I just spent the last 2
full days learning about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the PARCC
test that will go along with them. While at first overwhelmed and confused
about how to apply these new literacy standards to the existing art curriculum,
I have spent time researching what others are doing and working with my
teammates to come up with some ideas. I am now very excited about these new
standards. It has been said that the shift from the OGT test and current
standards to the PARCC test and CCSS will switch our focus as teachers from
teaching students what to think to
teaching students how to think. And
while the OGT’s never tested the arts, the CCSS for literacy is being
introduced as everyone’s responsibility. They even have specific standards for
us to meet, grouping all electives into a category called “other technical
subjects”. Though this gives us art teachers more to cover in our classes and
more curriculum to write, I am happily embracing this challenge to help our
students become better thinkers. It seems to me that the CCSS are here to
encourage us all to be better educators and really prepare our students for
college and careers. Looking at the standards there were many things I was
unclear about. One point of emphasis in the literacy standards was having
students read complex texts. At first I wondered where we would find these
complex texts for our students to read (online we do not have a text book to
refer to) and also how these complex texts might relate to visual learning. I started
googling “common core and the arts” and found a very helpful blog post (here)
that outlines how a piece of art can be a “text” that students read. This really
helped me get past my confusion and helped me come up with my first CCSS
aligned lesson for my Art 1 classroom. Students complete a project in Art 1 where
they create two portraits where at least one contains symbolism. In our live
session we look at Renaissance portraiture and how artists communicate to the
viewer about their subject such as personality or social standing. Though we
always discuss this topic, I never have them write about it. Therefore, this
lesson was one that could use a writing portion, and why not align it to the
CCSS? Below is the assignment I came up with that I will be trying out next
semester. It encourages students to “read” the pieces of art, analyze them, and
provide evidence for their conclusions (evidence is very important in the
literacy CCSS).
Portrait Analysis
You
will begin your study of portraits in this lesson by looking at and analyzing
the way that artists create portraits. Portraits often contain symbolism within them. Symbolism is the use of something that stands
for or suggests something else by reason of relationship, association,
convention, or accidental resemblance. When artists use symbolism in portraits they are
communicating about their subject to the viewer. For example, the type of
clothing a subject is wearing in a portrait can tell us about their social
class or the culture they come from. The objects surrounding the subject can
tell about them too, if they are surrounded by books perhaps they are a student
or scholar. For this assignment you will act as a detective to find clues
within 2 portraits that inform you about the subject of the work!
Artemisia Gentileschi,
1615
Self Portrait as a Female Martyr |
Paul Gauguin, 1886, Self-Portrait
|
Frida Kahlo, 1940
Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird |
Kehinde Wiley, 2007,
Dwayne I
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Your
Assignment
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I am just beginning this
task of aligning curriculum with the CCSS but I expect I’ll be posting more
lesson ideas soon!
