TIME: Two hours - spread over four 30-minute class periods.
CONTENT: Reading and Art
GRADE LEVEL: First Grade
MATERIALS:
- word wall
- word bank
- alphabetized elementary sight word list
- dictionary
- map of the United States
- colors
- markers
- white drawing paper
- poem : "The Swing" by Robert Louis Stevenson
- basal story: "The Story of a Blue Bird"
- pictures of various sites
- habitats
- types of terrain in the United States
- writing rubric (attached)
- art rubric (attached)
INTRODUCTION/PREPARATION/ANTICIPATORY SET:
The teacher reviews the story "The Story of a Blue Bird," and guides a discussion of the path of the blue bird across the United States. Students are told that they are going to go on an imaginary journey, and will be flying all across the United States. They will have to describe different sites, habitats, or terrain they see as they fly. They will work in groups using art and visual imagery to create a mural of their journey across the United States. ACTIVITY:
The teacher asks students to close their eyes, use their imaginations, and pay close attention to the details as the teacher reads "The Swing" by Robert Louis Stevenson. The teacher reads the poem, asks the students to recall details and descriptive words used in the poem, then leads a discussion of how riding a swing and flying like a bird are similar and different.
The teacher divides the students into 4 or 5 groups, and tells the students to imagine they are birds. Each group is given a card listing a different habitat, site or type of terrain in the United States. Students in each group will have to describe where they would fly and what sites they might see on their journey. The group description will be in written format.
Working together, the students in each group will create a drawing of the place they are describing. The teacher leads a discussion on cool and warm colors, geometric shapes, curvilinear and straight lines -- and how to use these elements in their drawings. Once completed, the displayed drawings create a mural of the students' journey across the United States. EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:
FORMATIVE: Observations and monitoring will be conducted throughout the lesson. Students write a rough draft of the description of their journey. The teacher guides each group to make needed corrections to the written draft and to match the written description with the group drawing.
SUMMATIVE: The final draft of the writing is assessed using the attached writing rubric. The completed art project is assessed with the attached art rubric. ART CONTENT/CONCEPTS:
Art elements in this lesson include: color - warm and cool colors; line - rectilinear and curvilinear; shape - geometric; and texture. Students will use different colors, lines, shapes and textures to create a mural to describe the habitats, sites and different types of terrain encountered during a bird's journey across the United States. Students will have to orally describe the colors (warm and/or cool), types of lines (curvilinear, straight/rectilinear) and shapes (rectilinear) used in their drawings. The completed art project will project the bird's journey from Bayou Lafourche across the U.S. The written description will be placed at the bottom of each group's drawing.
GRADE
LEVEL EXPECTATIONS (GLEs), AND STANDARDS/BENCHMARKS:
Louisiana First Grade GLEs:
Reading
14 Retell a story’s beginning, middle and end (ELA-1-E5)
16 Compare similarities/differences between events in a story (ELA-1-E6)
Writing
27 Use specific action and descriptive words in writing (ELA-2-E2)
28 Participate in group writing activities and processes including
28a Brainstorming
28b Planning using a graphic organizer
28c Writing a first draft using complete sentences
28d Conferencing with teacher/peers about how to improve writing/incorporate
ideas;
28e Revising/editing own writing in first draft
28f – Creating individual and class-written texts for publication
(ELA-2-E3)
Writing/Proofreading
32 Write legibly (ELA-3-E1)
33b Use punctuation: periods, exclamation points, question marks at end of sentences
(ELA-3-E2)
34 Capitalize first word of sentence, names of people, pronoun “I”,
and names of months and days (ELA-3-E2)
37 Distinguish between complete and incomplete sentence (ELA-3-E3)
42d Spell unfamiliar words using various phonics strategies: word wall ((ELA-3-E5)
Use a beginner’s dictionary to verify spelling (ELA-3-E5)
Speaking and Listening
49a Retell stories with: sequential order using story vocabulary (ELA-4-E3)
49b Retell stories: descriptive words (ELA-4-E3)
Social Living
6 Identify Earth’s various physical features
Louisiana Standards/Benchmarks, Grades K-4
English/Language Arts
ELA-2-E4 Independently write a variety of grade-appropriate compositions,
simple letters, notes, and stories (focus on stories)
Geography
G-1A-E1 Describe the characteristics of a globe and compare its representation
to a flat map.
G-1A-E2 Locate Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River on
a map of the United States
G-1B-E1 Identify Earth’s various physical features (e.g., oceans, islands,
mountains, rivers)
Louisiana Arts Content Standards Benchmarks – Visual Arts:
VA-CE-E1 Explore and identify imagery from a variety of sources and create
visual representations
VA-CE-E3 Use art vocabulary and the elements and principles of design
to convey the language of art (create and discuss own artwork)
VA-CE-E5 Draw on imagination, individual experience, and group activities
to generate ideas for visual expression
MODIFICATIONS/ACCOMODATIONS:
Directions will be repeated often and as needed. Group membership will be mixed to reflect the various performance levels of students in the class. Peer assistance will be utilized. Story starter words and an elementary alphabetical sight word list will be provided for those students having difficulty. Some students may need the use of a class word wall and/or their word bank. Reference materials such as maps and dictionaries will be used. Pictures of various sites, habitats, regions and types of terrain in the United States will be available. Various art materials will be provided. Students will be allowed to choose which materials they wish to use to illustrate their journey. A paraprofessional will assist students who need additional help.
TEACHER'S REFLECTIONS:
- Students quickly became excited about this project, and were eager to begin.
- The lesson had to be adjusted to stay within the planned time frame. I presented the following concepts: warm and cool colors, curvilinear and rectilinear lines, and geometric shapes. The concept of texture was dropped.
- There is so much more that I could bring to this lesson. I was able to integrate geography by having students pretend to be blue jays and fly over the states to describe what they saw. We looked at a map and pictures from different states, sites and habitats in the United States. The students were able to point out and create pictures that included the art concepts taught. They were able to orally describe their art. As a group they wrote about what they imagined they would see if they could fly over the sites.
- The use of the rubrics was effective. Students were able to use the art rubric themselves to check off the elements of art contained in their drawings, and to use the writing rubric to check their writing, as well as the writing of their peers.
- Overall, the lesson went well. There is so much that art brings to a lesson. I observed those students who usually have difficulty with reading, freely contribute to this project. Art is the area they feel more comfortable with.
GALLERY
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