I have sent this to Lucie and Brielle at IS183: my IS183 supervisor and another staff member/teacher I will be working with for the Enchanted Garden camp week. It probably still needs work; I will see what they say! I did make some changes based on Seminar's feedback, so I think it is definitely improved from before!
By the way, I'm sorry about the formatting with some of the images; I did the best I could to reinsert the images into the blog format...
Enchanted Garden Lesson Plan
SECTION ONE:
Enchanted Garden: A Trip Through My Garden: A sculpture, creative writing, and performance adventure with
nature. Students will begin with making their own garden sculptures, write
narrative stories about them, and perform them for the group in graduated-sized
groupings.
At left is a picture of an example for a project making Paper
Flowers and Critters for 5-7 year olds.
AGE LEVEL: 5-7 years old
NUMBER OF CLASSES NEEDED: One;
about 3-4 hours during a class full day
LESSON OVERVIEW: This lesson will address
the physical, social, and mental developmental needs for this age group, this
age level’s need for experimentation and independence yet attraction to
teamwork, and it will encourage creative problem solving.
SECTION TWO:
DESIRED UNDERSTANDINGS:
As a
result of this creative learning experience, the students will understand:
1. Art
making can lead to creative writing, which can lead to performance art
possibilities.
2. Sometimes
separate performances can be combined to create one larger performance, with
teamwork.
3.
Thorough independent thought and experimentation can inform group
collaboration.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
How do artists adapt their creativity to different forms and
mediums?
How do artists express their creative ideas?
How are artists inspired by nature?
SECTION THREE:
PreK–12 Learning Standards for the Visual Arts Addressed In This
Lesson:
·
1. Methods, Materials, and Techniques.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the methods,
materials, and techniques unique to the visual arts.
·
3. Observation, Abstraction, Invention,
and Expression. Students will demonstrate their powers of observation,
abstraction, invention, and expression in a variety of media, materials, and
techniques.
·
4. Drafting, Revising, and Exhibiting.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the processes of creating and
exhibiting their own artwork: drafts, critique, self-assessment, refinement,
and exhibit preparation.
·
5. Critical
Response. Students will describe and analyze their own work and the work of
others using appropriate visual arts vocabulary. When appropriate, students
will connect their analysis to interpretation and evaluation.
PreK-12 Learning
Standards for Visual Arts Connections Strand Addressed:
·
6. Purposes
of the Arts. Students will describe the
purposes for which works of dance, music, theatre, visual arts, and
architecture were and are created, and, when appropriate, interpret their
meanings.
·
9. Inventions,
Technologies and the Arts. Students will describe and analyze how performing
and visual artists use and have used materials, inventions, and technologies in
their work.
·
10. Interdisciplinary
Connections. Students will apply their knowledge of the arts to the study of
English language arts, foreign languages, health, history and social science, mathematics,
and science and technology/engineering.
SECTION FOUR:
WHAT KEY KNOWLEDGE WILL STUDENTS GAIN FROM THIS LESSON?
·
As a result of creating in multiple mediums (sculpture,
writing, and performing), students will become aware of the value of experimentation,
as well as the connections between artistic mediums
·
As a result of working independently and then working in a
group, students will understand the ways and value of individual creativity and
how it can inform group creativity, creative problem solving, and teamwork
·
As a result of watching classmates’ performances and
receiving attention and praise for their own, students will feel enabled to
create in different mediums, and will develop ownership over their personal
work and their group work
This
lesson will address the physical, social, and mental developmental needs for
this age group, this age level’s need for experimentation and independence yet
attraction to teamwork, and it will encourage creative problem solving.
RESOURCES:
Van Gogh’s Depictions of Nature
The Tale I Told Sasha: book by Nancy Willard, illustrated by David Christiana
REFERENCE MATERIALS:
·
Reference photos from internet of
flowers and creatures:
Insect Reference Worksheet images (for class discussions)
from Wendy Campbell:
EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING AND LEARNING
1.
