Big Idea Unit Project

Karen Kreutz
The frst grade students were not satisfed merely to dictate their story. They insisted that they write it too. They behaved as though a new world had opened up to them. And it had. These students were no longer restricted from crafting their worlds in words. Pazienza, Teaching Art History to Children. As we sat with our ears glued to the speaker, we saw characters, places and actions which now seem richer and more vivid than those that the camera captures on videotape or flm. Wilson, Hurwitz & Wilson, From Verbal to Visual, Making Drawings From Words.

Personal Teaching Statement

A Rationale for Art Education
I believe that art education is an important part of a child's development physically, mentally, and socially. Practicing and learning the basics of drawing at a young age helps develop hand-eye coordination and gives parents and teachers a starting point of understanding their child's place in the stages of development. If a child is having difficulty being able to draw a line from one point to another, there may be an underlying developmental issue that needs special attention. More traditionally in the past of art education, art's primary focus has been on expressing one's feelings and emotions. Even though we as art educators have moved on from this rationale, it still remains an important part of art to me. Without being able to connect of feel any emotions about a work, children become detached and lose interest quickly in their project at hand. Being able to connect personal expression to society around them, students will be able to find their own place within their culture, country, and world. For me, art education should be about learning about one's self and others; both our differences and our similarities. Multicultural education is a great means to be able to teach children about these differences and similarities, but it must be done in a sensitive and careful manner. Simply teaching about different cultures that are no your own is not enough, especially considering the level of othering that can occur in multicultural education. Different cultures are often portrayed in a narrow vision, which does nothing for the exposure of that culture except perpetuate stereotypes. Multicultural education can also other different cultures by not teaching them along with western cultures. By primarily focusing on western traditions in art, and then having a quick lesson to the side about multicultural art, it is not only grouping all art that is not western into the same category, but it is furthering the gap between these traditions in the minds of students. As Ballengee-Morris & Stuhr explained, Education is part of cultural experience; therefore, it cannot be reduced to disciplinary parameters but should include issues of power, history, and self-identity. ( Ballengee-Morris, C., & Stuhr, P., 2001). Art education should be inclusive. By teaching with big ideas, a more inclusive method of multicultural education can be born. Instead of teaching art by culture, art can be taught by concepts that relate to many or all cultures. Children will be able to learn about themselves by learning about others, and learn about others by learning about themselves.

Personal Teaching Statement

A Teaching Philosophy
In my own personal opinion, I believe that the most exciting part about art education is that there is such a vast array of methods that art instruction and learning can occur. Just as there are endless topics and ideas that can be taught in an art classroom, there are just as many methods for them to be taught. What works for one class may not work for another class. This makes art education even more difficult to teach, but I believe that that challenge is what makes the subject matter so unique. I believe that art education should be taught to be inclusive both in subject matter and for the students. To making learning more inclusive, I would create my lesson plans around big ideas or central themes. By teaching in units instead of fragmented lessons, students will be required to build off of and reference their previous lessons instead of learning a new subject and never going back to it again. Big ideas also help make teaching multicultural education a lot less biased and easier to include without stereotyping and othering. To make learning more inclusive for students, I feel that in early grades such as elementary school, the primary goal of lessons should not be about finalized products. If a student is not as traditionally gifted at drawing as a peer, they may become frustrated and lose interest in art. Art classes should be about experimenting with media, and learning about how they can explore a big idea through art creation, discussion, and history. I feel that art education needs to break away from the idea that the only purpose of art classes in elementary school is for art production. Art lessons give a great starting point to help children learn about talking about their own creations, discuss and critique other's creations, and be able to rationalize in word why they made the creative decisions that they did in their process of production. In my ideal classroom, I would organize my year's units in a order of progression from units that relate to a personal or individual level, and slowly work our way out to bigger cultural or global units as Students require a conceptual framework to provide the required connections between cases and to guide continuous art learning (Stewart, M., & Walker, S., 2005). Actual art making lessons would be as open ended as possible, leaving room for creativity and growth. I would try to let individual students choose what media they wish to use on their projects, hoping that they would be able to tell me why watercolors would be more effective for their drawing over crayons.

Personal Teaching Statement

A Teaching Philosophy
I would want to hold accountability to my students so they realize that they are an actual part of the art making process, and that they are not simply doing a project because I told them to. As Stewart and Walker stated, It's the connections that students make between bites of knowledge that develop deeper understanding and avoid the pitfall of simply piling up more and more facts. (Stewart, M., & Walker, S., 2005) I still am unsure about many ways to actually implement many of my ideas, but I am looking forward to getting into a classroom next year for my student teaching to be able to work with children and find out which methods are the most productive and effective in teaching elementary school students art.

