Lesson Title: Written Language as an Art Form Grade Level: 3 Subject Social Studies Fine Art Visual Arts Time of Lesson: 60 minutes Lesson Summary (Provide an overview of each major segment of the activity and including a description of products) In this lesson, students will learn about the Ancient Egyptian Writing System, Hieroglyphics. They will play an interactive game using the letter to see how they are translated into English. Next, the teacher is going to lead a discussion where the class will discuss whether or not they believe Hieroglyphics to be art, or just a form of written language. The teacher will project images of numerous different alphabets for the students to see to add to the discussion. (Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and English) At the end of the discussion, students will be asked to write a paragraph (7-10) sentences on how they would define are and what they consider to be art and why.
Example of a stele^
Chinese Alphabet^ English Alphabet (our Alphabet) >
Essential Question (Provide an open-ended central inquiry to be explored in this lesson) How did people of ancient Egypt use visual images to communicate stories and is this considered art?
Plan for Previous Lesson(s) Plan for Next Lesson(s) Students will learn about the history of ancient Egypt, including culture and class structure. The information will be presented to the students with a power point presentation. The teacher will also focus on teaching the students about scribes, in preparation for next lesson. In ancient Egypt, over 5000 years ago, a scribes job was to write things down using pictures. Scribes used a system of pictures to do so. These pictures were called hieroglyphics Students will be given the opportunity to become scribes and create their own languages. Students will use their language to create a story. The story can be anything they want, i.e. their favorite hobby or food, a friend or family member etc. The story should translate to be about five English sentences. They can use a combination of all of the alphabets we discussed in class in addition to their own ideas. The teacher will provide authentic looking paper for the students to write on and they will be displayed in the classroom.
Learning Objectives (Aim for 2-3 focused objectives) Students will learn about Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and how it was used to express ideas and values. Students will use creative thinking to decipher whether or not they consider hieroglyphics to be considered just text, art or both. Students will work use the class discussion to create their own definition of art Subject Area Standard(s) (Include standard headings, grade level and standard #s)
Standard 6.0 Social Studies Skills and Processes Students shall use reading, writing, and thinking processes and skills to gain knowledge and understanding of political, historical, and current events using chronological and spatial thinking, economic reasoning, and historical interpretation, by framing and evaluating questions from primary and secondary sources. TOPIC C. ASK SOCIAL STUDIES QUESTIONS INDICATOR 1. Identify a topic that requires further study OBJECTIVES 1 & 2 1. Identify prior knowledge about the topic 2. Pose questions the about the topic Art Standards(s) (Include standard headings, grade level and standard #s)
Visual Arts, Grade 3. Standard 2.0 Historical, Cultural, and Social Context. Students will demonstrate understanding of visual arts as a basic aspect of history and human experiences. INDICATOR 1. Determine ways in which works of art express ideas about self, other people, places, and events OBJECTIVE A: A. Identify different ways that artists use symbols to express ideas about self, people, places, and events in selected works of art
Materials/Resources
Vocabulary
Technology Power point that has review notes from the previous lecture, as well as the pictures of the different alphabets students will be analyzing Computer and Projector/ Screen
Supplies - Paper for students to write their responses on that will be collected - Teacher will need a sheet with all of students names on them to keep track of participation
Web Links http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/media/s ervices/thechildrensuniversityofmanchester/flash/hierogly phs.swf. Images Vocabulary
Hieroglyphics- Ancient Egyptian writing system, which used pictures to tell stories.
