California Standards-Based Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Equity in Art Education

A Field Project Presented to the Faculty of the School of Education

University of San Francisco

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

In

TEACHING

By

Lucy C. Rivera

May, 2009

Standards Based Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Equity in Art Education

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

in

TEACHING

by

Lucy C. Rivera

UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO

May, 2009 Under the guidance and approval of the committee, and approval by all the members, this field project has been accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree. Approved: ________________________________________ ______________ Chairperson Date

University of San Francisco

School of Education

Author Release Clearly Print Name___________________________________________________________ Group Number_______________________________________________ The University of San Francisco School of Education has permission to use my MA thesis/field project as an example of acceptable work. This permission includes the right to duplicate the manuscript as well as permits the project to be checked out from the College Library. Signature________________________________________________________________ Date____________________________________

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Acknowledgments

For Amy, you gave me the most wonderful childhood, full of imagination and art.

For Edmund, you made me want to be a teacher and told me I could. I would like to thank Peter Williamson of the University of San Francisco for his thoughtful guidance during the completion of this project.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1-Introduction 1

Statement of the Problem 5 Background and Need 5 Purpose of Project 8 Definition of Terms 10 Project Objectives 12 Summary 14

Chapter II-Review of the Literature 16

The Impact of Arts Education upon Student Achievement 17 The Role(s) of Art Education in Public Schools 28 The California Students’ access to Art Education 33

Chapter III-Project Development 38 Background 39 Research 41

Chapter IV-Evaluations, Recommendations, and Conclusions 45 Evaluation 46 Conclusions 48 Recommendations 49

References 52 Appendix 56

Project Title: California Standards-Based Interdisciplinary Curriculum for High School Weather Systems and System Art and Caricatures and Alter Egos: Self Identity in Donald Duk and Contemporary Art

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Chapter I-Introduction

Art when really understood is the province of every human being. It is simply a

question of doing things, anything, well. It is not an outside, extra thing. When

the artist is alive in any person, whatever his kind of work may be, he becomes

an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressing creature. He becomes

interesting to other people. He disturbs, upsets, enlightens, and he opens ways

for a better understanding. When those who are not artists are trying to close the

book, he opens it, shows there are still more pages possible. (Henri, 1923)

According to The National Center on Education and the Economy’s New

Commission on the Skills of the American workforce, U.S. industries in the next decade

will be in demand for creative work, citing research development, marketing, sales, and

global supply chain management. According to these reports, these industries depend

on leaders with skills rooted in creativity, imagination, and the arts. The report also

claims that leadership in the workforce “depends on a deep vein of creativity . . . on a

myriad of people who can imagine how people can use things that have never been

available before” (NCEE, 2007). The Visual and Performing Arts disciplines are the

only subjects in public education whose content is rooted creative work and

imagination. In the words of art educators, “The arts offer a way of thinking

unavailable in other disciplines” (Hetland & Winner, 2001). Responsibilities of schools

and teachers include educating students through inspirational pedagogy and awareness

of what skills can benefit young people. However, where students in public schools

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will find the piece of their education that formally addresses the skills of creativity and

cultivation of imagination is in question.

In 2008, Robert Lynch, President of Americans for the Arts, addressed a major

global threat to the United State’s success. He cited the threat as the “decades-long

erosion of the arts” (Lynch, 2008) in our educational system. Lynch reported:

Arts education not only provides artistic training, but teaches children creativity,

spatial thinking, and abstract reasoning, all critical skill sets for tomorrow’s

software designers, scientists, and entrepreneurs and engineers. Parents and

educators can feel optimistic that their arts-educated kids will have a clear shot

at being employed in the arts related, creative industries, as well as in the new

innovative century economy. (2008)

This argument challenges the long held belief that artistically inclined students

will be best taking up careers limited to design, illustration, or graphic design. What

can be proved by current research is that art is essentially a life skill, a survival skill in

today’s economy. Further proof of this argument will not necessarily be found in

additional research, but to what degree public schools regard the arts as something that

clearly contributes to a student’s personal development and long-term success.

Fowler (1996) wrote:

Generally, people do not see any relationship between the arts and American

influence and affluence. They may acknowledge that the arts can lead to a more

satisfying life, but their connection to what are truly important-jobs and

livelihood, the global economy . . . may escape them. That relationship needs to

be made explicit. (p.4)

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Fowler’s argument supports a shift in the mindset of the school community

regarding arts education. An important step in supporting a more visible arts program

in school curriculum will come from the acknowledgement of art’s influence on our

students’ immediate quality of life and on their futures.

In this time of fragmented art education in public schools it is crucial to

understand that art education is both a life skill and an educational goldmine that

encourages links to other fields of study. Art teaches invaluable observational skills

much like those used by medical professionals in the diagnosis of patients and treatment

of individuals. Some researchers claim that learning to analyze paintings as if they are

individual cases teaches medical students to develop their interpretation of X rays and

symptoms (Sherman, 2001). In 2005, New York Police officers participated in the

examination and study of art at the Frick Museum in order to develop highly detailed

observational skills and learn how to decode clues within the context of paintings. The

officers noted the similarities between the note-taking required at a crime scene and that

involved in the analysis of a painting (Byron, 2005). Art is an integral part of

education in addition to being a discipline that teaches skills found effective in specific

professions not usually associated with art.

Despite the array of benefits that an education in the arts can provide, a peculiar

contradiction exists within the California public education system. While there is a

general appreciation for arts, including the election of the Visual and Performing Arts

in 2001 as a core subject, there lacks action in implementing art education in schools as

consistently and with the same resources as other core subjects. This is an unfortunate,

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considering schools are full of young people “yearning to express their individuality and

identity” (LaFee, 2008), and arts provide a haven for such ambitions.

In a recent study of 31 schools across 13 districts in California, 68% of

principals cite the focus on improving test scores as a barrier to arts education

(Woodworth et al., 2007). This increased focus forces time, effort, and planning away

from art education within the school. The study reports that principals at historically

underserved schools were almost twice as likely (35%) as their counterparts in low

poverty schools (19%) to report a decline over the last five years in instruction time for

the arts. This indicates a drastic inequality in art education across California public

schools. The arguments for art education alongside reports citing the marginalization of

arts programs in public high schools call for a reasonable solution that affords every

student an opportunity to learn in and through the arts, and have access to an art

education regardless of what school they attend or where they live.

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Statement of the Problem Despite the election of Visual and Performing Arts as a core subject in

the 2001 No Child Left Behind legislation, instruction time is increasingly dedicated to

those subjects whose standardized test results must be submitted yearly. This has led to

an unfortunate domino effect that has also taken over the majority California’s schools,

resulting in a collapsed state of art education at the expense of their students.

According to a 2007 statewide study of California’s schools, the students who

have the least access to a quality arts education are those who attend schools in

historically underserved areas. It is reasonable to assume that students attending

historically underserved schools are no less interested or less able to benefit from arts

exposure in the multitude of ways it can enrich a young person’s life. Historically

underserved students who have fewer or nonexistent art classes in their schools and

extracurricular opportunities could perhaps reap even more benefits from increased art

education than their middle class counterparts, given that these students might

experience a life changing opportunity that because of their socioeconomic status, and

the school they attend, they may not have had access to.

Background and Need

Leading researchers have long argued that an education in the arts has profound

ways of turning a student into a learner with an appetite for knowledge, or, in the words

of Elliot Eisner, turning a “brain into a mind” (2003). Arts education affords students

opportunities to witness a larger view of world culture and understand the lives of

unfamiliar people and places without having to travel or set foot outside of the

classroom. Art education “provides another way to be in the world, another way to form

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experience, another way to recover and express meaning” (Eisner, 2009). Art teaches

students to learn from the unexpected and their mistakes. Art encourages students to

think in terms of multiple answers, and be without fear of choosing a wrong single

solution. Art can be a form of literacy, a form of demonstrating what a student knows

and has learned (Catterall, 1998). Art shows students a survey of the world, and is a

language all it’s own in demonstrating student understanding. Students not receiving an

education in the arts are without an invaluable discipline and language in their

schooling.

A study of underserved students in 1999 highlighted the benefits that art

education can afford youth who may not have access to the arts outside of the

classroom. The study gave low-income students the opportunity to gain an education in

the arts through an extracurricular program when their schools did not offer any (Oreck,

B., Baum, S., McCartney, H., 1999). As a result of the program, the students gained

motivation, self-esteem and confidence to succeed in school. Such results beg the

question of how much these students would benefit if arts education had been a part of

their schooling all along, offering them a consistent way of thinking and learning

through the arts.

In 1999 a study was conducted in four metropolitan areas to observe public

schools designated as ‘high arts’ schools (Burton, J., Horowitz, R., & Abeles, H., 2000).

These schools placed emphasis on the arts in its hiring considerations for staff and in

the school mission. Findings indicated that students at the school became more

motivated, creative, and had a better self-concept throughout their academic careers

versus those of students in schools that placed minimal emphasis on arts programs and

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art classes. The study demonstrated that a strong emphasis on the arts can truly benefit

a school and it’s students.

In addition to what art offers students intrinsically in terms of motivation, some

research indicates integrating art into other content areas has numerous benefits to

students outside art disciplines. By learning through art and exposing the mind to visual

arrangements, students can be introduced to an alternative way of thinking (Catterall,

1998). Art can be used with mathematics to graphically represent problem solving and

to visually document the process of understanding an abstract situation (Edens & Potter,

2007). Artwork can be used to examine historical contexts by understanding the society

in which the artist lived, and the inspiration behind the work (Catterall). Through art,

students are able to identify and define their personal identity through works and artists

that connect to them on a cultural or ethnic level. On a global level, the arts are trans-

cultural, encouraging openness and empathy towards peoples that are different from one

another in their customs and artistic expressions (Fowler, 1996, p.50). In a broader

sense of teaching and learning, art and art making can be used as an alternative mode of

representing thought processes in the way that writing or verbal language is used

(Catterall, 1996). Since it is reasonable to assume not every student is identical to one

another, we can also assume that students will not express themselves identically, but

rather through alternative representations of understanding.

Leading authors differ in opinion of what the primary purpose of art education

can and should be. It is safe to say all proponents of art education believe that arts

classes should result in art-based or related outcomes, with art’s intrinsic value being

reason enough to justify its place in school curriculum as its own discipline. However

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some leading authors believe that art education would be best left as only that, it’s own

discipline without infiltrating other content areas. Eisner (1999) wrote, “The core

problem with such rationales for arts education is that they leave the arts vulnerable to

any other field or educational practice that claims that is can achieve the same aims

faster and better”. On the other hand, there is the opinion that art education should be

welcomed and integrated into other core subjects. Interdisciplinary education that

incorporates the arts with other curricula offers students a more imaginative platform to

problem-solve and explore new content. The danger lies in thinking these opinions are

mutually exclusive. If it is only of worth to offer art education within the art classroom

and not recognize art as a way of thinking and an expression of learning alongside other

subject matter, then we exclude those underserved students whose art classes may be

entirely cut or marginalized, not even being afforded the opportunity have consistent art

classes. If we only recognize the worth that art has in benefiting other disciplines in

ways of thinking, then we lose sight of how much art is worth on it’s own, culturally,

personally, and holistically. The challenge lies in offering underserved students who

may not have any arts exposure and art education at all a way of becoming learners

through integration in all content areas, while preserving the importance that art itself

can have upon them as a person in the larger classroom that is their life.

Purpose of the Project

The purpose of this project is to create a tool for California public high school

teachers to effectively integrate Visual Arts content with Science and English-Language

Arts. The units are designed to easily integrate into existing curriculum that is based on

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the California State Board of Education Content Standards for grades 9 through 12.

The units are designed to be models of effective interdisciplinary curriculum for

strengthening arts education in schools that cannot provide a consistent art education

curriculum for all students.

Focusing on underserved schools that may not have access to facilities,

equipment, or instruments, these units provide lessons that rely upon easily accessible

media resources and minimal supplies. The California State Board of Education names

visual arts, music, dance, and theatre as the four disciplines that comprise the Visual

and Performing Arts (VPA) content standards (Malley, (Ed.) 2001). For this project

visual arts will be used as the VPA discipline that is integrated with other core subjects.

Using these units as a model for interdisciplinary curricula, teachers can further

integrate additional Visual and Performing Arts disciplines into other aspects of their

curriculum.

The units will not only provide students with an alternative method to learn and

understand content, but also expose them to art making, historical contexts, and the

cultural significance of the works studied. The units provide standards - based Science

and English-Language Arts curriculum with content not typically found outside of an

art room.

This curriculum will serve to enrich the core subject curriculum for students in

schools that are unable to provide separate art classes. With interdisciplinary lessons

that include Visual Arts education, students in every subject can learn to understand art

as a way of thinking and personal expression while preserving the intrinsic importance

of art education and art-based outcomes. Underserved students should be no less privy

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to art education than their counterparts at more affluent schools. This project is one

small step towards the larger goal of equity in art education for every student.

Definition of Terms:

The terms defined in this section will be used throughout the project. Some

terms can have varied meanings in the research; here, the terms are defined as they will

be used in this context. The definitions come from a variety of sources, and the

particular source used to develop the appropriate definition will be cited.

Art education: The education of students in the arts.

Arts exposure: The relationship a student has with the arts in their daily life not

necessarily linked to a specific assignment or classroom, but rather as part of

their personal life. This may include but not limited to: using art as a form of

self expression (painting, graffiti, drawing, sculpting, graphic design, sewing

etc.) and art as a cultural experience (going to museums, galleries, reading artist

websites and blogs, making links between art and society, making connections

between their ethnic backgrounds and the arts of their culture).

The arts: The disciplines of Visual Art, Music, Dance, and Theatre, as named in the

Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools,

Pre-kindergarten Through Grade Twelve (Malley, E. (Ed.), 2001)

Core subjects: Subjects in secondary schools that are designated as core subjects to be

tested yearly according to No Child Left Behind. For the purpose of this

project I am using English-Language Arts and Science as the two core subjects

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that will be combined with Visual Arts in order to demonstrate two

interdisciplinary units.

Historically underserved schools and students: Including but not limited to schools who

primarily serve students of color, first generation students, and low income

students. This term is used in place of ‘high poverty’, or ‘at risk’ schools. Most

often these schools and their students have limited access to the community-

based funding that support arts programs, and thus have limited access to arts

exposure compared to more affluent schools who are able to support arts

programs not supported by federal funding. This definition is developed in part

by the SRI Report, An Unfinished Canvas (Woodworth, et al., 2007). The

report uses the term high-poverty, however, for the purposes of this project it is

more appropriate to use underserved, as my focus is not on the financial

situation of this students, but what the school can do to serve them better.

Interdisciplinary: The explicit recognition and connection of content and instruction

from more than one subject or academic discipline in a teaching and/or learning

experience (Taylor, P.G., Carpenter, S.B.II, Morris, C.B., & Sessions B., 2006).

No Child Left Behind: A 2001 federal law that aims to improve the performance of

primary and secondary schools in the U.S. by strengthening the standards of

accountability for core subjects. NCLB espouses standards-based education

reform, formerly known as outcome-based education, which is based on the

belief that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals can

improve individual outcomes in education. NCLB requires states to develop

assessments in basic skills to be given to all students in certain grades, if those

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states are to receive federal funding for schools (Wikipedia, 2009). In the

context of this project, NCLB is used in connection with the reports of reduced

time spent on arts classes as a result of increased time for those core classes that

must be assessed.

Standards: Refers to content standards that have been designed to encourage the

highest achievement of every student, by defining the knowledge, concepts, and

skills that students should acquire at each grade level. In the case of this

project, California State Board of Education Content Area standards for

grades 9-12 will be used to align the units with the appropriate standards and for

the core subject and for Visual Arts (CSBE, 2009).

Visual Arts: In the context of education, and relating to the California State Board of

Education Content Area Standards (CSBECAS). According to the CSBECAS,

Visual Arts embody the learning objectives of artistic perception, creative

expression, historical and cultural context, aesthetic valuing, connections,

relationships, and applications (Malley (Ed.), 2001).