Stewart, M., & Walker, S. (2005). Rethinking curriculum in art. Worchester, MA: Davis Publications. Ballengee-Morris, C., Stuhr, P. (2001). Multicultural Art and Visual Cultural Education in a Changing Education, 54(4), 6-13. World. Art

Description of the Educational Setting Where the Big Idea Unit will be Taught
Old Union Elementary School is located in Southlake, Texas. It serves kindergarten through fourth grade and has a total of 488 students. Southlake is a wealthy suburb in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, which was named the most affluent neighborhood in the United States based on the average median household income in 2008. In the 2000 US Census, roughly 95% of the population in Southlake was white. All of the schools in the Carroll Independent School District have an Exemplary rating by the Texas Education Agency. All of the schools in the district also have the mascot of the Dragons, and it is something that the entire community takes pride in. Driving around the city you see endless amounts of cars with dragon stickers, license frames, and license plates. Stores sell Dragon merchandise, and even people without children will wear articles of clothing in support of the high school's football team. In the surrounding cities, Southlake is often the butt of many jokes because of their school pride and their multi-million dollar homes being built next door to double wide trailers that refuse to sell their land. The city is supportive of the arts, and as you drive around Southlake, you can witness examples of the public art event Southlake Stampede! that was created in 2006 to celebrate Southlake's 50th anniversary, where artists, students, and sponsors painted large, life size statues of longhorns and placed publicly throughout the city. The longhorns were then auctioned off to help raise money for public art funds in Southlake as well as to fund art education in Southlake schools. The particular class that I choose to focus this big idea unit on is a third grade class with 22 students in it. The classroom is large, with 6 tables placed around the room with 4 chairs each. In the center of the room, 6 more tables are placed together to create a large table where supplies can be placed, or students can go to if they need more room, or need to get a better look at the board. A smartboard is placed at the front of the room where I can show powerpoints, draw, and show videos to the class. The children themselves seem interested in the art class overall, with one or two students who seem to struggle creating drawings that look as well drawn as some of their peers, and it reflects on their attitude towards the class. The teachers at the school seem to have a good relationship with the art teacher, but I feel a bit unsure of whether or not they would actually teach collaboratively with the art class. The school's main hallway is devoted to placing the students art on display for the rest of the school and visitors to see.

The Big Idea

Dreams and Stories

Identifying the Big Idea Unit

The big idea for this unit is Dreams and Stories. This is an introductory unit which connects individual students to their classmates by telling stories and seeing the relationships between each other's dreams. Through observing my school, and living next to its community, I feel that the students may need to be exposed to curriculum that connects them back to the world around them, as they hold a very privileged and high view of themselves. I believe that by learning and discussing the similarities of one's dreams with others, children will have a starting point to be able to recognize the fact that they are the same as many of the people they felt they were different from. Students will also be able to learn more about themselves through analyzing their dreams and adapting their dreams to written stories.

Rationale for This Big Idea Unit

This is a unit that is not constrained by any social or economical boundaries, and can be taught at any school. Both dreams and storytelling are found in all cultures around the world, so it is a great starting point as an introductory unit to show children the commonalities and similarities between all humans. Students will learn how to keep a dream journal, talk about their dreams, write stories based on their interpretations of their dreams, and work in groups to be able to collaborate in coming up with a unique story based on multiple children's ideas. It is important for this unit to be taught as it gives students a means to be able to learn how to write, tell stories, make judgements, and it helps children make connections between their peers.

