Department of Arts Administration, Education, and Policy

UNIT PLAN OVERVIEW

(Revised 2016)

Teacher Candidate Daniel Higuera

School CAHS
Grade Level 9-12

UNIT TITLE Wire sculpture

Length of Class Period 50 minutes
Approximate Number of Students in Each 25-30
class
Beginning Date for this ​Unit
Ending Date for this ​Unit

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
Critical and Creative Thinking: Students combine and apply artistic and reasoning skills to
imagine, create, realize and refine artworks in conventional and innovative ways.

PROGRESS POINTS

B. Draw on a variety of sources to generate, select and evaluate ideas to create personally
meaningful products.

CRITICAL ISSUE / BIG IDEA

Anticipatory Set​ (what do the students already know, why is this lesson relevant?)
The students should know basics of cutting paper with scissors, and should be somewhat
familiar with x-acto blades. They have been practicing building shape 3 dimensionally, and
should have some basic skill on how to construct volume. These students are in a more
advanced art class and they should have basic sketching and research skills. This lesson is
relevant because it is taking prior knowledge that they have and challenging them to further
develop their abilities to develop art in a different media.
Central Focus ​(creating, presenting, interpreting, responding, and/or relating art to context)
In this unit we will be working our way up to building a paper and wire sculpture that the
students can place on their heads. On the way we will work on building basic shapes, and
sketching ideas for the final product. We will do a small critique at the end of the project to
show off everyones headpieces.
Essential Questions ​(provocative, engaging, critical)
What is sculpture?
What is a head piece?
how can we construct shape?
How do we make the materials work together?
what materials would be best for this?
Possible Integration
A possible integration could be a biology class, where organic shapes have an opportunity to
meet art.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ESSENTIAL EDUCATIONAL CONTENT OF THIS UNIT

Lesson One
Title Basic building
Lesson Description The students will decide on a couple basic shapes of their choice to
construct from paper and wire. These shapes should be 3d.

Lesson Two
Title sketches and research
Lesson Description The students will do research on head pieces that they
Lesson Three
Title Head piece
Lesson Description Here the students will construct a head piece made from paper and wire.
The pieces will draw inspiration from different sources that they research.

Explain how technology has been used in this unit

The students will use the internet on the school computers for research in lesson 2.
 LESSON PLAN

Teacher Candidate Daniel Higuera

School CAHS
Grade Level 9-12

LESSON NUMBER 1
Lesson Title Basic shapes
Length of Class Period 50 minutes
Approximate Number of Students in Each
25-30
class
Beginning Date for this ​Lesson
Ending Date for this ​Lesson

CONTENT STATEMENT – PERCEIVING/KNOWING

2PE Identify and describe the sources artists use for visual reference and to
generate ideas for artworks.

CONTENT STATEMENT – PRODUCING/PERFORMING

1PR Demonstrate basic technical skill and craftsmanship with various art media when creating
images from observation, memory and imagination

CONTENT STATEMENT – RESPONDING/REFLECTING

3RE Use appropriate vocabulary to define and describe techniques and materials used to
create works of art.

Performance-based Assessment Objectives

The students will demonstrate basic skill and craftsmanship by creating 2 3-d shapes.
Performance-based Assessment Strategies
(attach assessment documents if applicable)
The students make 2 3-d paper and wire sculptures

Academic Language
Vocabulary
Volume- When shape has width, height, and length to it.
Essential shapes- Shapes that are in most organic structures in life ( spheres, pyramids,
cylinders.. etc)
Additional Language Demands ​(​specific​ speaking or writing activity)
The students will be asked to sketch and write about how they plan to construct this general
shape.
Accommodations for Special Populations
more time will be given to students that need it. Also for any students with fine motor
complications we can use a different gauge wire for them to handle with more ease.

Art/Visual Culture Examples

Preparations
Materials/Resources for Teacher
Paper
Wire
Glue
Joint wire
scissors
x-acto blades
Presentation
Materials for Students
Paper
Wire
Glue
scissors
x-acto blades
Joint wire
Safety Procedures
This project has a lot of tools and materials that could be misused and accidentally hurt one of
the students, so i will be very diligent in talking about how serious the materials are. The
students should handle scissors, pliers, and x-acto knives with care.

LEARNING ACTIVITY
Getting the Classroom Environment Ready
there will be 7 tables set up with around 4 to 5 students per table. At each table we will have a
bin of pliers and wire cutters. There is a wire station set up at the front of the room, and we will
have a paper and glue station set up in the middle of the room.

Procedures for the Teaching/Learning Structure​ (​indicate approximate time for each step)​

Day Duration Application Resources

1 20 minutes Introduce the lesson google images

and give a demo on YouTube
how to bend wire.

1 20 minutes Let the students work

on their wire
sculptures for this
amount of time

1 10 minutes clean up time

2 10 minutes remind the students

of the assignment
and refresh their
knowledge checking
for comprehension

2 30 minutes let the students finish

the wire part of the
sculpting

2 10 minutes the students should

be cleaning up at this
point.

3 10 minutes quick demo on how

to adhere the paper
onto the wire.
 3 30 minutes let the students finish
their projects

3 10 minutes clean up and let the

students know what
they will be doing
next.

Clean-up Procedures​ (Room, Materials & Work Storage)

This clean up should take 5-10 minutes. There are bins for different wire, and tools. The
students should return everything in their proper boxes and wash brushes if they have used it
for gluing.

Closure, Review & Anticipation​ (what’s next?)

The next project will build upon this one, so just reviewing the basic techniques is important.

Supplemental Activity
Students have an ongoing sketchbook assignment that they can work on if they finish quickly.

Teacher reflection focused on the lesson ​after​ it has been taught

This project ended up taking way longer than I thought it would. I think when introducing a new media
to Students it is a safe guess to say that they’ll take their time getting to know the media.