Teacher(s) Melissa Miller

Subject group and discipline Arts: Visual arts

Unit title

MYP Year

Unit 5: 3D Sculpture

Grade 9, Grade 10

Unit duration 7 weeks (35 hours)

Inquiry: Establishing the purpose of the unit

Key concept

Related concept(s)
Arts: Visual arts
Innovation

Global context
Presentation

Personal and cultural expression

Form
Statement of inquiry
Personal and cultural expression influences the form used to present new innovation.
Innovation influences the form used to express ideas.
Inquiry questions
Factual What characteristics make up Cubism?
What prompted the start of abstract
expressionism? What does abstract art
communicate? In what ways do abstract artists
change the way they view the person?

Conceptual Why do art forms evolve? How does

abstract expressionism communicate ideas? Why
do cubists focus on human form opposed to
other objects? How does art evolve from 2d to
3d?

Objectives

Summative assessment

A: Knowing and understanding

i. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of
the art form studied, including concepts,
processes, and the use of subject-specific
terminology
ii. demonstrate an understanding of the role of
the art form in original or displaced contexts
B: Developing skills
ii. demonstrate the application of skills and
techniques to create, perform and/or present art.
C: Thinking creatively
iii. demonstrate the exploration of ideas to
shape artistic intention through to a point of
realization.

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

Debatable Should abstract art or cubism be

recognizable? Does cubism represent aspects of
everyday life? To what extend is abstract
expressionism valuable?

Relationship between summative assessment task(s) and

statement of inquiry:

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D: Responding
ii. create an artistic response which intends to
reflect or impact on the world around them
iii. critique the artwork of self and others.
Approaches to learning (ATL)

Research

VI. Information literacy skills

Finding, interpreting, judging and creating information
Make connections between various sources of
information
Present information in a variety of formats and
platforms

Learning Experiences
Students will research different images of cubism and
read artist statement and description to match them.
Students will then learn the characteristics and artists
that comprise Cubism.
Learning Experiences
Students will apply their knowledge of Cubism to their
own artwork by transferring their ideas and the
concepts of Cubism into a new 3d medium.

Thinking

IX. Creative thinking skills

Generating novel ideas and considering new
perspectives
Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas,
products or processes

Action: Teaching and learning through inquiry

Content

Learning process

Knowledge & Skills:

Learning Experiences

Facts:
-Cubism emerged in
-Cubism came from
-Artist information
-Information about
Topics:
Cubism
3d Sculpture
Wire and Plaster Strips
Terms:
Line, Shape, Form, Cubism
Artists:
DuChamp, Picasso, Braque

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

Part 1:
Day 5: Students will learn about the movement of Cubism and some of the Cubist artist that make up that
period.
Day 6 - 9: Make a 2D Cubist portrait. Students will use their DW assignment to create a Cubist portrait. They
will be graded on whether or not they have done the following:
Divided the portrait into at least four parts
Have at least two rearranged components
At least five geometric shapes.
A component of cutting and collaging present.
Day 7- 14: Students will choose between creating their own 2D portrait in two dimensions, or they will need to
bring in a copy of a 2D work from one of the artists studied. Students will create a 3D sculpture from a hanger,
and use paper mache to cover it. Students will be graded on the following:
Whether it resembles the 2D image
Students should use a color scheme from earlier in the year.
Craftsmanship

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Standards:

Writing
Text types and Purposes
b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims
fairly, supplying evidence for each while
pointing out the strengths and limitations of
both in a manner that anticipates the
audiences knowledge level and concerns.

Artistic behavior and time management

The sculpture should have at least 6 planes.
The sculpture should be big enough to use up the entire wire hanger
Part 2:
Day 1:
Students will be introduced to customary and contemporary costumery through examples of Columbian,
Haitian and Venetian Festival traditions as well as through contemporary artists and iconic figures including
Frederik Van Simaey, Lady Gaga, Bjork and David Bowie. Students will be divided into groups of ? and will draw
from a hat a culture that uses paper mache techniques in its customary traditions as well as a contemporary
icon that uses extravagant costumery. They will spend the last half of this class and the first half of day 2s class
to go to the computer lab where each of them will research and print out a reliable source (i.e. no Wikipedia,
Tumblr or Facebook) regarding their designated cultures event. The article must contain information about
common traits of the cultural events visual styles and themes that may be represented in their project. They
must also pick out and print off two images of their designated contemporary icon in which they are wearing
especially extravagant and intriguing outfits.
Day 2:
Students will spend the first half of class continuing their research in the computer lab. With the second half
of class, students will reconvene with their groups and collectively discuss their findings and choose which
primary visual attributes they will want to include from their customary and contemporary references.
Days 3-5:
Students will have the last three days of the first week to come up with sketches for their final piece. Their
final piece must be able to be worn on the shoulders by everyone in theirr group and must be at least 3 feet in
one direction. It must also allow the person wearing it to see out of it.
Days 6-10:
Students will spend the entire second weed of this project constructing and paper macheing their groups
piece. They will use the same paper mache technique they did for the last project, but for this project, their
understructure can also be made up of found materials such as boxes, balloons, paper towel tubes, Pringles
tubes, or anything that can be found to create mass.
Days 11-14:
Students will spend the first four days of the third week on this project painting and decorating their final
piece. The detail they include in this painting should be greatly detailed and influenced by both their customary
and contemporary examples.
Day 15:
Students will present to the class what culture and contemporary example their group worked with, as well as
the influences from both them that are in their pieces.
Cultures: The Carnival of the Devil (Columbia), Haitian Carneval, Venetian Carnavale, Dia de los Muertos,
Chinese new year festival, Carnival of Massafra (Apulia)
Icons: Lady Gaga, Bjork, David Bowie, Die Antwoord, Katy Perry, Sia