Description/Rationale for Each of the 5 Lessons

Lesson 1: What Are Your Dreams? Description/Rationale for Lesson 1: Have each student answer the question What are dreams? and start a class discussion on dreams. Explain biological importance of sleep and sleep cycles. Have each student create a dream journal and instruct them on how to fll it out over the course of the unit. (2 class sessions) Lesson 2: Dream Analysis Description/Rationale for Lesson 2: Students will learn about the theories of dream analysis. Using The Children's Dream Dictionary, students will interpret their dreams that they have recorded in their dream journals and write an explanation of what their dream meant. (1 class session) Lesson 3: Dream Illustrations Description/Rationale for Lesson 3: Each student will work on a 12 x 18 illustration based on a thematic scene from their dreams; utilize their dream journals; class discussion about recurring themes in each others' works. (4 class sessions) Lesson 4: Collaborative Dreamlike Stories Description/Rationale for Lesson 4: Based upon themes found in the Lesson 3 discussion, students get into groups of 4-5. As a group, students will construct an order of events based upon each of their dream illustrations. They will then come up with and write down a story that includes all of their dream illustrations, and arrange their illustrations in order to be presented. (2 class sessions) Lesson 5: Class Critique/Discussion/Response to the students Dreamlike Stories. Description/Rationale for Lesson 5: Groups present their collaborative dream stories and illustrations to the class. The class asks each group questions. Once all groups have gone, the class will be posed the original question from lesson 1, What are dreams? As a class, they will discuss how their conceptions of dreams have changed over the course of the unit. (1-2 class sessions)

Statements about Units that Come Directly Before and Directly After this Big Idea Unit
Introduction
At the beginning of the year, an introductory unit will get the students back into the swing of school while also getting students to know one another and making art about themselves.

When I Grow Up
The unit emerges from the study of dreams in looking at what the children's aspirations or dreams are for their future.

Verbal Language Repository

Dictionary Definition
1: a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep 2: an experience of waking life having the characteristics of a dream: as a : a visionary creation of the imagination b : a state of mind marked by abstraction or release from reality c : an object seen in a dreamlike state 3: something notable for its beauty, excellence, or enjoyable quality 4 a: a strongly desired goal or purpose b : something that fully satisfies a wish

Antonyms
actuality, fact, reality, means, method, way

Synonyms
chimera, conceit, daydream, delusion, dream, fancy, figment, hallucination, illusion, nonentity, phantasm(also fantasm), pipe dream, unreality, vision, aim, ambition, aspiration, bourne (also bourn), design, dream, end, idea, ideal, intent, intention, mark, meaning, object, objective, plan, point, pretension, purpose, target, thing

Sleep apnea, night terrors, lucid dreaming, neurological disorders, insomnia, sleeping aids, sleeping aid addictions, Freud's dream interpretations

Social Issues

Verbal Language Repository

Quotes

"For in dreams, we enter a world that is entirely our own. Let him swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud." - Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real? Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one. John Lennon People think dreams aren't real just because they aren't made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes. Neil Gaiman I dream my painting and I paint my dream. Vincent van Gogh

Verbal Language Repository

Books
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Dream by Stan and Jan Berenstain The Dream Stealer by Stephen Cosgrove There's A Nightmare In My Closet by Mercer Mayer Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Movies

Songs

Finding Neverland (2004) Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007) Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) Dumbo (1941)

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These), Eurythmics Katy Perry's Teenage Dream Dream Weaver - Gary Wright

Verbal Language Repository

I believe that Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland, along with the multitude of movies and shows based off of the original stories express my big idea of dreams and stories, as they utilize such a great narrative along with fantastical imagery, to the point that a smiling vanishing cat, flamingos as croquet mallets, and painting roses red almost seem completely familiar. I believe these stories accurately portray the idea that I want my students to learn how to do, which is take the completely bizarre happenings of dreams, and create a narrative that makes the imagery make sense.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

For some children, dreams are a means of escaping the problems of their real world. For a child who experiences fighting at home, or are bullied at school, dreams are an escape. Max is a character that kids can relate to, as he escapes to his dreams where he images amazing beasts, and he is their king. Not only is this book a famous childhood favorite, it exemplifies an illustrative narrative, as it is a book with extremely few words.

The 2004 movie Finding Neverland is an excellent example of dreams and story telling. It is a semiautobiography about J.M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan. The movie goes into many dreamlike sequences where the characters imagine they are the characters that Barrie is writing. I believe that this relates to my big idea in that imagination is being used to make sense of nonsensical things like dream imagery, and to then go on and write a story about these images and ideas.

Finding Neverland (2004)

Visual Language Repository

Beds, Dream Water, sleep aids, dream catchers, dream dictionaries, dream bubbles in cartoon and comics, eye masks

A nighttime sleep aid to help those who have trouble falling to sleep at night. Dream catchers are an extremely popular Native American image in relation to dreams. The idea is that you hang a dream catcher about you while you sleep, and as you sleep, the dream catcher will filter out any bad dreams that you may have throughout the night. One of many dream dictionaries that you can use to try and interpret what you dreams may mean subconsciously. While the validity of whether or not dream interpretation is truthful at all, it can be fun to do and it helps give children a starting point to be able to come up with a story about their dreams out of nothing.