Project Objectives

In working toward equity in art education, interdisciplinary curriculum is a

realistic and effective method for increasing the quality and consistency of learning in

the arts for students. Building upon research and current views of the value and purpose

of art education, my project will meet three central objectives:

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(1) To build upon current research that indicates art education is an integral part

of students’ creative development towards a bright future, this curriculum must teach

students the value of art in society and the importance of a creative mind.

o Students will have visual arts exposure and learn through art on a

consistent basis.

o Units will serve to strengthen student’s arts awareness outside of an art

classroom.

o Units will foster students who appreciate art for it’s own sake by

acknowledging its cultural significance.

o Students will be encouraged to be patrons of the arts using critical

thinking to engage with works.

o Students will be encouraged to be artists, engaging with their classmates

through craft, personal expression, and presentation

(2) To build upon research that indicates that interdisciplinary art education can

lead to better performance in other disciplines, this curriculum will integrate art in a

logical manner that demonstrates how art can be a form of understanding and can

contain ideas that parallel those found in Science, History, and English Language Arts.

These units will provide teachers and schools inspiration to continue integration of art

into core subjects.

o Students and teachers will learn to see visual art as an alternative mode

of expression, learning to ‘read’ art and it’s content.

o Students will see artists as authors, scientists, and political figures who

make their statement visually.

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o Students will learn to read artworks contextually to understand the

messages, cultural significance, themes, and science within their

construction.

(3) To better serve underserved California students and schools that cannot

support arts education, this curriculum must be easy to access in terms of supply cost,

time, and relevant subject matter.

o Low cost to no cost materials for implementation of units.

o Follows the content standards set by the California State Board of

Education for ease of use for teachers looking to implement such

curriculum into their existing teaching plans.

Summary

California public schools are currently in an arts education crisis. Compared to

other core subjects that are a priority in terms of federal funding, arts programs in public

schools depend largely on community-based funding. Dependence on “soft money”

places historically disadvantaged schools at an even greater risk of not providing

students with the benefits of arts education. California has a wealth of arts

opportunities for young people and a rich history of artistic achievement. Historically

underserved schools are limiting their students’ access to the historical and cultural

significance of their communities and local culture. When arts are marginalized in

schools, students cannot benefit from all that arts have to offer. Through art they can

achieve new means of expression, and learning, while enriching their education for a

brighter future that welcomes creativity. Numerous studies containing information on

what can be learned in and through the arts indicate that arts education can be both

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beneficial in both the intrinsic quality of art and what it can do for learners in other

content areas.

To address this disparity in what schools offer in terms of art, I will focus on a

visual arts-based tool for teachers and students to transform curriculum for two core

subjects into two interdisciplinary units. The project is designed to be a springboard for

further consideration of such curriculum that regards art as an opportunity for

integrating disciplinary learning and communicating ideas.

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Chapter II-Review of the Literature

According to Charles Fowler, "The arts humanize the curriculum while

affirming the interconnectedness of all forms of knowing. They are a powerful means to

improve general education” (1996). Research shows that students who receive art

education in turn learn skills that allow them to understand cultures other than their

own, and make connections between art and different subjects, allowing them to see

that like art, life is lived in a complex world not easily defined in discrete subjects

(Wolfensohn & Williams, 1993). Through the inclusion of art education in academics,

research indicates that academically struggling students achieve higher rates of success

and develop self-regulation and renewed motivation to learn. However, while

increasingly time is spent on preparing students for testing in core subjects, art

education in public schools is being marginalized. To make a change in how art

education is viewed, the role of the arts must be examined as a partner in curriculum to

achieve academic success. Arts education teaches students life skills, and is an

invaluable learning opportunity for underserved students.

In the first section of this paper I will review studies that show the positive

educational outcomes that stem from integrating art with other subjects as well as the

positive impact that art has upon young people as learners. This first section will

distinguish the two schools of thought describing how the place and purpose of art

education in schools is divided. The second section of this paper illuminates the state of

art education in California’s public schools, and will highlight the obstacles in the Bay

Area that low achieving schools in the arts face. I will conclude with a summary that

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responds to the research and points to a new possibility for how art education can be

viewed in public schools.

The Impact of the Arts Upon Student Achievement

A wide body of research reveals the positive impacts of art education upon

student learning in other subjects. As a result of arts integration in public schools,

studies indicate long-term positive impacts upon student achievement as well as

contributing to research that shows that art integration is both effective in problem

solving on an immediate basis (Edens & Potter, 2007). In support of the arts influence

on personal development, research indicates that art education can provide renewed

opportunities for students with interests in the arts to achieve personal strength and

artistic accomplishment in the face of financial and domestic challenges (Oreck, Baum

& McCartney, 1999)

As part of their long-term research, the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education

(CAPE) works with an enormous network of schools in developing and implementing

innovative approaches to teaching. In 2002 students were observed in classrooms to

measure the differences of student experiences during arts integrated lessons versus

regular instruction (DeMoss, 2002). A selection of 30 students in 1st through 9th grade

in CAPE schools were observed learning in arts integrated lessons. They were also

observed learning in non-arts integrated units with the same students and the same

teachers. Three sets of data were gathered in each class: interviews with students

before and after each unit about their processes, students’ written accounts of their

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understanding of each unit’s content, and researcher’s observations during the units and

culminating events.

The findings of this research showed that the arts consistently engaged students

with more complex thinking and learning processes than were found in traditional units

using non-integrated lessons. Findings included testimonials by teachers who claimed

that arts-integrated lessons created more motivated, independent learners who were

more willing to invest their time in learning during the integrated lesson. This proved

true for those students most difficult to reach by traditional lessons using only standard

curriculum materials such a textbooks and worksheets. A reason for this improvement

in motivation for learning could be linked to the arts creating a more dynamic, engaging

learning atmosphere that hinges on student’s creativity and ideas rather than students

looking for engagement solely from the teacher’s learning style (DeMoss, 2002).

Student’s experiences during a non-arts unit frequently involved working alone

as an individual learner. According to student interviews, one of the most difficult

challenges in learning new material with traditional teaching methods was the feeling of

isolation, a sense of competition with their classmates, and a sense that someone was to

blame for their difficulties. In the arts integrated lessons, students reported feeling like

part of group and not alone in their learning of new material. Any difficulties they

faced in grasping content were seen as challenge instead of a barrier. The researchers

concluded that this shift in students’ views of difficulties could be linked to the fact that

in art, there is plethora of solutions to a problem, therefore students do not fear being

wrong (DeMoss, 2002).

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An unanticipated finding in the study was that students showed motivation to

continue learning about the content they had discovered during the course of the arts

unit outside of the classroom. During non-arts units, students were observed having

little interest in what they had learned in class once they left the classroom.

This study shows the value of art in creating a community environment within a

classroom. The study indicates art integration in the classroom promotes shared ideas

and the concept of challenges rather than isolation and fear. The findings indicate that

arts integrated units have a significant impact on student interest in new content, and

motivate them to link what they have learned in class to their life outside of school. The

effects of an arts integrated curriculum could have significant impacts on students’

academics and school appreciation if they continue to receive arts integrated teaching

approaches in the classroom.

Other studies reinforce the finding that arts education has a positive influence on

pupil achievement. The qualities of schools that incorporate art into the curriculum and

make art education a part of their school mission can positively effect student

performance and student-teacher relationships.

In 2000, Burton, Horowitz, and Abeles carried out a study to determine if

cognitive skills developed though the arts have a positive effect on students’ thinking

skills. Researchers examined a sample of school programs involving over 2,000

students. Burton et al. identified schools that incorporated the arts into their curriculum

and in their school mission, regarding them as ‘high arts’ schools. Teacher surveys and

student self-concept tests were gathered to evaluate the characteristics and benefits of

high-arts schools.

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The study found that schools that engaged students in the arts across the

curriculum created enthusiasm in learning, multidimensional thinking, and higher

creativity (Burton et al., 2000). A middle school principal at a high-arts school noted,

“I have seen youngsters come through here who perhaps weren't as motivated, and I

have seen them take off and fly because we pulled them into an art and opened up new

avenues” (Burton et al., 2000). Scores on self-concept tests measured student qualities

such as physical ability, peer relations, reading, and mathematics. These scores were

significantly higher in the high-arts groups. Overall test scores and individual scores

were generally higher for the high-arts groups in areas of creativity, fluency and

originality.

According to the teacher survey results from teachers who collaborated with art

specialists and invested effort to include art in the curriculum, their students were more

creative and were better at cooperative learning. According to teacher surveys during

the study, teachers felt there was a better relationship between them and their students.

One teacher said in regard to teaching at a high-arts school, “there is a much closer

teacher-student relationship here compared to my previous school”. Another teacher

noted, “I see an incredible friendship between the kids and the teachers” (Burton et al.,

2002). Many of the teachers at high-arts schools described students as “positive risk-

takers, willing to take chances and express ideas of personal meaning before the school

community” (Burton et al., 2002). As a result of arts integration, teacher surveys and

student observations indicated that classroom relationships are strengthened by student

enthusiasm and improved peer relations.

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This study demonstrates the development of positive student qualities as a result

of arts integration, in addition to improved test scores. Increased creativity and self-

concept in students led to a strong relationship with their teachers, promoting respect

and appreciation in the classroom. Burton et al. (2000) indicate that as a result of arts

integration, high-arts schools possess traits that are invaluable to a positive learning

experience for teachers and students.

Additional evidence for the positive effects of art in other content areas was

found in a smaller study of elementary school classrooms. Edens and Potter (2007)

asked if drawing helped students solve math problems graphically. A total of 214

students were studied in elementary school art classrooms. Researchers examined a

series of children’s drawings to determine student’s spatial understanding by utilizing

drawing skills to aid with mathematical problem solving. For example, students were

asked to draw themselves and their friends on the playground with the school in the

background and a dog in front of them. The researchers then rated the drawings by level

of spatial understanding. In the next scenario, a math problem required students to

represent numerical information about alligators graphically and derive answers from

the representation. How well the drawings worked as a problem solving tool was

measured by the accuracy of student’s answers to the math problem and by evidence

that students actually used them as a problem-solving tool.

The study found that using drawings aided in understanding math problems

graphically. This is important in demonstrating that developing art skills in drawing

and perception not only allow students to represent an abstract situation (the math

problem), but can allow them an alternative way to understand math. A significant

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relationship was found between students’ level of understanding and problem solving

using drawing skills. The data indicated that the students with the best understanding of

how to graphically represent the math problem were more successful in math than those

students at the lowest level of spatial understanding and drawing skills.

This research asked if using a drawing to help solve a math problem would

reflect positively on a student’s cognition of the problem and improved test scores. It

found that drawing and the skill of using visual representation to work through complex

questions improved test scores. Classroom teachers can use this strategy to help their

students understand math problems graphically, and it can add value to the fundamental

quality of the art classroom. The researchers made it clear that their intent was not to

obtain data to validate the inclusion of art in other subject areas or to justify the

marginalization of art courses, but to obtain evidence for strengthening art as a

discipline and it’s perceived value (Edens, Potter 2007).

Additional studies indicate the positive effects of art education are long lasting

and attribute to student achievement over an extended period of time. The lasting

effects of arts integration was tested when the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education

(CAPE) underwent an evaluation study to measure student achievement in schools that

had been incorporating arts-integrated curriculum over six years against regular public

schools. The study compared ninth graders in CAPE schools that had been learning in

arts integrated classrooms since 1992 to 1998 against ninth graders in all Chicago

Public Schools (CPS) (Hansen, Masini, Cronmeu, 1999). The majority of the schools

studied were historically underserved schools.

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Data from the evaluation points to indications of superior achievement for

CAPE schools in skills of reading and mathematics. Comparing results for the he ninth

grade Test of Achievement and Proficiency (TAP) in reading, CAPE school ninth

graders averaged a half level above their expected grade level performance for reading,

while non CAPE 9th graders averaged a full level lower in test scores, performing at a

8th grade and 5 month level (Hansen, Masini, Cronmeu, 1999). In regard to

performance in mathematics, CAPE schools achieved increased scores during their time

of arts integration versus other Chicago Public Schools (CPS). In 1992, CAPE schools

averaged 40% at or above grade level for mathematics while CPS schools averaged

28%. By 1998, CAPE schools saw a 20% increase while CPS mathematics scores

increased just 12%.

Participants in the evaluation study reported CAPE arts-integrated lessons

contributed to important “work force and life skills” (Hansen, et al., 1999) from

speaking, to motivation, to decision making, beyond what can be seen on standardized

tests. In addition, study participants reported that CAPE lessons led to more progress

and direction in the classroom versus non-integrated curriculum.

This evaluation study of long-term arts integration indicates that student

achievement resulting from integration is lasting and increases over time. Increased

student achievement in reading and math point to the benefits that art integration has in

other content areas. Contributions to life skills for students indicate that arts integration

educates the whole student outside of test scores and other disciplines. The fact that the

majority of the students in the study were from historically underserved schools

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indicates the potential for arts education to enrich the academic achievement of this

demographic.

Involvement in the arts has an impact upon students in addition to improved test

scores, classroom participation, and improved abilities to think cognitively about

problem solving. Research shows students’ attitude can be strengthened by the

incorporation of art into their lives. Often, students face personal and financial obstacles

that can stand in the way of academic and extracurricular achievement. With the

inclusion of art education into their lives, students show renewed strength in facing their

challenges. As I will explore in the next sections, income level is unfortunately a factor

in the level of exposure and access to arts education a student is privy to.

A study was conducted in New York Public schools to examine the effects of

sustained study in the arts on disadvantaged young people, and the determine to what

degree arts education has in helping students reach their full potential as learners and as

individuals. Students with interests in the arts often do not have the means, resources,

or opportunities at school to pursue them. The study asks what arts involvement can do

for a student when they are given an opportunity to develop their aesthetic interests. For

the study, an arts agency worked with teachers to provide arts education opportunities in

the arts, including dance and music for students. A group of 23 students were studied,

ages 10 to 26 in three stages of their life during involvement in the arts. Most of the

students came from economically disadvantaged circumstances with households in

financial turmoil, and attended schools with virtually no art specialists or arts education

programs. Many of the students came from recently immigrated families who were

struggling to assimilate into the culture of their school or their city. Over half of the

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students were identified as failing or on the verge of failing school at some point

previous to the study.

The study found that providing an education in the arts to students who would

not have had access to one otherwise proved not only advantageous in providing them a

well-rounded education, but strengthened them as individuals despite the obstacles they

faced as an economically disadvantaged young person. In one student account, a

female struggled in the classroom and saw a dim future for herself. She told a teacher

that she would “probably end up becoming a drug addict like my mother (Oreck, Baum,

& McCartney, 1999). That year, the arts agency identified the student’s interest in

music and provided her with an opportunity to pursue her interest. By the end of the

fifth grade, the student was at the top of the class in reading skills, compared to the year

before when she scored at the very bottom. Teachers saw a significant improvement in

the girl’s attitude about school, and her future. The student also reported making

remarkable friends through shared interests of music, partnerships that were nonexistent

the year before. The student continued in music as she progressed in school,

performing around the city with a student group. In 1992 she had the opportunity to

perform at the presidential inauguration.

Observations and studies over the years with the students indicate that a

remarkable sense of self-regulation in learning was achieved through the students’

pursuit of the arts. Previous research indicates that when students are enjoying their

learning processes and aware of what they are doing, they strategize successfully to

complete a task (Zimmerman, B., 1996). Because the pursuit of the arts was so

rewarding for the students, the additional work outside of their schoolwork was

26

embraced with determination and focus. The learning strategies that they took on with

enthusiasm translated to their academic studies where they were able to utilize the same

focus and study skills.

Testimonials by and observations of the students revealed that the time they

spent in arts classes gave them satisfaction and motivation to succeed despite other

aspects of their lives. However, researchers identified issues that had the potential to

undermine the development of student’s artistic talents, such as families’ disposable

income for supplies and extra available time to support the student. Some students

faced situations such as financial difficulties, language barriers, and low social skills

that could have forced them into helplessness. With their talents fostered by the arts,

their resilience was strengthened through support and self-confidence through talent

development. Researchers identified possible factors that led to developmental

obstacles in the arts for a disadvantaged student. Family circumstances, lack of

instructional opportunity, peer pressure, and student’s dreams versus realities, were four

factors that could have led them down an alternative path without the intervention of the

arts agency. With the intervention of a strong arts opportunity for the students, the

students gained resiliency, flow (total immersion and energy in the arts), self-regulation

of learning, and a strong sense of identity to overcome theses obstacles. The most

common sentiment from the students in the study was that without this opportunity in

arts education they most likely would have never been able to pursue their interests

alone. The arts groups became a place of community and confidence building for the

involved students, for many, visits to art studios and museums were first-time

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experiences outside of their neighborhoods and provided a glimpse of the larger world

of arts and culture.

This study has importance in demonstrating how arts involvement allows young

people to experience and pursue their personal interests. This study also reveals the

implications that arts education has for improving educational experiences for

economically disadvantaged students. This research brings to light how much potential

could be lost when students are not given an exceptional chance to pursue their interests

in the arts.

