Content: Describe what it is you will teach. What is the content?
I will introduce students to who Vincent Van Gogh was and reveal the famous painting that they have been replicating. Students will then arrange their sections together to recreate Van Gogh’s painting.
Learning Goal(s): Describe what specifically students will know and be able to do after the experience of this class.
Students will know who Van Gogh was and what his painting career was like. They will also be able to work together as a class to put together his painting accurately.
Rationale: Explain how the content and learning goal(s) relate to your Curriculum Unit Plan learning goals.
Once each student’s section is assembled to recreate the whole painting, students will be able to see how the painting uses complementary colors. Students will see how Van Gogh’s choice in complementary colors and his use of the impasto technique creates a sense of space and movement in his painting.
Assessment: Describe how you and your students will know they have reached your learning goals.
I will have a printed copy of Van Gogh’s painting that students can use to reference while they assemble their sections together. They will need to successfully assemble the sections to recreate the painting accurately. They will also be asked to research something about Van Gogh for homework to share with the class the next day.
Personalization and equity: Describe how you will provide for individual student strengths and needs. How will you and your lesson consider the needs of each student and scaffold learning? How specifically will ELL students and students with learning disabilities gain access and be supported?
Each section has been pre-labeled with numbers. Students who have difficulties with seeing proportions (being able to identify where their section fits on a larger scale to recreate the whole painting) will be able to use the numbers to navigate the sections. My presentation of Van Gogh’s life and works will include a lot of visuals so students can access the information without the pressure of reading too much text. Their homework to research Van Gogh and share something about him in class the next day will also serve as a refresher for the information I present.
Activity description and agenda: Describe the activities that will help your students understand the content of your class lesson by creating an agenda with time frames for your class. Be prepared to explain why you think each activity will help students on the path toward understanding.
Day 1: I will introduce Vincent Van Gogh to the students and present to them snapshots of his life and works. I will also reveal which one of his paintings the students have been working on. HW: students will be asked to research Van Gogh and share something they learned about him in class the next day.
Day 2: Bell ringer – what is one thing you learned about Van Gogh? Students will use class time to assemble their sections to recreate Van Gogh’s painting.
What particular challenges, in terms of student learning or implementing planned activity, do you anticipate and how will you address them?
Students are not used to having homework in an art class. I anticipate that many of my students will not research Van Gogh for homework. I will allow those students who did not complete the homework to research something about Van Gogh during class while others help to assemble the sections. To keep students accountable for learning about Van Gogh, I will have each student write down one fact on the back of their sections.
List the Massachusetts Learning Standards this lesson addresses.
4.12 Choose and prepare artwork for exhibition, and be able to discuss their choices
5.9 Use published sources, either traditional or electronic, to research a body of work or an artist, and present findings in written or oral form
Here is a link to the PowerPoint presentation I used to teach my students about Vincent van Gogh: