This interdisciplinary lesson combines 7th grade learning standards from four different content areas- Art, Math, and Computer Science, which utilizes the Gradual Release of Responsibility model and is part of a larger two week unit. This lesson takes one day out of the ten day unit and is the data collection segment of the project. The assessment method (both formal and informal) is largely linked to the Differentiated Learning Log, a "Learning Journal" which will be used by the students to reflect, analyze, evaluate, and apply the new information presented to them.
To date, students have been introduced to new abstract art concepts and vocabulary. They have selected their favorite Mondrian work or art and written a reflection on it. They have reviewed geometry vocabulary and the processes and formulas to assist them in finding the area of various shapes. The students have also created their very own works of art, inspired by the featured artist of the unit, Piet Mondrian.
Welcome back, Students and Parents!
I hope everyone had a restful summer vacation. As we transition back into the school year this September, the first two weeks of school will be focused on a fun (and at times collaborative) assignment which will integrate several subjects into a culminating interdisciplinary project! We will be learning about abstract art and will discuss art work and learn relevant vocabulary. In doing so, we will expand our artistic literacy. Each student will be responsible for completing their own Differentiated Learning Log to document the entire project which will serve as their very own Geo Art Data Journals. We will be doing a lot of writing in this unit!
The goal is to make meaning of a work of art by viewing and analyzing it through three different lenses:
Visual Arts: To gain a better understanding of our personal “aesthetic” and to apply what we learn during this unit about the arts to our own creations or when viewing and discussing other works of art. Students are expected to use the academic language of the visual arts discipline when discussing artworks. Not only will we be discussing our personal interpretations and observations about the De Stijl works of our featured artist, Piet Mondrian, but we will be creating our very own geometric De Stijl-inspired works of art and sharing/discussing them with our peers!
Math (geometry): to collect data and analyze more objective and quantifiable aspects of a work of art: we will identify shapes included in our geometric artworks and calculate the area of categories such as the area of a specific color or the area of a specific shape.
Computer Science (Data analysis and presentation): Finally, to further analyze the quantifiable, pre-calculated data we will discuss trends that we notice about our unique works of art. We will make decisions on how we want to present that data in visual form, i.e. pie chart, venn diagram, etc.
This unit presents a great opportunity to document and reflect on what we have learned by writing in detail about the process and referring back in the final segment to our Geo Art Data Journals. As a class we’ll share what we have learned and how our perspectives or interpretations of our own artwork may have evolved from the initial stage of aesthetic experimentative creation of an image, followed by the objective analysis of various elements of our works, and finally the presentation of the data extracted from our art.
I look forward to an exciting year of learning with all of you!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Booth