Major Art Modality Utilized: Artistic Language, Visual Art, Storytelling

1. SUBJECT AREA/ SUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: Artistic Language and Visual Art Storytelling-3 Lesson Sequence-Elements of Art Page 1 of 8 • Standards Addressed in this Lesson: • AKS • 3VA_A2011-1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas. • 3VA_E2011-14 Apply information from other disciplines to enhance the understanding and production of artworks. • 3VA_E2011-15 Develop life skills through the study and production of art. • 3LA_A2009-4 Use oral language to inform, persuade, or entertain. • 3LA_A2009-7 Listen to and view a variety of media to acquire information. Major Art Modality Utilized: Artistic Language, Visual Art, Storytelling Multiple Intelligences Addressed: Verbal, Visual/Spatial Lesson Abstract: The following unit, consisting of a sequence of 3 lessons, integrates the arts through the use of storytelling. This lesson sequence is designed for students on the third grade level in the visual arts classroom. Materials Needed: Teacher made idea cards (see page 6), paper or copies of pre-printed storyboard About the lesson sequence: The stories weaved within these lessons deal with elements of art, which are artist’s tools for creating art. Line, shape, and color are themes within the stories as well as themes which exist within the visual arts curriculum. Life skills are also themes that exist in the stories chosen and will be encouraged as themes as students begin to develop and write their own personal stories. Big ideas such as diversity, acceptance, investigation, respect, and discovery are all life skills to practice within the art room, and they can be used as themes for stories dealing with art, art materials, artists, and art making. Students will create original stories. This unit aims to raise student’s awareness of the oral tradition of storytelling. As storytelling is introduced and further discussed, students will grow to understand and appreciate the way in which many cultures around the world have passed on stories from generation to generation. Although the stories of this unit are not particularly centered on a specific culture, students from many culturally different backgrounds are able to share their stories. In this way, we are creating and sharing our own cultural history within the classroom. Sharing personal ideas and stories that are unique to the individual, helps build cultural acceptance.

2. SUBJECT AREA/ SUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: Artistic Language and Visual Art Storytelling-3 Lesson Sequence-Elements of Art Page 2 of 8 Standards Addressed in this Lesson: Area for Teacher Notes: • Visual art helps bridge gaps between people. As visual art and storytelling are woven together it allows people to communicate in a universal language using some of the elements and principles of art. Through the use of lines, shapes, colors, textures, forms, values, space, patterns, rhythm and movement, balance, emphasis, unity and variety artists are able to raise awareness to what makes human culture so unique. • Lesson 1: • Ask students to recall elements of art, remind students they are the building blocks of art. At least one element of art is used in every work of art. • “What are the elements of art?” • “How do artists use the elements of art?” • “How might an artist create a work of art about a story?” • “Do writers create stories about art?” • “Do authors use art to tell stories?” • Model storytelling techniques by telling the story, “Why Line is So Important to Shape”. • After the story, ask the students to think of a story of what might happen to the characters of the story on the following day. Encourage them to focus on including the concepts of line and shape. Allow students to share their story with the student sitting next to them. • Give students two pre-made cards with various lines, colors, and shapes on them. Have students create a short story using the cards as prompts for characters and plot. The story should be told in 3 sentences. Have students write the sentences on an index card. • Discuss with class what makes the difference between writing three sentences versus connecting the sentences to create a story. Allow students time to write. Collect cards. Redistribute cards. Students share the story on their card with the student across from them at their table.

3. SUBJECT AREA/ SUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: Artistic Language and Visual Art Storytelling-3 Lesson Sequence-Elements of Art Page 3 of 8 Standards Addressed in this Lesson: Area for Teacher Notes: Lesson 2: Share video “How to tell a story video” with students. (retrieved from- http://youtu.be/mOA8mUflH-Q ) Teacher leads review of video, guiding students in recognizing the steps in beginning to tell a story. Introduce the use of storyboard for a story. Share copies of teacher-created storyboard for the story The Crayon Box that Talked. Allow students a few minutes to look over the storyboard. Explain to the students the purpose of the storyboard. Model the story of The Crayon Box that Talked for the students. Allow them to follow along with the storyboard. Reflect/discuss: Why would a storyteller (or an artist) use a storyboard? What important information does a storyboard contain? How might the creator of a storyboard show key ideas/event of a story? Use the following prompt for students to create their own storyboard: -The {insert name of shape} that went to the {insert name of place}. Encourage students to have their shape character encounter a problem, which it needs to solve. The problem should be able to be solved by the end of the story. Encourage students to make visual arts connections within their story. Give students time to create and prepare their story.