Another example of the correlation between art and academic achievement for

historically underserved students is found in 1998 by a National Educational

Longitudinal Study involving 25,000 students whose academic progress was tracked

from 8th to 10th grade. (Catterall, 1998) These students were selected from the lowest

socioeconomic quartile in the United States. Student involvement in the arts, including

art classes taken in school, attendance to museums, and general exposure to the arts was

measured. Level of arts exposure was compared to achievement in school, dropout

rates, boredom with school, reading and history scores, and community involvement.

This study found that the students who were more involved in the arts, or

classified as ‘high-arts’ exceeded the lower arts groups in terms of student achievement,

test scores, enthusiasm for school, and community involvement. Additionally, the

students were far less likely to drop out of school at an early age.

The fact that the student selection came from the lowest socioeconomic quartile

in the United States is important because it shows that arts involvement can be positive

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and life changing for students and it shows that arts exposure is not a privilege or

merely an auxiliary activity meant for middle or upper class students.

The Role(s) of Art Education in Public Schools

The previous section offered an array of studies that show the benefits of art

education to students academically and holistically. Curiously, opinions on the value of

art education are fragmented within the art education community itself. Esteemed art

educators differ on what place art education should have within a school and whether or

not it is true that art does, or should add to a student’s achievement in other content

areas. This divide in opinions can be addressed in two schools of thought.

Belonging to one school are those who believe in art education possessing utility

or instrumental value for interests not solely, but including interests outside of art.

Supporters of this opinion agree that in terms of education, art can and should be

integrated with other disciplines to fully educate the student. On the other hand there are

those who believe art education should hold true to teaching the subject for art related

outcomes, or art for art’s sake (Edens, Potter, 2007).

Winner and Hetland highlight what they see as the failure of instrumental

arguments, which state that art can and should validate its rightful place public

education by demonstrating its utility by helping students learn in other content areas.

In a project titled REAP (Reviewing Education and the Arts Project) they conducted 10

meta-analytic reviews that combined groups of studies that tested the claim of art

having instrumental value (2007). Winner and Hetland suggested that educators study

the specific conditions in schools that determine achievement and advise arts educators

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to justify their programs based on the intrinsic values of the arts. They challenged those

studies they found “experimental” and found no real strength to the arguments that art

makes students smarter.

Winner and Hetland respond to a study that reports SAT scores rising steadily as

students take one, two, and three years of arts courses in high school, rising sharply with

four years of arts courses (Vaughn & Winner, 2000). They argue that one cannot

conclude that arts courses cause scores to rise, that the correlation might simply be due

to the fact that more intelligent students elect to take more arts courses than the

academically weak. The authors argue:

They know that profiles for college admissions are enhanced by demonstrating a

wide breadth of interests. . . .parents who value academic achievement in their

children may also value the arts and thereby encourage their children to work

hard and take arts courses. In this scenario, parents are causing both arts

involvement and SAT improvement, but the arts play no causal role in SAT

scores. (Winner & Hetland, 2007)

Here, the statement is being made that it is merely coincidence that students

involve themselves in the arts due to a setting of expectation in their upbringing. That

same environment will also encourage hard work in other academic areas, bringing to

light a correlation between excellence in school and arts involvement. Furthermore,

Winner and Hetland make the point that by placing importance on art effecting test

scores, educators set up art for removal from the curricula if they fail to actually

improve test scores over a period of time.

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Elliot Eisner of Stanford University has similar theories about what means and

ends art should have in education.

We do the arts no service when we try to make their case by touting their

contributions to other fields. When such contributions become the priorities the

arts become handmaidens to ends that are not distinctively artistic and in the

process undermine the value of art’s unique contributions to the education of the

young (Eisner, 1999).

Eisner sees these contributions to other fields as “ancillary outcomes of art

education” and a “third tier justification” for the arts in schools (1999). He cites the

first and second tiers being art-based outcomes and arts-related outcomes. Eisner is

concerned that these instrumental purposes for the arts will neglect the primary

objective of the arts and that society will risk any sense that the arts in education is truly

important.

In 2002 the Arts Education Partnership released a report based on an analysis of

previous studies citing the importance of art in learning. The coordinator of the study,

James Catterall cited how according to the research the arts improve spatial reasoning,

and helped students see the world in new and different ways. According to Catterall:

The most expansive areas where arts pay off are these . . . reading skills,

language development, writing skills . . . focus on concentration, skills in

expression, imagination, creativity, and inclinations to tackle problems with

zeal. These are skills that promote positive social behavior, social compliance,

collaboration with others, courtesy, tolerance. (LaFee, 2008)

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In response to Eisner’s questioning if the arts do in fact boost academic

achievement, Catterall argued his point using the role of representation in how students

learn and understand concepts. He used the example of how a painting can be a tool of

representation for students learning about history (1998). Catterall argued that paintings

can also lead to discussions about why the artist chose to paint that particular moment in

time, the subject of the work, and even the background of the artist. According to

Catterall, art can and should be used as a visual form of representation with other

disciplines, and the possibilities for using art as a method for representing ideas is

profound. This would combine two tiers of Eisner’s outcomes of art education: Art

related (learning about the artist, his motivations), and Ancillary outcome (learning

about the historical context of the painting, thus learning history) (Eisner, 1999).

Catterall closes his response with the argument that if one is to say that arts should not

have a place in the general scope of academics, then it is equal to saying the written

word, as a form of representation, has little place in learning.

This exchange continued with Eisner responding with the argument that the

difficulty and complexity of combining art with other subjects is that certain rules and

non-rules apply to art that do not necessarily apply to other content areas. In regard to a

hypothetically integrated visual art and history lesson covering the Middle Ages Eisner

stated, “suppose the students want to streamline their castle and paint in multicolor, is

this O.K.? It certainly is in the visual arts, but is it O.K. in social studies? In other

words, what takes precedence?” (1998).

Eisner indicated that the reality of incorporating art into other content areas

brings forth questions that interrupt learning and may confuse learners. What is

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encouraged in art education (creativity, imagination, risk taking), may not translate

directly to decision making in other disciplines.

Eisner closed this exchange with the statement that what students do and

accomplish in the arts is sufficiently important to need no extra justification. While

Eisner does not believe that art should be integrated with other disciplines as a way to

provide students with an auxiliary art education, he does write extensively on how art

education can benefit the student. In a Los Angeles Times article in 2005, Eisner

argued for room for arts education, and cited the fact that the arts teach children the

“most exquisite of capacities, the ability to make judgments in the absence of rules”

(2005). Rather than focusing on what art can lend to the improvement of learning in

other subject areas, Eisner highlighted that art education can teach children to look

inside themselves for answers, say what words cannot, and likened standards and test

score expectations in other subjects to an assembly line where surprise “is the last thing

you want”, pointing out that art teaches students to capitalize on the unexpected and

think in terms of multiple solutions.

These two different opinions of art education, that of art having utility and

expansive benefits for student improvement in other areas of learning, versus the

opinion that art education’s value is inherently in and of its self are both valid

arguments. In the next section I will explore the state of art education in California,

highlighting the obstacles that schools face in offering quality art education.

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The California Student’s Access to Art Education

Supporters of art education were pleased when in 2002 the No Child Left

Behind law was passed at the federal level, which listed the arts as a core academic

subject to be taught in public schools. Although the arts were named as a core subject,

the law requires schools to report student test results in only reading, math and science.

Because schools are held accountable for reporting these scores, the class time for other

non-reported subjects, including the arts, has been in decline (Rome, 2008). In addition

to the marginalization of time devoted to the arts, schools face additional obstacles in

providing their students consistent art education. Financial hardships in supporting arts

programs leave historically underserved schools at a loss for providing teachers,

supplies, and time.

From 2005 to 2006 an independent research institute closely examined the status

of arts education in California for the first time (Woodworth et al., 2007). The study

relied on a statewide school survey and case studies of 31 schools in 13 districts. A

second study by the independent research institute focused on California’s Bay Area

and it’s 9 counties (Woodworth, K. R., and Park, J., 2007). Data for both studies came

from student, teacher, and parent surveys, case studies, and secondary data analysis.

This study reveals that arts education in California is plagued by lack of funding,

under prepared elementary level teachers, and inadequate facilities. It suffers from

uneven implementation and is often crowded out by other curricular demands

(Woodworth et al., 2007). The data highlights a disparity between California’s

standards and enthusiasm for instruction in the arts as part of the required course of

study, and what is actually being made available for students. Standards alignment,

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assessment, and accountability practices are uneven in arts education, and often not

present at all. There is clear inequality in access to arts education, with results showing

that students attending high-poverty schools have less access to arts instruction than

their peers in more affluent communities. 37% of high poverty schools fail to provide a

standards-based course of study in any arts discipline, compared with 22% of low

poverty schools.

Inadequate funding in education is a top barrier to the provision of arts

education (Woodworth, et al., 2007). Reliance on outside funding sources, such as

parent groups, creates inequities in the level of access and quality of arts education

across schools. 79% of California schools cite their reliance on outside sources of

funding as the top barrier to the delivery of arts education. The case studies suggest that

community sources of funding, such as parents, private funds, business grants, enables

lower poverty schools to further develop art programs. In some more affluent regions,

community funding was enough to support salaries for art specialists in schools,

curricular programs, and quality art supplies for students. On the other hand,

underserved schools may not receive those funds, citing families lesser disposable

income, lack of community support, and grants from businesses and organizations. One

survey respondent noted:

We lack the resources to support art education. Parents are not financially able

to support offering arts instruction and are not able to organize the community

for effective support. The absence of consistent funding sources makes a

consistent program impossible to plan and carry out (Woodworth et al., 2007).

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The financial inability of a community to support art education leaves

historically underserved students without a critical element of their academic

experience. By circumstances out of their control, a student is subject to receiving a

less comprehensive education that lacks the arts.

The second most frequently cited barrier is the pressure to improve test scores in

other content areas. As mentioned previously, because of the significant pressures

involved in meeting federal accountability targets in math and reading, several recent

studies have suggested that schools across the country are “narrowing the curriculum”

to focus more on tested subjects, to the detriment of other subjects including the arts.

Across all California public schools, 68% of principals cite the focus improving test

scores as a barrier to arts education (Woodworth et al., 2007) . The larger California

SRI study reports that principals at high-poverty schools were almost twice as likely

(35%) as their counterparts in low poverty schools (19%) to report a decline over the

last 5 years in instruction time for the arts.

Most of the key findings from the larger California study were repeated in the

Bay Area study, however even greater disparities by school poverty level were found.

Although Bay Area schools as a whole appear to rely on the aforementioned

community-based funds more so than average California school, the differences in these

contributions by county, “high poverty” versus “low poverty” (Woodworth & Park,

2007), varied greatly in comparison to the average California variations. For example,

in the most affluent county of Marin 61% of principals report relying greatly on these

outside sources of funding. In Solano, the county with the highest poverty rates, only

21% of principals can rely on this community support.

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With sporadic delivery of arts education, and barriers such as funding and

pressure on schools to improve standardized test scores, art education has clearly taken

a backseat to other disciplines. Lack of student interest or demand as a reason for lack

of access to art education in schools has the lowest percentage, at only 6%. Ironically,

this is reason enough that a quality arts education should exist for students, something

that they shouldn’t have to demand.

In working to achieve an equitable state of art education for public school

students of every socioeconomic class, how we view art education must reflect today’s

research. While schools work for excellence in standardized tests, the role of art

education in public schools must meet a changing environment. Current research and

leading authors indicate the vast opportunities for student achievement when they are

involved in the arts. By integrating art with other disciplines, students are motivated to

learn and share their understanding with their peers. Meaningful, logical, and easily

implemented interdisciplinary arts education is what California public schools need now

in order to enrich student’s academic experience and their lives.

Summary

Although the opinion of what form art education should take in schools is

divided, both sides support positive gains for the student. This positive reinforcement of

art education in public schools is currently overshadowed by what schools can provide,

as exemplified in the state of California. The data indicates that the quality and

consistency of art education a student receives depends on their and their community’s

affluence. At the same time, studies show that by tuning into their interests in the arts,

37

historically underserved students develop a strong sense of identity and resilience in the

face of academic and personal struggles. These findings deepen the need to provide an

interdisciplinary art education curriculum in public schools.

Student interest in and demand for the arts can be met concurrently with

expectations for content learning in other disciplines. Students that struggle to manifest

their interest in the arts and pursue creative interests can receive a meaningful arts

education as well as gain motivation to make strides in other subjects. “Gaining not

freedom from discipline, but disciplined freedom” (Catich, n.d.), students can learn self-

regulation in pursuing artistic interests and applying that imagination and creativity to

disciplines not traditionally rooted in such skills. By embracing the arts as a method of

learning and opportunity for students, a step is made towards equity in art education.

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Chapter III-Project Development

The research cited in the previous chapter illuminates the role that art education

can play in equipping students for a future that demands creativity, spatial thinking, and

abstract reasoning as skill sets for successful careers (Lynch, 2008). Opportunities for

interdisciplinary learning of the arts alongside other core subjects creates connections

and meaning among disciplines, much like the world where a student lives outside of

school.

Although the arts are regarded highly in society and are rhetorically respected,

that same regard is not evident within public schools (LaFee, 2008). Research indicates

that because arts programs are contingent on community funding and sources largely

outside of federal funding, arts education in California varies greatly from school to

school, bending and swaying to the tune of parent contributions, private donors, and

more generally, the wealth of the school’s community (Woodworth et al., 2007).

These facts call for a solution that marries both time and effort spent on arts

education as well improving performance in other core subjects. Such a balance would

be both practical and advantageous for students. High School students are on the brink

of entering a world that does not separate neatly into disciplines, and is full of situations

wherein one solution is not always evident, or called for. In preparation for this,

educators should prepare students with integrated approaches to learning (Wolf &

Balick, 1999). In response to the studies of California public schools, and the data

surrounding historically underserved students, it is clear that there is a need for

consistent arts education, particularly for those pupils whose academic enrichment is

restricted to the school. With the research in mind, I directed my pedagogical thinking

39

toward the creation of two interdisciplinary units that would provide meaningful,

interesting, curriculum for high school teachers and students in science and English-

language arts. These units combine their respective California Standards-based content

with relevant visual arts topics that addresses common themes while offering students a

fresh approach in how they demonstrate their understanding.

Background

While student teaching at an urban high school in San Francisco’s Mission

district, I witnessed for the first time how students view art education. I observed their

conversations; I asked what other classes they were taking, what they liked to do

outside of school, and how they perceived art in general. Their responses varied: Most

students enjoyed art, some were ‘good at it’ and relished the time spent in class, others

were indifferent and expressed they were in the class because they ‘had to’. All were

expected responses, aside from the dominant answer that seemed to pervade the

conversations I had with each student. Almost every student came across as viewing

‘art’ as a thing separate from their lives, something that either came in the form of a

skill-based assignment (portrait drawing) or a distant idea of European museums and

the galleries downtown which were accessible, if not made for, only the upper middle

class. I discovered that the majority of these students had never visited San Francisco’s

Museum of Modern Art (which was a straight bus ride down mission street), or the

newly built De Young. They were not aware of the Asian Art Museum or the Museum

of the African Diaspora, or the handful of other spaces dedicated solely to the visual

expression of their culture and ethnicity. Efland (2002) wrote: “Most students

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experience the arts as a world of precious things, sheltered and isolated from the real

world by their accession to museums . . . Personal art making often is regarded as

having private relevance, not to be shared with others” (p.8). This rang true in my own

classroom. Most of my students had no personal relationship with art. I now attribute

this not only to the minimal arts classes offered at school, but to that ‘private relevance’

that people, and very often high school students, have in regard to their personal

expression in forms outside the forms of language and dress.

The Visual Art classes I taught were forty to fifty minutes a day. I have always

felt that art wasn’t just an activity or something to supplement an otherwise meaningful

curriculum. Rather, art was a way of learning and understanding during my time as a

student, and now in my philosophy of teaching. Drawing was how I was able to

understand math in high school. I learned anatomy by hand drawing a skeleton diagram

for my science teacher to use in our class lectures. In middle school playing in the band

shaped helped me gain an understanding of rhythm to become a better writer, while

painting became my personal mode of expression. I knew that there were students in

my class who could benefit from learning in and through the arts consistently, and had a

similar aesthetic frame of mind. I also knew there were students who even without a

passion for art, could still benefit from exercising their brain in an imaginative and

creative way for more than forty minutes a day. I realized there was a need for students

to understand art as a way of knowing, understanding, and relating to one another and

other facets of human life no matter how little opportunity they had outside of school.