Students will create their own garden sculptures (flowers and “critters”) using
multiple mediums in their sculptures, demonstrating their individual creative
thought and desire and ability to experiment
2.
Students will write imaginative stories about “trips through their gardens,”
based on their creative sculptures, demonstrating connections between sculpture
and creative writing
3.
Students will create individual performance pieces based on their stories, and
will fully participate in combining their individual performances to create
group performances, demonstrating connections between creative writing and
performance as well as demonstrating teamwork
4. Students
will use materials safely as they move between mediums, and they will
demonstrate abilities to be inclusive and to be creative problem-solvers and
collaborators
SECTION FIVE:
PROCESS:
- Read Tale I Told Sasha together
- Discuss the book (short/ideation), View
and discuss flower/insect diagrams and materials
- Children create their garden sculptures (Lucie and Brielle’s lesson:
“Enchanted Garden”)
- Children write a story about a trip
through their own garden that they have created (thinking about the little
girl’s trip through her imaginary world, following her yellow ball)
- Children turn their stories into
individual performances (while they read it out loud, perhaps)
- Children share the individual
performances with the group, talk about them
- Combine children into pairs, threes, or
larger groups to combine their stories/shows: tell them to consider their
partners based on how they feel their stories could work together
- Children share group shows, talk about
them
- If possible, combine whole class into
one performance once groups are done? (*progress from individual to entire
group broken down into steps this way… have more steps, adding more people
to the groups each time, before the final entire class?)
MATERIALS LIST:
·
Sculpture materials, assorted: paper, scissors, glue, pipe
cleaners, fabric, ribbon, string, markers, crayons, pencils, erasers, glitter…
·
Writing materials: pencils, lined paper, construction
paper, markers
·
Performance materials: (IS183 stage) space/room
rearrangement
·
References: copies printed out for students
SECTION 6: REFLECTION
SPECIAL NEEDS CONSIDERATIONS- At
this developmental stage, these are the needs the children have:
Notes: 5-7 Year Old Developmental
- “more”
independence: EXPERIMENTATION
- Physical,
social, mental skills developing
- Attention
to friendship/teamwork/desire to “fit in”- teasing
- Be
clear about norms/guidelines
- Encourage
to solve own problems
- Tell
what next day holds (keep excited)
- “I
can’t do this”- be encouraging and praise, break down problems into
steps/give a demo
As
teachers, we will encourage experimentation and independent thought in the
sculpture-making; physical, social, and mental development throughout the
lesson; teamwork and friendship in collaborative performance creation; clear
norms and guidelines at the beginning of their program (with Lucie and
Brielle’s primary lesson); independent problem solving throughout (but
particularly during sculptures, creative writing, and individual performance);
hint at what the next day holds to keep them engaged; and encourage them when
they say “I can’t do this” by praising their work and breaking down problems
into steps (like the whole lesson has been broken into steps to move from
individual work to larger group work).
ELL ESL CONSIDERATIONS- For English language
learners, I have selected a highly visual picture book we will read together;
they can still follow the story by the strong pictures. As teachers, we may
also do the work alongside the students (if possible) to enhance comfort and
ownership with the work. In addition, if there are any ELL ESL students, we
have the ability to obtain an aide or to give them extra one-on-one attention.
We would also encourage that student to write and perform their stories in
their own language, if they would like, to teach us! (It would enhance the
entire classroom’s experience and lesson.)
