Yang Thao

Art 133
Unit Paper 1
2/1/17
Unit Paper 1

In the reading Walker (2001), big ideas are power, identity, community, nature, and

conflict that help shaped subjects in curriculum in the past decades. Big ideas work like a body

that form ideas, in which, it helps expanded students artmaking into more than just a simple

picture (Walker, 2001). Franco, Ward, and Unrath argued that there should be set a curriculum

for art in Elementary school. Teachers should embrace students to meaning-making and getting

them more involved into art. Through constructivism, students are able to use their knowledge

through their eyes to think deeper, instead of getting the answers from the teacher (Franco, Ward,

and Unrath, 2015). While teachers write up their lesson plans for the curriculum, theyre likely

organizing their instructions through essential questions (Walker, 2001). Essentials questions

help guide the students to understanding the big idea.

I understand that making a new curriculum and asking everyone to follow it will be a

challenge. Its a challenge because teachers have to go through more work and allow more time

from so little time that they have. When I become a teacher, I want to challenge my students and

myself as a teacher into the following constructivism.

References
Franco, M. J., Ward, A., & Unrath K., (2015). Artmaking as Meaning-Making: A new Model for
preservice Elementary Generalists. Art 133 Elementary School Art Education, 43-48
Walker, S. (2001). Teaching Meaning in Artmaking. Worchester, MA