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Research

I began my research by examining the benefits of arts education, focusing on

what art classes can do to broaden a student’s education, as well as the intrinsic benefits

that the arts can have upon a person. Recent studies pointed towards evidence that the

skills students acquire from learning in the arts are those which will be vital to their

success in the future as they seek employment, and that the “creative minded” jobs will

be the ones most in demand and crucial the success of our country (Lynch, 2008). This

gave my project urgency and purpose, and I was able to envision a real world focus for

what I wanted to accomplish. I began to find that while there is a consensus that the

arts are a beneficial subject in secondary education, the reality is that art receives far

less attention federally, and within schools themselves. I found that underserved

students had the least access to arts education in terms of frequency and quality of

instruction due to inadequately funded programs that relied heavily on community

funding (Woodworth et al., 2007). I closely examined An unfinished canvas. Arts

education in California: Taking stock of policies and practices an independent study by

SRI International in 2007. This report was influential in my research on underserved

students and how my project related to that demographic. The sister report to An

unfinished canvas is An Unfinished Canvas: Arts education in the San Francisco Bay

Area; this report helped me focus on the status of arts education locally. By researching

the role of art education according to various authors, I learned that its place and

purpose in schools can be regarded two ways, and I began to seek a solution that

married both viewpoints.

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The view that art should be kept as it’s own discipline in order to preserve it’s

intrinsic importance has validity. The arts are deserving of their own designation as a

discipline and should be given sufficient attention as such in the school curriculum.

The other school of thought in regard to the arts role in public education, is in support of

research that indicates the arts have immense interdisciplinary worth and should be

welcomed into other content areas. In my examination of both arguments, it was

difficult for me to empathize with one over the other. I considered that this struggle to

choose a proper implementation of art education in schools was not limited to me, but

perhaps to schools themselves. Art can be a truly subjective experience and a term that

is not always easily defined. When in the realm of such structured institutions as

schools, a term such as art becomes a difficult one to describe in terms of how it is

approached and learned. The divide in opinion from esteemed authors could make the

idea of art education even more complicated than finding funds to support it.

Considering both viewpoints on the purpose of art education in schools, I sought a

solution that married both opinions, a way of interdisciplinary learning that allowed

students to learn themes and concepts in a deeper way through art integration, while still

preserving the importance of art and artists in and out of the classroom.

Compiling the research, I sought to organize my findings in a clear way that

pointed to my objectives for my project. The review of the literature is organized as

follows:

o Introduction

o The Impact of the Arts upon Student Achievement

Views on Art Education’s Purpose

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o The State of Art Education in California’s public schools

The State of Art Education in Bay Area public schools.

o Summary

In preparing two interdisciplinary units, I sought accounts of interdisciplinary art

education strategies and the philosophies behind them. I read several books on

interdisciplinary art education strategies and accounts of programs that have worked in

the United States and abroad. These books influenced my thinking about how to design

my curriculum and gave me valuable information from experienced teachers. These

books are notably: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching Art in High School

(Taylor, Carpenter, Ballengee-Morris, Sessions, 2006), and Interdisciplinary Art

Education (Stokrocki, (Ed.), 2005). Helpful as these books were, I wanted to create

units specifically for students who were receiving little to no art education day to day.

Just as importantly, I wanted to create a resource for teachers that was realistic and easy

to implement into their standards based curriculum for California

The units I created are comprehensive in their approach to integrating art and art

history into the core curriculum in order to introduce art to students as a way of

thinking, and problem solving. A simple objective of these units is for students to see

scientists as artists, and artists as scientists. For example, when students study an artist

influenced by scientific principles, they connect imagination and risk-taking with a

discipline that is in constant flux. This artist frame of mind can lead students to think

more creatively when approaching such an evolving subject as science, and cultivate

appreciation for an artist’s planning and inspiration behind their work.

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The objectives for the curriculum of two interdisciplinary units in Earth

Science/Visual Arts, and English-Language-Arts, History-Social Science/Visual Arts

are as follows:

• To provide effective Interdisciplinary units combining Visual Arts and

Core Subjects to provide a comprehensive survey of Visual Arts

Education outside of the Art classroom,

• To build students’ appreciation and learning in Visual Arts in the

absence of a strong arts program, and

• To utilize art as a means of expression, problem solving, and

representation of learning alongside core subjects.

The interdisciplinary units consist of lessons that combine art history, the

significance of artists and their artwork in the historical context of the subject matter,

and art making and/or project planning during the unit. The fact that art is referenced

and worked with continually throughout the unit further emphasizes art as a way of

learning and problem solving for students, and not just a culminating project or

supplemental add on to the learning content.

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Chapter IV-Project Evaluation, Conclusion, and Recommendations

In 2008, our future president Barack Obama shared his mission to reinvest in art

education.

In addition to giving our children the science and math skills they need to

compete in the new global context, we should also encourage the ability to think

creatively that comes from a meaningful arts education. Unfortunately, many

school districts are cutting instructional time for art and music education. Barack

Obama and Joe Biden believe that the arts should be a central part of effective

teaching and learning. (Obama, B., Biden, J., 2008)

His campaign cited the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts who

said “The purpose of arts education is not to produce more artists, though that is a by

product. The real purpose of arts education is to create complete human beings capable

of leading successful and productive lives in a free society.” In the world outside of

school, students encounter mathematics, science, history, cultures, and art all at once.

As Efland wrote, “If one really wants to understand the human social world, one must

learn about the arts that are a part of that world. We need curriculum that encourages

this (2002, p.8).”

These messages are central to this project and it’s objectives. All students

regardless of the wealth of their school in resources or funding deserve an equal art

education that reveals the connectivity of content within their academics and in the

world. Research indicates a breakdown of art education in the midst of schools

preparing for tested subjects. Furthermore, historically underserved schools and

students in California are currently being affected the most by a lack of consistent art

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education. While the school community cannot fund arts programs for schools, the

students for the same reason cannot enrich their education with extracurricular arts

involvement. Where historically underserved students can expect to find a key

component of their education-the arts, is in question.

Evaluation

The objectives of this project were met with two unique units that integrated art

into core subjects. As a result of the Earth Science and Visual Arts unit, High School

students will be able to draw connections between science and the arts, using visual

representation of scientific processes, and visual documentation of their work. Students

will be able to recognize the medium of Earth and it’s systems used by artists, namely

Hans Haacke. The English-Language Arts and Visual Arts unit allows students to

examine their self identity through themes in contemporary literature and art. Frank

Chin’s novel Donald Duk plays a central role in facilitating conversations about cultural

identity and one’s ethnicity in relation to understanding oneself. Throughout these

units, students will gain and understanding of an artist’s inspiration and how similar

themes are found in literature and scientific concepts. At the same time, the

significance of art as it’s own method off expression and discipline is preserved.

After I completed my student teaching, I decided that I wanted to teach in an

historically underserved school. In moving forward with the purpose of the project, I

intend to evaluate how well these units influence historically underserved student

learning in addition to their appreciation and involvement in the arts. I plan on working

with teachers in other disciplines to encourage interdisciplinary learning with the arts.

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Using what I have learned from the research in terms of student benefits from arts

learning and positive benefits in other content areas, I feel more prepared to do so.

In order to create a cooperative school environment where such interdisciplinary

curriculum is possible, planning and partnerships are crucial (Taylor, Carpenter,

Ballengee-Morris, & Sessions, 2006). Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in visual

arts made me able and more inclined to write these units based on integrating the visual

arts into the curriculum. However, as I embark on my teaching career, I hope to work

with dance, music, and theatre instructors to strengthen the arts position in the school

environment and add meaningful layers to interdisciplinary learning.

Once I establish an interdisciplinary way of teaching, I plan to evaluate how

these units and similar curricula affect student learning in other content areas as well as

students’ personal development. A future stage of this project could include research of

effective interdisciplinary arts education assessments. Researching assessments that

work to evaluate student learning in integrated lessons would lend structure and

evidence to arguments for implementing interdisciplinary art education in schools and

districts. However, one must be cautious when considering assessments involving the

arts. As Eisner (2005) said “the arts are about joy. They are about the experience of

being moved, of having one’s life enriched, of our capacity to feel”. These facets of art

education are not easily measurable, and cannot be compared against tests in math or

English. The most important evidence of the impacts of art education upon a student

can only be measured in their testimonials and actions as they become, as a result of the

arts “better educated human beings” (Fowler, p.13).

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Conclusions

Because of what I have learned during the course of this project I am filled with

more urgency to use my education to embark on a meaningful teaching career in the

arts. Art programs in the United States, more specifically in California, art in desperate

need of educators who truly believe in the importance of art education and it’s

implications for student learning in all content areas. Based on the extensive research

and commentary in this project I have learned that in order to achieve equity in art

education, a change must be made within a school based on successful models of arts

integration and what current research indicates. Programs like the Chicago Arts

Partnerships in Education imply that learning in arts integrated programs improve

overall student learning and test scores as well as contributing to more motivated

students (DeMoss, 2002, Catterall & Waldorf, L. 1999). Studies regarding schools that

incorporate the arts into other disciplines and include art education as an important part

of their school mission lead to greater relationships between teachers and students

(Burton, J., Horowitz, R., & Abeles, H., 2000).

In order to benefit students, educators must understand what research suggests

about the power of art education. Only then will schools commit to making art

education a meaningful component their school curriculum. While historically

underserved students attend schools whose communities often cannot support a fully

functioning, comprehensive, discrete arts program there are possibilities to learn in and

through the arts. By being aware of strategies that work, schools can provide

interdisciplinary learning during decreased time for visual arts, music, dance, and

theatre.

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Recommendations

The next logical step for this project would be to study a truly interdisciplinary

high school curriculum that addresses the needs of students at a historically underserved

school through the visual and performing arts. The purpose of such a study would be to

measure the effects of sustained interdisciplinary learning for a class of high school

students. Since many of them would have the same teachers and classes, it would be

informative to measure student achievement within and across groups of students.

These comparisons would prove useful in assessing if the effects of arts integration are

due to the unique qualities of the student or how well it is taught and implemented. In

other words, is art integration of use to the majority of historically underserved

students, or just a small group? Integrated learning through standards based visual arts,

dance, music, theatre, science, English-language arts, mathematics, and history social

science would take place over the course of a four year period during which a class of

students would enter high school and then graduate. Data for evaluation would come

from testimonials of high school students and teachers during the implementation of

such a curriculum. Test scores and achievement in other content areas would also be

considered in measuring the affects of this all-inclusive interdisciplinary learning.

Ideally, this type of study would lead to a more careful consideration of how art

education is regarded in California and nationally. Through advanced research and

study, art education would be regarded as not only a vital discipline to a student’s

academic experience, but as a component of interdisciplinary education that leads to

equity in the public educational system.

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Summary

Research indicates that historically underserved students in California are

among those most affected by the lack of consistent art education in public schools.

Community-based funding and the marginalization of art classes in public high schools

leave historically underserved youth without a component of their education that allows

them to pursue their creativity, imagination, and risk taking unlike any other discipline

in their academic schedule. While more affluent students have opportunities to pursue

enrichment in the arts outside of schools, less affluent youth have less access to these

opportunities. What can public schools do when time for the arts is constricted due to a

demand for test preparation and inadequate funding? Considering current research on

the benefits of interdisciplinary art education, schools can take a new approach to how

art is incorporated into the school curriculum. Greater achievement of student learning

in other content areas, student motivation, and teacher-student relationships are only

some of what learning in arts integrated lessons can do for a school that is struggling to

provide arts classes for their students.

My project is comprised of two units that integrate visual arts with science and

English-language arts. These units preserve the significance of art and artists on their

own account, as well as encourage students to increase their awareness of the aesthetic

qualities in the world around them. The units also relate art with other disciplines in

order to encourage students to think with an interdisciplinary frame of mind when

considering concepts not usually associated with art.

This project is the first step in my ambition as teacher to work for equity in art

education. In the coming school years, I hope to work with fellow teachers to

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implement these and similar components of interdisciplinary arts curriculum. As Pablo

Picasso said, “everything you can imagine is real” (Picasso, n.d.). I wish for students in

every discipline to recognize the implications of their imaginations and understand their

creativity is applicable, meaningful, transformative, and very real.

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REFERENCES

Burton, J., Horowitz, R., & Abeles, H. (2000). Learning In and Through the Arts: the Question of Transfer. Studies in Art Education, 41(3), 228-57. Byron, E. (2005, July 27). To master the art of solving crimes, cops study Vermeer. The Wall Street Journal CCXLVI (18), A1-8.

California State Board of Education (CSBE). Standards and Frameworks-Content Standards. Retrieved May 16, 2009, from http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/

Catich, M.E. quote retrieved May 16, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Catich

Catterall, J.S. (1998). Does Experience in the Arts Boost Academic Achievement? A Response to Eisner. Art Education, (51) 4, 6-11.

Catterall, J.S., Waldorf, L. (1999). Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education Summary Evaluation. In E. Fiske (Ed.), Champions of Change. The Impact of Arts on Learning (pp. 47-62). Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership. Washington, DC: President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. DeMoss, K. (2002). How Arts Integration Supports Student Learning: Students shed Light on the Connections. CAPE Research. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from http://www.capeweb.org/demoss.pdf

Edens, K., & Potter, E. (2007). The Relationship of Drawing and Mathematical Problem Solving: Draw for Math Tasks. Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research In Art Education, 48(3), 282-298.

Efland, A.D. (2002). Art and Cognition Integrating the Arts into the Curriculum. New York, NY: Teachers College Press & Reston, VA: National Art Education Association

Eisner, E. (1998). A Response to Catterall. Art Education, 51,12-12.

Eisner, E. (1999). Does experience in the arts boost academic achievement? The Clearing House, 72(3), 143-9.

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Eisner, E. (2003). The arts and the creation of mind. Language Arts, 80(5), 340-344.

Eisner, E. (2005). The Three Rs Are Essential, but Don’t Forget the A—the Arts. Retrieved March 8, 2009, from http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3789/

Eisner, E. (2009). What Education Can Learn-from the Arts. Art Education, 62(2), 6-9.

Fowler, C. (1996). Strong arts, strong schools. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.

Henri, R. (1923). The Art Spirit. Philadelphia, PA: J.B. Lipincott

Hetland, L., & Winner, E. (2001). The Arts and Academic Achievement: What the Evidence Shows. Arts Education Policy Review. 102, 3-6. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from Wilson Web OmniFile Fulltext database.

Lafee, S. (2008). Art Smarts: Lessons Learned about Investing in a Well-rounded Education. The Education Digest. 74(1), 42-46. Retrieved February 21, 2009, from Wilson Web OmniFile Fulltext datatase.

Levin, K. (2008). Bucking Trends: Expanding the Arts. School Administrator, 65, 18- 22, 24- 5. Retrieved February 2, 2009, from Wilson OmniFile Fulltext Database.

Lynch, R. (2008). Creating a Brighter Workforce with the Arts. School Administrator, 65(3), 26-8, 30. Retrieved April 12, 2009, from Wlison OmniFile Full Text Mega database.

Malley, E. (Ed.). (2001). Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools, Prekindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education. Retrieved May 2, 2009, from http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/vpastandards.pdf National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE). (2007). Tough Choices or Tough Times. The Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce. Summary Report. Retrieved May 16, 2009, from http://www.skillscommission.org/pdf/exec_sum/ToughChoices_EXECSUM.pdf

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Obama, B., & Biden, J. (2008). Barack Obama and Joe Biden: Champions for Arts and Culture. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/additional/Obama_FactSheet_Arts.pdf

Oreck, B., Baum, S., McCartney, H. (1999) Artistic Talent Development for Urban Youth: The Promise and the Challenge. In E. Fiske (Ed.), Champions of Change. The Impact of Arts on Learning (pp. 63-78). Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership. Washington, DC: President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

Rome, N. (2008). Collecting Arts Education Data Under NCLB. School Administrator, 65(3). Retrieved February 21, 2009, from Wilson OmniFile Fulltext Database.

Sherman, N. (2001). Fine Art frames diagnosis: Health Scout, value added benefits. Retrieved March 4, 2009 from http://jama.ama- assn.org/cgi/content/extract/286/9/1020

Stokrocki, M. (Ed.). (2005). Interdisciplinary Art Education. Reston, VA: The National Art Education Association.

Taylor, P.G., Carpenter, B.S., Ballengee-Morris, C., Sessions, B. (2006). Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching Art in High School. Reston, VA: The National Art Education Association.