SPECIAL CONDITIONS- We need a room in which
we can perform after we create sculptures and write stories; either the
upstairs classroom at IS183 with the stage and tables, or a room in which we
can easily move chairs and tables around (when we are done with them) to make
open floor space
EXAMPLES OF STUDENT WORK:
TO COME AFTER THE LESSON IS COMPLETED (TOWARD END OF MY
INTERNSHIP)
RUBRIC:
Name______________________________
Class___________________________ Date_________________
Enchanted
Garden: Sculptures, Stories, Performances
|
Standard:
|
Outstanding
|
Proficient
|
Poor
|
Unacceptable
|
|
Creative
Thinking
|
Student
created a garden with a large variety of mediums, a story based on the
sculptures that reflects creative thought and imagination, and performance(s)
based on stories that demonstrate creative thought, teamwork, and
inclusiveness
|
Student
created a garden with a small variety of mediums, a story based on the
sculptures that reflects some creative thought and imagination, and
performance(s) based on stories that demonstrate some creative thought,
teamwork, and inclusiveness
|
Student
created a garden with only a few mediums, a story (perhaps not) based on the
sculptures that reflects little creative thought and imagination, and
performance(s) based on stories that demonstrate little creative thought,
teamwork, and inclusiveness
|
Student
created a garden with only one or two mediums, a story (perhaps not) based on
the sculptures that reflects almost no creative thought and imagination, and
performance(s) based on stories that demonstrate almost no creative thought,
teamwork, and inclusiveness
|
|
Craftsmanship
|
Student’s
work is very soundly made and written (perhaps with demonstration of a medium’s
mastery), and clean
|
Student’s
work is well-made, well-written, and clean
|
Student’s
work is less than well-made, well written, and/or clean (may or may not
reflect an attempt to improve craftsmanship)
|
Student’s
work is not well-made, well-written, and/or clean (and does not reflect an
attempt to improve craftsmanship)
|
|
Focus
|
Student
is intently and enduringly focused on creative thought, the creation process,
and on teamwork and inclusiveness
|
Student
is mostly focused on creative thought, the creation process, and on teamwork
and inclusiveness
|
Student
has some trouble focusing on creative thought, the creation process, and on
teamwork and inclusiveness
|
Student
is not at all focused on creative thought and the creation process, and has
severe trouble with teamwork and inclusiveness
|
|
Critical Response
|
Student’s
responses to book reading and (classmates’) performances demonstrate creative
and considerate thought
|
Student’s
responses to book reading and (classmates’) performances demonstrate some creative
and considerate thought
|
Student’s
responses to book reading and (classmates’) performances demonstrate little creative
and considerate thought (and comments may or may not be inappropriate or
hurtful)
|
Student’s
responses to book reading and (classmates’) performances demonstrate no
creative and considerate thought
(and
comments are inappropriate or hurtful)
|
Critical
Response: What challenges did you experience in doing this project and how
did
you address them?
Lesson Tips:
·
Don’t give students the option to think “they can’t do it.” Don’t put
the idea in their heads by saying something like, “Now, if you don’t think you
are good at acting, don’t worry if you make a mistake at this part…” Just give
them basic directions to create and
perform as necessary, and encourage and praise them throughout the progress of
the whole lesson. If they ever feel “stuck,” help them break their problem down
into smaller steps that are more solve-able.
·
AT ALL TIMES, ENCOURAGE AND PRAISE EXPERIMENTATION AND RISK-TAKING!
Flower and Creature Creation:
·
Encourage students to refer to the flower and
insect diagrams as they create; encourage use of the diagrams’ vocabularies
·
Encourage students to make their own creations
BASED OFF of the references (discourage “copying” references)
Writing Narrative
Stories:
·
Encourage students to consider The Tale I Told
Sasha while they are writing their
narratives (i.e. to think about a beginning, middle, and end to their stories,
as well as how different characters might interact with each other, as well as
“mystery”)
Creating Solo
Performances:
·
Encourage students to consider “how their story
would look if it were on TV:” how would characters move, speak, interact?
·
Encourage students to consider the order of their
stories, if they get “stuck:” break their stories down into steps/ “scenes” to
help them
Creating Group
Performances:
·
Encourage students to find the places where
theirs and their partners’ stories could “mesh” or combine; are there similar
characters that could be friends? Similar plants that imply both students’
gardens could be found in the same field?
·
Encourage students to remember a beginning,
middle, and end (like they did in their stories and solo performances)
·
Encourage, again, for students to consider “how
their story might look on TV,” and to consider what the orders of their group
performances should be, if they get “stuck:” break down into steps/ “scenes”
