Visual Literacy Lesson Plan

Megan Heinrich

1.) Objective/Goal of the lesson: Why are students learning this? What do they need to do?

● Students will be able to decode underlying historical and social influences that have
shaped both explicit and implicit messages contained in the image.
● Students will discuss the choices they think the artist made in creating the artwork and
the message they think the image is creating.
● Students will evaluate the artwork that is presented based on a variety of criteria
including artistic foundations.
● Students will recognize their responses to art could change depending on the
knowledge of the time and place in which the art was made.

2.) Any art standards you think this lesson hits: Please write out the benchmark(s) you felt
you hit with this lesson. The numbers are optional, but the entire benchmark should be
written out.

The benchmarks I think could belong with this lesson are:

● 5.3.2.4.1 discuss feedback about choices made in creating artwork.
● 5.3.4.8.1 determine messages communicated by an image
● 5.3.4.8.2 evaluate an artwork based on a variety of established criteria, including
artistic foundations.
● 5.3.5.10 recognize that responses to art change depending on knowledge of the time
and place in which it was made.

3.) A list of materials (any art supplies, visuals, art works, etc. that you will need for the
project. Please use a bullet or list format)

● The Alma Sewing painting by Francis Criss

● Paper
● Pencil

4.) The procedure and timing of the activity (Give the step by step structure of how you
will present the lesson. Be sure to write down how long you think each step in the lesson will
take to do. Remember to be very specific in how you will present the material to the
students.)

● Introduction: 2 minutes
○ T: Today we are going to look at the painting Alma Sewing by Francis Criss
○ S: students are listening
○ T: Before we even look at the painting, with raising your hand, what do you
think the painting will be about?
○ S: Students answer what they think the painting will be about
 ● Looking at the painting: 10 minutes
○ T: This is the painting Alma Sewing, take a minute to really look at the
painting. Try to find as much detail as you can in this painting.
○ S: Students take a minute to look at the photo
○ T: With looking at this painting, what is one thing you see, what do you
notice?
○ S: Students discuss what they notice in the painting.
○ T: How does this painting make you feel?
○ S: Students explain how the painting makes them feel.
○ T: What do you think is happening in the painting, what do you see that makes
you say that?
○ S: Students discuss what they think is happening in the painting and then
explain why they think their answer is happening in the painting.
○ T: What elements or principles can you see being used in this painting? Turn
to your neighbor and discuss what you see.
○ S:Students explain what elements of art are being used to their neighbor.
○ T: What is the image trying to tell us? What do you think the artist's message
is? Explain your answer.
○ S: Students talk about what they think the artist’s message is and explain why
they believe that's the artist's message.
● About the artist and artwork: 5 minutes
○ T: Now that we have looked and discussed the painting, let's take a look at the
artist and learn more about the artwork.
○ S: Students listen as the teacher talks about the artist and the artwork they just
looked at.
○ T: Now that we learned about the artist and the painting, did your message
change after learning more about the artist and the artwork?
○ S: Students answer if the message they thought the artist was creating changed
or not.
● Learning Task: 10 minutes
○ T: On a piece of paper write a description about the woman in the painting.
You can write about what you think her job is, a description of what she looks
like, what her most admirable qualities are, etc. Also try to integrate the artist's
message into your paper. You will have the next eight minutes to write your
paper and then in the last two minutes, you will turn to your neighbor and tell
each other what you wrote.
○ S: Students are listening and start working on their papers.

5.) Assessments: How will the students show they learned the material? Remember these
should align with the objectives.

Assessment Objective 1: Observed the image before and after reading about the artist and
the artwork,
Assessment Objective 2 and 4: Discussing as a whole group what they believed the message
was. Discuss after learning about the artist and the artwork if the message they thought the
artist was creating changed or stayed the same. The learning task paper.
Assessment Objective 3: Discuss what elements and principles they see being used by the
artist in the painting.

6.) An explanation of how this activity exercises visual literacy skills and how it could
relate to a larger unit of study: (Look back at our discussion of what makes for a successful
visual literacy activity and explain how each of these characteristics are shown here? What
visual texts does it utilize? What elements/principles are the students exposed to? Write a
brief example/written description of the kind of unit or project that this activity could be a
part of and when you would teach it in the unit.)

Visual literacy allows students to examine an image critically in the context of its creator,
audience, purpose, etc. Using the painting “Alma Sewing" allows students to show different
perspectives to reveal how the image and its ideas have been affected by various factors. The
elements/principles the students are exposed to through this painting are line, color, value,
space, texture, proportion, movement, emphasis, etc. This activity could be a part of a realism
unit and I would teach this lesson either in the middle or towards the end of the unit.