6th Grade Art History
In this Literature/Art elective students study the major movements in Art history, from cave art to modernism. To create this curriculum I called on texts like the Annotated Mona Lisa and Gardner's Art through the Ages, as well as the standards set for by the National Art Educators Association. Students viewed documentary clips, museum websites, and artist blogs. They learned the two-column system of notes and wrote a paragraph for each time period, as well as a culiminating five-paragraph essay exploring the essential question:
Why do humans make art?
Throughout the quarter their main project was to create their own timelines, with replicas or variations on masterpieces from around the world. We also had multiple "breakout" studio days, in which they made separate, stand alone 2- and 3-D projects to experiment with the Elements and Principals of Art.
We hope you enjoy viewing their work!
Edible Louvre Sculptures!
Before beginning our timeline journey we visited the website for the Louvre Museum, in Paris. We viewed masterpieces from their collection and peeked into their vaults via an interactive online story. Then we explored how the glass pyramid outside Louvre harkens to structures of the past. To experience a mini-engineering feat, we tried building our own structures using toothpicks, marshmallows and grapes! Then, of course, we ate them.
Ms. Jones' Timeline Project:
Making the Timelines!
For most of the quarter we spent our time studying and making art from the major periods of art history around the world. Students had autonomy in which images they chose to study for most periods, and many helped eachother to draw upon eachother's skills and talents. It was a blast!
Timeline Gallery
The next 11 sections show work from the students' timelines in chronological order beginning with Cave Art. Each gallery collection can be enlarged by clicking on individual photos. Enjoy!
Cave Art
Egyptian Art
Greek Art
Medieval Art
Renaissance Art
Australian Aboriginal Art
Native American Art
Impressionism 
Dada & Surrealism
Abstract Expressionism
Pop Art!
Timeline Construction
As the project wraps up, students are responsible for constructing backgrounds for their timelines and assigning each time period an appropriate heading and paragraph, using their notes. Team work and sharing are essential components of this task.
Timeline Project:
Final Critique!
Once the timelines are finished each quarter, I put them on display in the hallway, either in a case or on a bulletin board, so that we can hold our final critique. We add final comments and notes to our initial graphic organizer on art (Why, Who, What, How) and students can offer compliments and observations on one another's work. Good classes are allowed to bring a treat to class as contemporary gallery artists might do for receptions!
Timeline Essay
The culminating assignment upon completion of the timeline is a five paragraph essay returning to our essential question:
Why do humans make art?
To begin the essay we survey our notes on each major time period, noting common themes. Then we use the two-column note system to organize our observations into and outline with three main categories, such as spirituality, new ideas, and beauty. In this way, we can write a solid three-part thesis statement to guide our body paragraphs, which mirror these three categories and expound on them with supporting evidence. Finally, we write our introductions and conclusions, calling on personal experience and general thoughts on art. Over the next week we hand write a first draft of the essay, using our outline for scaffolding, then finetune the essays in the computer lab. It's a lot of work, but so gratifying for the students to see all their new knowledge come together!
Studio Sessions
Throughout the quarter we have "breakout" studio sessions in which we temporarily step aside from the timeline project to explore the Elements of Art and Principles of Design. These hands-on projects include CD weaving color studies, "stained glass" Mondrian sun catchers, multi-media sculptures and line drawings, all documented in the sections below.
Kandinsky CD Weavings
Wasily Kandinsky, "Color Study: Squares with Concentric Circles," 1913.
For this lesson, we looked at work by modern abstract artist, Wassily Kandinsky, who had a neurological phenomenon called synaesthesia, which meant that he not only saw colors but heard them! His words served as inspiration for our own color studies:
“I applied streaks and blobs of colours onto the canvas ... and I made them sing with all the intensity I could….”
For our own color study, we used vibrant yarn of various textures and made looms of used CDs. We then hung the discs on a hot pink backdrop to make the colors really "pop." Students loved weaving so much that the CDs became an ongoing project-- a great activity for those who finished other assignments early.
Mondrian Sun Catchers
One of the questions often asked during our class is: "Is it art?" In this studio session we studied the work of Piet Mondrian, who began by observing natural forms such as trees and flowers and later reduced his representations grids reflecting only the most principal of elements-- straight lines and primary colors. For our studio project we constructed frames from popsicle sticks, which we then painted black and carefully filled in with colored tissue paper. Our collective work created a beautiful "stained" glass effect in the classroom window.
Mondrian, "Composition in Red, Blue and Yellow," 1920, MoMA, NY.
Line, Color, Shadow:
Multi-media Sculptures
To continue our hands-on exploration of the Principals and Elements of Art, we had a one-day studio project with salt dough, wire, pipe cleaners and beads. Students were invited to "play" with their materials as they worked, experimenting with how a 2-D line can become a 3-D shape. The next day we then took our final products one step further by arranging them in a miniature sculpture garden beneath spot lights to see how shadow adds yet another dimension to the physical experience of art.
Line Drawings
At the end of the quarter, after studying the major movements of art, we viewed line drawings by Picasso, Warhol, and Giacometti. Students then got to attempt blind contour drawings of eachother, continuous line drawings of their hands, and line studies of their shoes. Here are their studies of footwear!
Native American Heritage Month
In November, our district celebrates the diverse traditions of tribes represented on our reservation. We began by studying the history and craft of mocassins across North America. We took two-column notes, wrote carefully constructed paragraphs, and then decorated our own! In the photos below you can see the students' traditional and non-traditional designs representing the Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreille tribes, as well as patterns from the Crow, Cheyenne, Ojibwe, Sioux, Navajo, and Inuit.
