Indie Final: Curriculum In Teaching Art

Sara Conway Gurney

10/10/2014

Identity Exploration and Art for 5
th
Grade Students

Introduction
This unit explores identity in uppei elementaiy school stuuents. Buiing the fouith
anu fifth giaue yeais, I have founu that stuuents begin to become moie awaie of
theii iuentity as a changing, evolving, impiessionable aspect. So many elements
make up oui iuentity, anu it is sometimes uifficult to finu, oi uefine oui iuentity in a
woilu of uiffeiences.
In this unit, I plan to challenge the stuuent's views of theii iuentity. I also plan to
tie cultuie anu family into the lessons in oiuei to highlight uiffeiences in iuentity,
yet emphasize that we aie in chaige of oui own sense of self. Lastly, this unit will
employ the tie-ins with iuentity anu the uigital woilu we live in touay.
What overarching understandings are desired for this unit?
This unit explores these "big ideas:"
1. Identity of each person embodies many facets of life and we can display them in our art
in many ways.
2. While culture and family play a part of our identity, we are in charge of our own identity
along with how we display it.
3. Our identity can be displayed differently in the digital world, yet we are responsible for
it.
What are the essential questions for this unit?
This unit explores these essential questions:
1. What makes up our individual identity?
2. How do artists display identity in art?
3. What role does family and culture play in our identity, and how do we display it in our
art?
4. Who decides our identity, and how do we choose to display it in person vs. online?

What will students understand as a result of this unit?
As a result of this unit, students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of:
1. Identity, how we display it in art, and its changing evolution.
2. The role of culture and family as a part of our identity.
3. The way in which we display our identity in the digital world may be different from our
actual identity.
What evidence will show that students understand the connection between identity
and art?
1. Students will show evidence of understanding what makes up our identities.
2. Students will discuss understanding of identity in self-portraits.
3. Students will display artwork that shows a voice and cultural sense of self.
4. Students will understand digital identity and its differences with real identity.
Performance Tasks/Projects:
Project #1: What is Identity?

Braun, J. (2010). Fingering #4. Drawn on paper with fingers dipped in charcoal. Group
show, "Eternal Returns", at NURTUREart, NYC. Retrieved from:
http://judithannbraun.com/462885/fingerings-galleries/






Braun, J. (1998). Self Portrait 1. [Charcoal on duralar]. Retrieved from:
http://judithannbraun.com/474639/portraits-1994-95/
Essential Questions:
What is a persons identity?
What aspects make up a persons identity?
How do artists display their identity?
Activity:
Opening Session: Students will walk into the classroom and will be shown the definition
of identity as: The fact of being who or what a person is. Teacher will lead discussion on
what identity means. Students will give examples of what makes a person who they are.
What aspects make a person who they are? What is different about each person? How do
artists display their identity in their artwork?

Work Session: Students will gather on the rug and view the artwork of Judith Braun.
They will view her self-portrait and her fingerprint artwork. Which artwork displays
more identity of the artist? Is the artwork using Brauns fingerprint less of a self-portrait
than the image of her face? Why or why not? What are other ways that artists use their
identity in self-portraits?
Closing Session: Teacher will briefly review the previous artworks and pose this
question for students to create a written response. Does the artist portray true identity in
either of the artworks we have seen? In what way could she have shown more identity,
which displays who or what a person is, as we stated previously in the opening session?
Could she have included more of her background, culture, or likes/dislikes into her
artwork to display more of her identity? How could she have included these things?
Assessment:
Students will write a short response statement expressing their opinions to the proposed
questions. They must turn and share their response with their neighbor and turn in the
response to teacher.
Visual Art Standards 5
th
Grade:
VA.5.O.2.1: Analyze works of art that document people and events from a variety of
places and times to synthesize ideas for creating artwork.
VA.5.H.2.1: Compare works of art on the basis of style, culture, or artist across time to
identify visual differences.
VA.5.H.2.1: Use art-criticism processes to form a hypothesis about an artist or designers
intent when creating artwork and/or utilitarian objects.
VA.5.C.1.3: Examine and discuss exemplary works of art to distinguish which qualities
may be used to evaluate personal works.
References:
Braun, J. (2010). Fingering #4. Drawn on paper with fingers dipped in charcoal.
Group show, "Eternal Returns", at NURTUREart, NYC. Retrieved from:
http://judithannbraun.com/462885/fingerings-galleries/
Braun, J. (1998). Self Portrait 1. [Charcoal on duralar]. Retrieved from:
http://judithannbraun.com/474639/portraits-1994-95/

Project #2: Identity and Culture

Cole, W. (1992). Domestic ID. [Scorch on paper, window frame, glass]. Retrieved from:
http://www.williecole.com/id179.html

