Art Integration Lesson Plan 1

Art Integration Lesson Plan

LTC 4240: Art for Children

Lesson Title & Big Idea*: The Animal Mix Up - Relationships

Grade Level*: 5th Grade

Lesson Overview/Summary*:

Class Periods Required:

The following lesson integrates Visual Art, Literacy, and Science as students develop an
understanding of the relationships between vertebrate animals, their structures, and the habitats
they dwell in. Students will learn the five vertebrate animal classes and the various animal
structures/functions and habitats that all animals have in common, while comparing their
differences. They will choose five different animals and fill out an informational chart from
conducted research on each one. Students will use informational books to learn, read, and
generate ideas about animals from around the world. After learning about the differences in
structures that serve common functions, students will learn about the artist Nicholas Di Genova
and his fusion of animal structures in a piece of artwork. Following the provided content, students
will choose three different vertebrate animal classes to combine into a hybrid animal of their own
like the artist. They will conduct research on the structures and habitats where they are found to
discover relationships between functions and to practice combining several ideas into one form.
Students will reflect upon relationships between animal structures and make connections with
relationships in their own lives in a writing assignment. After the unit, students will share the
relationships they found between the structures of their hybrid animals and the habitats they can
be found in with the class.

3 days

Key Concepts (3-4): What you want the students to know.*

1. Visual Art: I want students to know how to combine their
ideas on animal structures to create a hybrid animal by using
photographs and crayon resist.
2. Literacy: I want my students to know how to use
informational books on animals and apply it to their idea
making. I want them to know how to connect the content
aspect of the lesson to relationships in their own life.
3. Science: I want my students to know the differences
between animal structures, but also understand that they

Essential Questions

(3-4)*:

1. What is a hybrid animal?

2. Can you compare vertebrate animal structures and
recognize similar functions by using a chart?
3. Can you choose three vertebrate animals to combine into
a piece of artwork?
4. What information can you gather about your three animals
to write an informative reflection on their habitats based on
their structures?

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serve similar functions for vertebrate animals.
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
Create a hybrid animal
Combine their ideas of various animal structures
Learn from the artist Nicholas Di Genova.
Use pictures and crayon resist to create a piece of artwork.
2. Literacy: The students will be able to
Read informational text on a variety of animals.
Write about the habitats of their created animal based on the given structures.
3. Science: The students will be able to
Compare and contrast vertebrate animal structures (Fish, Reptiles, Amphibians, Birds, and Mammals) using an
organized chart.
Make connections between animal relationships
Grade Level Expectations (GLEs)

(3-4)
(http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/GLE/)

1. Visual Art: Creating Standard from National Coalition

for Core Arts Standards (2014)
VA: CR1.1.5a
Combine ideas to generate an innovative idea for art
making.
2. Literacy: Language Arts (Reading: Informational Text)
Mastery Connect App

Identify & define common vocabulary that connect the art

form with the other identified content areas:
Hybrid a thing made by combining two different elements; a
mixture (Oxford Dictionaries)
Vertebrate an animal of a large group distinguished by the
possession of a backbone or spinal column, including
mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish (Oxford
Dictionaries)

RI.5.7 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:

Crayon Resist when crayon repels water color and makes

the crayon pop out on the page

Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources,

demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question
quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.

Relationship the way in which two or more concepts,

objects, or people are connected, or the state of being

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connected (Oxford Dictionaries)
3. Science: Characteristics and Interactions of Living
Organisms Standard from Missouri State Standards
Mastery Connect App

Structure the arrangement of and relations between parts

or elements of something complex (Oxford Dictionaries)
Habitat the natural home or environment of an animal,
plant, or other organism (Oxford Dictionaries)

5-3.1.D
1. There is a fundamental unity underlying the diversity of
all living organisms.
D. Plants and animals have different structures that
serve similar functions necessary for the survival of
the organism.
a. Compare structures (e.g., wings vs. fins vs. legs;
gills vs. lungs; feathers vs. hair vs. scales) that
serve similar functions for animals belonging to
different vertebrate classes.

Content Areas Integrated*:

Lesson Activities & Procedure(s) (please be very specific):

1. Visual Art (Inspiration Artist: Nicholas Di Genova) Students

will combine structures of animals to create a hybrid animal of
their own. They will take Nicholas Di Genovas idea of fusing
creatures together to make an innovative piece of art.

