Art Education Lesson Plan: ART 133

Group 1 2 3 4 5 6 (please circle)

Print First and Last Names:
Breannah Gammon
Nou Cha
Stephanie Vargas
Lesson Title*: American Indians and Dreams

Maddie Vaughn
Big Idea*: Dreams

Grade Level*: 3

21st Century Art Education Approach(es): Meaning Making and Visual Thinking Strategies

Lesson Overview

(~3 complete sentences)*: Students will design a dream catcher bag inspired by the ideas of the original American Indian art of dream catchers.
They will display their interpretations of their dreams and goals in and outside of the dream catcher bag. Finally the students will write a letter to themselves regarding these
dreams and seal it inside the bag to be opened at a later date.

Key Concepts
know.*

(3-4):

What you want the students to

Essential Questions

(3-4)*:

1. What kind of dreams can a person have?

1. The origin story of the Native American dream

catcher.

2. Why are dreams important?

2. Dreams can be important to individuals.

3. What can dreams tell us?

3. Dreams can be expressed in a variety of ways.

4. How can dreams be expressed?

4. Dreams can change based on our experiences.

Lesson Objectives of three distinct content areas: (Excellent resource at http://www.teachervision.fen.com/curriculum-planning/new-teacher/48345.html?
for_printing=1&detoured=1): What you want the students to do. *

1. Content area 1 Visual Art

: The students will (TSW) be able to construct an artistic representation of their dreams.

2. Content area 2 Literacy

: The students will (TSW) be able to write a narrative describing their dreams.

3. Content area 3 Social Studies: The students will (TSW) be able to explain how local American Indian tribes use
dreamcatchers.
Common Core State Standards
standards.

(2-3):

Please list grade-specific

1. Writing: Write narratives to develop real or imagined

experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive
details, and clear event sequences.
2. Social Studies/History: 3.2 Students describe the American
Indian nations in their local region long ago and in the recent
past.

Identify & define vocabulary that connect the art form with
the other two identified content areas*:
1.Meaning making is the ability to understand and share the
thoughts and feelings of others.
2. VTS (Visual Thinking Strategies) is an activity facilitated by
the teacher. Students are asked to participate by examining
an artwork, responding to questions, and sharing their
thoughts as a part of a group discussion.
3. Expressive writing - the student will express their feelings
about their dreams and goals coherently.

National Core Art Standards: Visual Arts (grades 1-6 only)

Please list number and description of Anchor Standard.

(4):

1. Creating: 1. Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and

work.
2. Presenting: 6. Convey meaning through the presentation of
artistic work.
3. Responding: 7. Perceive and analyze artistic work.

Lesson Activities & Procedures (please be very specific,

including individual roles of group members)*:
1. Introduce ourselves to class.
2. After students have been seated, Breannah will pull up the
VTS image and invite students to move closer. Students will
be given a few minutes to observe the image before the
discussion starts. Breannah will begin with the following
statement: I want you to look at this image closely and

4. Connecting: 10. Synthesize and relate knowledge and

personal experiences to make art.

California Visual and Performing Arts Standards (grades 1-6

only) (3-5): Please check all that apply and add number and
description of applicable content standard.
___1.0 Artistic Perception:
___2.0 Creative Expression:
_X_3.0 Historical & Cultural Context: Identify artists from his or
her own community, county, or state and discuss local or
regional art traditions.
_X_4.0 Aesthetic Valuing: Compare and contrast selected
works of art and describe them, using appropriate vocabulary
of art.
_X_5.0 Connections, Relationships, Applications: Look at
images in figurative works of art and predict what might
happen next, telling what clues in the work support their ideas.
List all materials needed in the columns below.

silently for a few minutes. Notice everything you can. Then

Im going to ask you some questions. If you have an answer
to my question, raise your hand and wait for me to call on
you. When I call on you, speak loudly so everyone can hear
what you have to say. If someone is speaking, listen carefully
because s/he may see something you hadnt noticed or have
an idea that hadnt occurred to you. Remember that its fine
to disagree, but we always do so respectfully. Finally, please
understand there are no wrong answers when sharing.
Breannah will use the following questions to facilitate the
discussion: 1. What is going on in this image/What is
happening here? 2. What do you see that makes you say
that/How do you know that from the image? 3. What more
can we find/Does anyone see something different?
3. Nou will put students into 5 small groups of 3-4 by table to
discuss the reading. Nou will ask students to generate ideas
regarding the benefits of including VTS in the classroom and
how it connects to Common Core Standards. Provide 3-5
minutes for discussion. Nou will bring the class back to large
group discussion and each group will report out their
responses to ensure that students retain the important
messages from the article.
4. Maddie will begin the PowerPoint and will take introduce
information from the slides regarding American Indians and
their customs. This will include the importance and meaning