Visual Language Repository

Redon's drawings remind me of Stephen Gammell's illustrations in the children's books Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. The drawing is unsettling, channeling not happy dreamlike imagery, but nightmares. I feel that his drawings accurately represent dream imagery.

Odilon Redon, Cactus Man, 1881

in Munich-Schwabing, 2004 Borofsky's sculpture of a man walking is a great example of non-painting media in work. This surreal form, standing as tall as a building, breaks one's perceptions of what is real and what isn't real. This questioning is crucial in my big idea dealing with dreams and storytelling.

Jonathan Borofsky, Walking man

Visual Language Repository

Pierre-Ccile Puvis de Chavannes: The Dream, 1883 Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory, 1931 Salvador Dali, Sleep, 1937 Man Ray, The Misunderstood, 1938 Max Ernst, L'Ange du Foyer ou le Triomphe du Surralisme, 1937

I believe that Surrealism is the best example of dream imagery that I can come up with. Dali, one of the most famous Surrealist painters, had an amazing knack for being able to create vidid, almost realistic representations of obscure, confusing, shocking, dreamlike imagery. His paintings always leave you guessing, wondering what is going on. I feel like Sleep is an important example of my big idea.

Sleep, Salvador Dali, 1937, oil

Karen Kreutz

LESSON 1
University of North Texas I. Lesson Title: What Are Your Dreams?; a grade 3-4 lesson II. Lesson #: 1 of 5 Number of Days: 1-2 1 hour class sessions (ongoing journal throughout entire unit) III. Key Concepts: Dreams and Nightmares can be both conceptual and literal. Dreams have both a biological importance and psychological significance. IV. Essential Question: What are dreams and what do they mean? V. Lesson Objectives: Students will be able to discuss and write about their dreams in their dream journal. VI. Specific Art Content: Students will be introduced to a discussion about how and why we have dreams and nightmares. Students will be taught the process of making and binding their own journal. VII. Resources & Materials for Teacher: The Children's Dream Dictionary by Amanda Cross, An Introduction to the Psychology of Dreaming by Kelly Bulkeley, a chart of the sleep cycle and REM sleep, hole punch, paper cutter, butcher paper, markers. VIII. Resources & Materials for Students: The Children's Dream Dictionary by Amanda Cross, 20 sheets of 8.5 x 5.5 inch printer paper,1 sheet of 8.5 white cardstock paper, yard or tweed, pencils, markers, crayons, stapler . IX. Instruction and Its Sequencing: 1. Introduction/Motivation: When the class enters the art room, have them go to their seats where a blank piece of paper is sitting at their spot. On the board the question, What are dreams? is written. Without any further explanation or clarification, have the students either write or draw their answer to the question. When the class if finished writing or drawing their response, open up the discussion to the entire class. Hopefully some of the class is answer with answer with dreams in the context of their hopes and aspirations, while some will answer with the strange stories that they come up with during sleep. The teacher leads a discussion on relating the two definitions of a dream, also bringing in the terminology of nightmares both in sleep and in their fears. 2. Purpose: I want students to be able to identify the importance of dreaming in relation to sleep and development, and begin to pay attention to their dreams. Art Education

3. Instruction: I will need to provide a chart of the sleep cycles and the stages of REM sleep to explain how dreams work and when they occur, and general facts about sleep (such as the body grows while you are sleeping, you dream roughly 5 to 6 times a night, dreams only last from 5 to 30 minutes). I will then introduce dream journals to the class. I will pass out the pre-cut and hole punched paper to the class as I explain to them how I want them to record the dreams that they have over the course of the unit in the journal we are about to make. I will stress the importance of keeping up with their journal by telling them that it will come in handy for a later assignment. 4. Guided Practice On the projector, I will walk the class through the steps to put together their dream journal. They will staple the pages of paper together, with an instruction sheet with questions to keep in mind over the unit, and then bind the cover and pages together with yard or tweed through the hole punches. In class, students will fill out their first page of their dream journal based on a past dream that they recall, or dreams that they have for their future. They will either write out a description of the dream that they can recall, or they can draw a picture of one of multiple parts of the dream and write a short caption to their drawing. At their tables, the students will show their drawing or read their description to their table. They will discuss why they think they had that particular dream and what or if it means anything. 5. Independent Practice Each student will take their dream journals home with them over the course of the unit and fill it out as they have dreams or as they realize aspirations. They will refer back to the instruction sheet on the first page of the journal if they forget what to do. Students will try to be as detailed as possible and try to write in the journal as often as possible so that they can have more information and resources to use when they will need to refer back to the dream journal in a future lesson. Extension: If a student fills up their journal, they can untie the yarn and add more pages. 7. Closure As a class, I will draw the class sticks and ask 4 or 5 students if they want to share their dream drawing or discussion with the class on the projector. I will then ask the class as a whole why they think we dream. I will type up their answers on a powerpoint slide to be referenced for the rest of the unit. 8. Formative Evaluation I will interact with students as they discuss with their tables and as they do their initial entry into their dream journal. Throughout the unit, I will check students dream journals to make sure they are filling them out. 9. Classroom Management Procedures I will cut and hole punch the paper beforehand so there are no safety concerns for this lesson. A timer can be used to manage pacing of discussions. Repeat as Needed

