The unit will begin with a visit from an ocean expert or marine scientist. Students will watch a presentation about ocean habitats and learn interesting facts about sea creatures. Next, students will explore a variety of books and images of sea creatures to help them determine which creature they will choose for their research project.
Sculpture & Illustration: Landforms
The unit will begin with a visit from a geologist. Students will watch a presentation about both local and national land formations, learn interesting facts, and take notes. Next, students will explore a variety of books and images about landforms and create a list of questions they will research.
LESSON 1: Learning about Landforms
Step 1: What are landforms? Begin by listing some of the critical questions about landforms that students will be exploring. Write these on the board: What is the landform’s core material? How does it change over time? Is it slow or fast? Where is the landform located? Step 2: Critical questions Show images and videos
LESSON 2: Drawing Exercises
Teaching Tip: Provide each student with a field journal at the start of the unit. A field journal reinforces art and science connections while giving students one place in which to keep all their research and drawings. Step 1: Close looking Bring the rocks to the floor and have students sit in a circle. Pass
LESSON 3: Sculpting Landforms
SET UP: Once students are ready for plaster: Each table should be covered with newspaper for collecting plaster. Each table should have a bowl of water for dipping strips. Be sure to keep stash of strips away from the water. If they get wet prematurely, the plaster’s ability to stick is compromised. Step 1: Planning
LESSON 4: Painting and Embellishing Landforms
SET UP: Cover tables with newspaper/plastic. Place 1–2 landforms on each table grouping by color scheme. Put individual paint colors in small containers assigning one color and one brush to each student. Step 1: Painting large areas Plan a color scheme for each of the landforms (e.g., volcano=warm, glacier=cool). Premix a few colors using black and
Lesson Extensions
Landform Poetry Connecting literacy to science and the arts. Have students use their knowledge and understanding of geology and landforms for a creative writing exercise such as a poem. A landform poem would require students to think about the descriptive language outside of the science realm. Have each student compose a 4–6 line poem about
CELEBRATION OF LEARNING
Celebration Suggestions: Community Exhibit Exhibit the landform sculptures and research in the school or community. Put the sculptures alongside the field journals open to the drawing pages for students and community members to flip through. Host a Performance Have students create a poem or movement (see Lesson Extensions above). Have students read their poems about
SCULPTURE & ILLUSTRATION: STANDARDS ADDRESSED
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS corestandards.org Reading Standards for Informational Text: CCSS ELA literacy RI 2.1-2.10 Writing: CCSS ELA literacy W 2.1-2.10 Speaking and Listening: CCSS ELA literacy SL 2.1-10 Vocab Acquisition: CCSS ELA literacy L2.1-10 Math, Measurement and Data: CCSS MATH CONTENT 2MD A 1-4 NATIONAL CORE ART STANDARDS nationalartsstandards.org Anchor Standard 1: Generate and
LESSON 1: Learning About Sea Creatures
Step 1: Creatures that live in the ocean Using videos, books, and images create a list of creatures that live in the Atlantic Ocean. Talk about the different habitats required for the various sea creatures and where those habitats exist (ocean floor, caves, etc.). Students will use this list of sea creatures to choose their research
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