Have

Purchase

Paper Bags
Colored Paper
Glue

N/A

Note paper
Markers
Found objects
Color pencils or crayons
Sharpies
Scissors

of traditional dreamcatchers to local tribes. Breannah will

read the slides regarding essential questions, key concepts,
the big idea, and lesson objectives.
5. Stephanie will introduce the dream catcher bags to
students by showing example bags made by the group.
Stephanie will prompt students to think of the different kind
of dreams people can have (i.e. goals for future, fantasy,
dreams while sleeping). Stephanie will explain the materials
available (see Materials List) and point out their location
around the classroom. Stephanie will introduce the writing
portion where students write a letter to their future selves
about their current dreams. She will then instruct students to
begin studio activity and leave Studio Instruction slide on
powerpoint..
8. Each group member will walk around the classroom while
students are working to observe their artwork and answer
any questions they may have. Studio will last approximately
45 minutes.
9. When students have completed decorating and writing
their letters, they will staple their bags shut as their ticketout.

Anticipatory Set *: Students will begin the class by using VTS

with a photograph of American Indian women from the Miwok
tribe.
VTS Questions: What is going on in this image? What do you
see that makes you say that? What more can we find?

Closure (ending; example ticket-out) *: To leave, students

will complete their bags and one instructor will staple them
closed with the letter inside.

Formative Assessment strategy (of assigned, peer-reviewed

reading)*: In small groups, students will discuss how VTS was
found to benefit students and how they might use VTS to meet
Common Core Standards in a classroom.

Summative Assessment strategy (artmaking experience):

Students will be asked to volunteer to share out parts of their
dreams that they feel comfortable sharing with the class.

Please respond to the following questions thoroughly and in complete sentences.

1. What student prior knowledge will this lesson require/draw upon?
Students should have a beginning knowledge of the traditions, beliefs, and customs of the American Indian tribes local to their
region.
2. How will you engage students in creating, evaluating, analyzing, and/or applying (see Blooms new taxonomy, n.d.) in
this lesson?
Students will be asked to evaluate the dreams they have for themselves and create an artwork that represents those dreams.
3. How will this lesson allow for/encourage students to solve problems in divergent ways?
Students will be able to interpret dreams in their own way, including goals they have for themselves, fantasy-type dreams
they hope for, or dreams they have experienced while asleep, for example.
4. How will you engage students in routinely reflecting on their learning?
Students will be asked to reflect on the dreams they have and find creative ways to express them through their artmaking.
5. How will you adapt the various aspects of the lesson for differently-abled students?
We will provide a variety of materials for students to choose from to allow for variations in fine-motor skills. We will incorporate
multiple styles of teaching, such as providing visual and hands-on experiences. We will also adjust the vocabulary used to

meet the students at an appropriate level.

6. What opportunities/activities will you provide for students to share their learning in this lesson?
Students will discuss the benefits of including VTS in a classroom. Students will also have an opportunity to discuss parts of
their dreams they are comfortable sharing with the class.
Lesson Resources/References (use APA; please identify, with an asterisk, article or chapter due for HW):

Franco, M., & Unrath, K. (2014). Carpe Diem: Seizing the Common Core with Visual Thinking Strategies in the Visual Arts
Classroom. Art Education, 67(1),
28-32.*

* Include this information during the peer Presented Lesson Plan.

Some helpful links to new terms:

Anticipatory set: http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/anticipatory-set/

Closure: http://teaching.colostate.edu/tips/tip.cfm?tipid=148
Formative and Summative Assessment: https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html

Reference
Silverstein, L. B. & Layne, S. (n.d.). Defining arts integration. Retrieved from

http://www.americansforthearts.org/networks/arts_education/publications/special_publications/Defining%20Arts
%20Integration.pdf