Meredith Weger

Template 1

Art Integration Unit Plan

Art Integration Unit Plan Template

LTC Art for Children

Unit Title & Big Idea: (Define the BIG IDEA?) What is the big idea that is being investigated in this
lesson? How will you connect the big ideas about art and artists work with the art making part of
this lesson?
Through social studies integration I am incorporating the big idea of fashion. I am
going to incorporate the idea of clothing designers as artists and use sketches of their
work to encourage my students to see themselves as designers. Students will make a
paper doll and style him or her and relating the dolls style to culture. Students will
sketch the outfit the doll will wear, just like designers.
Unit Overview/Summary: Why is this important to teach? What do you hope to accomplish?
In social studies, we have been discussing the importance of diversity and
appreciating diversity. Being knowledgeable about cultures goes along with the idea
of diversity and being competent citizens. Fashion is a big part of our world today.
When my students see someone with a different fashion or style, I want my students
to be curious and want to learn about what a persons fashion could mean about that
persons culture. I want my students to be accepting of others and being accepting of
others fashion and culture is a good lesson for my students to learn and carry with
them.

Grade Level/Class Periods

Required:
4th grade/3 class
periods

Materials/Equiptment/Etc:
MATERIALS, TEACHING
RESOURCES/REFERENCES(Books (Teacher and
Childrens), posters,
articles, websites) and
PREPARATION REQUIREDwhat materials, tools, and
resources do you need for
this class? What do you
need to practice and
prepare for this lesson?
What did you learn from
creating your teaching
exemplar?
I will need the materials
to make the paper dolls
as well as blank paper for
the students to sketch on.
I will want to use
designers sketches as a
reference for students to
see how to sketch and to

Meredith Weger
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Art Integration Unit Plan

show examples of
different types of global
fashion. I will also want to
rely on museum websites
for different artists
information and artwork
to help guide my
discussion on What and
who is an artist?

Key Concepts (3-4)

Essential Questions (3-4) What questions guide the
What will students learn and KNOW about art and art making
investigation in this lesson?
from this lesson?
What will students discover and investigate both about
List as facts about art and artists and works of art. What art and art making? What will you ask that will guide the
will they learn from an art, art history, and art criticism
purposeful exploration of materials and ideas that will
discussion? What will they learn from the art production part of produce meaningful content to the creative production?
the lesson? What key concepts from other core subjects will
What is art?
Who are artists?
they uncover?
These first two questions will guide the discussion on
Students will use this paper doll as their fearless
students realizing that art is more than the paintings
mark. Through this they are going to learn to be
in a museum. These will also help students realize
flexible with time and material constraints and they are that they themselves are artists.
going to become comfortable with making art in the
How can you use these scrap materials to help you
classroom. Students will learn about Banksy and his
display your culture?
-This is a discussion the teacher can have with
grafetti work as a part of our discussion about what is
students who need help because they are not used to
art? and they will learn about Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren
having to use found materials.
and Versace designers and their sketches. We will also
do an image jam that will lead to a conversation about
art and interpreting art to get the students in the
mindset that art is open for interpretation and across
our class we could see a piece of art in many different
ways. Students will also learn that art making can be
very simple; it doesnt need to always be a huge,
detailed piece of work.
Unit Objectives: (Excellent resource at http://www.teachervision.fen.com/curriculum-planning/new-teacher/48345.html?for_printing=1&detoured=1)

Meredith Weger
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Art Integration Unit Plan

What learners will DO? List beginning with the student will
*(NOTE: Evidence of the objectives and concepts attained make up your assessment criteria below)
The student will understand that art and artists are more than just the famous, elaborate pieces made by
famous, experienced artists.
The students will understand fashion as it relates to culture.
The student will be able to use fashion as an outlet for culture or a custom that represents him or her.
The student will be able to fearlessly make art for the rest of the year.
Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) (3-4)
Core Academic Standards (Common Core State Standards)
(http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/GLE/)

National Core Art Standards

(http://www.nationalartsstandards.org)
GLEs- AD.4.A; AD.4.B
Creating- Anchor Standard #1
Presenting- Anchor Standard #6
Responding- Anchor Standard #8
Content Areas Integrated:
1. Visual Art
2. Social Studies

Lesson Titles in Sequence/Order with TIME and MATERIALS

needed for each portion
1.What is culture and what are some cultures/customs
of our classroom? Materials needed will be: sketch
paper for students to sketch others. 50 minutes (one
social studies period).

