounderstandtheir
journey.
Resource:
http://education.cuportland.edu/blog/referencema
terial/howtohelpmiddleschoolstudentsdevelop
researchskills/

VA:Cr1.1.8a
VA:Cr1.1.7a
VA:Cr1.2.7a
VA:Cr2.1.7a
VA:Cr2.1.8a

5.
SkillBuilding:
Activity:
WatercolorExperiments
(12ClassPeriods)
Objective(s):
Wewillexperimentwithdifferent
watercolormethodsandtechniques.Fromthere
wewilldevelopourownpersonalinventoriesof
thesetechniques.

Studentsusethickerwatercolorpaper:
Studentwillbeintroducedtowatercolor
passoutandcleanupprocess.

CriticalThinking

Creativity

Experimentwithwatercolortechniquesand
methods(
DifferentWatercolorTechniques
toExperimentwith
)
StudentswillutilizeiPadstodocumenttheir
processofcreating.

VA:Cr1.1.8a
VA:Cr1.1.7a
VA:Cr1.2.7a
VA:Cr2.1.7a
VA:Cr2.1.8a

ISTE1B
ISTE3C

6.
SkillBuilding:
Activity:
Pen&

InkExperiments
(12ClassPeriods)
Objective(s):
Wewillexperimentwithdifferentink
drawingmethodsandtechniques.Fromtherewe
willdevelopourownpersonalinventoriesofthese
techniques.Wewillbeintroducedtozentangleas
ametaphorfortheirownjourneyinlife,permanent
andcontinuous.

CriticalThinking

Creativity

WewilllookthroughimagesfromtheBookPen&Ink
todiscussstoriesthatcoincidewiththepermanent
markingsoftattoos.Thisisanexcellentresourcesfor
rawjournalingaswell.

Studentswillusesketchbookto:
Studentwillpracticezentangle&quick
drawingstobettertheirskillsinink.
StudentswillutilizeiPadstodocumenttheir
processofcreating.
Resources:
ZentangleHistory&Resource
Pen&InkBook
VA:Cr1.1.7a
VA:Cr1.2.7a

ISTE1B

7.
PreThinking:
Activity:
ConceptList/BeginPrePlanning
(12classperiods)
Objective(s):
Studentswillbeabletodocumentthe
processofdevelopingideasfromearly
stagestofullyelaboratedideas.Students
willbeabletodescribehowknowledgeof

CriticalThinking

Creativity

Collaboration


culture,traditions,andhistorymay
influencepersonalresponsestoart.
Studentswillbeaskedtobasetheirideas
offofanUnexpectedJourney.Atime
wheresomethingunexpectedhappenin
yourjourneythatcausedyoutorethink
andcreateanewplan.

Studentswillbeintroducedtothefollowing
booksassourcesofinspiration:
HowtobeanExplorerby.KeriSmith

Evidence:TheArtofCandyJernigen

TheJourneyistheDestinationbyDan
Eldon

Studentswillbegiventimetoinvestigate
furtherwithinthetextandimagesofthese
previouslymentionedbooks.

 Studentswillbeintroducedtocreatinga
conceptlistintheirsketchbook.

VA:Cr1.1.8a
VA:Cr1.1.7a
VA:Cr1.2.7a
VA:Cr2.1.7a
VA:Cr2.1.8a
VA:Cr2.3.7a
VA:Cr2.3.8a

8.
PrePlanning/Process/Product:
Activity:
PlanningworkfortheIndependent
project(12classperiods)
Objective(s):
Studentswillbeabletodescribe
howtheywillexecutetheirfinalprojectforourbig
ideaJourneythroughouttheirpriorminiart
experiences.Wewillalsobelookingand
researchingTravelJournalsasaformofintrigue
andaspirationforthisproject.

Preliminaryworkforthefinalprojectinthe
unit:Studentswillbegiventimetogather
referencephotos,doresearch,experiment
withmedia,bringmaterialsin,create
studies&sketchesinpreparationforthe
creationoftheirJourneyartwork.Their
studentssketchbookswillbeusedto
documentthisprethinkingandmayinclude
smallgroupbrainstorming,thumbnail
sketches,listing,alongwithphotocopiesor
printoutsofvisualreferences.
Studentswillalsobeaskedtoinvestigate
furtherintodifferenttraveljournalsand
compareandcontrastthedifferences

CriticalThinking

Creativity

betweenthem.Alongwithfindingtravel
journalaestheticsthattheyidentifywith.
VA:Cn10.1.la
VA:Cr2.1.7a
VA:Cr2.1.8a
VA:Cr2.3.7a
VA:Cr2.3.8a

9.
Product
:

Activity:
JourneyProject(57classperiods)
CriticalThinking
Objective(s):
Studentswillbeginandcontinue

workingontheirprojectreferringbacktotheirbig
Creativity
ideasandsketchbooks.
Studentswillusethepenandinkalongwith
ourwatercolorskillsthatwehavebuiltupin
theclass.
Thepenwillbeusedasametaphorforthe
permanencyofourlifeandtheunexpected
journeysthatweencounterthatcausesus
torethinkandcreateanewplan/path.
Thewatercolorwillactastheunexpected
portionoflifeinwhichweareableto,under
reason,pickandchoosewhereweintendto
journeynext.

VA:Pr5.1.7a
VA:Pr5.1.8a
VA:Re.7.2.7a
VA:Re8.1.7a
VA:Re8.1.8a

ISTE4A
ISTE4C
ISTE4

10.
Assessment
Activity:
Rubric/Questionnaire/Ending
Discussion(1classperiod)
Objective(s):
Studentswillfillouttheirrubric
basedoffofhowwelltheywereabletoilluminate
thebigideaofJourney.Theywillthenbeasked
tofilloutaquestionnairepromptingthemtoanswer
questionsaboutlikesanddislikeswiththeproject
andwaystheywouldliketoimproveit.Wewill
finallyhaveaendingclassroomdiscussionabout
howeachstudenthadtheirownwayofcreating
theirjourney.

StudentswilluseiPadto:
Filloutrubric&turninonSchoology
Website
Willfilloutananonymoussurveyfrom
surveymonkey.comtoanswerthefollowing
questions:Whatdidyoulike/dislikeabout
theproject?Howcouldweimprovethis
project?Ifwecoulddoanythingdifferent
whatwoulditbeandwhy?
Wewillendtheclassandunitwiththestudents
participatinginaendoftheunitdiscussionabout
theirpieces.

CriticalThinking

Communication

Collaboration