Day 1

2. Literacy Literacy is integrated through the given

informational books on animals. Students will use these books
to gather information on various animals and their structures.
They will finish the project by writing a reflection piece as to

1. Teacher frontloads vocabulary for students as they begin

to think about hybrid animals and what it means to combine
ideas into one form. She will ask them Has anyone heard of
a hybrid animal? Students will discuss and share their prior
understandings.
2. Complete the Anticipatory Set activity. Inspire wonder as

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what animal structures they used in their creation and what
purposes they serve. The writing will describe the habitat it
can dwell in based on their features. They will reflect upon the
relationships between animals while also connecting it to
relationships they have with others in their own life.
3. Science Science is incorporated throughout the whole
lesson as students analyze various animal structures and the
purposes they serve. Students consider the correlation
between the structures and the environments they can exist
in. They will learn about the five classifications of vertebrate
animals.

students raise their hand to reflect upon the images of hybrid

animals shown on the front board. I will have students begin
to brainstorm in their heads various animals they may want
to connect later on.
3. I will let them know the objectives I have for them
throughout the following lesson by putting it up on the board.
4. I will then show them an educational video to give them
information on vertebrate animals and the five classes we are
going to focus on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=qRKoGO7hNXg
5. We will go over what the video discussed and I will remind
them how all-vertebrate animals have similar functions, but
different structures.
6. As a class, we will fill out an example research chart
before I have them complete one on their own. I will choose
five different classes of animals and fill in how it moves, what
it eats, how it eats, its habitat, and its body protection
structure. I will model for them how to use the informational
texts I have provided for them to choose an animal and learn

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about the structure and habitat.

7. Following the class activity, students will be sent off to

conduct research using informational books on various
vertebrate animals. In doing so, they will be reflecting upon
the relationships between animals and their structures.
8. In preparation for Day 2, I will introduce students to some
of artist Nicholas Di Genovas work by showing them a few
examples of his hybrid animal creations. I will ask them to
continue thinking about the vertebrate animals they want to
combine into one.

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Day 2
1. I will present them with information on our inspirational
artist, Nicholas Di Genova.
2. Students will begin to analyze some of his work by
reflecting on the animals he chose to fuse together for his
images.
3. I will have students then decide which three vertebrate
animals they want to research and combine into one form of
art.
4. Students will fill out an informational chart by conducting
research on the three animals of their choosing. They will
make connections with the relationships between the three
animals and their structures/habitats.

Art Integration Lesson Plan 7

5. After completing their research, I will show the students an
example of my hybrid animal creation to model for them the
project they are going to create based off their now
understandings of Nicholas Di Genova and hybrid and
vertebrate animal structures.
6. Students will begin the art project by choosing one
animals head, another animals torso, and another animals
limbs to combine.
7. Students will print off pictures of each part of the body and
put them together into one combination on a blank sheet of
paper.

8. Before students glue the three structures down on the

paper, they will practice using the technique crayon resist by
drawing and painting the three separate habitats each animal
is found in on the page.

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9. While the
background drawing
dries, the class
will come together to
discuss again the differences between animal structures yet
the similarities involved in being a head, a torso, and a limb.
We will discuss the relationships between animals and their
habitats as a class.
10. After the habitat background drawing has dried, students
will glue their head, torso, and limbs from their three
separate animals onto the
page
combining them into one
form.

11. I will prepare them for the next days lesson by asking
them to begin to consider and reflect upon the relationship
between their three animals and the habitats they are found
in. I will have them also begin to brainstorm connections
between relationships they have in their own life with other
people. I will give them an example of how my best friend
and I both love to talk to each other and hang out, but we

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have different personalities. She is quieter and I more
outgoing. We still have a great friendship, but we have
differences that make us unique. I will emphasize how
important it is to remember that in relationships people are
different, but its ok because we all deep down have similar
functions or values.
Day 3
1. I will have students reflect upon the vertebrate animals
they chose through a written assignment I will provide them
with.
2. Students will write about the research they gathered on
the structure and habitat of their three animals.
3. They will express the differences in structures, but the
similarities in function between the three animals.
4. I will have them explain why they chose the animals they
did and the connections they may have to them.
5. Students will also write about the connections they made
with relationships to other people in their own personal life.
Students consider differences and similarities they have with
other people.
6. After students complete the written assignment, they will
take turns sharing their artwork and reflection with the whole
class. This is a time to build classroom community by
learning from one another and for students to express
themselves in a divergent manner.

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7. I will then hang the created hybrid animals around the
room to remind students of relationships being unique, but
also unifying.

Anticipatory Set (Gaining Attention)*:

Closure (Reflecting Anticipatory Set):

Set up the Science Lesson with a preview into the animal

creation the students will make later on. I will first say to my
students Raise your hand if you have heard of a hybrid
animal, and I will ask Who can share with us any prior
knowledge you have of what a hybrid animal is? I will then
show them a few pictures of hybrid animals such as the ones
below. As a class, we will try to guess which animals are apart
of the image. I will give them a small glimpse into the animal
creation they are going to make on their own after the animal
science lesson as we look through the pictures and I explain
how they should begin to think about which animals they want
to combine into their own unique artwork.

Students will share their own Hybrid Animal with the class.
The class will raise their hand to guess which animals are
included in the art piece. The student presenting will then
share the three animals they used and the environments they
dwell in based on their structural features.