(3-

4)
(http://www.corestandards.org/)

Sculptures, Ceramics, Other Media- Standard 2, Grade

4
Theme- Standard 3, Grade 4
Emphasis- Standard 2, Grade 4

Identify & define common vocabulary/concepts that

connect the art form with the other identified subject area(s):
Culture- The arts, beliefs, customs, institutions, and
other products of human work and thought considered
as a unit, especially with regard to a particular time or
social group.
Fashion- The prevailing style or custom, as in dress or
behavior.
Custom- A traditional and widely accepted way of
behaving or doing something that is specific to a
particular society, place, or time
Brief Lesson Descriptions (2-3 sentences each)
1.This lesson is about introducing culture and customs
and what those mean. I want students to find
examples of cultures and customs: within us as a
classroom and globally. This is where I want to show
examples of fashion and talk about how fashion ties

Meredith Weger
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2.What is art? Who are artists? Fashion in my culture.

Materials needed will be: examples of different kinds of
artists and their artwork. Ex: Banksy and the artists
from local museum websites, glue, scissors, cardboard
for doll backing, doll templates, random materials to
use for clothes, colored pencils or crayons. 50 minutes
(one social studies period).
3. Speed-dating with the dolls. Materials needed will
be: completed paper dolls. 50 minutes.

Art Integration Unit Plan

into culture. Students will observe and sketch other
peers in the classroom and then we will have a
discussion
about
how
each students
fashion
contributes to our classroom culture.
2. In this lesson we will first explore famous artists
and designers as well as local artists and designers
and their work to get the conversation started about
what defines something as art and who are artists.
The goal here is to get students thinking that they are
artists and the work they produce is artwork. Students
will then pick out a paper doll template and sketch an
outfit that represents himself or herself and his or her
individual culture or customs. Students will then get 1
minute to pick out materials for their doll and then
they will have 20 minutes to style their doll based on
their sketch.
3. Students will take their completed doll and go
around and speed-date with their doll and another
student and their doll. This is how students can self
assess how well they conveyed their culture or custom
through the fashion aspect and they can gather ideas
from other students and their perspectives.

What student prior knowledge will this unit require/draw upon?

The unit will draw upon students prior knowledge of culture and customs and what some of their own cultures
and customs are. It can draw on students experiences with other cultures and how fashion is a part of that. It
will also draw upon any preconceived ideas of fashion that students have.
What activities will you use to engage students in imagining, exploring, and/or experimenting in this unit?
By having my students sketch each other, it will engage them in the idea of fashion and spark their curiosity as
to how the big idea of fashion does relate to the world around them. By showing my students examples of
fashion in other parts of the world, they will also start exploring culture as a big picture.

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Art Integration Unit Plan

Describe, specifically, how you will allow the students to engage with the media, the concepts, and other objectives in a
playful manner before they are excpected to produce the final work. This section should accentuate how the PROCESS
informs the product
I want to have my students observe other people and make sketches of what they are wearing to get them
thinking about how that fashion could be conveying their cultural identity. Getting them exposed to different
types of clothes is a way of giving my students ideas they can use in their final product and showing an
emphasis on planning because they will base their whole doll off of the sketch they made.
How will this unit permit/encourage students to solve problems in divergent ways?
The students will only be given a certain amount of time and materials so they will have to problem solve and
work with what they have in order to convey their culture or custom through fashion. Being around the
classroom to offer help and encourage students, as a teacher, will help their outcome. As far as the unit goes, it
is all about diversity so having students do work from the perspective of a different culture down the road could
also encourage them to think in divergent ways.
Deeply describe how this lesson allows for students to solve problems, aesthetically as well as scholastically? What about this
lesson allows for divergent outcomes?
Aesthetically students will have to figure out how to make their artwork and cut the materials to fit their doll.
This lesson allows for divergent outcomes because each student is making a paper doll of themselves and their
own culture and customs so each doll will be unique. Students need to think outside of the box on how to show
a culture or custom through fashion that may not directly involve fashion. For example, me putting teacher type
clothes on my doll shows my culture of being a teacher, but being a teacher isnt usually thought of with
fashionable cultures. Scholastically, students will be learning about cultures and learning to appreciate cultures.
How will you engage students in routinely reflecting on their learning/learning processes?
By incorporating diverse perspectives and appreciation into my classroom in the beginning of the year,
throughout the year we can explore other big ideas and how they relate to my students as well as to others who
are different from us. Art wise, as the year goes on, I want my students to take their paper doll and often reflect
on how their work as an artist has grown and changed.
What art talk questions can you engage your students in that will help them in reflecting not only on the product, but also
the product? What reflective practices can you think of that will help them in transitioning from start to stop?
I think asking my students to consider what colors they are using as well as materials is a good way to