Vaughn. K., & Winner, E. (2000). SAT scores of students who study the arts: What we can and cannot conclude about the association. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 34(3-4), 77-89.

Wikipedia.org. No Child Left Behind Act. Retrieved April 4, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act

Wolf, D. & Balick, D. (1999). Art Works! Interdisciplinary learning powered by the arts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Wolfensohn, J.D., Williams, H.M. (1993). The Power of the Arts to Transform Education An Agenda for Action. Recommendations from The Arts Education Partnership Working Group. Retrieved March 4, 2009, from http://www.icfw.org/study-power.html

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Woodworth, K. R., Gallagher, H. A., Guha, R., Campbell, A. Z., Lopez-Torkos, A. M., & Kim, D. (2007). An unfinished canvas. Arts education in California: Taking stock of policies and practices. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International. Woodworth, K. R., and Park, J. (2007). An unfinished canvas. Arts education in the San Francisco Bay Area: A supplementary status report. Menlo Pak, CA: SRI International.

Zimmerman B. (1996). Acquisition of self-regulatory skill: From theory and research to academic practice. In R. Bernhardt,C. Hedley, G. Cattaro & V. Svolopoulos (Eds.),Curriculum leadership: Redefining schools in the 21st Century. New York: Fordham University.

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APPENDIX

Project Title: California Standards-Based Interdisciplinary Curriculum

for Equity in Art Education

Weather Systems and System Art

and

Caricatures and Alter Egos: Self Identity in Donald Duk and Contemporary Art

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1

California Standards-Based

Interdisciplinary Visual Art Curriculum

For High School

Weather Systems and System Art Grades 9-12

Caricatures and Alter Egos-Self Identity in Donald Duk

& Contemporary Art Grades 11-12

2

Table of Contents Weather Systems and System Art 1

Introduction 4 Unit Overview 7 Unit Calendar 9 Unit Materials 10 Implementation-Daily Plans 12 Rubric for Assessment 28

Caricatures and Alter Egos: Self Identity in Donald Duk and Contemporary Art 29

Introduction 30 Unit Overview 32 Unit Calendar 34 Unit Materials 35 Implementation-Daily Plans 36 Rubric for Assessment 51

References 52

3

Weather Systems and System Art

An Interdisciplinary Unit in Visual Arts and Earth Science for grades 9-12

4

Introduction

Inspiration for the Weather Systems and System Art curriculum came from

Science standards in Level 2, Semester 1 of the proposed Integrated Science Curriculum by the California Science Teachers Association (Adams D., et al., 2003). The Integrated Science Curriculum by the California Science Teachers Association was designed to offer suggestions on how to connect the standards of Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Life Sciences, Earth Sciences, and Investigation and experimentation in four levels. There is “no sequence or emphasis (2003)” prescribed for high school science curriculum as described in the 2003 Science Framework for California Public Schools. Rather, there is freedom for each school to design their own curriculum as they see fit.

I chose to base my curriculum on this resource given the fluidity of learning progression it inspires, and the opportunity to build upon standards that relate to current topics in science and environmental awareness. Additionally, this is a realistic framework for California Science teachers, and it can be easily flexed to accommodate existing unit plans since specific standards are linked with the unit.

The Integrated Unit for Visual Art and Science is based upon the content in the 2nd group of standards for Unit Concept #2 of Level 2, Semester 1 and is centered on The heating of the Earth, the circulation processes, and the System Art of Hans Haacke. This unit is designed for implementation across two weeks, or ten class periods of approximately 50 minutes each.

Why Visual Art is integrated with Science

Focusing on the conceptual German American artist Hans Haacke, the following unit draws a connection between the scientific explanations of the heating of the Earth and the subsequent circulation patterns in the atmosphere and oceans. Students are asked to expand on this content by exploring temperature inversion and the concept of pollution in California. Haacke’s early work is often classified as System Art and parallels the systems of Earth, specifically wind and water. The conjunction of Earth science and art history will allow students to explore their understanding of scientific processes through visual representation and conceptual thinking.

Artists in connection with environmental themes often choose utilize their craft as a platform to speak about relevant issues having to do with the positive and often negative dynamics between the Human race and Earth. The German American artist Hans Haacke based his early work on Earth systems and their effects on habitat and space. Students will investigate Haacke from an artistic and scientific perspective, and in turn, each other’s work as they propose an environmental/ land artwork based in California. As a result of this unit, students will be able to draw connections between scientific principles and environmental issues, while referencing a specific genre of visual art. Students will be able to understand the scientific and cultural content of such works, and broaden their ideas of what forms science can take. Additionally, students

5

will know how to look critically at art and draw conclusions based on content not limited to visual aesthetics. Unit development I created The Weather Systems and System Art unit using various resources. With my philosophy of educating students through multiple interpretations of a central theme, I adapted appropriate pieces of one existing lesson plan, elements from an online education resource, and images and audiovisual elements from various Internet sites. In conjunction with my pedagogical thinking and unit objectives to meet California State Board of Education Standards, the following resources were adapted and arranged to create unique unit. This unit was created with the Science teacher in mind. The art content of this unit is approachable and teachable for a non-art teacher. On the other hand, a partnership with an art teacher or art specialist could be easily implemented with additional days and time spent on the art making portions of the unit. Within the lessons, the font Helvetica is used for materials and content adapted for this unit. Adapted resources I grouped URLs from Artstor.org together in list form featuring images of Land (alternately referred to as Environmental Art) and System Art. These images are copyrighted, and in most cases property of the artists. In order for these images to shown in class, one must utilize an Internet browser to navigate the list within Artstor.org, or download the Artstor Offline Image Viewer. As an introduction to the unit, the images are intended to demonstrate connections between Earth and art, and how artists interpret their understanding of natural systems through the utilization and documentation of organic materials and processes. The Simply Science: Weather Systems is streaming video from the Discovery Education website (Discoveryeducation.com, 1998) and I included it in Day 1 of the unit. The video is used to give students clear understanding of the Earth’s heat circulation systems. A PDF file from Alberta Education (1997) accompanies the streaming video on the Discovery Education website. I used the glossary portion of that PDF file was selected to act as a guide for students during the viewing of the Weather Systems video. Images for Day 2 that demonstrate the connections between Earth’s systems and Hans Haacke’s early installations come from a variety of websites. The notes on his early work and his manifesto are from portions of an essay by Anita Seppä (1998) entitled, Hans Haacke – Environmental Artist with Sociopolitical Concerns. I added Haacke’s 1965 manifesto to the note sheet, an excerpt from Art in the Land. A Critical Anthology of Environmental Art (Sonfist, 1983). This note sheet was developed in order to provide students with a basic understanding of Haacke’s accomplishments during his period of working with natural systems and his statement concerning one’s purpose of making art influenced by those systems. The experiment on Day 3 is from a lesson retrieved from the Hamilton County of Environmental Services Air Education and Outreach Services website (2009). The

6

experiment is used as procedural demonstration of temperature inversion along with an explanation of air pollution as a related occurrence. In the context of this unit, I included this experiment to help students visualize the concept of a naturally occurring system. This visualization is key in creating a connection between the visual representation of such concepts in Hans Haacke’s works and the following aesthetic demonstrations of student’s learned scientific concepts. I added questions concerning California in order to propel student thinking about local effects of pollution, leading them to begin planning for a final project. The rubric that follows the unit I adapted from a sample visual arts rubric on taskstream.com (2009). Specific objectives of the above adapted materials and resources working with pedagogy are noted following each lesson, noted by the symbol. The following calendar demonstrates the unit flow lesson to lesson.

7

Unit Overview for Weather Systems and System Art. Subject(s): Integrated Science-Earth Science and Visual Art Grade/Level: Applicable for grades 9-12. Standards grouping implied for Level 2 of Integrated Science by the California Science Teachers Association. Time required: 2 weeks, or ten class periods at approximately 50 minutes each. Objective(s): As a result of this unit, students will be able to draw connections between scientific principles and environmental issues, while referencing System Art. Students will be able to understand the scientific and cultural content of such works, and broaden their ideas of what forms science can take. Additionally, students will know how to look critically at art and draw conclusions based on content not limited to visual aesthetics. Summary: Combining lessons on the Earth’s relationship with the sun and the resulting natural phenomena such as circulation patterns, pressure centers, and temperature inversion, students will be asked to reflect on Hans Haacke as both scientists and artists. Students will investigate Haacke’s work from an artistic and scientific perspective, and in turn, each other’s work as they propose an environmental/system artwork based in California and it’s detailed construction process. Standards: Below are the standards in Unit concept #2 (Adams, D., et al., 2003) met in the following unit. Added Science and Visual Arts standards are in italic Earth Sciences 5a-Students know how differential heating of the Earth results in circulation patterns in the atmosphere and oceans that globally distribute the heat. 5b- Students know the relationship between the rotation of Earth and the circular motions of ocean currents and air in pressure centers. 5c- Students know the origin and effects of temperature inversions. 5e- Students know rain forests and deserts on Earth are distributed in bands at specific latitudes. 5f*- Students know the interaction of wind patterns, ocean currents, and mountain ranges results in the global pattern of latitudinal bands of rain forests and deserts. Investigation and Experimentation 1d-Formulate explanations by using logic and evidence 1l-Analyze situations and solve problems the require combining and applying concepts from more than one area of science. Visual Arts

8

Artistic Perception 1.3 Research and analyze the work of an artist and write about the artist’s distinctive style and its contribution to the meaning of the work. 1.4 Analyze and describe how the composition of a work of art is affected by the use of a particular principle of design. Impact of Media Choice 1.5Analyze the material used by a given artist and describe how its use influences the meaning of the work. Creative Expression 2.5 Create an expressive composition, focusing on dominance and subordination. 2.6 Create a two or three-dimensional work of art that addresses a social issue. Historical and Cultural Context 4.5 Employ the conventions of art criticism in writing and speaking about works of art.

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Unit Calendar Weather Systems and System Art

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Land/System Art SH: introduces Earth as a medium in art, in various interpretations Weather systems V. demonstrates heat circulation in the atmosphere and Earth. HW: glossary term drawings: students make simple line drawings to describe terms related to heat circulation. Begin to understand concepts & show understanding visually

SH/HW: class sees varying interpretations of scientific concepts. Haacke SL: relate artist info, sheet to images of artwork, DI on artist inspiration, connection to sci. concepts. Media search: investigate materials, theme of systems in Haacke’s work & how materials mirror of circulation. respond to Q’s. for understanding.

Experiment: Give info. on temp. inversion. hands-on demonstration of temperature inversion-(system influenced by heat circulation). Students record procedure and describe occurrences.

Web search: investigate pollution as a by-product of temp. inv., where does it occur in CA.? students build upon knowledge of how temp. inversion occurs. Hypothesize Haacke’s interpretation of pollution students consider temp. inversion artistically, building on knowledge of artist’s style. Students answer Q’s

Project Intro prepare plans for an land/system art installation that addresses a pollution issue in CA./ look for inspiration and ideas from artists studied and how Haacke uses materials to echo natural systems. Get in pairs for Pollution in CA. research

Project work: Continue CA pollution. research.

Project Work: Plan for what your installation will look like and address.

Project Work: Continue from previous day, finish illustration.

Project Work: Finish illustration and short written plan.

Presentations: Each group shares their illustrated proposal. Critique: Class follows critique format for each group. Assessment: Use rubric to assess groups.

HW: homework, DI: class discussion, V: video, SL: slideshow, SH: share, Q: questions

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Unit Materials Materials needed for implementation of the unit are listed below grouped by type. Specific sample materials are included following the day number plan. For example, on day 1 you will need to show a Land/System Art slideshow. The list of images will follow the plan for day 1. Books Art in the Land: A Critical Anthology of Environmental Art, edited by Alan Sonfist, Land and Environmental Art, edited by Jeffrey Kastner; survey by Brian Wallis Image groups for slideshows: These are lists of copyrighted images that can be accessed via the Internet. Land/System Art Slideshow: The attachments are images that can be accessed by an Internet connection to Artstor.org, an educational tool that houses close to 1 million images for pedagogical purposes. The URLs will take you the image via Artstor.org. These images are free to use and can be merged into a Power Point presentation or into the downloadable Artstor Offline Image Viewer (OIV). Hans Haacke Slideshow: Artstor.org does not own many images of works by Hans. To access these images, you can use your Internet browser to access several hosts. Handouts Hans Haacke notes: One page overview of Hans Haacke’s System Art period. Student Glossary: Glossary List that accompanies Weather Systems Streaming Audio/visual Simply Science: Weather Systems streaming video from DiscoveryEducation.com: described as:

Looking at weather from a global perspective illustrates the forces that determine major weather patterns. Students conduct an experiment to demonstrate the uneven heating of Earth and learn about the meeting of high and low pressure systems. A meteorologist at a weather forecasting center explains how data is collected for weather forecasts, and how storm activity can be predicted (Discovery, 2009).

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=4E687B6D-2067-4AEA-B7AB-8A10791745E6&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

11

Video of Wide White Flow by Hans Haacke: Youtube.com video clip at the Paula Cooper Gallery In New York. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=Hans+Haacke&aq=f: Specific website content Visitor account from Paula Cooper Gallery, New York, NY: http://artcadeforum.wordpress.com/2008/01/19/hans-haacke-paula-cooper-gallery/: Artist information on Hans Haacke: http://www.artnet.com/artist/674342/hans-haacke.html: Miscellaneous Materials for experiment: 4 identical small, clear glass jars (baby food jars work well), very hot tap water, ice water, index cards large enough to cover the mouth of the jars, red food coloring, shallow pans or baking dishes (for spillage). Sketchbooks: It is great practice to have students keep a sketchbook with them in an interdisciplinary classroom in addition to lined notebooks, binders, etc. The sketchbook provides a place for students to record notes and sketches in class, becoming a visual diary hold all of their ideas during the school year. Folders: Provide each student with a simple folder to house all of their written and visual work during the unit. Drawing Paper and pencils: For drawing and final project work. Digital or Disposable Cameras: If students plan to use photography as their medium for their projects.

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Implementation-Daily Plans Weather Systems and System Art Day 1 Daily Learning Goal/Objective: Students will approach new Earth Science concepts in conjunction with the genre of Land and System Art. Students will learn about the heating of the Earth and the resulting atmospheric and oceanic circulation systems. Contextual Information: This first day of the lesson is meant to be introductory to the Unit. The students are introduced to the concept exploring visual art as well as science. Having overviewed the entire unit beforehand, you must use what will be carried out in the subsequent lessons of the unit to facilitate appropriate conversation with the students about science and art. The slides allow your students to make observations of work that directly reflect their environment and remind them that they will be working with Earth science during this unit as well. Student observations are not meant to be advanced commentary on composition, form, or craft, but rather on how the works reflect the environment, what they are made of, and what the artists intentions for the viewer (them) may be. Anticipatory Set: Ask students if they ever see connections between science and artistic expression. Begin lesson with a slideshow presentation of land and system art. Flip slowly through the slide show as you are facilitating the conversation, or have a student volunteer flip through the images. Sample instructional voice:

“Today we are going to begin a unit during which we will examine the Earth’s processes of heat circulation by air and water and the results of those types of circulation. During our study of this segment of Earth Science, we are going to learning about a genre of Art that is called System Art, a smaller genre of Conceptual Art. I want you to start thinking about how scientific ideas or concepts can be explained visually, without words or definitions from a textbook.”

Conversational topics to discuss with the class over the next 15 minutes while viewing the slideshow:

When you witness Earth’s processes and systems do you find them aesthetically pleasing or moving? Think of sunsets/sunrises, waves, rivers, wind, water tides, etc. Do you know of some artists use the Earth as their medium or their inspiration? Why do you think some artists use the Earth as their medium and/or their inspiration?

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Why might artists choose to focus on Earth’s systems or properties instead of traditional materials and subjects? How could scientists help artists in their work and their visions, and vice versa?

After 15 minutes of discussion with the slides students will receive a glossary of terms. Independent Practice: Play the streaming video, Simply Science: Weather Systems (Discovery, 1998), with a running time of about 20 minutes and allow the students to add to the definitions on the glossary sheet (Alberta, 1997) as they are viewing the video. Closure: Ask students to think about the processes explained in the streaming video and how they would define the concepts using their own language. Homework: Students will be asked to take home the glossary sheet and illustrate two of the terms using pencil and paper. Choose 2 of the glossary terms from the Weather Systems video to illustrate using simple lines that help you identify the term.

• Use white paper and pencil, using one sheet for each drawing

• There is no “right” way to illustrate these concepts; you will know what they define by looking at them.

