Submitted by: Heather Leal, Lathrop Intermediate School in Santa Ana,
CA
UNIT: Middle Ages (Medieval Art) - Modern Look
Lessons: Heraldry -Coat of Arms, Illumination, Altered Books
Castle Drawings from
Jeryl Hollingsworth
Click
for larger images
Description of Unit
This unit explores medieval art, focusing on Heraldry
and Illuminated Manuscripts. Students
create a contemporary coat of arms and illuminated page. They will
also learn about contemporary artists who combine text, symbols and
images in altered books and create an altered book page of their
own. The overarching ideas of art being a reflection of time and
culture and artists getting ideas from other artists will be
emphasized throughout the unit. The unit is ideally suited for
seventh graders and will be taught in conjunction with their Social
Studies unit on the Middle Ages.
Internet
Resources:
Heraldry Shields Lesson
Plan by Jackie Aust Brewer
Illumination
Lesson Plan by Ken Schwab
Altered
Book Lesson Plan by Linda Kieling
Content Standards Addressed
Visual Arts- Grade 7
1.0 Artistic Perception
Students perceive and respond to works of art, objects in nature,
events, and the environment.
They also use the vocabulary of the
visual arts to express their observations.
2.0 Creative Expression
Students apply artistic processes and skills, using a variety of
media to communicate meaning and intent in original works of art.
3.0 Historical and Cultural Context
Students analyze the role and development of the visual arts in past
and present cultures throughout the world, noting human diversity as
it relates to the visual arts and artists.
3.1 Research and describe how art reflects
cultural values in various traditions throughout the world.
3.2 Compare and contrast works of art from
various periods, styles, and cultures and explain how those works
reflect the society in which they were made.
4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
Students analyze, assess, and derive meaning from works of art,
including their own, according to the elements of art, the
principles of design, and aesthetic qualities.
4.1 Explain the intent of a personal work of
art and draw possible parallels between it and the work of a
recognized artist.
5.0 Connections, Relationships,
Applications
Students apply what they learned in the visual arts across subject
areas. They develop competencies and creative skills in problem
solving, communication, and management of time and resources that
contribute to lifelong learning and career skills. They also learn
about careers in and related to the visual arts.
English
Language Arts- Grade 7
Reading
1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development
Students use their knowledge of word origins and word relationships,
as well as historical and literary context clues, to determine the
meaning of specialized vocabulary and to understand the precise
meaning of grade-level-appropriate words.
2.0 Reading Comprehension (Focus on Informational
Materials)
Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material.
Writing
1.0. Writing Strategies
Students write clear, coherent, and focused essays. The writing
exhibits students' awareness of the audience and purpose. Essays
contain formal introductions, supporting evidence, and conclusions.
Students progress through the stages of the writing process as
needed.
History-
Social Science- Grade 7
7.6 Students analyze the geographic, political,
economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of
Medieval Europe
7.8 Students analyze the origins, accomplishments,
and geographic diffusion of the Renaissance.
4. Describe the growth and effects of new ways of
disseminating information (e.g., the ability to manufacture paper,
translation of the Bible into the vernacular, printing).
Enduring Understandings
Art is a reflection of the time and place it was
created.
Art
is also a force that can work to change or shape culture.
Artists often get ideas from other artists
Artists today are constantly reinventing art.
Essential Questions
Is Art a reflection of its culture or a force to form
or shape culture?
How
do artists use what has come before them to create new ideas?
Topical Questions
Lesson 1- Heraldry
1. What is heraldry?
2. What are common characteristics of Heraldry in the Middle
Ages?
3. How are symbols traditionally used in heraldry?
4. How can I use modern images and symbols to create my own coat
of arms?
5. How can color be used symbolically? What are common color
meanings in different cultures?
Lesson 2- Illuminated Pages and Illuminated Letters
6. How were books made in the middle ages?
7. What is illumination?
8. Who were the artists who made the books?
9. How can design enhance the meaning of a page of text?
Lesson 3- Altered Book Pages
10. How have artists used text and images together in art?
11. How are contemporary altered book artists making new meaning
in old books?
12. How can sentences be formed from random words?
esson 1- Heraldry (See Shields Lesson by Jackie Aust
Brewer)
Materials: Newsprint,
pencils chip-board, corrugated cardboard, scissors, utility knife,
tempera paints (or acrylics), brushes, glue, hot glue, (optional)
wide tip gold paint markers
Students will create a contemporary coat of arms for
themselves or their family. They will write an essay explaining the
symbols, images and shapes in the coat of arms and how they are
significant to them. They will research traditional heraldry in the
middle ages and use structured note taking and graphic organizers to
record what they learn. They will keep a Synthesis Journal
throughout the unit to assist them in learning the historical
aspects of the material and apply it to their work. Vocabulary
development will be stressed throughout the unit and VVWA cards will
be used.