Cole, W. (2005). Anxious Objects. Designed by Brian Hodge. Hodge Graphic Design.
Retrieved from: http://www.williecole.com/id71.html
5. Essential Questions: What role does family and culture play in our identity and how do
we display it in our art? How do artists represent their culture in their art?
Activity:
Opening Session: Students will view the work of Willie Coles Scorches. Teacher will
lead a class discussion on what students see. How do they think the artist made the
artwork? Can they see masks in the iron burns? What culture do they think the artist was
trying to display. Teacher shows African masks to students and asks for students to name
similarities. Teacher tells students to go home and ask parents or guardians what ethnicity
they are, and be as specific as possible. Students may choose to include this information
in coming lesson.
Work Session: Students will come back to class with information of their own ethnicity.
They can choose to research their own ethnicity, one they identify with, or that of one
they choose. They will use sites such as:
http://www.exploreandmore.org/world/default.htm to research these identities, writing
notes in their sketchbooks. They must find/draw:
1. Traditional dress of a young person of that culture.
2. Traditional artwork styles, or replicate an artwork of artist who identifies with this
culture.
3. At least 2 cultural facts including translations, flag colors and meanings, etc. they find
interesting.
Closing Session: Students will share with the class their findings of their culture. They
will list 3 ways they may decide to use these facts in a self-portrait they will be making in
the following lesson.

Assessment: Informal assessment will occur when students share their information with
class. Also, the sketchbooks will be graded for participation and findings.

Visual Arts Standards 5
th
grade:
VA.5.O.2.1: Analyze works of art that document people and events from a variety of
places and times to synthesize ideas for creating artworks.
VA.5.H.2.1: Compare works of art on the basis of style, culture, or artists across time to
identify visual differences.
VA.5.S.1.2: Use media, technology, and other resources to inspire personal art-making
decisions.
VA.5.H.1.1: Examine historical and cultural influences that inspire artists and their work.
Reference:
Cole, W. (1992). Domestic ID. [Scorch on paper, window frame, glass]. Retrieved
from: http://www.williecole.com/id179.html
Cole, W. (2005). Anxious Objects. Designed by Brian Hodge. Hodge Graphic
Design. Retrieved from: http://www.williecole.com/id71.html
Cleveimethou. (2u14). 2u14 Exploie & Noie. Retiieveu at:
http://www.exploreandmore.org/world/default.htm
Scholastic Art Magazine. (October 2014). African Masks: Working with Form.
Scholastic Publications 45(2).
Project #3: My Cultural Self-Portrait

Kahlo, F. (1932). Self Portrait. Collection of Maria Rodriquez de Reyero New York City,
New York, U.S.A. Retrieved from: http://www.fridakahlofans.com/c0110.html
Essential Questions: How can we display cultural identity in a self-portrait?

Activity:
Opening Session: Teacher will show image of Frida Kahlos self-portrait, 1932. Teacher
leads discussion on how the artist displays cultural identity information in the artwork.
Students will refer to sketchbooks from previous session to contemplate how they will
show cultural information in their artwork. Students will begin mapping out their self-
portrait in their sketchbooks to be checked by the teacher.

Work Session: Students will choose a sketch from their sketchbooks that they will make
into a painting and/or collage. They will begin drawing their self-portrait, and add
cultural identity information from their research project. They may be creative in the way
they will add the cultural information (refer to Willie Coles Scorches), and in making
their self-portrait (refer to Judith Ann Brauns fingerprint artwork). When they have both
elements of self-portrait and cultural identity, the teacher will approve the drawing for
paint and collage.
Closing Session: Students will finish painting and/or collage, making sure they have
identified the part of their artwork that is the self-portrait, and the aspect that is the
cultural identity. They must turn it in within the due date.

Assessment:
Students will be assessed on a scale of 1 to 4 with the following rubric criteria:
Did the student include a self-portrait?
Did the student include cultural identity?
Did the student use one of the approved sketches from their sketchbook?
Did the student use at least one of their researched cultural identifiers?
Visual Arts Standards 5
th
grade:
VA.5.S.1.3: Create artworks that depict personal, cultural, and/or historical themes.
VA.5.S.1.2: Use media, technology, and other resources to inspire personal art-making
decisions.
VA.5.H.1.1: Examine historical and cultural influences that inspire artists and their work.
References:
Kahlo, F. (1932). Self Portrait. Collection of Maria Rodriquez de Reyero New
York City, New York, U.S.A. Retrieved from:
http://www.fridakahlofans.com/c0110.html

Project #4: Identity Online: Avatars, Social Media, Oh My!

