The Child’s Culture Lesson 1
Teachers: Emily Dimov-Gottshall
Assistant to the Teacher: Jeff Cornwall
Documenter & Interested Adult: Jeff Cornwall & Sarah Thompson
Unit Title: Culture
Lesson Title: Meme History and what makes a meme
Grade Level: 3 and 4 grade
Number of Students: 20
Lesson #: __1__ of __6__ projected lessons.
BIG IDEA (UNIT):
The Child’s Culture
BIG IDEA (LESSON):
Meme history and what makes a meme
ART / ARTIST(S) OF RELEVANCE:
Oliver Griem and Brian McCarty
Oliver Griem is German and he is part media artist, part professor of arts. He dabbled in sculpture and pottery. He discovered the beauty and science behind visual media. In a world overflowing with complicated and elaborate technology and ideologies, he blends the visual with the aural.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yjMl67_4lI
Griem installation
Brian McCarty
Brian McCarty is an accomplished photographer, art director, and producer known for his unique work with toys. While comfortable in the studio, Brian's preferred approach is to integrate toy characters into real-life situations through the use of forced perspective, working in-camera and without compositing. McCarty creates his photographs by sometimes traveling to exotic locations, including active war zones. Although grounded in reality, his use of implied narratives mixed with ironic juxtapositions often leads to associations with the Art-Toy, Lowbrow, and Pop Surrealist movements. However, McCarty's work is difficult to place into a single genre.
Books
I spy spooky night: a book of picture riddles
by Wick, Walter; Marzollo, Jean
I am plastic: the designer toy explosion
by Budnitz, Paul
The lonely doll
by Wright, Dare
Toys: amazing stories behind some great inventions
by Wulffson, Don L
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2lUERukgg4 Toy Designer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzVVTB8TSdc Toy Con
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq6NI-XwnfI fidget spinner how to (from cardboard)
PREREQUISITES:
Students should be familiar with and know how to manage glue guns, scissors
Students will need to understand how their art interacts with other students work in the classroom. Concept of selves in relation to others.
SAFETY HAZARDS:
Students may encounter scissors, hot glue, plaster of paris, clay
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
This lesson connects to Language Arts as it encourages students to write about the hidden meaning behind their visuals. Students will write artist statements to show why they made choices and ideas/designs in their work.
How does this lesson connect to other subject areas outside of the visual arts?
For example: Math, science, Language arts, music, performing arts, etc….
Where do you connect reading and writing into this lesson plan? What strategies are incorporated to help your students see the connection between reading/writing and art making? (It is required by the IDOE that every teacher implements reading strategies into their teaching)
I-B. UNIT OVERVIEW (RATIONALE)
We want to explore alongside students the types of culture that they interact with. Culture in this class is not limited to ethnicity, race, and their community. The culture that we are looking to explore revolves around youth interests, the internet, and the latest memes, viral sensations, and fads that the students interact with.
We believe that it is important for students to analyze not only the world at large, but also the world that they are in as youths. With all of the technological advances made within the last decade, our students’ worlds are larger than ever before. Unlike the generations before them that grew up before the internet became a common commodity or when it was still growing, the students are growing up in a time where the internet is easily accessible, televisions are in the majority of every household, Youtube is free to use, and social media interactions are just as important as face-to-face meetings. So on top of the “normal” childhood interests such as action figures, dolls, playing cards, and legos, student interests expand to ideas found on the internet, largely in the form of video games and memes in the form of images, videos, and gifs.
In this unit, students will be able to visually explore and experiment with ideas and items that they come into contact with and discover what exactly their world consists of with the hopes of forming a higher understanding of how it fits into the world at large.
**A meme (/ˈmiːm/ MEEM) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture
I-A. LESSON OVERVIEW (RATIONALE)
This initial lesson will be a discussion of what culture is, and will give students a better understanding of our semester long vision of a sculptural installation that will be built upon each week. They will be starting on the base for the sculpture today so they have a solid foundation to build off of. This lesson is important because it will open up the students’ minds to the different aspects of culture and what it means to them and it is the basis for everything else we will be doing this semester.
II. LEARNER OUTCOMES
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Students will learn about different types of cultures and express what culture means to them both on a worksheet and through discussion
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Students will decide what ideas they chose to explore this semester and their ideas will be recorded on a unit map
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Students will gain a basic understanding of installation art and construct the base of their sculptures
III-A. NATIONAL ART STANDARDS
3rd VA:Cr1.2.3a
Apply knowledge of available resources, tools, and technologies to investigate personal ideas through the art-making process.
4th VA:Cr1.2.4a
Collaboratively set goals and create artwork that is meaningful and has purpose to the makers.
3rd VA:Re8.1.3a
Interpret art by analyzing use of media to create subject matter, characteristics of form, and mood.
4th VA:Cn10.1.4a
Create works of art that reflect community cultural traditions.
III-B. PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STANDARDS
9.1. Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts
H. Handle materials, equipment and tools safely at work and performance spaces. • Identify materials used. • Identify issues of cleanliness related to the arts. • Recognize some mechanical/electrical equipment. • Recognize differences in selected physical space/environments. • Recognize the need to select safe props/stage equipment. • Identify methods for storing materials in the arts.