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Formative Assessment strategy:

Summative Assessment strategy*:

I will formatively assess my students as they fill in their

Research charts on various vertebrate animal structures.
During this part of the unit, I will gain insight into their initial
findings and comprehension of how different structures meet
similar functions in vertebrate animals. I will give them
feedback on their research so when they conduct their own
research on their hybrid animal, they will have had some
preparation.

I will assess my students on their written assignment

corresponding with their hybrid animal creation. I will assess
their ability to draw from informational texts to write a
reflective paper on three vertebrate animals and their
structures/environments. I will also summative assess my
students on their three part visual art creation. Can they
combine three separate animal structures to create one
animal? In doing so, I am assessing their holistic
understanding of relationships between animal structures and
the unity involved in their functions of movement and

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survival.

What student prior knowledge will this lesson require/draw upon?

Students will need to draw upon their ability to compare and contrast two different topics. They will need to use prior
knowledge in order to write a reflective piece and make connections.

How will you engage students in imagining, exploring, and/or experimenting in this lesson?
I will engage students in imagining, exploring, and experimenting as they brainstorm animals they would like to incorporate in
their own personal hybrid animal. They will explore the differences in structures as they piece together a unique creature of
their own. Students will experiment as they combine various aspects of animals unifying them into one brand new animal.
Every student will use features from three different animals to explore and imagine something new.

How will this lesson allow for/encourage students to solve problems in divergent ways?
They will need to solve problems in divergent ways, as they connect three different animals into one form. The lesson allows
students to come up with a unique animal from the problem of animals having different structures. They must make
connections and piece together various animal structures in their own way.

How will you engage students in routinely reflecting on their learning?

I will have students routinely reflect on their learning by setting up checkpoints throughout the lesson. For example, I will
encourage them to stop every once in a while and reflect upon the work they have completed. I will have them reflect as they
fill out their research chart, view various pieces of work from Nicholas Di Genova, and create their own hybrid animal. In the

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end, I will have them reflect over everything in one written assignment to share with the class.

How will you adapt the various aspects of the lesson to differently abled students?
Advanced Learners

I will provide them with another research chart to gather information on more vertebrate animals. They can even
provide more detailed information on where the animals are located around the world (countries, continents, etc.).
They can further develop their relationship understanding by creating another piece of artwork that fuses together two
objects representing themselves and another person and reflecting upon the similarities and differences they have with
others.

ELL Students

I will scaffold their language development by providing them with a reference book to connect content English language
with their native speaking language. It will have visual aids to explain the given vocabulary terms for the unit.
I would give them an opportunity to share animals that are found in their culture or more important to their culture with
the class.

What opportunities/activities will students be given to revise and improve their understandings and their work?
Students will be given the opportunity to improve their work after they complete their first vertebrate animal research chart. I
will formatively assess their understandings and provide them constructive feedback for when they complete their hybrid
animal research chart. They will have an opportunity to understand the structural differences between animals as they
complete their three animal chose art project.

What opportunities/activities will you provide for students to share their learning in this lesson?
I will provide students with the opportunity to share their learning by writing a reflection piece at the end of the unit to express
their unique animal and make connections with personal relationships. I will have students share their reflection piece and
their hybrid animal created artwork with the class at the end of the unit. We will hang these animals up around the room to
remind ourselves of the importance of relationships in our lives and the world around us.

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Lesson Resources/References (please be very specific by providing links, authors, titles, etc.):
Day 1 Vertebrate Introduction Video
(2015, May 26). Vertebrate Animals | Educational Video for Kids. YouTube. Video retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRKoGO7hNXg.
Day 1 Research Resource Links for Vertebrate Animal Charts
Animal Classification. Sheppard Softwares Kids Corner Animals. Retrieved from:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/classification/kc_classification_main.htm.
Rader, A. (1997-2016). Vertebrate Basics. Raders Biology4Kids.com. Retrieved from:
http://www.biology4kids.com/files/vert_main.html.
Other books used for research and animal ideas
Author Clint Twist
Created and produced by Andromeda Childrens Books
Published in 2004

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Day 2 Nicholas Di Genova Informational Resources

Genova, N. (2012). EK Interview: Nicholas Di Genova. Empty Kingdom. Retrieved from:
http://www.emptykingdom.com/featured/ek-interview-nicholas-di-genova/
Genova, N. Wil Kucey Gallery in Toronto and Galerie Dukan in Paris and Leipzig. Retrieved from:
http://www.nicholasdigenova.com/.

* Include this information during your final presentation.

References
Silverstein, L. B. & Layne, S. (n.d.). Defining arts integration. Retrieved from
http://www.americansforthearts.org/networks/arts_education/publications/special_publications/Defining%20Arts
%20Integration.pdf