X. Summative Assessment and Evaluation: What do I want to know? I want to know if students can keep up with a dream journal and write and/or draw about their dreams on a regular basis. How will I know it? I will know it through the student's completed dream journals and descriptions. How will I record it? Students earn a + if their dream journal entries are descriptive and done on time. Students earn a if their dream journals are completed but not descriptive or not completed on time. Students earn a - if the dream journals are not regularly completed. XI. Interdisciplinary Connections: This lesson connects to science concepts of the function of organisms, the genetic basis of biological characteristics. The lesson also connects to the understanding of the brain and mind. XII. References & Resources: http://www.sleepforkids.org/html/cycles.html http://www2.ucsc.edu/dreams/FAQ/index.html http://www.kidzworld.com/article/4289-the-meaning-of-dreams XIII. Art TEKS Students are expected to communicate ideas about self, family, school, and community, using sensory knowledge and left experiences (Perception 1A) Students are expected to be able to analyze personal artworks to interpret meaning. (Response/Evaluation 4A) XIV. National Art Standards Students are able to use art materials and tools in a safe and responsible manner. (Content Standard 1D) Students will be able to make connections between the visual arts and other disciplines in the curriculum. (Content Standard 6B)

Karen Kreutz

LESSON 2
University of North Texas I. Lesson Title: Dream Analysis; a grade 3-4 lesson Students will learn about the theories of dream analysis. II. Lesson #: 2 of 5 Number of Days: 1 1 hour class session III. Key Concepts: While involuntary, dreams can be a window into one's subconscious. IV. Essential Question: What do dreams mean? Why are dreams important? V. Lesson Objectives: Students will be able to interpret their dreams that they have recorded in their dream journals using The Children's Dream Dictionary. Students will be able to write an explanation of what their dream meant. VI. Specific Art Content: Students will be introduced to dream analysis as a means to create a narrative for an upcoming project. VII. Resources & Materials for Teacher: A copy of a dream analysis dictionary, The Dreamer's Dictionary by Dr. Barbara Condron, dream journal example, class set of The Children's Dream Dictionary by Amanda Cross. VIII. Resources & Materials for Students: Their dream journals, a copy of The Children's Dream Dictionary by Amanda Cross, paper, paper, and pencil . IX. Instruction and Its Sequencing: A. Introduction/Motivation: In the first few minutes of class, I'll ask the class how their dream journals are coming along. I'll use this time to see if anyone in the class has struggled to keep up with their journal for whichever reasons. I'll allow children to share stories about their dreams to get the class interested. After a few minutes of sharing, I'll ask the class, Does anyone know what their dreams mean? B. Purpose: I want students to be able to identify themes in their dreams and look them up in their dream dictionary. I then want students to be able to interpret these multiple meanings to try and explain what their dream may have meant. Art Education