• On the back of each drawing write the term and your name and period

on the bottom right.

• Drawings will be due at the beginning of class tomorrow. The Land/System art slide show demonstrates varying artistic interpretations of Earth’s systems and the use of earth as a medium. These images introduce students to the concept of using art and science together. This gives students direction and understanding of what it means to find inspiration in naturally occurring Earth functions and properties. Using the glossary sheet take additional notes during the video allows the students to be active, rather than passive viewers. By asking the students to illustrate the glossary terms using simple line drawings, it allows them to begin to interpret a scientific concept through visual representation. This is important in building their confidence to pursue a larger scale assignment at the end of the week.

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Image list for slideshow Agnes Denes Possibility Pyramid in Perspective-Birds Eye View-Study for Crystal Pyramid, 1979 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=8CJGczI9NzldLS1WEDhzTnkrX3kueFh9fyw%3D&userId=gjZEdA%3D%3D Alan Sonfist Burning Forest, 2002-2003 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=%2FTxTdD4gJDAnIS4ld1N7R3soV3QrcVB9&userId=gjZEdA== Crystal Monument, 1966 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=%2FTxTdD4gJDAnIS4ld1N7R3spWX8sfV57&userId=gjZEdA== Andy Goldsworthy Red Pools, 1995 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=%2FTxTdD4gJDAnIS4ld1N7R3soV3QsfFt8&userId=gjZEdA%3D%3D Yorkshire Sculpture Park Worked through the night/ clear & freezing to begin with/ banks of clouds drifting over/ became warmer, 1987 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=8CJGczI9NzldLS1WEDhzTnkrX3gvfVp8fCE=&userId=gjZEdA== Slits cut into frozen snow/stormy/strong wind/weather and light rapidly changing, Blencathra, Cumbria, 1988 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=8CJGczI9NzldLS1WEDhzTnkrX3ovclV%2Ffys=&userId=gjZEdA== David Nash Redwood Cut corner Frame, 1998 http://-0www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=%2FTxTdD4gJDAnIS4ld1N7R3soWXsveF5%2B&userId=gjZEdA%3D%3D John Pfahl Occidental # 18, Niagara Falls, N.Y., 1989 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=8D1Efjk2MjY5MTs4YVN7R3IgWnotfA%3D%3D&userId=gjZEdA%3D%3D Bethlehem # 16, Lackawanna, N.Y., 1988

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http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=8D1Efjk2MjY5MTs4YVN7R3IgV3Msfw==&userId=gjZEdA== Red Arrow, Roan Mountain, North Carolina, 1975 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=8D1Efjk2MjY5MTs4YVN7R3IgV3Yrfw==&userId=gjZEdA== Michael Heizer Art Before Life, 1994 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=%2FTxTdD4gJDAnIS4ld1N7R3soV3Qrf154&userId=gjZEdA== Ejecta Scroll #3, 1997 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=%2FTxTdD4gJDAnIS4ld1N7R3soWXstf19+&userId=gjZEdA== Paul Nash Sun and Moon, 1924 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=8CJGczI9NzldLS1WEDhzTnkrX3ovclZ7fyw%3D&userId=gjZEdA%3D%3D Robert Smithson Entropic Landscape, 1970 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=8CJGczI9NzldLS1WEDhzTnkrX3ovfFl9fis%3D&userId=gjZEdA%3D%3D Drawing for Spiral Jetty, 1970 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=8CJGczI9NzldLS1WEDhzTnkrX3kvcFNzcyA=&userId=gjZEdA== Spiral Jetty, 1970 http://0-http://www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=8CJGczI9NzldLS1WEDhzTnkrX3grelx+fiE=&userId=gjZEdA== Mirrors and Shelly Sand, 1969-1970 http://0-www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=8D1Efjk2MTE+LCMod1N7R3IlWH8mcA==&userId=gjZEdA== Walter de Maria Lightning Field, 1977 http://0www.artstor.org.ignacio.usfca.edu/artstor/ViewImages?id=8CJGczI9NzldLS1WEDhzTnkrX3koeVp8cSY%3D&userId=gjZEdA%3D%3D

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Name___________________________________ GLOSSARY Air mass – a large volume of the lower atmosphere with uniform temperature and humidity Barometric pressure – the air pressure measured in kilopascals Climate graph – a graph showing simultaneously the average daily minimum, maximum and average monthly temperatures, as well as the average monthly precipitation for a particular place Convection – a transfer of thermal energy by medium molecules moving from one place to another Convection current – the flow of a fluid, such as air, due to uneven heating; warm air rises and cool air moves in to takes its place Coriolis effect – the deflection of wind and water currents on Earth due to the spinning of the planet Front – the boundary between two air masses; usually the site of unsettled weather Isobar – a line on a weather map which connects areas of equal air pressure; winds tend to blow along isobars Weather – the condition of the atmosphere with respect to temperature, humidity, wind and clouds for a period of time © 1997 Alberta Education Distributed by AGC/United Learning AGC/United Learning • 1560 Sherman Ave., Suite 100 • Evanston, IL 60201 • 800-323-9084

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Weather Systems and System Art Lesson Sequence, Day 2 Daily Learning Goal/Objective: Students will learn about Hans Haacke’s early work having to do with Earth’s natural forces. Students will connect Haacke’s work and inspiration to the systems that were covered in yesterday’s video. Students will use their sketches as a springboard for the assignment that will demonstrate their learning of the lesson. Contextual Information: Lead students in a discussion of Hans Haacke’s system art and the Earth Systems explored the day before. The reliance of Haacke’s work on it’s environment, and it’s demonstration of simple systems parallel Earth systems such as Coriolus effect, convection, fronts, and currents and their dependence of air, wind, pressure, heat and the earth’s rotation. Facilitate discussion to allow students to make connections between the artwork and the science content. Anticipatory Set: Ask each student to share one of their drawings with class and have a mini-critique of the assignments. Ask each student to share their reasoning behind their representation of the term. Guided Practice: Use hyperlinks for Hans Haacke Images as the class reads over the Hans Haacke notes (Seppa, 1998). Focus on Haacke’s manifesto (Sonfist, 1983.) . Sample questions:

How is Haacke’s manifesto revealed in his work? How does Blue Sail connect to his statement of a works performance being dependent on the assistance of its environment? How are Earth’s weather systems dependent on each other? Do you see a link between Haacke’s system art and the systems that we explored yesterday? Look at your glossary list; can you make a connection to Blue Sail? Think about the materials, tools, and forces used.

Independent Practice: Students visit the following websites individually in a media search, or in pairs depending on computer availability: http://www.artnet.com/artist/674342/hans-haacke.html (Artist information on Hans Haacke)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffpvKOm2WIE (Streaming video of Hans Haacke’s Wide White Flow at Paula Cooper Gallery on youtube.com) http://artcadeforum.wordpress.com/2008/01/19/hans-haacke-paula-cooper-gallery/ (A visitor account from the Paula Cooper Gallery in New York during the exhibition of Wide White Flow.) During their research, ask students to respond in writing to the following questions:

What are the materials of Wide White Flow? Knowing what you do about Hans Haacke, what do you think inspired him to create Wide White Flow? In relation to the concept of heat circulation via atmosphere and water, what could the materials represent?

Homework: Students complete responses if not completed in class

By sharing their homework assignments, students see varying interpretations of scientific concepts. This benefits learning in two ways: it mirrors the previous day’s slideshow, as well as prepares students for the final critique where they view each other’s work; and make helps students prepare educated and appropriate commentary. This can also be used the teacher as an in-action assessment of class participation.

The Hans Haacke slideshow informs a class discussion on the learned scientific concepts and direct relation to the artist’s inspiration in wind, water, and air. Media investigation of specific materials and themes in Hans Haacke’s work and their connection with learned scientific concepts allow students to see his works implemented in real environments and for a moment, step inside a museum. Responding to questions during this time allows for assessment of understanding.

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HANS HAACKE Hans Haacke became known during the 1960s as an artist who worked mainly in the realm of nature. His main interest at that time was studying those observations that are part of our “natural” everyday life. At the beginning of the 1960s Haacke’s main subject was water, which he “represented” in different kinds of water boxes made of plexus glass. These constructions all looked quite similar from the outside but were essentially different from each other, with the water inside the boxes existing in different forms and partitions. Around 1965 Haacke moved on to other natural forces and started to build his “weather events” with air draughts and blower systems both indoors and outdoors. Blue Sail (1965) was one of his indoor installations, consisting of blue chiffon, nylon thread, weights, and an oscillating fan which kept the installation in perpetual motion, as if it were a living organism fluttering fragilely in the air, but kept alive only with the help of the fan. Another wind and air construction, Sky Line, was built outdoors two years later. It consisted of a line of balloons which were connected to each other by a nylon string. Like the earlier gallery works in air this one was also a fragile piece of art, not an object in the traditional sense, but more like a system being constantly manipulated – not by the oscillating fan but by natural forces such as wind, rain, temperature etc. Haacke’s water and air works were processes that attempted to build a dialogue between the spectator and his/her environment. He structured the events but left the rest to the spectator, trying to motivate his/her memory Haacke’s manifesto:

...make something which experiences, reacts to its environment, changes, is nonstable......make something indeterminate, that always looks different, the shape of which cannot be predicted precisely......make something that cannot “perform” without the assistance of its environment......make something sensitive to light and temperature changes, that is subject to air currents and depends, in its functioning, on the forces of gravity......make something the spectator handles, an object to be played with and thus animated......make something that lives in time and makes the “spectator” experience time......articulate something natural... Hans Haacke, Cologne, January1965 (Sonfist)

Notes adapted from an essay by Anita Seppä, Hans Haacke – Environmental Artist with Sociopolitical Concerns, 1998. Read her full article at: http://www.helsinki.fi/jarj/iiaa/io1998/seppa.html

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Hans Haacke Images http://www.leftmatrix.com/haacketri014.jpg Grass cube http://www.stichting-mai.de/hwg/amb/aai/ill/haacgras.htm Blue sail http://sojamo.tumblr.com/post/61812729/blue-sail-hans-haacke-1964-1965-installation http://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/120791# Condensation cube (Condensation Cube is a Plexiglas box that contains a small amount of water)

The sculpture responds to the gallery conditions (the water evaporates and forms condensation on the walls of the cube, depending on the temperature within the room), making transparent the relationship between the object and its environment (Laboral)

http://zeroinfluence.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/artwork_images_171564_397625_hans-haacke.jpg http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/features/cone/cone8-6-9.asp Wide White Flow http://www.artnet.com/artwork/425948789/264/hans-haacke-wide-white-flo.html http://www.flickr.com/photos/35237093392@N01/2224889332/ Condensation Wall http://www.artnet.com/artwork/424148862/264/condensation-wall.html Welle http://www.artnet.com/artwork/425612725/171564/hans-haacke-welle.html Große Wasserwaage (Rekonstruktion 2006) http://www.artnet.com/artwork/425612726/171564/hans-haacke-groe-wasserwaage-rekonstruktion-2006.html http://krzysztofwodiczko.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/282.jpg

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Weather Systems and System Art Lesson Sequence, Day 3 Daily Learning Goal/Objective: Visually demonstrate how pollutants can be trapped near the ground because of atmospheric conditions, learning the concept of Temperature Inversions. Contextual Information: Lesson adapted from Hamilton Country of Environmental Services (HCES, 2009) Air Education and Outreach Services. This lesson will build on students’ knowledge of air circulation while introducing the system of air pollution. Materials:

• 4 identical small, clear glass jars (baby food jars work well) • Very hot tap water • Ice water • Index cards large enough to cover the mouth of the jars • Red food coloring • Shallow pans or baking dishes (for spillage)

Anticipatory Set: Introduce students to the concept of Temperature Inversion with instruction. Use a lecture format or equivalent content from textbook:

Air temperature can play an important role in the buildup or dispersion of surface air pollution. In general air temperature decreases as you move upward in the atmosphere. Under most circumstances the air close to the earth warms as it absorbs surface heat, and begins to rise. Winds occur when cool air rushes in to take the place of the rising warm air. The wind causes “mixing” in the atmosphere and can carry away or dilute pollution. Air temperature can play a different role if air movement is influenced by topography or by air pressure (density). Cold air is generally “heavy” because low temperature causes slower molecular motion, contraction, and increased density. Gravity causes denser, heavier air to sink below lighter, less dense air. Warm air is “light”; higher temperature leads to faster molecular motion, expansion, and a decrease in density. The cold dense air close to the ground does not readily circulate and mix. Pollutants such as carbon monoxide and particulate matter are “trapped” below the “lid” of warm air. The quantity of pollution tends to increase until the lid is lifted or a wind occurs. Using hot and cold water, you can simulate normal atmospheric conditions and a cold weather temperature inversion (HCES, 2009).

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Guided Practice: Break students into groups of 2 or 3 to carry out experiments. Use the instructions below to instruct groups on experiment procedures. Have students record procedures and occurrences during the experiment.

To simulate normal conditions: Place both jars in a shallow pan or baking dish to catch any spills. Fill one jar with hot water and one jar with ice water (no ice). Fill the jars to the brim. Put several drops of red food coloring in the jar with the hot water, to represents pollutants in the air near the earth. Place the index card over the top of the jar with the cold (clear) water and quickly flip the jar on top of the jar with hot, polluted (red) water. Make sure the openings of the two jars are perfectly aligned and hold them in that position while you quickly but carefully pull the index card out. Let the Jars stand.

Inversion conditions: Repeat the above procedure, except in this case place the red food coloring in the jar of cold water. Then place the index card over the top of the jar with the hot (clear) water and invert it over the jar full of cold, polluted (red) water. Let the jars stand. What happens in the first instance? The hot (red) and cold (clear) water mix immediately, moving some of the red food coloring (pollutant) into the upper jar, which becomes red. At the same time the red (pollution) in the lower jar is diluted. This mixing of the warmer, colored water shows how warm air near the earth can second instance, the cold (red) water is trapped and can’t escape air, just as warm air can trap a layer of cold, polluted air and create unhealthful air quality conditions.

This experiment allows students to see what happens during temperature inversion, a system connected to heat circulation. By recording the procedure and what happens during the experiment, students are reinforcing their knowledge of temperature inversion and preparing themselves for tomorrow’s activities. Hand-on experimentation with simple materials allows students to get a feel of working with glass and water, similar to the medium of Hans Haacke’s early work.

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Weather Systems and System Art Day 4 Daily Learning Goal/Objective: Students will make a hypothesis of Hans Haacke’s interpretation of temperature inversion using what they know about the artist and investigation of his existing work. Contextual Information: Students will need Internet access for research purposes. The following books will also be helpful during this process: Art in the Land. A Critical Anthology of Environmental Art (Sonfist, 1983) Land and environmental art (Kastner, (Ed.)., Wallis, 1998) Anticipatory Set: Ask students to answer the following questions that build upon the previous day’s experiment.

What areas of California are highly polluted? What causes this pollution? What are some effects of this pollution? If Hans Haacke or an artist hat works with the land were to construct a piece that addresses the concept of pollution or temperature inversion, what materials would he use? Describe the work as you imagine it.

Independent Practice: Have students conduct a media search to respond to the questions above, using their class notes, books, and the Internet. Ask students to remain in the same groups as the day before. During the media search, students build upon prior knowledge of temperature inversion, and begin to investigate a by-product: pollution. By focusing on CA. students explore local resources and issues. Asking students to reflect on how Hans Haacke would respond to the concept of temperature inversion and pollution allows them to show their development in understanding artistic interpretations of systems.

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Weather Systems and System Art Day 5 Learning Goals/Objective: Students understand the pollution issues in California, and investigate the causes and effects of pollution in the affected regions. Contextual Information: Students will embark on researching a region of California for the purposes of the final project in this unit. The final project will require detailed plans for an art proposal. Allow students to work in pairs to ensure thorough investigation of both the region and the art making process. Anticipatory Set: Briefly review the concept that temperature inversion can be the cause of pollution. Ask students to share what area regions of California are most affected by pollution. Guided Practice: Explain the guidelines for the culminating project that they will begin today and have the rest of next week to complete. Presentations will take place the following Friday. Project guidelines and rubric: Work in pairs to plan an art installation inspired by our study of Hans Haacke and art that that works with natural systems, land, and environmental issues. Base your work in California and around an environmental issue having to do with air pollution. Provide a written plan of your proposed work that includes the following:

The region that you want to base your work in and why. How you want your proposed artwork to affect the viewer What materials you need in order to construct your project

Create an illustrated plan of the proposal that includes the following

A list or diagram of materials that you need in order to construct your work. These can be photographs or sketches. A representation of your proposed work, this must be an original drawing by hand, digitally, or an original photograph montage.

