Unit 3: Stories
Studio 1
Artist: Thomas Hart Benton & Diego Rivera
Group Murals: Drawing and/or collage
Group Murals: Drawing and/or collage
Studio 2
Artist: Faith Ringgold
Story Quilts: Watercolor
Story Quilts: Watercolor
Studio 3
Artist: Jean Shin
Mini Sculptures from Found Objects
Mini Sculptures from Found Objects
Unit 3: Stories Reflection
In studio one, we created story images of current issues in education. Many students, myself included, chose to use a cartoon story as our representation. This relates to the big idea of stories because cartoons and drawings are a way to tell a story or pieces of a story. My cartoon represents the issue of technology in our classrooms now. While technology can be very useful and enhance the learning of students, it also takes away from the human interaction and learning that needs to take place. In my own classroom, this studio could be used in the same way (having students draw cartoons or images) but related to the topic we are learning. For example, if we are discussing the issue of recycling, students could draw their own representations of the issue and what it means to them and society. "Editorial cartoons can be a great teaching tool to help explain an historical or current event. They complement history, government, social studies, science, and art classes by providing a visual aide for potentially obtuse topics." (Union of Concerned Scientists)
Faith Ringgold was the inspiration for our second studio. In this studio, we created story quilts. Each of us chose a familiar story or a personal story and created a "piece of a quilt". In the end, the individual stories could potential be displayed as a single large quilt representing our class. I chose the popular children's book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" as the inspiration for my piece. I absolutely love Faith Ringgold and her children's books. I hope to incorporate her books in my future classroom. I would also use this studio in my future classroom by having my students create their own class quilt. I would choose one of Faith's books to read to the class. For example, "Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky" would be a great book to read and would provide an opportunity to incorporate Social Studies into the lesson. Students could then create their piece of the quilt representing what freedom means to them. I could also incorporate literacy into this lesson by having students write an "artist's statement" over their image.
During studio three, within small groups, we created mini sculptures out of found objects. The main idea of this studio was recycling everyday objects by creating some type of sculpture. The way I interpreted the big idea of stories within this studio is that objects have stories and meaning. You can use objects to represent a story or issue. My group used previously recycled bottles to create a "trash can". Our idea behind this is that our society today is extremely wasteful and many times recyclable items are thrown into a landfill instead of being reused. This studio would be a great way for students to create/hold their own recycling campaign. They could create sculptures out of recyclable objects and display them throughout the school. They could also make posters containing more info about recycling and it's importance to our environment.
Overall, stories can be incorporated in many ways and through many activities in the classroom. Stories can be used to enhance learning in all subject areas, especially because students can easily relate and connect to all types of stories. As Pink (2005) states, "Stories are easier to remember - because in many ways, stories are how we remember... Most of our experience, our knowledge and our thinking is organized as stories."
References
Pink, D. (2005). A Whole New Mind. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
Union of Concerned Scientists. (n.d.). Editorial cartoon lesson plan. Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/scientific_integrity/editorial-cartoon- high-school-lesson-plan.pdf
Faith Ringgold was the inspiration for our second studio. In this studio, we created story quilts. Each of us chose a familiar story or a personal story and created a "piece of a quilt". In the end, the individual stories could potential be displayed as a single large quilt representing our class. I chose the popular children's book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" as the inspiration for my piece. I absolutely love Faith Ringgold and her children's books. I hope to incorporate her books in my future classroom. I would also use this studio in my future classroom by having my students create their own class quilt. I would choose one of Faith's books to read to the class. For example, "Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky" would be a great book to read and would provide an opportunity to incorporate Social Studies into the lesson. Students could then create their piece of the quilt representing what freedom means to them. I could also incorporate literacy into this lesson by having students write an "artist's statement" over their image.
During studio three, within small groups, we created mini sculptures out of found objects. The main idea of this studio was recycling everyday objects by creating some type of sculpture. The way I interpreted the big idea of stories within this studio is that objects have stories and meaning. You can use objects to represent a story or issue. My group used previously recycled bottles to create a "trash can". Our idea behind this is that our society today is extremely wasteful and many times recyclable items are thrown into a landfill instead of being reused. This studio would be a great way for students to create/hold their own recycling campaign. They could create sculptures out of recyclable objects and display them throughout the school. They could also make posters containing more info about recycling and it's importance to our environment.
Overall, stories can be incorporated in many ways and through many activities in the classroom. Stories can be used to enhance learning in all subject areas, especially because students can easily relate and connect to all types of stories. As Pink (2005) states, "Stories are easier to remember - because in many ways, stories are how we remember... Most of our experience, our knowledge and our thinking is organized as stories."
References
Pink, D. (2005). A Whole New Mind. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
Union of Concerned Scientists. (n.d.). Editorial cartoon lesson plan. Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/scientific_integrity/editorial-cartoon- high-school-lesson-plan.pdf