4. SUBJECT AREA/ SUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: Artistic Language and Visual Art Storytelling-3 Lesson Sequence-Elements of Art Page 4 of 8 Standards Addressed in this Lesson: Lesson 3: Open lesson with the telling of Seven Blind Mice. Story should be printed on pre-numbered cards. Emphasis will be only on the reading of the story. Students will read the lines of the story. Lead class discussion as to how a storyteller might make their story interesting for those listening. Guide students in discussing the use of voice (volume, pace, clarity, different voices for different characters), props or costumes, gestures and movement, and asking for audience participation. Ask for student volunteers to practice different techniques, such as pitch changes, or volume changes by reading parts of the story. (The teacher should be prepared, having possible costumes, and props.) Have the students retell the story using the various elements of story discussed in small groups. If time allows have one group perform for the class. The goal of this lesson is to have students develop techniques of storytelling, so they can continue creating and developing their story from lesson 2 of this unit. Student’s story/storyboard from lesson two may be added to the student’s portfolio. If technology is available, students may be videotaped telling their story.

5. SUBJECT AREA/ SUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: Artistic Language and Visual Art Storytelling-3 Lesson Sequence-Elements of Art Page 5 of 8 Standards Addressed in this Lesson: Area for Teacher Notes: Assessment: Lesson 1: Index card with stories written on them: 3 sentences tell a story. Teacher observation Lesson 2: Did the student create a storyboard based on the prompt? Does the storyboard show evidence of a developing story? Lesson 3: Students may use a rubric to evaluate the group that presents their story, that group of students evaluates them. Student’s story/storyboard from lesson two may be added to the student’s portfolio. If technology is available, students may be videotaped telling their story. Stories in this unit: Original curriculum based story created by Tracy Augustyn titled, “Why Line is So Important to Shape” (printed on pages 7 & 8 of this lesson) The Crayon Box that Talked by Shane DeRolf, illustrated by Michael Letzig Published by Random House: NY. 1996. A box of crayons contains a bunch of colors who can not get along within the walls of the box. A girl buys the box of crayons, takes them all out and creates a beautiful picture using all the colors. The individual colors begin to appreciate each other and start getting along. Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young. Puffin Books: NY. 1992 The story of 6 blind mice, they go out exploring. The seventh goes out to explore and then the mice together see the whole truth. This story uses color to differentiate the mice.

6. SUBJECT AREA/ SUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: Artistic Language and Visual Art Storytelling-3 Lesson Sequence-Elements of Art Page 6 of 8 Standards Addressed in this Lesson: Area for Teacher Notes: Resources/ Links: Storytelling Rubric- http://www.proteacher.com/redirect.php?goto=465 A Listing of Storytelling Resources: Compiled by Dianne Hackworth- http://www.diannehackworth.com/_resources.php Ideas for line, shape, color cards: Line: straight, curved, imaginary, long, short, parallel, thick, thin, narrow, wide, wavy, curly Shape: circular, geometric, organic, square, polygon, even, uneven, curved, distorted Color: warm color, cool color, monochromatic, neutral, primary, secondary, complementary