Fulfill the requirements of the rubric for this project.

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This project allows students to demonstrate their understanding of scientific concepts learned thoughout this unit as well as their exploration of the topic of pollution in California. Using what they have learned about Hans Haacke’s use of natural systems in his art, students can make an educated and inspired plan for an installation of their own. This project bridges the Earth science topics and art by using concrete knowledge of Earth’s circulation systems and students’ creativity in order to communicate that knowledge.

Weather Systems and System Art Day 6 Learning Goals/Objectives: Students continue to work on their project. This day should focus on research of pollution issues in California and the narrowing down to one issue in one region. Weather Systems and System Art Day 7 Learning Goals/Objectives: Students should have chosen a pollution issue in one region and will begin planning what their installation will look like and what materials will be used. Weather Systems and System Art Day 8 Learning Goals/Objectives: Students should work on their illustrations and begin compiling their notes to prepare a short written plan explaining their project. Weather Systems and System Art Day 9 Learning Goals/Objectives: Students should finish work on their illustrations and finish compiling their notes to prepare a short written plan explaining their project.

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Weather Systems and System Art Day 10 Learning Goals/Objectives: Students will share their illustrated proposal. The artists and critics follow the critique format: Anticipatory set: debrief the class on the guidelines for the critique. Post the following critique format on chalk/white board, or anywhere visible. Critique Format: Each artist or group of artists (students) shares their work according to the questions below. Critics follow the guidelines below. Each group gets ten minutes for their presentation. Artists: What is the name of your project? Where will it be installed? What pollution issue in California will be addressed? What materials will it be made of? How do you want the viewer to respond to your artwork?-think in terms of how they will interact with it, feel about it, what message do you want to communicate through your artwork? Who or what inspired you in your design-think about specific, artists, science, s sources you encountered while researching. Critics: After the artists have shared, please follow the guidelines in asking questions or making critiques concerning the projects Ask relevant questions that pertain to the project Share what you like about the project. Ask questions about what you don’t understand concerning the project. While offering critiques, create balance by sharing what you find interesting about the project. Be respectful of others and their efforts.

Utilizing a class critique accomplishes several objectives at the close of the unit. First, it allows students to share their work and efforts with the class.

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Secondly, it encourages students to learn in a community setting, where they teach each other. Thirdly, it teaches respect of others and how to offer constructive criticism. Lastly, it teaches students how to look critically at art and take into account process, materials, and inspiration when viewing.

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Caricatures and Alter Egos:

Weather Systems and System Art Rubric for Assessment

Criteria F=16 points or

less C=19 points B =22 points A=25 points S

Creativity/ Originality

Does not express originality or creative thought.

Expresses some originality or creative thought, but does not always meet requirements

Displays some originality or creative thought while keeping in mind the task at hand

Displays a lot of creativity and original thought; keeps in mind task at hand but is not afraid to experiment

Demonstrates knowledge of scientific concepts, Heat circulation, Temperature Inversion.

Does not demonstrate knowledge of scientific concepts.

Demonstrates some knowledge of scientific concepts, but does not meet requirements.

Demonstrates knowledge of scientific concepts.

Demonstrates knowledge of scientific concepts and is not afraid to expand on knowledge.

Addresses relevant environmental issue in California regarding pollution.

Does not address relevant environmental issue in California having to do with pollution.

Addresses relevant environmental issue in California having to do with pollution, but does not represent such with artistic expression.

Addresses relevant environmental issue in California having to do with pollution, with artistic expression.

Addresses relevant environmental issue in California having to do with pollution, expresses it with detailed artistic expression.

Presentation is detailed and evidence of planning and craft is evident in final product.

Presentation is not detailed and evidence of planning and craft is not evident in final product.

Presentation is adequate and evidence of some planning and craft is evident in final product.

Presentation is detailed and evidence of planning and craft is evident in final product.

Presentation is detailed and evidence of planning and craft is highly evident in final product.

How the rubric works: Each level of criteria is worth a quarter of your grade. You are graded on each level of criteria and those grades comprise your final grade. Rubric adapted from Taskstream.com. Visual Arts Rubric in Rubric Wizard. http://www.taskstream.com/Main/main_frame.asp

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Caricatures and Alter Egos: Self Identity in Donald Duk

and Contemporary Art An Interdisciplinary Unit in Visual Arts and English-Language Arts

for grades 11-12

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Introduction Inspiration for Caricatures and Alter Egos -Self Identity in Donald Duk and Contemporary Art came from a variety of sources. The PBS series Art 21: art in the 21st century (Sollins, 2004, 5, 7) is a wonderful resource for educators and students of art in any stage of their career. Informative, relevant, and interesting, Art 21 provides a glimpse into the inspiration and crafting process of contemporary artists. Lesson plans from this resource found their partner in the short novel, Donald Duk by Frank Chin. The book takes place in San Francisco’s Chinatown and follows a boy as he examines his cultural identity as a Chinese-American, and his self-identity as a young man who learns to respect and take pride in his heritage. Reflecting on Donald Duk, students learn about contemporary artists who explore the theme of caricatures and alter egos. The artist Kara Walker said in regard to her work, "I couldn’t really name these characters or caricatures. They are phantom-like; they’re fantasies. Just the end-result of so many fabrications of a fabricated identity” (Walker, n.d.). Reflecting on their own identity, students explore the caricatures and alter egos that are part of their life. By crafting an artistic response that depicts the fabrications of stereotypes and caricatures that they face as a young perrson and the alter ego, or other self that is not visible on the outside, students empathize with Donald Duk and find parallels between visual art and literature. This Unit is designed to take approximately 12, 50-minute class periods and meets several strands of the California State Board of Education Content Standards in Visual Art and English-Language Arts for students in grades 11-12. Why Visual Art is integrated with English-Language Arts

Caricatures and Alter Egos -Self Identity in Donald Duk and Contemporary Art taps into students’ existing knowledge and asks them to bring what they know to the classroom and contribute personal experiences and opinions to a group setting. According to How People Learn:

Teachers need to pay attention to the incomplete understandings, the false beliefs, and the naïve renditions of concepts that learners bring with them to a given subject. Teachers need to build on these ideas in ways that help each student achieve a more mature understanding. If student’s initial ideas are ignored, the understandings that they develop can be very different from what the teacher intends (Bransford, Brown, Cocking, 2003).

Listening with consideration and open mindedness to students’ opinions about stereotypes and judgments allows the teacher to help students reach a more mature understanding of their prior knowledge during this unit. In turn, they will grow in their understanding of themselves. By creating a positive classroom environment that supports class discussions and respectful dialogue between students, teachers will be able to create a dynamic unit that allows students to make an educated response to the themes explored.

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Unit Development The Caricatures and Alter Egos: Self Identity in Donald Duk and Contemporary Art unit was created in part by various resources. With my philosophy of educating students through multiple interpretations of a central theme, I adapted appropriate pieces of two existing lesson plans, elements from an online education resource, and the content from a short novel to create an interdisciplinary unit. In conjunction with my pedagogical thinking and unit objectives to meet California State Board of Education Standards, the following resources were adapted and arranged to create a unique unit. These units were created with the English teacher in mind. The art content of this unit is approachable and teachable for a non-art teacher. On the other hand, a partnership with an art teacher or arts specialist could be easily implemented with additional days and time spent on the art making portions of the unit. Within the lessons, the font Helvetica is used for materials and content adapted for this unit. For example, when class discussion questions found in the online lesson The Alter-Ego Saves the Day (Bowen, n.d.) are used within the context of this unit, the text will be in Helvetica. Adapted Resources Selected portions of the lessons, Characters and Caricatures, and The Alter-Ego Saves the Day (Bowen, n.d.), from the PBS online lesson library were adapted for segments of instruction on Days 1-3 and 5 of this unit. The video segments of the art 21: art in the 21st century (Sollins, 2004, 2005, 2007) DVDs are to be viewed in conjunction with selected discussion questions about the artists and artwork contained in the video. I selected questions from the original lessons that had relevance to the novel Donald Duk and to this unit objective of exploring one’s self identity through caricatures and alter egos. ‘s As a central resource for this unit, I utilized the novel Donald Duk as an example of exploration of one’s culture and history in understanding self-identity. An excerpt from a summary of themes in Donald Duk is provided from an English teacher’s book review website (Terry, 2008) in order to give the teacher an overview of novel’s content and themes. Specific objectives of the above adapted materials and resources working with my pedagogical thinking are noted following each lesson marked by the symbol. The following calendar demonstrates the unit flow lesson to lesson. The rubric that follows the unit was adapted from a sample visual arts rubric on taskstream.com (2009).

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Unit Overview for Caricatures and Alter Egos -Self Identity in Donald Duk and Contemporary Art Subject(s): Integrated English-Language Arts and Visual Art. Grade/Level: Grades 11-12. Time Required: Approximately 12 class periods at approximately 50 minutes each Objective(s): As a result of this unit students will be able to indentify and understand themes of self-identity and cultural identity in literature and contemporary art. As a result of this unit, students will be able to craft an artistic response to these themes in terms of how they identify themselves and how others see them regarding their culture, ethnicity, age and/or gender. Summary: During this unit students will read Donald Duk broken into sections for homework. The book is short, and allows students to easily read at home and work with the content in connection with topics addressed in class. It is important that students read the book continuously throughout the unit so they can reinforce themes in the book with lessons in class, thus gaining a broad understanding of the unit objectives through literature and art. Students will be required to draw upon their existing knowledge of cultural stereotypes and elements of their personal identity as they dive deeper into the subjects through open dialogue in class. This unit is comprised of free writing, independent reading, class discussion, and artistic expression. Standards: English-Language Arts

Literary Response and Analysis 3.2 Analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using textual evidence to support the claim. Writing Applications 2.1 Write fictional, autobiographical, or biographical narratives 2.3 Write reflective compositions: a. Explore the significance of personal experiences, events, conditions, or concerns by using rhetorical strategies (e.g., narration, description, exposition, persuasion). b. Draw comparisons between specific incidents and broader themes that illustrate the writer’s important beliefs or generalizations about life. c. Maintain a balance in describing individual incidents and relate those incidents to more general and abstract ideas.

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2.4 Write historical investigation reports: a. Use exposition, narration, description, argumentation, or some combination of rhetorical strategies to support the main proposition. b. Analyze several historical records of a single event, examining critical relationships between elements of the research topic. c. Explain the perceived reason or reasons for the similarities and differences in historical records with information derived from primary and secondary sources to support or enhance the presentation.

Visual Art Artistic Perception 1.3 Research and analyze the work of an artist and write about the artist's distinctive style and its contribution to the meaning of the work. Creative Expression 2.6 Create a two or three-dimensional work of art that addresses a social issue. Historical and Cultural Context 3.3 Identify and describe trends in the visual arts and discuss how the issues of time, place, and cultural influence are reflected in selected works of art. 3.4 Discuss the purposes of art in selected contemporary cultures. Aesthetic Valuing 4.1 Articulate how personal beliefs, cultural traditions, and current social, economic, and political contexts influence the interpretation of the meaning or message in a work of art. 4.5 Employ the conventions of art criticism in writing and speaking about works of art. Connections, Relationships, Applications 5.2 Create a work of art that communicates a cross-cultural or universal theme taken from literature or history.

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Unit Calendar Caricatures and Alter Egos-Self Identity in Donald Duk and Contemporary Art. Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri DI: caricature/ character.. what do those terms mean, indicate? Introduce and view caricature artists in Art 21: students take notes while watching video based on artists that address caricature/ character in their work. DI: Donald Duk intro.

Read/DI: Donald Duk. chapter one in class. Class gets familiar with writing style, answer any questions about the context. Take turns reading. Hw: search for images from home, newspapers, internet, books, magazines, etc. that depict caricatures.

SH/DI: homework from yesterday. Students DI their found images with Q’s Free write: Students write silently and sustained on the topic of personal external and internal characteristics based on DI Q’s Hw: read chapters 2 -6 in DD.

DI: Chapter 2-6 With Q’s Students Refine free writes from yesterday into narrative based on Chin’s writing style, placing themselves as Donald. Students consider why this is an effective style to communicate the unit’s themes. Hw: read 7-10, finish narrative.

SH: narratives. Students consider others experiences as a Donald character Q’s on chapters 6-10. V: art 21 video on artists that work in the theme of alter ego, a theme also in Donald Duk. Hw: read 11-18, epilogue in Donald Duk over the weekend.

DI: theme of alter ego in Donald Duk and the end of the book. Review theme of alter ego in the work of contemporary art. How do these two art forms demonstrate the same theme? Free write: alter-ego

Refine free write from yesterday into narrative. Students mirror Chin’s writing style once more. Introduce Project students will create an original piece of artwork that depicts the theme of caricature and/or alter ego in relation to their self-identity as well as short accompanying. essay

Students work on projects. Students begin to plan their visual component of the project and compose their short essay. Suggest that students compose their essay first to give them direction in planning.

Students work on projects. Finish up essays today and proceed with their visual component.

Students work on projects students work on visual component of project. NEXT WEEK: Monday/Tuesday, class presentations take place.

HW: homework, DI: class discussion, V: video, SL: slideshow, SH: share, Q: questions

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Unit Materials Materials needed for implementation of the unit are listed below grouped by type. Specific sample materials are included following the Day number plan. Books Donald Duk, by Frank Chin Video Art 21 DVDs:

Art 21: Art in the 21st first century. Seasons one and two. (Sollins, 2004)

Art 21: Art in the 21st century. Season three. (2005)

Art 21: Art in the 21st century. Season four . (2007)

(Applicable content of DVDs also available online at www.pbs.org/art21) Digital Images art:21 slideshows: Kara Walker: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/walker/index.html# Trenton Doyle Hancock: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/hancock/index.html Eleanor Antin: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/antin/index.html Margaret Kilgallen: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/kilgallen/index.html Matthew Barney http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/barney/index.html Raymond Pettibon http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/pettibon/index.html Miscellaneous Sketchbooks: It is great practice to have students keep a sketchbook with them in an interdisciplinary classroom in addition to lined notebooks, binders, etc. The sketchbook provides a place for students to record notes and sketches in class, becoming a visual diary hold all of their ideas during the school year. Any available art materials: Paper, paint, pencils, disposable cameras, etc.

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Implementation-Daily Plans Caricatures and Alter Egos Day 1 Learning Goal/Objective: Students will explore the similarities and differences between characters and caricatures in art. Students will consider how and why caricatures are constructed. Contextual Information: This lesson is adapted and largely attributed to the lesson Characters and Caricatures (Bowen, n.d.) from the PBS online lesson library in connection with the PBS series Art 21: Art in the twenty-first century. To view video segments on the specific artists, follow the links on the pages following this lesson. Video segments are also available in DVD form. Anticipatory Set: Have students discuss the differences between caricatures and characters. What is a character in literature? What is a caricature? How do you know when a portrait (in art) represents a caricature or a character? Guided Practice: Introduce students to the work of visual artists who incorporate characters and caricatures into their art: Season Two artists Kara Walker, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Eleanor Antin, and Season One artist, Margaret Kilgallen. Use the artists’ video segments, interviews, and art works on the Art: 21 Web site or playing the Season One and Two DVDs from the Art 21 series. Have students record notes in their sketchbook while viewing. After the clips/DVD, ask students to identify which figures might be considered caricatures and which might be considered characters. Have students defend their opinions by describing specific elements within the work. Ask students to describe what is being caricaturized in the artwork and for what purpose.

What internal qualities does the artist attempt to make visible through characterization? Are they humorous? Mean-spirited? Provocative?

*While discussing these questions revisit images of the artist’s work through the art: 21 slideshows

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Closure: Introduce Donald Duk as the main literature source during this unit. The class engages in a discussion about the terms character and caricature in order to share ideas about what those terms mean. This is fundamental in assessing students understanding of those terms, and gaining insight on what each student will bring to the unit.

Students are introduced to the first group of artists that address caricatures in their work in order to get to students to start thinking about those terms visually. The question, Are they humorous? Mean-spirited? Provocative? leads into Donald Duk and finds relevance in Frank Chin’s writing style.

