Title: Depicting Illinois-Specific

Ecosystems
Topic: Science and Art Integration
Subject/ Course: Visual Arts/ Science
Grade: 6-8
Designer: Melissa Miller

Stage 1- Desired Results
Established Goals

Middle School Science:
- 12B4H- to analyze Illinois-specific ecosystems and biomes
- 12B- 3I - to research global biomes

Art :
- 25A-6D-Recognize rhythm created through the repetition of sensory elements
- 26B-5C- Construct a plan for a work of art using research.



Understandings:
- Many plants and animals create
ecosystems.
- Flowers help pollinators survive.
- Organisms in ecosystems are
dependent on one another.
- Contour lines show just the
outside of an object.
- Objects in the foreground are
bigger and in greater detail, and
then size and detail diminish as
we move to middle ground and
background.
Essential Questions:
- What flowers grow in Illinois?
- What environments do those
flowers grow in? What surrounds
them?
- What parts make up a flower?
- What is foreground, middle
ground, and background?
- How do I use contour lines to
show shape?

Students will know:
- The parts that make up a flower
- That elements in a foreground appear in greater detail and size, which decrease
from foreground to middle ground and to back ground.
- That contour lines are the lines around an object.

Students will be able to:
Descriptors:
Middle School Science:
- Analyze Illinois-specific ecosystems and biomes
- Research global biomes
Art :
- Recognize rhythm created through the repetition of sensory elements
- Construct a plan for a work of art using research.


Stage 2- Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks:
Students will be able to:
- Draw from pictures of one flower in
three different views, one close up,
one showing a full flower and stem
view, and one showing the
environment you would find this
flower.


Other evidence:
- Dissect a flower that comes from
Illinois.
- Research many components of the
flower including how much sunlight
and water it needs, what grows
around it, what its scientific name is,
etc.
- Demonstrate enthusiasm and
engagement during the showing of
the
- Participate in reflection activity-Have
students sit on carpet at center and
flip through other students artwork.
Have students point out where they
see pattern in other students work,
and what interesting shapes they see.

Stage 3 Learning Plan
W- Where- This will be done after students have studied plants in 6
th
grade science. They
will have also done some book creation during the year.
H- Hook- We will look at images of flowers and students will be able to find all the flowers
they will be able to dissect.
E- Equip, Explore, Experience- Students will understand the process of creating a book, and
will have studied plants in science, and are therefore ready to zone in on one specific
flower.
R- Revise-Students will practice drawings during and after dissection and will get to choose
which of the images they want to recreate before they start drawing on their nice paper.
E- Evaluate- Students will do a whole group reflection of their artwork, pointing out what
they think is interesting and what they liked about what they created.
T- Tailored- Write out note cards for the concepts of repetition, patter, contour, back
ground, middle ground, and foreground and add them to the word wall with a visual so that
students can reference them. Students are given minimum requirements, so that lower
students may access the assignment, and students who are able may add on and make it as
intricate as they want to.
O- All materials will be at the tables. Students will send someone from each table to get
supplies.


Materials:
- Computer with images, or magazines, books,
posters of flowers.
- Flowers from Illinois
- Glue
- Scissors
- Straight edge, ruler
- Colored pencils
- Exacto Knife and a cutting board
- Watercolor Paper


4-Mat
How can they interact with the world?
o Talk about shapes in critique
o Have information and opinions to
contribute about Frank Lloyd Wright
to conversations.
o Broaden their exposure to art
What happens inside of them?
o Use color and shape preferences to
create something they are proud of
o See a pathway to success
o See that shapes are functional
o See how combinations of shapes
crate new shapes
How will they master this thing?
o Look at examples of FLW
o Draw out a plan on graph paper
filling up the entire paper including
colors
o Copy the plan on a copier
o Cut out shapes and trace them on
colored paper, then cut out the new
shapes.
o Glue colored shapes out to plan
o Outline shapes in sharpie and mount

What happens to their thinking?
o Wonder how composition of shapes
is appealing and why
o Logically figure out how to color
shapes with a limited pallet to make
the final product interesting
o See visually how much space each
shape takes up and how to measure
it.
o Explore the connections between
positive and negative spaces.

Procedure:

- Students will pick one flower from the state of Illinois and research the flower.
- Students will do a botanical drawing after dissecting the flower that they have
chosen.
- Students will practice drawing the flowers in many ways before deciding which
drawings they will recreate.
- Students will put a book together that includes three center pages. The first page
will be a close up drawing of the flower, depicting some aspect that they understood
better through dissection. The second page is the flower from a little further away.
The third shows the environment that the flower would be found on. On the back
cover, students will write a paragraph with information that they researched about
the flower including how much sunlight it needs, where else it can be found besides
in Illinois, how much water it needs, what its scientific name and common name is,
and any interesting facts.
- Students will put the book together and cut out the contours on the first two pages.
- Students are given the option to create an extra page in their book if they want to
show another in between as an enrichment activity. Students can also choose to use
other media in addition to colored pencils if they want to. As remediation, students
will have many pictures they can draw from if they are having a difficult time
drawing straight from the flower.