Class Bojo. (2u11, }anuaiy 1). Retiieveu 0ctobei 9, 2u14, fiom www.classuojo.com

Duncan, M. & Lundy, B. (2014). Copyright 2014 someecards, Inc. Retrieved from:
http://www.someecards.com/usercards/create



Kruger, B. (1984). You are Not Yourself. Retrieved from:
http://www.barbarakruger.com/art/not_yourself.gif


Adames, K. (2012, May 24). Identity [video file]. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikGVWEvUzNM
6. Essential Questions: Who decides our identity and how do we choose to display it in
person vs. online?
Activity:
Opening Session: Teacher should set up a class dojo account with avatar selected at
random for each student before the class comes in. When the students arrive, discuss the
use of class dojo during art class (points are earned for good behavior, helping others,
etc.). Teacher will discuss the meaning of avatar with the students, as an entity that will
represent them during class. Students will then use a class set of ipads to create their own
avatar using the class dojo system. After students have created their avatar, they must
discuss why they added certain attributes to the avatars. Why did they choose a specific
color? Why is the face scary or nice looking? What about their avatar represents the
student? Students will then watch the identity video and talk about the meaning of the
masks shown (teacher can make reference to Willie Coles African masks from previous
lesson). They will discuss the way we represent ourselves online. It may not be congruent
to our true identity.

Working Session: Students will come into class during the working session and view the
work of Barbara Kruger, and also the someecard featured above. They will discuss the
similarities between the two works. Teacher will tell students that they will be creating
their own digital collage that will also represent them, just like the class dojo avatars.
Teacher poses the question: Who decides our identity? How do we display our identity
online? Students will sketch out a representation of themselves and add a catch phrase
into their work, just like the work they have seen from Barbara Kruger. Once the sketch
has been approved, they will go back on the ipads to create the artwork using digital
images, collage, and digital paint. They will use the ArtRage app to create the
representation of themselves (they may take a picture of themselves if they wish, or use a
picture of their class dojo avatar). They will create a manipulation using paint and photos
in ArtRage. They will then save this media to another app, Bizaart. Through Bizaart, they
will able to add a caption to their artwork in the style of Barbara Kruger.

Closing Session: Students will save the artwork and upload it to DropBox in order to
turn it in (teacher will demonstrate). Teacher will lead class critique. Students will
discuss their artwork and the way they have represented themselves. Is this image more
representational of their identity than the Class Dojo avatars? How does this image
represent them? How is this representation different from the way we represent ourselves
in person? Does this image show your identity?

Assessment:
Students will be assessed based on critique and artwork. Artwork will be assessed on a
rubric scale 1-4 based on the following criteria: Did the student create a representation of
himself or herself? Did the student add a caption in the style of Barbara Kruger? Did the
student participate in the critique? Did the student explain what parts of the artwork
represent their identity? Did the student show understanding of online identity and
avatars? Did the student understand the display of their identity? Did the student discuss
the difference between their identity online and in person?

Visual Arts Standards 5
th
grade:
VA.5.O.3.1: Create meaningful and unique works of art to effectively communicate and
document personal voice.
VA.5.S.1.3: Create artworks that depict personal, cultural, and/or historical themes.
VA.5.S.1.2: Use media, technology, and other resources to inspire personal art-making
decisions.
VA.5.H.1.1: Examine historical and cultural influences that inspire artists and their work.
References:
Adames, K. (2012, May 24). Identity [video file]. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikGVWEvUzNM
Duncan, M. & Lundy, B. (2014). Copyright 2014 someecards, Inc. Retrieved
from: http://www.someecards.com/usercards/create
Class Bojo. (2u11, }anuaiy 1). Retiieveu 0ctobei 9, 2u14, fiom www.classuojo.com
Kruger, B. (1984). You are Not Yourself. Retrieved from:
http://www.barbarakruger.com/art/not_yourself.gif
(2u11, }anuaiy 1). Retiieveu 0ctobei 9, 2u14, fiom www.classuojo.com





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Adames, K. (2012, May 24). Identity [video file]. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikGVWEvUzNM
Braun, J. (2010). Fingering #4. Drawn on paper with fingers dipped in charcoal.
Group show, "Eternal Returns", at NURTUREart, NYC. Retrieved from:
http://judithannbraun.com/462885/fingerings-galleries/
Braun, J. (1998). Self Portrait 1. [Charcoal on duralar]. Retrieved from:
http://judithannbraun.com/474639/portraits-1994-95/
Class Bojo. (2u11, }anuaiy 1). Retiieveu 0ctobei 9, 2u14, fiom
www.classuojo.com
Cleveimethou. (2u14). 2u14 Exploie & Noie. Retiieveu at:
http://www.exploreandmore.org/world/default.htm
Cole, W. (1992). Domestic ID. [Scorch on paper, window frame, glass]. Retrieved
from: http://www.williecole.com/id179.html
Cole, W. (2005). Anxious Objects. Designed by Brian Hodge. Hodge Graphic
Design. Retrieved from: http://www.williecole.com/id71.html
Duncan, M. & Lundy, B. (2014). Copyright 2014 someecards, Inc. Retrieved
from: http://www.someecards.com/usercards/create
Kahlo, F. (1932). Self Portrait. Collection of Maria Rodriquez de Reyero New
York City, New York, U.S.A. Retrieved from:
http://www.fridakahlofans.com/c0110.html
Kruger, B. (1984). You are Not Yourself. Retrieved from:
http://www.barbarakruger.com/art/not_yourself.gif
Scholastic Art Magazine. (October, 2014). African Masks: Working with Form.
Scholastic Publications 45(2).