I. Identify arts events that take place in schools and in communities.
J. Know and use traditional and contemporary technologies for producing, performing and exhibiting works in the arts or the works of others. • Know and use traditional technologies (e.g., charcoal, pigments, clay, needle/thread, quill pens, stencils, tools for wood carving, looms, stage equipment). • Know and use contemporary technologies (e.g., CDs/software, audio/sound equipment, polymers, clays, board-mixers, photographs, recorders)
9.2. Historical and Cultural Contexts
A. Explain the historical, cultural and social context of an individual work in the arts.
D. Analyze a work of art from its historical and cultural perspective.
IV. MATERIALS NEEDED FOR LESSON
Cardboard, fabric, hot glue, scissors, wire, projectors/cameras/other electronics, drawing materials (for sketchbooks), box-cutters/x-acto knives, mattes for cutting, fabric glue/craft glue, paint, air drying clay
V. TEACHER ACTIONS / EXPECTED LEARNER ACTIONS
VI. ENDING THE LESSON
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Closure of Lesson
We will end the lesson with a mini art show of our work. At the close of the class, students will tidy up and line up for to try out the singing bowl.
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Transition to Next Lesson How does what happens in this lesson set the stage for what will occur in the following lesson?
This class is the start of helping students to self direct and focus on their interests. We will use it as a guide to set up our lessons and stations to give students more choices and focus on their interests.
VII. REFERENCES TO MATERIALS CONSULTED
Oliver Griem and Brian McCarty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yjMl67_4lI Ted talk/description of Griem’s work
Griem installation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme
Books:
I spy spooky night: a book of picture riddles
by Wick, Walter; Marzollo, Jean
The lonely doll
by Wright, Dare
Toys: amazing stories behind some great inventions
by Wulffson, Don L
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2lUERukgg4 Toy Designer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzVVTB8TSdc Toy Con
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq6NI-XwnfI fidget spinner how to (from cardboard)
History of Meme https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme
http://www.fischkalb.com/ Oliver Griem works
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRKpNaVaP84 (Teacher tips for classroom management)
VIII. THE CLASSROOM AS A THIRD TEACHER
We will be adding a carpet by the couch to make the area our library/projector. We will have stations around the room for students to work and see what they are drawn to. The space gives off a studio vibe which will encourage curiosity as well as bring in dialog of what it is to be an artist and how to respect the space/keep it organized.
Teacher Actions
9:00-9:15
Welcome Students. Pass out
Sketch books/settle in
9:15 intro (10 min)
Names tag/name pose/name game
Talk about Singing bowl (bell). Discuss the purpose of the bell. To get attention and know it is time to listen.
9:25
Discuss installation/group project
Culture: Way of life. Standard definition such as ethnicity/neighborhood/home. What does culture mean to you? “Kids” culture: what we are doing is our culture. What we like, our hobbies, are part of culture.
Goal: what our class goal is about.
Add on to installation each day/visual map
Examples of our work/worlds. Toys in culture. Works by Brian McCarty and Oliver Griem
9:45
Introduce Stations
-Hot Glue Zone
-Fabric
-Cutting (cardboard/paper supplies)
-Work Station
-Drying Station
-Book Zone
-Play Station (free play/design)
Talk about how each station is one they can go to but the Hot Glue Station is one that needs at least 1 adult to help out.
Point out treating books with care, how to work with tools, showing them how to do tasks. Show written (or videoed) directions.
9:55
Activity time. Teachers will walk around and help encourage students as they begin deciding what they want to build for their installation. Ask questions about what they are interested in to make lessons for the next classes/make more self directed stations.
Encourage students to express their interests with what they want to bring in or create to mass produce.
10:40
Share works if students would like to see what is being done. Talk about students bringing in small plastic toy items to consider making replicas for the next class.
10:50
Clean up time (use bell if need be)
Teachers will remind students which table needs to pick up supplies and put away.
11:00
Remind students of the next weeks project making copies of a toy for their installation. Take notes on what students might like for future projects by asking them questions.
Expected Learner Actions
9:00-9:15
Sit and decorate/draw/write in their journals with markers or pencils (Baskets on each table)
9:15
Play game with teacher, get familiar with each other. Demonstrate singing bowl (bell). Tell them it is for getting their attention and they know it is time to listen. At the end of class, they will get to line up and try out the singing bowl once cleanup is done. (incentive to quickly tidy up)
9:25
Listen to presentation. Ask questions by raising hands and jotting down ideas (if they want to).
9:45
Walk with the teachers as we show the stations.
Students will observe and ask questions. Listen.
9:55
Students will begin to walk around on own and go to stations that they are drawn to.
10:40
Students will raise hands if they want to share their work. Students can verbally share or write a statement
10:50
Clean up time
Each table will be assigned a task. One will take care of gathering scraps of paper and fabric.
11:00
Students will leave their projects in drying stations and tidy up room. Students will line up so they can try the singing bowl.
