LESSON PLAN

Teacher Candidate Justin Scherer

School Middle (6-8)

LESSON NUMBER 2
Lesson Title Narrative Art (Discussion)
Length of Class Period 45 min
Approximate Number of Students in Each class 20
Beginning Date for this Lesson
Ending Date for this Lesson

CONTENT STATEMENT – PERCEIVING/KNOWING

1PE Explore how personal experiences, interest, cultural heritage and gender influence an
artist’s style and choice of subject matter.

5PE Examine designed objects and identify the processes and decisions made to produce
them with attention to purpose, aesthetics, social issues and cultural and personal meaning.

CONTENT STATEMENT – PRODUCING/PERFORMING

6PR Demonstrate understanding of visual literacy, illustration and graphic communication.

CONTENT STATEMENT – RESPONDING/REFLECTING

1RE Speculate about an artist’s intentions and message in a work using relevant references to the
work.

3RE Interpret selected artworks and synthesize their interpretations with the interpretations of others.

Performance-based Assessment Objectives

Students will examine narrative works of art and identify the way the art was made and the
message / story the artist is trying to convey.

Students will demonstrate their understanding of visual literacy through the process of taking
apart and analyzing a narrative work of art.

Students will Interpret the meanings behind various narrative artworks and synthesize their
interpretations with the interpretations of others.

Performance-based Assessment Strategies

(attach assessment documents if applicable)
Students will answer a couple questions revolving around a narrative works of art. (They will
write their answers on a loose-leaf piece of paper).

Students will participate in the large class discussion where they will collaborate with one
another to answer the narrative artwork questions I posed earlier. (Students can use their
papers to assist them in the large class discussion, and then drop them off to me at the end of
class).
Academic Language
Vocabulary
Elements of Design: Visual tools used by an artist to create their artwork (E.g. line, shape,
space, form, texture, value, and color).

Narrative: A story (usually consisting of a person, place, and conflict / idea).

Principals of Design: How the artist uses visual tools (Elements) in their art to convey a
message (E.g. contrast, emphasis, balance, movement, pattern, rhythm, and unity).

Storytelling: The process of sharing a narrative with someone else. This can be done through
spoken words, literature, or imagery.

Theme: The big idea behind a given piece.

Visual Culture: a portion of one’s culture, depicted and communicated through imagery.

Additional Language Demands (specific communication task)

The specific communication task for this lesson will come in the form of a large class
discission where the students will work together to brainstorm and answer a couple questions
about a certain narrative artwork.

Accommodations for Special Populations

The student I will be accommodating for comes from ED_6th.pdf. This student has a
tendency to not sit still for extended periods of time. This student also tends to shut down if
they don’t “get it” on their first go around. They also find themselves leaning into anger when
they encounter a tough situation.

PowerPoint:
• Visuals throughout the PowerPoint presentation to make the PowerPoint more visually
enjoyable to sit through.
• Compact the PowerPoint in an easy to understand instructional list (a typed handout)
so the student can follow along and hopefully “get it” after the first explanation.
Assessment:
• This student gets discouraged easily, meaning they may do their best work towards
the beginning rather than the end. (This means potentially adding more weight to the
beginning steps of the project rather than the end).
• Oral assessment (if they get discouraged from doing the written assessment).
Pacing:
• Provide extra time if needed.
• Allow for more relaxed schedule with chances for breaks.

Art/Visual Culture Examples

• https://carriemaeweems.net/galleries/kitchen-table.html – Carrie Mae Weems (Kitchen
Table Series)
• https://www.wikiart.org/en/norman-rockwell – Norman Rockwell
• https://www.michelangelo.org/the-creation-of-adam.jsp – Michelangelo (The Creation
of Adam)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuS5NuXRb5Y – “Eleanor Rigby”
Preparations
Materials/Resources for Teacher
• Overhead projector
• Computer (with access to internet)

Materials for Students

• 30 pages of loose-leaf papers --- for answering the narrative art questions
• 30 pencils (from ARTEZA #2 HB Wood Cased Graphite Pencils, Pack of 96, Bulk)

Safety Procedures
There aren’t any obvious physical safety procedures I can think of. With that being said, I will
give my students a rundown of my expectations for the class discussion. These expectations
will serve as the foundation for a safe and healthy discussion space.

