Community
Students will investigate how artists influence and are influenced by their surrounding communities. They will discover what is valued within a community through examination of art. Through exploration and creation of art as a community, students will understand the role they have as artists within their own community. ​
A Day at School
Objectives: We will…
  • understand that everyone has different school experiences
  • know how daily life experiences shape our personalities and character
  • be able to express a life experience through art

    Students will hear the story What a Great Day at School by Jill Zander  and think about the questions: 
    How do you get to school?
    What do you see on your way to and from school?
    What does lunchtime look and sound like? What do you do at music, PE and art or recess?
    What do you do in your classroom with your classmates?
    What do you do when you get home from school each day? 
    Students then create an artwork depicting a daily life experience at school (riding the bus to school, playing on the playground, your favorite special area, lunchtime in the cafeteria). 
Houses in Our Community
Objectives: We will…
  • understand communities where we live are based on a grid and have a corresponding map
  • know how to use materials safely and properly
  • be able to engage collaboratively to create a 3D community on top of a local map 

Activity: 
Show students different types of city/town map images of our city. Then discuss the types of buildings you find in a community.
Discuss how artists/architects design buildings 
What colors do you see on buildings?
Do you see windows, doors, awnings, business signs?  Students will read the book Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty

Students will use the 3D objects to each create a type of building they can find in their community. Media to use can be: paper, tissue, cardboard, beads, fabric
Once the buildings are finished each table will then assemble their community on top of the map
Art in the Community
​Objectives: We will...
  • understand what an art museum is
  • know the role of an art museum in a community and it’s workers’ responsibilities
  • be able to group artwork from a museum into like groupings for an exhibit.

    Activity:
    What is in an Art Museum?
    Discuss what an art museum is and what kinds of artwork we may find in an art museum (drawings, paintings, collage, sculpture).  How does a museum bring art to a community? 
    Explain the roles and responsibilities of people who work in the museum and teach the terms curator, docent, art preservation and exhibition. 
    Further explore who and what is in an art museum by using images, videos, or even visiting an actual museum.

Mister Rogers visits the  Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, PA in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood s02e07:  https://youtu.be/UBpXYQLyLpc 
​
Students will look at images of artworks that show people, landscapes, sculptures and still life. As a class, they will categorize these images into the four categories.  Students will then create their own "mini-masterpiece" that they would want to see in an art museum. Students can explore uses of various art materials and tools to create their mini-masterpiece, and demonstrate they can use them safely. After creating their mini-masterpieces, students can then examine them and curate them into categories for a display.

Memory
In this unit, students will explore the theme of memory. Students will understand how memories can be created, preserved and shared through art. An investigation into color and expression of feelings through color will allow students to further express the emotion held within memories.
Sunset Memories
Objectives: We will...
  • know why artists use images to capture memories.
  • understand art can show a memory to express self
  • be able to create watercolor wash using several colors. 

Students began by looking at a variety of sunset/sunrise pictures and discussed why people take pictures of them. We then looked at Claude Monet's painting and how we can tell what time of day it was when he painted the pictures by the colors he used.
​Students created a watercolor wash using several colors, that depicted a sunset. Some students added an additional layer of a silhouetted scene, after the paint was dry.

Making an Art Memory: Color Mixing
Objectives: We will…
  • be able to use observation and investigation in preparation for making a work of art.  
  • be able to explore uses of materials and tools to create works of art or design. 
  • be able to use art vocabulary to describe choices while creating art.  

Students first experimented with mixing colors using Model Magic Air Dry Clay.
Teacher then read the color mixing story, Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh and had students predict (using their memory) what colors would be created when two colors were mixed. 

Students then created artworks using the colored Model Magic. A more guided work was created of the mice on an art palette. A more exploratory art work had students using their imaginations to turn the colored bits of clay into something else.
Portraits with Feelings
​How do memories remind us of how we were feeling?
Objectives: We will...
  • know art can be created to capture a memory that has feeling
  • understand how artists capture memories in art by comparing images
  • be able to create a family portrait using materials/media and tools with control

Students examine and discuss various portraits/family portraits expressing feelings and discuss facial expressions to show feeling. Teacher can lead an exploration of similarities and differences between the artworks and how they show feelings.

Students were asked to create a family portrait based on a family memory. They drew on Scratch Foam to create their plate. Next, they colored the printing plate with washable markers. The printing plate was then rubbed onto damp paper to create a print.

History
Students will investigate how history is documented and preserved through art in this unit. Through an exploration of various cultures, students will understand how and why art was created to record what that culture values. While examining and creating ways of documenting personal history, students will discover how art can preserve for future generations what they value from their own past and present.

Environment
This unit will allow students to explore their surrounding environments, both natural and personal. They will discover how an environment influences an artist’s work and how artists can work collaboratively with nature. Students will explore how natural materials from their environment can be used to create art.