VISUAL ARTS GRADE: 9-12

LEARNING SEGMENT TITLE:

Multiculturalism & Re-examining Stereotypes
CENTRAL FOCUS: People across cultures and time have been (negatively) stereotyped in many ways so it’s important to examine each individual thoroughly and carefully, on
a case-by-case basis (and steer clear of any preconceived notions/assumptions or categorizing of people).
GRADE LEVEL PERFORMANCE STANDARD LEARNING OBJECTIVES. STUDENTS WILL… ASSESSMENT PLAN
Create
Grade Hs advanced Arrange a word splash (list of words) we use to categorize and Class activity – see Handout for details/example. (This
VA:Cr1.1.HSIII identify certain types of people or groups of students. exercise will serve as a type of pre-assessment.)
Visualize and hypothesize to generate
plans for ideas and directions for
creating art and design that can affect
social change.

Grade Hs advanced
VA:Cr2.1.HSIII
Experiment, plan, and make multiple
works of art and design that explore a
personally meaningful theme, idea, or
concept.
Develop a series of 30-50 (or more) photographs over 1 week’s time
to document things from their daily tasks that explore personality,
habits, culture, religion, or anything else significant or
meaningful/pertinent to their lives.
One on one check-in with teacher – see To Do List
Handout for Calendar.
(Take at least 3-5 photos daily and share with teacher or
classmates daily, near halfway mark, and towards the
end of the documentation week.)

Grade Hs accomplished Partner up and solve any art & design problems or
VA:Cr3.1.HSII Recognize and modify contemporary/modern day cultural concerns. Students will help one another generate and
Engage in constructive critique with stereotypes by engaging in informal, formative class discussions and solve problems together.
peers, then reflect on, re-engage, revise, critiques.
and refine works of art and design in
response to personal artistic vision.
Present
Grade Hs accomplished Conduct a final class critique at the end of the project. Students will write artist statements (refer to handout)
VA:Pr.4.1.HSII
Analyze, select,
and critique personal artwork for a
collection or portfolio presentation.
Grade Hs proficient
VA:Pr6.1.HSI
Analyze and describe the impact that an
exhibition or collection has on personal
awareness of social, cultural, or political
beliefs and understandings.
Respond
Grade Hs advanced
VA:Re8.1.HSIII
Analyze differing interpretations of
an artwork or collection of works in order
to select and defend a plausible critical
analysis.
Connect
Grade Hs advanced
VA:Cn11.1.HSIII
Appraise the impact of an artist or a
group of artists on the beliefs, values,
and behaviors of a society.
Learner
English language learners
IEP Special Learning Needs
Whole group misunderstandings/confusion
and then during critique they will be randomly assigned
to small groups to discuss critical issues relevant to
culture, communities, and stereotyping, etc.
Analyze and describe social/cultural/political/religious or any other Rubric – see handout
existing ideas from student work.
Embedded assessment – class discussions in beginning,
middle, and end of lesson.
Summative, written reflection at end of project – (refer
to handout for info & prompt).
Compare and contrast the role of “insiders” vs. “outsiders” within After students come up with a list of categorized
the school body. student groups like “gay,” “nerd,” “jock,” or “goth,” etc.,
they will discuss at their tables and in class as a whole
the main problems that result from labeling people
solely based on their
looks/ethnicity/religion/gender/political views…
Students will get a chance to learn more about each
other to create a closer sense of community within the
school.
Review and interpret contemporary artists’ work like Tom Jones who -powerpoint
challenge cultural ideas and issues with stereotyping. (Also study
artwork (photography) of Vivian Maier and Sophie Calle to
understand the power of perspective, framing, and working in a
series. And finally use Kate Bingaman-Burt’s work as the main
jumping off point for the class project for inspiration and ideas for
main subject themes of documentation.)
UNIVERSAL DESIGN
Modifications, supports, adaptations
Read and write in own language or use a translating tool. But when speaking up for class discussion, try to talk in English to
effectively communicate with classmates and act as active participants. Otherwise form groups with same ELL learners.
If a student has difficulty with mobility, he/she could have a friend help take photos for them.
If a student does not have access to a smartphone or camera, teacher will provide the equipment for the student(s).
Students with IEPs may write simplified artist statements or receive scaffolding to write statements.
For students with disabilities, a buddy and/or the teacher/paraprofessional would physically help put together the artwork and
visual presentation to aid with overall craftsmanship and completion of the project.
Not to just reveal the wrong ways we stereotype people, but that there lays both accuracies (truths) and misconceptions or
inaccuracies (falsehoods). There’s overlap between insiders and outsiders.
 Each student’s final project will be different, depending on how they might want to display their project, whether it be printed,
framed, more digitally based and uploaded onto social media, put together in a book format, or transformed into a video.
*Student choice in final presentations of projects will play to their strengths & multiple intelligences.*

ACADEMIC LANGUAGE

Vocabulary
Insider/outsider, stereotyping/categorizing,
assumptions, overlap, misconceptions, case by case
basis, context, identity, perspective, framing
Language Function (describe, explain, critique, compare)
Describe & explain stereotypes in class discussions.
Compare & contrast artists’ photography in terms of
perspective, framing, focus/theme, as well as student
artwork on a case-by-case basis. Who is an
insider/outsider? When is there overlap?
Critique student artwork as a collection/series and
examine how powerful a message was translated or how
accurately an idea was portrayed or if there were any
assumptions/misconceptions.
Reflect & write on ideas/topics of identity & culture within
the community, depending on the context.
Discourse/syntax (discussion, writing)
Class discussions, Analysis of own self-identity through
Wordle/Word Splash writing, studying and researching
of artists’ work like Tom Jones, investigating and
documenting own daily lives within a week’s time – (by
taking photos), then uploading, editing, and displaying
series of photos in some sort of visual presentation.
Artist statements & Final Writing Reflections, Rubric