Meredith Weger
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Art Integration Unit Plan

incorporate more art ideas. For example, talking about colors and what mood they typically convey and looking
at work of different colors can teach the lesson to my students that if they are trying to convey anger, baby pink
is probably not the best choice of color.
How will this unit engage students in assessing their own work?
By the speed-dating portion of the lesson, my students will discuss with peers what they think about their
work. By hearing other students perspectives and interpretations students can assess how well they conveyed
their own culture or custom.
What opportunities will you allow your students to display, describe, or evidence their learning?
(Describe what student success looks like and what evidence you have that learning has taken place). You should include
formative and summative assessments. (See Beattie and Stewart/Walker texts)
I want to take these paper dolls and hang them up in the classroom as decoration but also as a reminder to my
students where they started the school year at artistically and to constantly remind my students of the diversity
we have as a classroom and to appreciate that. Student success will be students ability to identify a culture or
custom that they individually have and their ability to convey that through fashion. I think having a conference
with each student during the speed-dating peer assessment will allow for time for students to explain their
custom through fashion to me personally. There will also be a formal assessment at the end of the
culture/fashion unit to assess a more global knowledge on culture and customs.
What opportunities/activities will students be given to revise and improve their understandings and their work?
The speed-dating portion of the lesson on day 3 will take 30 minutes. After hearing other peers opinions and
perspectives on their work, students will be giving the remaining 20 minutes of that social studies period to
revise their paper doll to better display their culture or a custom.
What happens when revision is needed? How will you handle that in this situation?
If revision is needed that is okay. I will only allow them 20 minutes for revision though because this doll is their
fearless mark and I do not want the students to nit-pick at their piece of work for a long time. If revision is
needed, I will want to make sure that the students are understanding culture and customs and what those are.
What opportunities/activities will you provide for students to share their learning/understanding/work in this unit?
I really like utilizing class discussion at the carpet for students to share findings. I have seen the teacher use
this method in my host classroom and there is something about just sitting down with the students and letting
them talk not in the formal classroom set up that makes them feel more comfortable and willing to share.
Students will also be conveying their knowledge through their paper doll.

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Art Integration Unit Plan

Presenting the work in a meaningful way. How will this be accomplished?

By relating the big idea of fashion back to the students and their lives, the work will seem more meaningul.
Through research and discussion in our social studies class we have came to the conclusion that when students
are presented content with how it relates to their life they take away so much more.
How will you adapt the various aspects of this lesson to differently-abled students?
If students struggle with the motor skills portion of the art then the teacher can assist or provide some pre-cut
dolls for their ease. I think relating culture to each of us as a human and then talking about our class cultures
and customs will help lower students understand what culture is. The big picture real world examples in
different countries may be harder for some students to grasp since they arent exposed to those cultures often
so relating the idea of culture and the fact that each of us has a fashion will help differently-abled students.
How will you differentiate for your diverse classroom population? How will you keep students engaged? What will you do to challenge students who are
highly talented? What have you planned for those who finish early?
I will differentiate for my diverse classroom by allowing each one to make their paper doll unique to their
cultures and customs. Each doll will be diverse. I plan on keeping the students engaged during the art making
time by limiting the amount of time they have to work on the doll that way students will be doing it in order to
beat the clock. I think through using real life examples and relating all of the culture content back to the
students lives will also keep them engaged. For students who finish early, I will have them sketch other
possible outfits that they could have done in order to display another culture or custom. This sketching time for
fast finishers could also be a time where highly-abled students are asked to sketch an outfit of a more global
culture.
TEACHER REFLECTION: How will you know that this lesson is successful and meaningful? List indicators.
I will know that this lesson is successful artistically by students ability to be open to art making during
the year. I will be able to tell if the doll artwork led the students to fearlessly step forward and be open to any
type of art I ask them to create. I will also be able to tell if this lesson was meaningful if my students seem to
take on an appreciative attitude towards diversity as opposed to an ignorant one. If my students become
curious about diverse cultures and the big idea of fashion, I will deem this lesson a success.

Meredith Weger
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Art Integration Unit Plan

References

Silverstein, L. B. & Layne, S. (n.d.). Defining arts integration. Retrieved from

http://www.americansforthearts.org/networks/arts_education/publications/special_publications/Defining%20Arts
%20Integration.pdf