C. Instruction: Using an example of dreaming about one's teeth falling out, I'll lead the class in looking this theme up in their dictionaries. As there are many different interpretations of what it means, I'll explain to the class that they get to choose which meaning they feel is most accurate to themselves. D. Guided Practice Using an example of dreaming about one's teeth falling out, I'll lead the class in looking this theme up in their dictionaries. As there are many different interpretations of what it means, I'll explain to the class that they get to choose which meaning they feel is most accurate to themselves. I will go through with 3 or 4 different themes with the class so they can practice how to use the dream dictionaries as a group. I will then give an example of what a dream involving these themes could possibly mean. I will explain that there is no right or wrong answers. 5. Independent Practice I will then instruct the class to begin interpreting their own dreams. Picking their favorite entry in their dream journal, and identifying certain subject matter, and looking up their meanings. They will write down what each subject means on a piece of paper, and when they are done, they will have to analyze all of the different subjects and meanings within their dream and try to come up with an explanation of what their dream may have meant. 7. Closure Students will be allowed to analyze multiple dreams if they have time. As the class begins to finish with their interpretations, as tables, I will have them discuss what meanings they came up with for their dreams. 8. Formative Evaluation I will walk around the classroom, watch and talk to the students as they interpret their dreams. I will be able to see which students are actually using their dictionaries, and which are not. 9. Classroom Management Procedures I will walk around the classroom, talking to students and helping them as the need assistance. Repeat as Needed X. Summative Assessment and Evaluation: What do I want to know? 1. I want to know if students will be able to use The Children's Dream Dictionary to interpret their dreams that they recorded in their dream journals, and if they can write an explanation of what their dream meant. How will I know it? 5. I will know it by observing their use of the dream dictionaries and reading their interpretations. How will I record it? 1. Students will earn a + if they use their dream dictionary effectively and come up with a creative explanation of their dream. 2. Students will earn a if they use their dream dictionary and write an explanation to their dream. 3. Students will earn a - if they do not use their dream dictionary effectively and/or do not write an explanation to their dream.

XI. Interdisciplinary Connections: This lesson connects to concepts in Psychology about dream analysis, and language arts concepts of analyzing and constructing meaning, and practicing the writing process. XII. References & Resources: The Content Analysis of Dreams by Calvin Hall The Children's Dream Dictionary by Amanda Cross The Dreamer's Dictionary by Dr. Barbara Condron XIII. Art TEKS The student develops and organizes ideas from the environment. The student is expected to identify sensory knowledge and life experiences as sources for ideas about visual symbols, self, and life events; and (Perception 1A) XIV. National Art Standards Students are able to identify connections between the visual arts and other disciplines in the curriculum (Content Standard 6)

Karen Kreutz

LESSON 3
University of North Texas I. Lesson Title: Dream Illustrations; a grade 3-4 lesson II. Lesson #: 3 of 5 Number of Days: 3-4 1 hour class sessions III. Key Concepts: Dreams can be a source of inspiration in artmaking. Dreams, while being unique to the individual, can relate to others and reflect common themes and fears. IV. Essential Question: What is a dream or a nightmare, and what do they mean? V. Lesson Objectives: Students will be able to translate entries from their dream journals into a narrative illustration. Students will be able to explain the choices they made in their illustration to help convey the meaning of their dream. VI. Specific Art Content: Students will be introduced to drawing as a narrative in addition to writing. Students will experiment with different media to express certain feelings. VII. Resources & Materials for Teacher: Salvador Dali's Surrealist paintings, smartboard, powerpoint, dream journal, scrap paper, large wall to display class drawings. VIII. Resources & Materials for Students: Dream journals, scrap paper, 12 x 18 paper, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, magazines, watercolor, tempra paint. IX. Instruction and Its Sequencing: 6. Introduction/Motivation: I will have the class take out their dream journals, and choose their favorite entry. They will then be instructed to write down a paragraph or two long story of that particular dream. They are free to use their imagination to elaborate on how the dreams transitioned, or for parts that they couldn't remember. 7. Purpose: I want students to be able to use their dream journals as a resource for create an interesting narrative piece of artwork based on their own dreams. Art Education