7. SUBJECT AREA/ SUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: Artistic Language and Visual Art Storytelling-3 Lesson Sequence-Elements of Art Page 7 of 8 Why Line is So Important to Shape Not in your time, not in my time, but in the old time, when the earth and the sea were new Linda Line was sitting outside of her home in Art Park. Art Park was a small neighborhood, filled with homes called rectangular prisms. They all looked exactly the same! {using hands to virtually show the 6 sides of a rectangular prism in order to help students visualize what a rectangular prism looks like} It wasn’t very exciting, and Linda Line often felt lonely. She was the only young line who lived in Art Park. Not too long before, many linear families moved from Art Park to live in Shape City, the wavy {show wavy with hands} family left first, then the zig zag {show zig zag with hand movement} family… the curvy family left, and the broken family {show broken line with hand movement} moved away too. Shape City offered new opportunities for young linear families, cheap new pyramid {show 5 sides of pyramid with hands} housing, and new higher paying jobs at the geometric shape-up shoe factory. Linda Line’s parents came from a family of artists who lived in Art Park for many, many years, so they didn’t have any intention of leaving. They drew plans for farmer’s fields, which included long lines of corn, followed by rows of potatoes and the pattern repeated. {symbolize pattern using movement…one hand from one direction then the other hand from the opposite direction} They created maps for travelers, showing them the roads they could travel to get from point “A” to point “B”, and even to the sea if they wanted to travel there. {hand movements for directional lines} They were busy and often told her to go play outside. Linda Line was lonely, but she loved her parents, and she loved Art Park. On hot summer days she didn’t mind when the sun made her feel a little wavy {show wavy….ask students to join in}. She would find her favorite tree and lay horizontally {show horizontal} under it’s shade. And on the cold winter nights she played in the snow and didn’t mind as she shivered in a zig zag {show zig-zag} way because she was so cold. She especially loved to be outside when the sky changed colors, it was so beautiful the way all of the colors melted into each other. One day, soon after sunrise, a sphere {hold imaginary sphere…show rolling} mobile came rolling into Art Park. How did Linda Line know what a sphere mobile was? Well, because her mother told her about spheres and how they looked like some of the toys she liked to play with, but they were more like cars, or mini vans she told her. (Whatever that meant?!) Mrs. Line told her they were forms like basketballs, bubbles, and even like marbles. Out of the sphere mobile hopped a silly looking line. This line was tall and thin and full of energy. Soon four more lines hopped out of the sphere. They jumped {!}, bent {!}, and curved {!} around the sphere mobile.

8. SUBJECT AREA/ SUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: Artistic Language and Visual Art Storytelling-3 Lesson Sequence-Elements of Art Page 8 of 8 The tall and thin vertical line {show vertical} said “Hello,” to Linda Line. Linda Line said “Hello” to the new lines. The tall thin vertical line introduced himself, “I’m Sammy Shapemaker, it’s nice to meet you…and you are….” Linda Line replied by introducing herself, “I’m Linda Line.” Sammy Shapemaker explained that his family was moving into Art Park and they would be neighbors. Sammy spoke again introducing his sibling. “These are my brothers and sisters…. Susie, Shari, Steve and Stan.” Linda Line was so delighted that she swirled into a spiral {show spiral}. Linda asked, “Do you guys want to play a game with me?” The looked at each other and looked at her and nodded, “yes! We sure do!” They began to chase after each other, three of the lines came together and yelled “triangle!” and they danced around. The citizens of Art Park started peeking out of their rectangular windows to see who was making all the noise. The lines scattered, some turning wavy, some straight and tall. Then four of the lines came together and yelled “rectangle!” They scattered again and they all fell down on the ground and they yelled, “We are so organic!” Sammy Shape laughed out loud and said, “I would say we are more of a free form shape!” Linda Line giggled. They looked around and their neighbors were standing all around them. The young lines were scared! At first they thought they were in trouble, but suddenly….they began dancing in circles around them. Art Park was suddenly more alive that it had been in a long time. And this was just the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Linda Line and Sammy Shapemaker realized together their friendship helped unite the lines of Art Park. They no longer had to walk alone down one straight path. A beautiful community was starting to take shape! In fact the lines started to make many shapes. They saw shapes everywhere. Linda Line and Sammy Shapemaker helped the citizens of Art Park. Together they realized: when lines come together they can become something bigger….. shapes! *red text indicates notes for telling