Lesson Planning

Here is an outline of a lesson plan incorporating the visual arts and literacy.

Aim- To be able to verbally describe a short story and interpret the story into a visual representation in the style of Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens.

Performance-based objectives- Students will develop knowledge about the artist and his techniques. They will then demonstrate this by writing a short story and interpreting it in a piece of artwork.

Grouping- This assignment is individual instruction. A single teacher is to work with the whole class and any one on one time needed by a student.

Prior knowledge/Motivation- Past art techniques will be used, whether painting, water color, colored pencils, pastels, etc. Their writing skills will come into play when they write a short story.

Instructional Materials and Texts- Students will get a verbal explanation of the assignment. The teacher will then show examples of work so students can see what is expected. Any art materials can be used as desired by the student.

Procedure or Mode of Instruction- Students will be shown multiple works of art by Peter Paul Rubens. What can you tell me about what you see? Do you think a story is trying to be told? Are the works realistic? Unrealistic? The class will then get a short lesson on Rubens and his Baroque style of art. They will also learn about allegories and be asked to write a short story. They can be from part of a favorite book or movie or your very own. The students will then be asked to interpret their story on paper in pencil. After the teacher discusses the idea with each student can they continue to bring their art to life.

Summary/Application- The students will walk away with the knowledge that every piece of art can have a story behind it. They will also understand that a piece of art can have many different points of views, depending on who is looking at it.

Self-Assessment of Teaching- Depending on student’s work and their personal opinions, the lesson will be successful or not. The lesson can be reworked to help the student better understand it and the assignment.

 

Assignment- Students will go home and find an appropriate piece of work. It can be a painting, drawing, photograph, etc. They will then look at the piece and interpret what story the piece is trying to tell. They will write a short story to hand into class at the next meeting.

Texting

I believe that teaching children about using technology safely is partly the responsibility of parents but also the school. Parents are the ones that provide cells phones for their children. They should be responsible in telling their children how they use their phones and what they need to be used for. Some parents let their children do as they please while others set strict rules on only using phones for emergencies. Schools also enforce no cell phones in school. Obviously children still bring them, but the point is not to use them in school and be distracted. Schools also need to teach children the repercussions of sending things like sexts or inappropriate pictures. These things are basically like rumors. They get passed around from student to student and someone always gets hurts. In some cases, it goes too far like with the 13-year-old girl committing suicide. Being smart comes in to play here. By this I mean using the life skills you learn and using them in your everyday life. Being smart means having the sense to either not get involved in sexting or ignoring it if its sent to you. Besides that, parents need to set rules and  guidelines for the children's phones and monitor their behavior to make sure they are being safe and being smart.

Fair Use?

Fair use is limited use of any copyrighted material without needing the permission from the rights holder. Many of these items that are fair use are to be used in educational ways. Renting a movie and playing it for the class because it's the end of the week and relaxing does not count as fair use. But if you show that same movie because it correlates to something you are teaching, then it is fair use. 

Using fair use in education is very difficult. You need to know the boundaries of what you use, but reading about copyright laws makes it even more difficult to understand. There are loopholes and all different types of ways to get around things, or not. I think that as an educator, you need to let your students understand that what they use is for instruction and education.

With my background in graphic design, the subject of copyright comes up quite often. I remember as an undergrad, we were allowed to use images from the Internet. But the professor always reminded us that since we were students, we were using it for instruction, and that it was okay. But once we decided to take that work public, we needed to get permission.

Copyright laws are a difficult topic, with many different rules and regulations.

Technology Integration Matrix

Looking at the Technology Integration Matrix, I decided to go with the Collaborative Learning, Transformation Level. This activity helps students design, publish and present their work using technology and to share and  collaborate with peers and others using the Internet. This activity is reflected many times in the NETS for Teachers, especially in 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning. It refers to 

a.	demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
b.	collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.
c.	communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.

I believe that I am currently at the Infusion level. I feel like I can reach the Transformation level once I begin teaching and learning how to better apply technologies to the classroom.

Are mistakes okay?

I believe 21^st Century Skills are the key for the future. I think children need to learn more of these skills to be able to deal with the future. No one know what things will be like in even five years, but I think if children learn how to use these skills more, they will definitely be more well prepared.

In the first article, Critical Thinking? You Need Knowledge, the author wrote how school had a similar curriculum using 21^st Century Skills, starting in the 1910s. The author stated how many methods were tried but none stuck around. But he does say they had an impact. I think this shows these skills need to be taught in schools today. The movements in the 1900s that were tried changed the entire curriculum to these skills, but educators today only want to add them into the curriculum already had in schools. These means teachers are trying to teach these 21^st century skills in subjects like math and science, and not take out the subjects completely.

I believe any teacher can use the 21^st century skills in their own classroom and adapt it to what needs to be taught, using real life examples and introducing problems and projects that require a group to work on, using their minds for solutions and collaborating.

Whatever the future holds, these skills will always stay with the children without them realizing. They will have an advantage over others in the future. I like how the article, School’s Tap 21st Century Skills, says we need to blend the world of academia and the real world, and not just use one or the other.

I also believe there is room in schools for creativity. Ken Robinson said there is less of it in schools, how they teach children not to make mistakes. But I believe it is okay to make mistakes. I never felt this way as a child or growing up. Even today I need to remind myself of this. But I know as a teacher I would want, need, to instill that in all the students. Mistakes do not mean you are stupid or wrong, it just means you need to try again. And it is better to try again than to give up. I think other creative things can be introduced into a classroom like playing music as students walk in and settle down. Or if it is a long class, to have a minute dance to get the students energy level up. Small things like this, I think, can help students keep more interested and paying attention. Most importantly, it is okay to make mistakes.

Back To School Night Audio

Posting a presentation with audio for parents who cannot attend back to school night is such a great idea. I know that when I was in school, my parents were never able to make it because of their work schedules. I think this will help parents feel like they can be apart of their child's schooling, even if they cannot make it to every meetings. This can even be done for other subjects, where teachers can explain a math problem or a scientific concept using pictures and audio which can then also we watched by the students again, and the parents.

Back to School Night

I feel that I would be able to use this technology in the classroom to show examples of work, including talking points for myself and also important information about the art work. I would be able to use this to post techniques used in the class, most likely as a video. Then students could see it from home if they needed the extra help. Presentations like this could also help parents see what their children are learning and be able to help them. Posting the assignments would also benefit students and parents so the information if always there from home if they need it.