Paige Jenkins: Art Integration Lesson Plan

Art Integration Lesson Plan: Families

LTC 4240: Art for Children

Lesson Title*: Family Group

Big Idea*: Families
Grade Level*: Third
Lesson Overview/Summary*: Students will use clay to sculpt a model of their family. They will
Class Periods Required:
be able to make actual people or any other type of symbol that they wish to represent the people (please circle)
closest to them. They will have four class periods to complete this assignment. After everyone in
1
2
3
4
the class has finished, we will have time to share out and ask questions to one another about
their sculpture and their family. Students will also be asked to do creative writing assignments in
which they describe a family tradition they have (or create one that they want to start with their
family) and talk about what it means to be a part of their family.
Key Concepts (3-4): What you want the students to know.*
Essential Questions (3-4)*:
1. Visual Art: Throughout time and across cultures, families
1. What does being a part of a family mean to you?
2. What kind of traditions do you have in your family?
have always been valued and looked at as a support system.
3. What does your family look like (who is a part of your
2. Literacy: Throughout time and across cultures, families have
family)?
passed down traditions to new generations, as well as created
new ones.
3. Social Studies: Throughout time and across cultures, family
dynamics have grown and changed to look differently than in
the past.
Lesson Objectives: (Excellent resource at http://www.teachervision.fen.com/curriculum-planning/new-teacher/48345.html?for_printing=1&detoured=1): What
you want the students to do. *
1. Visual Art: The students will be able to use clay to make a model or representation of their families.
2. Literacy: The students will be able to write about their personal experiences in their family.
3. Social Studies: The students will be able to compare and contract different family dynamics and discuss them.
Grade Level Expectations (GLEs)

(3-4)

(http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/GLE/)

Visual Art:
2. Select and apply three-dimensional media, techniques,
and processes to communicate ideas and solve challenging
visual art problems
A. Sculpture, ceramics, other media
a. Modeling with clay or a similar material: Create ap-

Identify & define common vocabulary that connect the art

form with the other identified content areas:
1. Sculpture- the art of making three-dimensional
representations by multiple different shaping techniques.
2. Traditions- the transmission of customs or beliefs from
generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in
this way.
3. Dynamics- different forms and structures (in this case, of

Paige Jenkins: Art Integration Lesson Plan

plied and impressed textures
Literacy:
1. Develop and apply skills to the reading process.
C. Making connections.
a. Text to text (ideas and information in various fiction
and nonfiction works, using compare and contrast)
b. text to world (text ideas regarding experiences in
the world)
Social Studies:
6. Knowledge of relationships of the individual and groups
to institutions and cultural traditions.
D. Cultural heritage and preservation:
a. Describe how people in Missouri preserve their
cultural heritage.

families).
4. Mold- to form an object with a particular shape out of
easily manipulated material.

Content Areas Integrated*:

1. Visual Art (Inspiration Artist: Henry Moore): Moore created
sculptures of families for a progressive school for children and
parents. The theme of families was important to this school,
therefore he tried to capture this idea in his work. We will look
at his work as well as create our own.
2. Literacy: While looking at these sculptures and reading books
about families, students will be asked to write their own
experiences with their families.
3. Social Studies: Students will read and discuss different types
of families and what it means to be a part of a family.

Lesson Activities & Procedure(s) (please be very

specific):
Class Period 1:
1. Students will do a VTS of different sculptures by Henry
Moore and talk about what they think they mean. We will
end talking about his sculpture of a family and talk about the
definition of family.
2. I will read And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
(about same-sex marriage) and Peter Parnellto and Two
Homes by Claire Masurel (about divorce).
3. Students will be introduced to the first assignment which
is a writing assignment about who is in their family and what
it means to be in their family.
4. After about fifteen minutes, students will be given scrap
paper to begin drafting what their sculpture will look like. If
they wish, they can play with the clay to get ideas.
Class Period 2:
5. I will read Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born by

Paige Jenkins: Art Integration Lesson Plan

Anticipatory Set (Gaining Attention)*:

To begin this lesson, I will pull up a picture of one of Henry
Moores Family Group sculptures (I have attached examples
below). We will do a VTS with these images and see what the
students are thinking. I assume the word family will come up
many times throughout these discussions. After looking at
these images, we will talk about what the word family means to
the students. Next, I will read And Tango Makes Three by
Justin Richardson and Peter Parnellto and Two Homes by
Claire Masurel. The first book is about same sex marriage and
the second is about divorced parents. These books will begin to
get them thinking about the different dynamics of families.
Students will begin to discuss how every family is unique and
that is a good thing.
Formative Assessment strategy:
Throughout the process of making their sculptures and