LEARNING ACTIVITY
Getting the Classroom Environment Ready
The classroom will be arranged in the way it is traditionally setup. I will have all of the chairs
angled toward the projector so each student can view the presentation. I will make sure the
PowerPoint is pulled up and ready to present before the students arrive.

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

Day Duration Application Recourse

1 3 min Students will file into the classroom, find their seats, and
get settled in (while I take attendance).

1 2 min Pass out loose-leaf pieces of paper for students to utilize Loose-leaf
during the PowerPoint questions as well as the class paper
discussion.
1 7min Start the PowerPoint presentation. This presentation will Overhead
recap pertinent visual tools (Elements and Principals of Projector
Design). This PowerPoint will also reintroduce the ideas we
explored in relation to narrative artworks (from the last Computer
lesson).

1 10min PowerPoint: I will then show them a narrative artwork by Overhead

Norman Rockwell and teach them how to interpret his work Projector
through visuals.
Computer

1 21min I will then introduce a photo by Carrie Mae Weems, as well Overhead
as a couple questions for the students to explore and Projector
answer on their own.
Computer
Questions:
 1. What do you think the artist was trying to say? Loose-leaf
What makes you say this? (Use the Elements and paper
Principals of Design in your explanation).
2. Do you think they did a good job communicating Pencils
their message / story? Explain your answer!
3. What was your favorite part of this work of art?

I will leave the photo up on the presentation slide. The rest

of the class time will serve as a work period for the
students to answer these questions (applied to the photo
by Carrie Mae Weems).

I will also give them a preview of what we are doing next

class (using these sheets to aid in a large class discussion
about the meaning / narrative behind the photo).

1 2min Students will pack up their in-progress papers and make

sure their spaces are clean before leaving the classroom.

2 3 min Students will file into the classroom, find their seats, and Loose-leaf
get settled in (while I take attendance). This “settling in Papers (in
period” should include them getting out their papers from progress)
the prior day.

2 6min This will serve as additional time for students to refine and Loose-leaf
write down speaking points for the class discussion. Papers (in
progress)
While they are finishing up, I’m going to pull up the Photo
on the projector (that way we can use it as a reference in Overhead
our large class discussion. Projector

Computer

2 29min Large Class Discussion: The students will take turns giving Loose-leaf
their insight into what they think the work means and what Papers
they enjoyed about it. I will continue to direct / redirect the (Finished)
discussion as it goes.

The goal of this discussion is to see students interact with

Carrie Mae Weems’ art in a critical manner. This exercise
should also work to show effective (and not so effective)
ways of constructing narrative imagery.

Throughout the discussion, I will interject and highlight key

visual concepts that will help inform their final collage
project

2 4min I will throw in some closing words to wrap-up the lesson. Overhead
These closing words will encapsulate the main goal of this Projector
discussion (the ability to interact critically with a work of art
 while refining ways in which we will eventually construct Computer
our own narrative imagery). I will also go on to preview the
next lesson (collage narrative).

2 3min Students will pack up, drop off their completed loose-leaf
papers to my desk, and make sure their spaces are clean
before leaving the classroom.

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

The room shouldn’t be that messy since this lesson mainly consists of a PowerPoint
presentation and a large class discussion. With that being said, the same clean-up rules
should be applied where they are needed.

Clean-up Rules: Students are responsible for making sure they are leaving their work area
how they found it (clear of clutter and wiped down). This means that they need to put back
any materials that they have gotten out. Each tool should have a labeled place in the
classroom where it can be returned after use (E.g. pencils will go back in the pencil drawer
and rulers will go back in the ruler drawer).

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

Small overview of next lesson: Next lesson, we will sort through magazines and cut out
images to use in our narrative collages. The goal of this project will be to create our own
narrative collage (one that contains a person, place, and conflict).

Supplemental Activity
If we finish early: Students will continue to use the internet to garner inspiration for their final
collage project.

Teacher reflection focused on the lesson after it has been taught

N/A