Plan coat of arms on newsprint - choose symbols that represent self and
family. Transfer to chipboard and/or Corrugated cardboard. Cut with
utility knife and scissors.
The
coat of arms are painted chipboard. They cut each of their symbols
and painted them before
attaching them together with glue. That way they were able to keep
it all neat. My kids have a really hard time painting neat, clean
edges.Corrugated cardboard may also be used. Cut paper could
be used for smaller Coat of Arms.
Lesson 2- Illumination (See Lesson Plan by Ken
Schwab)
Students
will create an illuminated page with either their initial
illuminated or the first letter of a short quote they choose. The
designs used in the illumination will relate to the letter and
meaning of the quote. Students will continue research into the
Middle Ages and will view the online exhibit, "Illuminating the
Renaissance" from the Getty Museum website. Vocabulary work and Synthesis Journals will continue to be used.
They will write an essay in response to the quote, "Art is the
signature of civilizations." -Beverly Sills.
Lesson 3- Altered Book Pages (See Lesson by Linda Kieling)
Students will turn their attention to a study of
contemporary artists who work with altered books. They will write an
essay comparing the contemporary embellished pages to the
illuminations of the middle ages. Students will create an altered
book page that includes a sentence created from the text found on
the page. They will use graphic organizers and their journals for
vocabulary, recording information learned, and developing found
sentences.
Lesson 4- Final Essay
Finally,
they will complete an essay on the idea of art being a reflection of
the time and culture it was created in, as well as a force that can
shape or form cultures.
Assessment-
Lessons
will be scored with a variety of assessment tools including teacher
observation, self assessment by students, critiques, and rubrics.
Criteria for rubrics include:
Heraldry-
Shapes,
symbols and images reflect the person the coat of arms represents.
There is a balance of positive and negative shapes
The work is neat
Writing will be scored with primary trait guides focusing on meaning
and organization
Illumination-
Design
relates to the letter or quote
Neat lettering and design
Altered Page
The
text is used to write an interesting found sentence
The
images relate to the text
Final Essay - scored with the district writing rubric for
intermediate school
Additional
Lessons:
Lesson: Miniature Cliff Castles -
Ceramic
Submitted by Sherry Swanson, art teacher of Saeger Middle School at St. Charles, MO.
Grade Level: 6th - 7th grade
Materials:
Procedure: Clay is always a favorite with my seventh grade students. Because of space limitations for storage, these miniature castles are a hit with the classes. Using David Winter's success with miniature architectural models (Also see this site), the kids are introduced to the possibility of creating detail with clay in miniature. This is a good chance to bring in careers in sculpture. (If students really get into David Winter, you can buy his book, The David Winter Cottages: Handbook. There is also a nice video out called, David Winter Cottages; Meet the Artist.
Samples of his work are usually fairly expensive, such as his Christmas 1991 David Winter Fred's Home Dickens series
)
After looking at visuals of castles, students are asked to list possible
elements that they could add to a castle...such as roof tiles, bushes, steps up a hillside, bridges on moats, courtyards, etc. After selecting their own rock, and determining the best spot to locate their castle, (they may need to make a clay shim to steady the rock) they proceed to model their miniature castle. Attention is given to detail such as stone, stucco, wood grain, bushes. Because the clay will not adhere to the rock when it dries, clay is kept
on 12 x 12 wall boards, with plastic to wrap, to keep it workable for the week.
After firing the clay (minus the rocks), students attach their castles and shims to their rocks with glue. Acrylic paints are used for color, so that the second lesson is a mixing of paint to create colors of grass, stone, water, dirt, etc.
Submitted
by Jeanella Smalley
UNIT: Middle Ages - Sculpture
Lesson: Gargoyle Paper Mache
Grade Level: middle school - high school
Materials: Cardboard carpet tubes, newspapers, aluminum foil, masking tape,
Wheat Paste
,
Acrylic Paint.
Last year my Art II
classes made Papier Mache gargoyles. We combined the idea of
gargoyles with carved door jambs, and used carpet tubes as the armature. The
students were allowed to work alone or with one other person, and added a
square cardboard base and features using papier mache. The
completed projects were awesome, and several students commented it was the
best project they had ever done.