Scribe- People in Ancient Egypt who were responsible for writing down everything important that were to happen (in hieroglyphics)
Stele- a wooden or stone slab in which hieroglyphics were written on
Art- to be determined by class
Assessment: Rubric
- Shown Above in Lesson Summary
Product/ Records to be Assessed Evaluation Criteria
4.0 (Exceeds Expectations) 3.0 (Meets Expectations) 2.0 (Approaches Expectations) 1.0 (Does not meet expectations) Participatio n in lesson overall. I. Particip ation in Class. Student was actively engaged in class conversation and sharing useful ideas. Student shared a few ideas. Student shared one idea, but seems uninterested. Student was being disrespectful and talking/not paying attention during the activity. Response part I - What is Art? II. Studen ts respon se in definin g art Student gives a thoughtful and detailed response on what they believe art to be and also explain in their reason in detail. Student gives a good response of what they believe art to be and why. Student gives a definition of art but does not go into detail on their thoughts and reasoning behind it. Student does not give a thoughtful response or explanation. Response Part II- Is hieroglyphi cs art? III. Studen t explan ation on why hierogl yphics is art. Student uses their definition of art and applies it to their explanation of whether or not hieroglyphics are art. Student also draws on class discussion, making reference to other alphabets that were references. Students state whether or not hieroglyphics is art and references definition, but does not draw on any class discussion. Student explains whether or not they believe hieroglyphics is art, but does not reference their definition of art or draw on class discussion. Student gives an inadequate explanation and does not reference their definition of art or draw on class discussion. Optional: Lesson Variations
Instructional Sequence Approximat e Time Procedure Set up
Review
Introduction of hieroglyphics
Core Activity
Prior to lesson
5 Minutes
15 Minutes
15 Minutes
Teacher will set up computer with PowerPoint and link open.
The teacher shares, Today we are going to continue learning about Ancient Egypt. We will be learning about hieroglyphics, which was the system of writing for the people of Ancient Egypt 5000 years ago. But first, lets take some time to review what we learned last time. First, the teacher will tell the students that this is a very interactive lesson and everyone is expected to participate. The teacher will be taking note of participation as part of their grade on this lesson. The teacher will spend time reviewing the information that was thought in the last lesson. The teacher will ask the students to share what they learned and then touch on any points that the students may have forgotten.
Teacher shares, Now lets get started learning about hieroglyphics. The teacher will show this link to the class. http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/media/services/thechi ldrensuniversityofmanchester/flash/hieroglyphs.swf. This gives a detailed explanation of what hieroglyphics are. The teacher will read the information out loud, as well as ask for student volunteers to read allowed as well. There is also a game at the end where you can spell out your name or other words using hieroglyphics that the class can 3-5 minutes with, so that they can see how words translate.
The teacher will bring up the PowerPoint created with the pictures of various alphabets, the first being Hieroglyphics. The teacher will explain that the text is pictured on what is called a stele, which is a large slap of stone or wood that usually had inscriptions on them. After the students have a chance to reflect on the hieroglyphics, the class will discuss how they think this relates to the form of alphabet that is used in the United States. The teacher will project images of numerous different alphabets for the students to see to add to the discussion. (Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and English) They teacher will also ask the students if they consider these to be art, and why.
Plans to Display/Exhibit Student Work (Include a plan to show both the product and share the process) (Artwork will be created in next lesson) The students artwork will be displayed on a bulletin board with the heading, Language as Art The students artworks will be hung in rows on distressed paper to make it look like it is out of Ancient Egypt.
Writing Activity
Wrap up/ reflection
20 Minutes
5 Minutes Discussion questions- Teacher will say, Now that we have seen these numerous different alphabets, can we say that hieroglyphics is just an alphabet like the one that we use daily or is it more like art? The teacher will then ask the students if they believe this to be considered art, and if so why? Does the class think its because it is made up of symbols? However, if our alphabet were foreign to the class, would they also think of them as just symbols rather than letters? Are hieroglyphics language or art or both? Is written English? Why? Would other written languages be considered more art than others, for example Arabic vs. Spanish
The teacher will hand out a piece of paper to the class and ask them to respond to the following questions in about 7-10 sentences. 1. What is art? 2. Based on our class discussion, are hieroglyphics art? Why or Why not? The teacher will explain to students that their explanation of why or why not hieroglyphics is art should reflect on what their definition of art is. Also, they should draw on the class discussion and other alphabets we looked at.
After the teacher collects everyones reflections, the teacher will say, art can be whatever you want it to be and everyone had different ideas of what is art. Therefore, there is no right or wrong answer to the question of what is art? If something is aesthetically pleasing to you, you may consider it art. Wrap up questions for teacher to ask: What did you learn from this lesson? Do you wish we had a different writing system that involved pictures rather than letters?