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

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Students will also complete a DW assignment each week:

DW#24 Due Monday, April 20th
1. Tear off a sheet of clear plastic of the type used for wrapping food. Smooth it onto a window that looks out on
a street scene. Using a felt-tip marker, draw a grid on a plastic with lines about two inches apart.
2. Standing at arm's length from the window, close one eye and regard the scene from a single point of view do not move your head. Now, with the marker, trace outlines of the street, buildings, automobiles, trees-the
whole scene- on the plastic sheet.
3. Your completed drawing is a perspective drawing. Carefully remove the plastic from the window and lay it
down on a light surface so that you can see the lines clearly. In your DW, very lightly draw a second grid exactly
the same size as the first. Now, copy the drawing from the plastic onto the drawing paper.
4. Take the drawing in your DW back to the same spot you stood at the window and check to see that the
angles are accurate.
DW #23
Spring is in the air (we hope!) Spend some time outside and draw the signs of spring. This can be a landscape,
flowers, people outside, or other natural images. Because you also have spring break to finish this, make sure
you are spending at least 30 minutes outside drawing. You should have TWO FULL pages of spring. This can be
many images or just two, but the pages should be filled up, and it should be evident that you spent at least 30
minutes drawing. Below, for some ideas, are some examples of my first drawings of spring many many years
ago.

DW #22
On a museum website, find a Cubist sculpture and create a full page drawing of it. This might require a bit of
research. Choose a piece that will take you 25 minutes or more to draw. Due Monday.
DW #21
Draw a persons face from 4 different angles. You will create 4 full page portraits (DO NOT USE BOTH SIDES OF
THE PAPER- we will be cutting these) of the same person from any of the following angles: Straight front, left

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

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side front, left side back, right side front, and right side back, below, and above (below and above could also be
from an angle.)

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

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DW #20 - Due March 16th

1. Take one of your previous drawings and redraw it in rhythmic lines. Do now use outlines. Let your curving
parallel lines describe the forms by bending around them. Your lines should converge near the edges and widen
apart in the central regions.
2. Do a second rhythmic line drawing of an object, but do this one from direct observation. This should take
thirty minutes and it should take up an entire page in your DW. Think Big.

DW#19 - Due March 9th

Take an object from your home and draw it at least three times from three different angles. Each drawing should

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

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take at least ten minutes. Choose an object that will be interesting from many angles. Pay attention to contour
lines in each. Then, fill in values. Take up the entire page with as much positive space as possible.

Students will also complete digital sketchbooks on a biweekly basis.

Teaching strategies
Students will turn in their projects in stages. For instance, they will be assessed on their ability to replicate a
shoe, create a piece of cubism, and form a piece of three dimensional art to resemble their two dimensional
image. Also, students have smaller projects along the way that they will be given feedback on.
Task

Summarize the attributes and characteristics of Cubism

April

11
Saturday

9:00 AM
Task
April

Research a Cubist piece of art and analyze it for elements and principles,
reflecting on the artists' intention for meaning

11
9:00 AM

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

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Task
April

Draw sketches of human heads in different perspectives, which will connect the
Cubism style.

11
Saturday

9:00 AM
Task
April

Explore with the new medium of wire plaster to transform the 2d drawings into a 3
d sculpture.

11
Saturday

9:00 AM
Task
April

Paint the sculpture created with a color scheme and reflecting sketches and idea
of Cubism.

11
Saturday

9:00 AM
Describe how you will differentiate teaching & learning for this unit?
Learner Profile
Thinkers: Students will need to use critical thinking skills to apply knowledge they learned to their own artwork.
Risk takers: This is a new art form students are starting to work with, so they will need to step out of their comfort zone.
Reflection: Considering the planning, process and impact of the inquiry
Prior to teaching the unit

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

During teaching

After teaching the unit

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