LEARNING PLAN

LESSON SEQUENCE AND ACTIVITIES VISUALS, RESOURCES AND SUPPLIES

Day 1 – Stereotyping
• “Let’s face it. We all do it. Naturally, we like to categorize people based on their looks and assume things about them. Class Brainstorming Activity – Wordle
Sometimes we’re right, sometimes we’re wrong…” as a pre-assessment (handout)
• “When was a time you felt misunderstood and how did you go about it?”
Class discussion and brainstorming of certain stereotypes and ways we categorize students.
• “In order for us to help us understand each other better, it’s important to reflect on and study and investigate ourselves Class Discussions
before we try to understand each other.”
• “Let’s try to get to know one another a little better, this will be fun!”
• “Wordle time! How do you identify yourself?”
Brainstorm a list of words we associate with groups of students and ideas or generalizations particular to the group. Discuss.
• “For this project, I want you to study your daily actions and document them.” Powerpoint
• “Here are some questions to consider…”
• What do you wear everyday? Class Discussions
• What do you eat everyday?
• What do you do for fun?
• What are your daily tasks/routine?
• What activities/sports/extracurriculars are you involved in?
• What do you believe in - is religion important to you? Politics?
• Who are your friends and family?
 • What types of things do you like to buy?
• What kind of music do you like?
• Anything else???
Show contemporary artists’ work like Tom Jones, using Visual Thinking Strategies
• What do you think when you see these photographs? What comes to mind? Powerpoint & VTS
• What do you notice?
• What do you think Tom Jones is trying to convey?
Also show other photographer’s work like Vivian Maier & Sophie Calle to talk about things like perspective and framing techniques.
Then inspire students with Kate Bingaman-Burt’s work for the project. (Show a part of video clip of her talking about her work from
powerpoint.)
Have students challenge ideas/assumptions we hold on certain groups of people whether it be ethnicity/culture/religion/politics, etc.
“How do you identify yourself in the community?”
• How can we move beyond our own cultural boundaries?
• Study & investigate yourselves for a week.
• Let’s challenge our biases and preconceived notions and investigate our lives a bit deeper.
• “I think we can and will learn a lot from each other about ourselves and each other from this project.” “Have fun!”
Mention different possibilities of presenting final project either as a printed poster/framed series, zine/book, digital layout possibly
implementing or uploading onto social media for extra credit, or a video/slideshow on repeat to display and present all together in
the school gallery!
Introduce and give assignment to students and make sure they know that they will be responsible to photograph every day of their Daily To Do List – (handout)
lives for 1 week – try to make them take as powerful or impactful, personally meaningful photos as much as possible that they will be
reasonably comfortable revealing and showing to their classmates.
Day 2 – Check-ins with students & have them decide what they want to focus on documenting – (1 main theme). Work session.
Also provide demo.s in class for how to edit photos in Photoshop (recap from existing knowledge) like adjusting brightness/contrast, Photoshop
Levels, hue/saturation, cropping, etc. Suggest to students that changing photos to Black and White may be more impactful. QuickTime Player, Powerpoint
Also demonstrate how to use Quick Time Player or Adobe Powerpoint with music/sound to create videos on repeat…
Days 3-5 – Work time & work sessions. Pencil, exacto knife, Matte Board,
Also begin to show how to frame printed photos and creating frames or displays using matte board or clothespins, etc. frames, clothespins, thicker paper for
Show how to fold papers and bind edges to make little books for zines. books, bookbinding supplies – needle &
Individually help & scaffold students – problem solving together any issues and also showing other digital formats like ID/Illustrator string. Glue.
Day 6 – Have students pick and select best 20-30 best photos according to their theme to work with. If printing out, then layout in
smaller (thumbnail) sizes around standard 4”x6” photos or smaller. Adobe In-Design/Illustrator
Tell students about Extra Credit option of implementing social media or uploading their final projects through platforms like Digital Printer
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, etc. – (students can also get inspiration from mood boards from Pinterest) Social Media platforms
Work time & one on one check-ins, small group discussions/problem solving if needed. (embedded assessment & informal critiques)
Days 7-9 – Work sessions to finish displays/installations/visual presentations. Artist Statements required to be done by Critique day. Artist Statement (handout)
Day 10 – small group discussions & class critique using constructive criticism. (more about discussing identity, stereotypes & Gallery walk & small discussions,
multiculturalism than actually critiquing the validity or aesthetic quality of the artwork because that is less important for this project) Self-assessment/evaluation (on Rubric)
Formative assessments and summative class critique at end with self-assessment/evaluation.
Post-Critique Reflection Writing Due. “After completing the wordle, project, and participating in group discussions and critique, Post-Critique Reflection – (handout)
what is your main take-away from this lesson? What have you learned about yourself, others? Have your viewpoints shifted in
any way or form? Why/why not?” (trying to really get students to know more about each other & help us understand one
another better!)
* All handouts and class PowerPoint would be uploaded and taught & accessible through Google Classroom*