8. Instruction: I will start off with showing a couple images of Salvador Dali's Surrealist paintings. I will need to do a demonstration activity in which I am doing the same project as the rest of the class. I will need to keep a dream journal and write out my dreams so I can read it to the class as an example. I will have the class interact with me, letting them give me suggestions and letting them draw on the board with me. They will reference Dali's paintings. By talking to the class as I work through my thought process of what to do for my project, the class will be able to learn from my thought processes to work on their project. 9. Guided Practice I will select one of my entries in my dream journal and show it to the class on the projector. I will read my paragraph that I wrote down to tell the story of my dream to the class. I will ask the class which part of my dreams seems like it could be translated to the most interesting drawing (like a friend and me crossing a rickety rope bridge across a deep and wide canyon, fire in back of us, and my dog floating above us barking). On the smartboard, I will then draw a quick sketch of how I could draw the scene, taking suggestions from the class, allowing students to draw on the board and help me. 5. Independent Practice Each student will take the paragraph that they wrote about their favorite dream entry and choose what they think would be the most interesting and engaging moment of their dream to draw. On a sheet of paper, they will sketch out how they want to draw the scene. On an 12 x 18 of paper, each student will draw, paint, or collage the scene from the sketch that they had made. Students are allowed to use whichever medium they think will accurately embody their dream's nature. 10. Closure The entire class will hang their drawings up on the wall. The class will have a discussion about similarities and differences between the class's drawings. Are there any common themes portrayed in the drawings? While observing the entire class's drawings, I will ask the class the essential questions for the lesson: What are dreams and nightmares, and what do they mean? 11. Formative Evaluation I will be able to interact with students as they write their paragraphs, have class discussions, make their sketches, and as they create their final drawings. If a student needs reteaching, they can go back to their dream journal or they can read the smartboard, along with asking questions. 12. Classroom Management Procedures A timer can be used to manage pacing of discussions. I will be able to walk around the classroom to make sure students are on task and that they are using the art materials correctly and safely. Repeat as Needed

X. Summative Assessment and Evaluation: What do I want to know? I want to know if students can translate entries from their dream journal into a narrative drawing based on their own dreams and nightmares, and explain their choices they made to help convey the overall meaning of their dream. How will I know it? I will know it by reading their paragraph stories and completed dream drawings. How will I record it? Students earn a + if their paragraphs are descriptive and if they successfully created a narrative illustration of their dream. Students earn a if their story is at least a paragraph, but it isn't descriptive, or if their dream illustration does not have a strong narrative. Students earn a - if their story is not a paragraph long, or if their dream illustration does not create any narrative. XI. Interdisciplinary Connections: This lesson connects to Language Arts Concept Areas of records of events, reality and fantasy, imagination, myth, and narrative, utilizing skills and strategies of writing process. It also connects to Theatre Concept Areas of analyzing, constructing meanings, and explaining personal preferences. XII. References & Resources: N/A XIII. Art TEKS Students are expected to express ideas through original artworks, using a variety of media with appropriate skill. (Creative expression/performance 2A, 2B, 2C) Students are expected to describe intent and form conclusions about personal artworks and artworks by others (Response/evaluation 4A, 4B) XIV. National Art Standards Students are expected to use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories. (Content Standard 1C) Students are expected to use visual structures and functions of art to communicate ideas. (Content Standard 2C)

Karen Kreutz

LESSON 4
University of North Texas I. Lesson Title: Collaborative Dreamlike Stories; a grade 3-4 lesson II. Lesson #: 4 of 5 Number of Days: 2 1 hour class sessions III. Key Concepts: Most people's dreams have many themes in common. IV. Essential Question: What do dreams mean? Why are dreams important? V. Lesson Objectives: Students will be able to work together to create a collaborative story that interweaves all of their dream illustrations together. VI. Specific Art Content: Students will learn how to analyze artwork to collaborate and write a story from the illustrations. VII. Resources & Materials for Teacher: Examples of dream illustrations VIII. Resources & Materials for Students: Their dream illustrations, The Children's Dream Dictionary by Amanda Cross, paper, pencils IX. Instruction and Its Sequencing: E. Introduction/Motivation: Instead of going to their normal tables, when the class enters, they will be asked to sit at tables according to the themes of their dream illustrations as decided in the last class. F. Purpose: I want students to be able to creatively work together to come up with a dreamlike story based on their dream illustrations. G. Instruction: I will introduce the project by explaining to them what I want them to do. In groups, I want them to set out their dream illustrations on the table and imagine that these are still frames from a movie. I want them to talk with their table to figure out what order these still frames happened in, and then, as a group, come up with what the story of the movie is, filling in what happens between each illustration in the story. They also must come up with a title to their movie. H. Guided Practice Guided practice and independent practice will blend together in this lesson, as many of the issues each group is going to have will be particular to their story and illustrations that they must work with. As groups are working, I will go table to table to make sure that no one is confused as to what they are supposed to be doing, and helping them out if they get stuck. Art Education