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Caricatures and Alter Egos Day 2 Daily Learning Goal/Objective: Students gain familiarity with Chin’s writing style in a class reading of Donald Duk. Students reflect on the themes of caricatures while reading the first chapter of the book. Contextual Information: This lesson includes an activity adapted from the lesson, Characters and Caricatures (Bowen, n.d.) from the online lesson library in connection with the PBS series art: 21-art in the twenty-first century. In regard to the novel Donald Duk, a prior knowledge of the themes and content of the book is essential in directing class discussions. Included is a book review (Terry , 2008) to acquaint teachers with the themes. Anticipatory Set: revisit the themes that were addressed in yesterday’s lesson. Arrange desks in circular formation to prepare for group reading. Guided Practice: Class reads Chapter One of Donald Duk, alternating readers approximately every page. This helps class get familiar with Chin’s atypical writing style and the narrator of the book. During class reading, facilitate learning by asking the following questions: How would you describe the narrator, what does he or she contribute to the story? What does Donald Duk fear, and why? Do you think Donald has respect for his family, why or why not? What does Donald resent his Father’s advice? Closure: revisit the theme of caricatures versus characters, discussing the characters introduced in Donald Duk.

Do you see the characters in the book as caricatures or characters? Is this due to you, Donald, or the narrator?

Homework: Ask students to bring in cartoons or images from newspapers or magazines that could be classified as caricatures. Students may find the following websites helpful if they do not have newspapers or magazines at home. http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/c/caricature.html Definition of caricature and examples of caricatures throughout history

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http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/caricatures/intro.htm Celebrity caricature in America http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/cartoon/cartoons.html America in caricature, 1765-1865 http://www.pritchettcartoons.com/caricature.htm Examples of famous caricatures past and present By reading the first chapter of Donald Duk as a class, students are able t o get familiar with Chin’s atypical writing style, and ask any questions to clarify setting, theme, etc. before continuing to read on their own . Asking students to gather images that depict caricatures allow them to demonstrate their understanding of caricatures, versus characters in visual sources. It will also ask of them to draw upon what they learned and saw in the Art 21 video segments.

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Donald Duk by Frank Chin (Terry, 2008) From the Cover: The eponymous narrator of this first novel, which bulldozes stereotypes about supposed Chinese timidity and passivity, isn’t a cartoon character but a smart 12-year-old Chinese-American boy who, with all the vehemence and certainty of youth, spits on everyone and everything Chinese. Although his female characters are underdeveloped and often the humor is broad and seems to exclude its audience, Chin’s descriptions are acute and gifted, vivifying the virtuoso technique of Donald’s father, who fashions 108 model airplanes—named for Chinese outlaw heroes—that he plans to launch and set afire during the Chinese New Year celebration, and Donald’s nighttime dreams, which cast him as an underage railroad builder in 1869 California, one of 1,200 unheralded Chinese workers. The New Year festival in San Francisco’s Chinatown becomes Donald’s rite of passage and doorway to self-acceptance and -respect; Donald and the reader find themselves on an odyssey that is at once stinging and seductive, reclaiming the exquisite myths of a beautiful and proud ancient civilization. My Review: Frank Chin’s Donald Duk is yet another novel that I read for my Multi-Ethnic American Lit class, and one that further explores the idea (first brought up in Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage) of how dominant narratives/perceptions are absorbed and often reproduced by marginalized peoples, specifically the Chinese American community in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Chin frames this discussion in terms of Chinese American culture. Specifically, Chin asks questions about whether or not Culture (with a capital “C”) is fixed or is it evolving? Often Westerners see “other” cultures as something that is fixed. For example, Westerners (and especially Americans think of China as stuck in some sort of Fifth-Century Feudal-Dynastic society when in fact it is a dynamic and evolving country with a dynamic and evolving culture. This is even truer for Chinese Americans and their culture. White American Culture (as it existed prior to “contact” with the Chinese) and Chinese Culture (or African, or Latin American, or Asian, etc.) work on a system of reciprocity. Chinese Culture coming to American cannot be untouched by American culture, and vice versa: White American Culture cannot be untouched by Chinese Culture. They both come away having borrowed aspects of the other and evolve through the relationship. Culture is not a static thing. However, Americans often think in terms of culture being static and this leads to an artificial crisis and a (mis)perception of a threat. The dominant American perception is that the absorbing of aspects Chinese Culture is a danger and a threat to the Great American Cultural Identity. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Chin uses his protagonist, the young Donald Duk, to show the Reader how damaging it is when this idea becomes de rigueur and even those who are marginalized by this artificial threat begin to reproduce the stereotypes and damaging images of themselves: in Donald’s case it is accepting that Chinese (and by extension Chinese Americans) are the Celestials and Mystics and fragile artists. Donald reproduces this ideal and cannot—will not—accept that there is anything more to the Chinese American identity than what he sees on television, in movies and what he is told in his classes. However, Chin (being Chin) takes the concepts of culture and assimilation and applies them to the Chinese American culture and Donald’s understanding of what it means to be Chinese American. Chin asserts that Chinese American Culture begins in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and Nevada where the Chinese are instrumental in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. This, Chin argues, is where being Chinese American started. Yet, if Chin is correct and Culture is a thing that is constantly evolving … then to be Chinese American is to be Chinese and vice versa. One does not need to be Chinese American to participate in Chinese American Culture and one does not need to be White American to participate in White American Culture, because (at the risk of sounding like I am spouting platitudes) every one of us is American. This is even more important now, as issues of race and cultural identity and what it means to be “American” have assaulted us from all sides during the Presidential campaign. Ultimately it does not matter what your middle name is, whether or not you served your country, whether you are of Mexican, Chinese, Korean or Middle Eastern descent, in America we are all Americans and we all have a right to participate in the cultural identity that is ours: American. Posted by Bryan R. Terry at 9/22/2008 10:50:00 PM

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Caricatures and Alter Egos Day 3 Daily Learning Goal/Objective: Students explore the theme of caricatures and characters in their own life through free writing, and then a revised writing session. Contextual Information: The first series of questions in this lesson is attributed to Characters and Caricatures (Bowen, n.d.) from the online lesson library in connection with the PBS series art: 21-art in the twenty-first century. Anticipatory Set: Have students share the images they brought in for homework and discuss the attributes of each one:

What external characteristics are exaggerated or distorted (for example gestures, facial features, expression, clothes, manner of speaking)? What internal qualities are being caricaturized (power, weakness, fear, arrogance, love, anger, poverty, wealth, etc.)? How are the external characteristics related to the internal qualities?

Independent Practice: Instruct students to free write (silent, sustained writing. Instruct students to “never lift the pencil from the paper, just keep it moving”) for 15 minutes, use a stopwatch. This will allow students to loosen up in anticipation of the next assignment.

Free write for 15 minutes. Explore the topics we have discussed in class by writing about your identity. Think about how people may, or do view you based on your external appearance and how much bearing those views have on your internal identity.

Homework: read chapter 2-6 in Donald Duk By sharing their homework with the rest of the class, students can consider other’s ideas of caricatures and learn from found images.

By free writing on the topic of internal and external characteristics students are allowed to explore a personal theme by approaching it on their own and freely writing in a way that will not be viewed or read by anyone else. By free writing, students can own their thinking and consider their responses before sharing it with the class.

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Caricatures and Alter Egos Day 4 Daily Learning Goal/Objective: Students will refine their free writing into a narrative that reflects Frank Chin’s style in Donald Duk. Anticipatory Set: Revisit Chapters 2-6 in Donald Duk and explore Chin’s writing style Students respond in a class discussion to the following questions to clarify chapters and for the teacher to check for comprehension of the text:

Describe the following characters in the book: Uncle Donald Duk, Arnold Azalea, The Frog Twins, Kwan Kung, Frog Twins. Why is the family making model airplanes? What is the p-26A why does Donald steal it? Who surprises Donald on the roof? Describe the Water Margin and the 108 outlaws How did King Duk become a great chef? What does Donald Dream about? What happens on the first day of the Chinese New Year? What does King Duk have to say about being a Chinese-American? What does Donald think about being a Chinese American?

How does Chin’s writing style add to the tone of Donald Duk? Independent Practice: Ask students to take out their free write and spend the rest of the class period refining it to a one page essay reflective of Chin’s writing style, placing themselves as the Donald character in your essay. Homework: Read chapter 6-10 in Donald Duk, finish narrative if not finished in class.

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Asking students to refine their free write accomplishes several objectives. It teaches students to refine a first draft, and to draw upon a stream of consciousness in order to communicate with an effective piece of writing. This is important in teaching students to adapt their uninhibited thoughts into another form, as they will when they create a visual representation of their writing. By mirroring Chin’s writing style in their refinement of their free write, students learn to write in a narrative and place themselves as the third person in a short essay. Students see (or disagree) that is can be an effective and revealing writing style when examining oneself and considering how other people view you and your actions.

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Caricatures and Alter Egos Day 5 Daily Learning Goal/Objective: Students will learn about contemporary artists that use alter egos as a central theme in their work. Students will consider the concept of an alter ego in visual art and the notion of presenting an alternate, transformed, or idealized self (Bowen, n.d.). Contextual Information: This is largely attributed to the lesson The Alter Ego Saves the Day ( Bowen, n.d.) from the PBS online lesson series in connection with the series art: 21-art in the twenty-first century. Anticipatory Set: Check for comprehension of chapter 7-10 in Donald Duk.

Why does Donald question his father's desire to be Chinese? Where does Donald go at the end of the chapter? Does Donald respect Larry Louie? Why or why not? Who does Donald meet on the way to the bathroom? How are a gypsy caravan, Chinese outlaws, Robin Hood, Spanish gypsies, Jesse James all the same? How does Donald's dad give him face'? Who speaks to Donald at the beginning of his next dream?

What is Donald asked to do by Kwan the foreman? Introduce students to the topic of alter ego in art by posing the following questions.

What is an alter ego? What are different examples of alter ego in literature, film, television, drama, or comic books and, how do they function in different ways depending on the medium in which they are conceived and performed? What are different roles an alter ego can assume? Why might a visual artist create an alter ego in a work of art?

Guided Practice: Introduce students to artists who explore the notion of alter ego in their work. Artists include Raymond Pettibon, Trenton Doyle Hancock,

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Eleanor Antin and Matthew Barney. Watch the online videos or the art: 21-art in the twenty-first century DVD. Homework: Finish Donald Duk, 10-18, epilogue Viewing artists that work in the theme of alter egos allows students to consider how the theme plays into visual representation and inspiration in art. In reading Donald Duk, students have been introduced to the theme in literature. Ad Donald takes refuge in his dreams and in his fantasies of becoming Fred Astaire, students see the artists take refuge and seek alternative identities in their artwork.

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Caricatures and Alter Egos Day 6 Daily Learning Goal/Objective: Students discuss the theme of alter ego in Donald Duk and make connections between Donald and his alter ego of Fred Astaire and dream sequences. Anticipatory Set: Check for comprehension while discussing chapter 11-18 in Donald Duk.

What did Arnold dream? Did Donald really go the herbalist? How do you know? What are dreams for – at least in Fred Astaire's mind? Who are the "Celestials" What is happening at dad's restaurant as Donald walks late at night? What tradition is dad upholding? Does dad encourage Donald to hate all white people? How did Truth come looking for Donald? Why does Donald have to say, "Please, please, I'm listening this time," to dad and Uncle Donald? What's wrong with racists? What's King Duk's advice about getting mad at history books? Describe the scene of the airplanes. Why do you think the story ends with "Kingdoms rise and fall, Nations come and go"?

Continue discussion, directed towards the theme of alter ego in Donald Duk

What are some examples of alter egos in Donald Duk? Why do you think Donald had dream sequences? Why does he identify with Fred Astaire as an alter ego?

Independent Practice: Ask students to free write for 15 minutes on the following questions.

Do you fantasize about becoming someone else? Why do you identify with that fantasy?

By free writing on the topic of alter egos students are allowed to explore a personal theme by approaching it on their own and freely writing in a way that

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will not be viewed or read by anyone else. By free writing, students can own their thinking and consider their responses before sharing it with the class. The theme of alter ego has been examined in the work of artists and in literature at this point, now students are allowed to examine it in terms of themselves.

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Caricatures and Alter Egos Day 7 Daily Learning Goal/Objective: Students refine their writing skills in a second essay that mirrors Chin’s writing style. Students are introduced to the final project. Independent Practice: Ask students to refine their free write into a one-page narrative essay using the questions that were posed the day before. Closure: Introduce Final Project. Final Project for Unit Present a portfolio of work that represents what you have learned over the past two weeks. This portfolio will include the completed works of: Refined narrative essay: caricature Refined narrative essay: alter ego. For the remainder of this portfolio you will need to complete the following: An original artwork depicting a caricature or alter ego inspired by your writing.

• Painting, drawing, photography, or sculpture of original content.

A one-page essay describing the cultural and historical significance of your artwork.

• Cultural and Historical significance: In Donald Duk, Donald constantly examines his Chinese history (with good and bad feelings) to reveal the significance of his family’s traditions and customs as well as his identity and defining external and internal characteristics. In what way does your cultural or family history influence your choice of an alter ego or caricature? Use research to support your artist statement.

By mirroring Chin’s writing style in their refinement of their free write, students learn to write in a narrative and place themselves as the third person in a short essay. Students see (or disagree) that is can be an effective and revealing writing style when examining oneself and considering how other people view you and your actions.

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This final project requires students to create a portfolio of written and visual representations of learning. By creating a visual representation of the alter ego and/or caricature, students use what they have written during the course of this unit and use it develop their visual representation. The project requires students to draw upon what they have observed in terms of artist’s takes on the unit’s themes, as well as the artistry in writing in the novel Donald Duk. Caricatures and Alter Egos Day 8 Learning Goals/Objectives: Students work on projects. Suggest that students work on their essay component first to give them direction in planning. Caricatures and Alter Egos Day 9 Learning Goals/Objectives: Students should finish up essays and proceed with their visual component. Caricatures and Alter Egos Day 10 Learning Goals/Objectives: Students work on their visual component of the project. Caricatures and Alter Egos Day 11-12 Learning Goals/Objectives: Students will share the visual component of their projects. The artists and critics follow the critique format. Anticipatory set: debrief the class on the guidelines for the critique. Post the following critique format on chalk/white board, or anywhere visible. Critique Format: Artists share their work according to the questions below. Critics follow the guidelines below. Each artist gets ten minutes for his or her presentation. Artists: What is the name/title of your project?

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How do you want the viewer to respond to your artwork? What message do you want to communicate through your artwork? Who or what inspired you in your project-think in terms of the content of your short essay. Critics: After the artists have shared, please follow the guidelines in asking questions or making critiques concerning the projects Ask relevant questions that pertain to the project Share what you like about the project. Ask questions about what you don’t understand concerning the project. While offering critiques, create balance by sharing what you find interesting about the project. Be respectful of others and their efforts.

Utilizing a class critique accomplishes several objectives at the close of the unit. First, it allows students to share their work and efforts with the class. Secondly, it encourages students to learn in a community setting, where they teach each other. Thirdly, it teaches respect of others and how to offer constructive criticism. Lastly, it teaches students how to look critically at art and take into account process, materials, and inspiration when viewing artwork.

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Caricatures and Alter Egos Rubric for Assessment

How the rubric works: Each level of criteria is worth a quarter of your grade. You are graded on each level of criteria and those grades comprise your final grade. If you are missing a component of the project, you will earn a full grade less no matter the level of skill demonstrated in other components.

Rubric adapted from Taskstream.com. Visual Arts Rubric in Rubric Wizard. http://www.taskstream.com/Main/main_frame.asp

Criteria F=16 points or

less C=19 points B =22 points A=25 points S

Creativity/ Originality

Does not express originality or creative thought

Expresses some originality or creative thought, but does not always meet requirements

Displays some originality or creative thought while keeping in mind the task at hand

Displays a lot of creativity and original thought; keeps in mind task at hand but is not afraid to experiment

Demonstrates in writing knowledge of themes studied: Self and Cultural Identity

Does not demonstrate knowledge of themes studied

Demonstrates some knowledge of themes studied but does not meet requirements.

Demonstrates knowledge of themes studied

Demonstrates knowledge of themes studied and is not afraid to expand on knowledge.

Artistic Expression clearly demonstrates understanding of themes studied

Does not address understanding of themes studied

Addresses themes studied, but does not do so with clear effort of artistic expression.

Addresses understanding of themes studied, with artistic expression.

Addresses understanding of themes studied with detailed artistic expression.

Presentation is detailed and evidence of planning and craft is evident in final product.

Presentation is not detailed and evidence of planning and craft is not evident in final product.

Presentation is adequate and evidence of some planning and craft is evident in final product.

Presentation is detailed and evidence of planning and craft is evident in final product.

Presentation is detailed and evidence of planning and craft is highly evident in final product.

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