Jamie Lee Curtis (about adoption). We will look back at the

two books we read before and talk about different types of
families.
6. Students will have the rest of the class period to work on
their sculpture.
Class Period 3:
7. Students will have the beginning of the class period to
work on their sculpture.
8. We will brainstorm about different family traditions we
have with our own families. If students do not have any, they
may think of a tradition they would want to start.
9.Students homework will be to talk with families about
different traditions they have and write them down. These
will be turned in.
Class Period 4:
10. We will do a gallery walk of our sculptures. Students will
respond to one another.
Closure (Reflecting Anticipatory Set):
At the end of this lesson, the students will have the chance
to let their artwork be shown! We will do a mini art gallery,
where the students will all have their desks in a circle (if the
room permits) with their artwork on top. They may place a
title next to it if they wish. Then, we will all walk around and
look at the artwork. The students will have sticky notes and
be able to leave comments, questions, thoughts, etc. We will
have a discussion about what is appropriate and what is not
appropriate to write. I will then give students the chance to
respond to the questions or comments on their artwork if
they wish.

Summative Assessment strategy*:

Throughout the process of creating their sculptures, the

Paige Jenkins: Art Integration Lesson Plan

completing their writing assignments, I will be having students are asked to do some writing assignments about
conferences with each student. I will ask them what has been their families. I will collect these at the end of the lesson and
going well, what has been challenging, and what they still have use these as the summative assessment. It will tell me about
questions about. I will write notes on these conferences and be my students as well as their thoughts on what a family
sure to keep checking in with all of the students while they means. Their responses will all be different, but it will allow
work.
me to see who understands the concepts and who does not.
What student prior knowledge will this lesson require/draw upon?
Every student will have experiences outside of school with some type of family. Some students may live with a mom and dad,
others may live with grandparents, and others may be in foster homes. All of the students will have different experiences,
which will make discussion much more interesting in class. Students will be able to share about their family and how they have
been raised thus far.
How will you engage students in imagining, exploring, and/or experimenting in this lesson?
Students will be asked to make sculptures of their families using clay. They will get to experiment with the clay and how it
works. They will be exploring what works well and what does not. They will have to come up with their own ideas and ways of
representing their family to the class.
How will this lesson allow for/encourage students to solve problems in divergent ways?
Because clay is not something commonly used in the classroom, the students will have to learn how to use it effectively. For
example, they may learn that having too much on the top will make the sculpture fall over. Therefore, they will have to find
new ways to use the clay. They will also have the chance to work with and learn from their peers.
How will you engage students in routinely reflecting on their learning?
I will encourage my students to be constantly reflecting on their ideas and biases about families. By reading the books I have
chosen and engaging in discussions with their peers, I expect my students to be reflecting on their learning about families. At
the end of the lesson, the students also get to reflect on their own work by reading what their peers thought about and had
questions about. They will get the chance to understand how others perceived their work and what it means.
How will you adapt the various aspects of the lesson to differently-abled students?
Possible adaption: Some students may be overstimulated by objects that we would not be. For students that may have sensory
overload by the clay may use gloves while working with it. If the gloves do not help, the students may choose another type of
material to create a representation of their family with.
What opportunities/activities will students be given to revise and improve their understandings and their work?
For their writing assignment about what it means to be in their family, they will have the chance to revise and improve it
throughout the whole process. They are introduced to this writing assignment the first day, but will not be asked to turn it in
until the last day. This means that students may add to or change parts of their writing as their learning new aspects of
families. They will also get time to draw out their sculpture before creating it so they may revise and improve their ideas on
paper before actually beginning.

Paige Jenkins: Art Integration Lesson Plan

What opportunities/activities will you provide for students to share their learning in this lesson?
On the last day, students will do a gallery walk of their artwork. This will allow every students artwork to be seen and every
student to look at their peers work. They will get to respond to their peers work if they have question or comments. The artist
will also get to respond to these questions and comments if they feel the need to explain their work to others.
Lesson Resources/References (please be very specific by providing links, authors, titles, etc.):
Moore, Henry. (1945). Maquette for Family Group.
Curtis, Jamie Lee. (1996). Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born.
Richardson, Justin & Parnelto, Peter. (2005). And Tango Makes Three
Masurel, Claire. (2001). Two Homes.

Paige Jenkins: Art Integration Lesson Plan

Both titled Maquette for Family Group by Henry Moore (1945)