5. Independent Practice As tables, the students will have to move around their dream illustrations until they can come up with a sequence that they happen in their made up movie. As a group, they must work together to come up with the plot of their movie and the title of their movie, making sure to include all of the illustrations. 10. Closure The groups will then write down their stories on a piece of paper so they can present their story next class. 11. Formative Evaluation As I go from table to table, I will be able to see which students are doing most of the work, and who are not participating. I will be able to tell if anything needs reteaching if groups are unsure of what to do. 12. Classroom Management Procedures I will walk around the classroom observing the groups at working, making sure they are working on their stories. Repeat as Needed X. Summative Assessment and Evaluation: What do I want to know? 2. I want to know if students can work in groups to come up with a story based on their dream illustrations. How will I know it? 10. I will know it from observing them in groups, and reading their stories that they present. How will I record it? 4. Students will earn a + if they worked well and participated in their group. 5. Students will earn a - if they did not contribute to their group. XI. Interdisciplinary Connections: This lesson connects to concepts in language arts by constructing meaning, telling stories, and practicing writing skills. XII. References & Resources: The Children's Dream Dictionary by Amanda Cross XIII. Art TEKS The student is expected to identify sensory knowledge and life experiences as sources for ideas about visual symbols, self, and life events (Perception 1A) The student is expected to identify general intent and expressive qualities in personal artworks (Response/Evaluation 4A) XIV. National Art Standards Students know the differences among visual characteristics and purposes of art in order to convey ideas and Students use visual structures and functions of art to communicate ideas (Content Standard 2) Students understand there are various purposes for creating works of visual art (Content Standard 5) Students identify connections between the visual arts and other disciplines in the curriculum (Content Standard 6)

Karen Kreutz

LESSON 5
University of North Texas I. Lesson Title: .Class Critique/Discussion/Response to the students Dreamlike Stories. II. Lesson #: 5 of 5 and Number of Days: 1 1 hour class session III. Key Concepts: Dreams can be a launching point for creative expression. IV. Essential Question: What are dreams? What do dreams mean? Why are dreams important? V. Lesson Objectives: Students will be able to present the stories they wrote as a group to the class. Students will be able to answer questions about their illustrations and story. VI. Specific Art Content: Students will learn that art is a great way to tell stories. VII. Resources & Materials for Teacher: A notebook to write down notes about each group's presentations. VIII. Resources & Materials for Students: Dream illustrations and their story. . IX. Instruction and Its Sequencing: I. Introduction/Motivation: The class will get into their groups and will have 5 minutes to reread their story, and figure out which student is going to present which part of the story, and who their leader would be. 2. Purpose: I want students to be able to talk in front of their peers about their artwork and answer questions about their artistic choices. J. Instruction: There is no instruction for this lesson. K. Guided Practice Guided and Independent Practice blend together in this lesson. While the groups are presenting, I may ask them questions to help guide their story if they get lost or forget what they're supposed to be doing. 5. Independent Practice Each group will present their dream illustrations in of their story. The group leader will tell the name of their movie, and then each student will explain their part of the story that corresponds to their dream illustration. After each story is complete, they may be asked questions by the class. I will ask the group how they came up with the story, and who came up with what ideas. Art Education

13. Closure After all of the groups have presented, I will then pose the same question I began the unit with, What are dreams?. As a class, we will discuss how their conceptions have changed over the course of the unit. 14. Formative Evaluation When the groups are presenting, I will ask them questions and help guide them if they seem to have lost track of the story. 15. Classroom Management Procedures I will ask questions, and ask the class to help me come up with questions to ask the groups. Repeat as Needed X. Summative Assessment and Evaluation: What do I want to know? 3. I want to know if students can present their story to the class, and if they can answer questions about their story and/or illustration. How will I know it? 11. I will know it by watching their presentations and listening to their answers to the questions. How will I record it? 6. Students will earn a + if they present in front of the class and they can answer questions that they are asked. 7. Students will earn a if they present in front of the class but they can not answer questions that they are asked. 8. Students will earn a - if they do not present in front of the class and they can not answer questions that they are asked. XI. Interdisciplinary Connections: This lesson connects to language arts concepts of storytelling and critical thinking. It also incorporates public speaking. XII. References & Resources: N/A XIII. Art TEKS The student is expected to identify general intent and expressive qualities in personal artworks; and apply simple criteria to identify main ideas in original artworks, portfolios, and exhibitions by peers and major artists. (Response/Evaluation 4A and 4B) The student is expected to compare content in artworks from the past and present for various purposes such as telling stories and documenting history and traditions (Historical/Cultural Heritage 3A) XIV. National Art Standards Students describe how people's experiences influence the development of specific artworks and students understand there are different responses to specific artworks (Content Standard 5)