Fifth Grade

1. How do we write an opinion essay?

Overarching
Understanding 2. How do we look at/engage with art?
Goals:
3. How do we become keen observers?

4. How do we understand each other, ourselves and our world through art?

Generative Topic: What Does Art Convey?

1. Students will 2. Students will engage
understand how to with new methods of
Unit-Long write an opinion looking at art, engaging
Understanding Goals: essay. with art and
communicating their
ideas and experiences
about art.
3. Students will gain 4. Students will understand
close observation skills how to interpret world
that apply across cultures and histories using
disciplines, science, art, aesthetic evidence and
literature, music. examine history from
multiple perspectives.

Sequence of U Understanding Performances Ongoing Assessments

Understanding Gs
Performances ↓

Introductory #2 a. We will view Picasso’s Guernica and a. Students will be introduced to art
Performances: #3 interpret it as a class. We will play “the thinking questions and answer them in
#4 elaboration game” as a way to practice whole group
observing details of a piece.
b. Students will be asked to form an
#1 b. We will use the tools we learned to opinion about a piece of art and defend
#2 participate in an art gallery walk, with their opinion through various
#3 teacher prompting, students will respond creative/analytical/historical lenses
#4 to the art.

Guided Inquiry #1 a. We will conduct an experience using a. Teacher will evaluate student notes and
Performances: natural objects to inquire about how light sketches for evidence of acute
affects color. observation in changes in appearance and
symbolism
b. Students will practice using the language
of metaphor to think about and talk about b. Students will present most salient
#2 multiple subjects metaphor they created in whole group.
Teach will collect worksheet
c. Students will begin guided research for
their final opinion paper c. Students will be assessed based on the
effort they put into their research, each
#3 d. Throughout the curriculum, students will day they will have a guided research
#4 practice reading and analyzing art opinion worksheet.
writing d. Students will be assessed based on
evidence of understands, work check-ins.
Culminating #2 a. Publishing Party: Students will share a a. Students will demonstrate clear speaking,
Performances: #4 selected portion of their final essay to able to read their own written work in
read aloud as they stand before their front of a small audience. The audience
painting will as questions and give compliments

#1 b. Student’s will peer edit each other’s b. Students will be paired in most cases
essay high and low and assess each other’s
work with the goal of improving the final
c. Students will turn in their essay as a major product.
grade and option to be published in grade-wide
art magazine.

Skill Strands:
X 1. Formal Observation/Data Collection
✓ 2. Nonfiction Writing
✓ 3. Measurement

X - Major Focus ✓ - Reinforced ● - Unsupported/Required