Curriculum Document and PowerPoint/Prezi Framework:

SETTING GOALS & EXPECTATIONS

1. Conceptual Structure

State the big idea and define it.

Unity
List the important key concepts about the big idea
What ideas, facts, and new knowledge will the students acquire?
Student will develop their own sound with an object of their choice
Student will work with another person to develop their sound in connection with another person.
Student will further transform their sound within the collective by collaborating with three other
people in a group
Student will visualize and illustrate their own personal sound using only cut paper
Student will take personal sound visualization to their group of four and arrange and adapt it
with the rest of the groups visualizations.
Essential Questions
What does Symphony mean?
Why is symphonic thinking an important attribute in the Conceptual Age?
How do artists use symphony in their work?
RESPONDING AND CONNECTING
2.
Instructional Activities
What will the students KNOW at the end of this unit?
What specific new knowledge will they acquire?
Explain how the students will explore the concepts of the big idea through artists and their
artwork.
Choose artists whose work exemplifies an exploration of your big idea and include examples of
the artists work in your presentation.
Explain how you will teach artistic ideas and how you will CONNECT the key concepts to
prior knowledge and other disciplines. How will your students relate to this experience in a
relevant way?
What questions will you ask your students about the artwork to engage them in thinking about
how the artist is exploring the big idea? What opportunities will the students have to RESPOND
to art?
Students will Know how to explain Symphony and Unity, how do demonstrate it with others, and
use it as inspiration for creating art. Beginning with the accompanying slideshow, prior to any
activities, students will explore the concept of Symphony through the big idea of Unity, being

imbued with Symphony through quotes by Daniel Pink in his book A Whole New Mind,
through .gif files, photographs from nature, example artworks (both historical and from visual
culture), and a video of another culture creating Symphony through music and their individual
roles within the society.
Students will be taught the basics of creating rhythm through an introductory drum demo by the
teacher, and afterward, provided with the opportunity to connect to others using music as a
means to create unity both within a group of two and then a group of four. All groups will return
to the class for a short discussion, responding to the following questions:
1. How was the experience trying to make or maintain a rhythm with a peer?
2. How did your experience change once you joined another group?

After a short reflective class discussion on their experiences, the teacher will share additional
examples of Symphony from the slideshow; several videos of artists fusing both music and art.
Students are then asked to use the given supplies to create a visual example of their individual
beat. Returning to their group of four, students are asked to combine all of their created elements
together in a cohesive composition.
Once groups have finished, theyre to present their artworks, while either sharing the recorded
version of the group rhythm, or by performing it. Each group will also briefly justify to the class
some of their artistic process and decision making with the following questions.
1. What were struggles that you encountered as an individual? As a group?
2. How was your group able to create a sense of unity in both your sound and visual compositions? What
makes you say this?

Again, theres a brief reflective class discussion, and at least 6 additional video examples to drive
the concept home. The slideshow also contains an example artwork by artist Melissa McCracken
(slide 31). This could be used for VTS at the beginning of the unit too. Questions explored include:
1. What's going on in this picture?
2. What do you see that makes you say that?
3. What more can we find?

CREATING
3. Art making activities
What will students DO and CREATE that will provide evidence of depth of knowledge about
the big idea?
How will the art teacher help students artistically and creatively investigate and express the big
idea?
Explain how you will facilitate the development of knowledge about CREATING/ARTMAKING
that will help students explore subject matter, media, and techniques in their own work.
Materials Needed: Lesson slideshow, Found object that can make sound, colored construction
paper, scissors, adhesive, recording device (cell phones work great!)

The teacher will talk about rhythm and demo a down beat (home) and various rhythm patterns
with found objects for the class. Have each student tap along, keeping the home beat and discuss
unity as a group. Explore different rhythm patterns while everyone is tapping along to talk about
variety within the whole group. As the class moves through each activity, it is important to
remember that some students will get very anxious with this activity, encouraging them to create
a simple rhythm could be helpful. (Heres a great script to use if you like)
Activity #1: Students will be paired in groups of two. Give them 10 minutes to create a unique
rhythm with their found objects.
Activity #2: Student groups of two will be paired with another pair (pair-pair). For this activity
each group member will trade their instrument with someone else within their group. They will
be given 15 minutes to come up with a blended group rhythm. They will need to record their
final rhythm.
Reflect on Activities #1 & #2 will help the student make connections to the big idea of Unity. :
How was your experience trying to make and maintain a rhythm with a peer?
How did your experience change when you joined another group?
Explore different ways in which sound can be visually represented. Show video examples of
symphonic visualization in the slide show. VTS could be incorporated to one of the videos
during this portion of the video. Encourage students to think about how sound can be
represented through line, shape and color.
Activity #3: Each student will have 10 minutes to individually create a representation of their
rhythm using line, shape, and color. They can only use colored construction paper and scissors.
Activity #4: Using their individual representation from Activity #3, students will reconvene in
their groups of 4 to collaborate on a visual representation of their group rhythm. Students may
use an adhesive along with paper and scissors for this portion.
Reflect on the process as an individual and as a group:
What struggles did you encounter as an individual? As a group? How was your group able to
create a sense of unity in both your sound and visual compositions?
Group discussion/Artist Journals
4. Assessment
What evidence from performances and products demonstrate deep understanding and
generalizable new knowledge? What evidence of pre-thinking, in process ideation and
development will be required? How will you know what your students have learned about:

 the big idea that they investigated

the artistic concepts and depth of knowledge base
art creating and production/process
reflecting on their own work and connecting and responding to other work
How will their work be presented?
PRE-ASSESSMENT: Have students write/draw/collage in Artist Journals what Unity means to
them prior to beginning the lesson.
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: Classroom reflection discussions & VTS of video
POST ASSESSMENT: Final classroom discussion/reflection on process and final artwork,
responding to peers in discussion, individual reflections in Artist Journals (or Google Classroom
blog), artwork
Prior to beginning the lesson, students will be asked to reflect on what their ideas of Unity mean
to them (this could be in an Artist Journal). Students will be able to create their own rhythm
using found objects and then transfer it to pairs and group work. The depth of understanding
UNITY will be measured through group work, the process of creating individual/group rhythms
through working together and individual/class reflections/discussions. Students will answer
reflection questions throughout the lesson that will demonstrate how well they understand the
concept of unity. There should be a firm grasp on smaller parts contributing to a whole.
Metaphorical examples will be given connecting the activities and individual life experiences
through reflection & responding on the process and their final work. The final work of art and
reflections in Artist Journals will be the physical evidence of understanding.
PRESENTING
5. How will your students work be PRESENTED and curated?
Student work can be presented in a number of ways. Ideally, a presentation to the class, as this
provides an opportunity for critique or feedback from peers. Students can display their artwork
as well as perform the rhythmic inspiration for the piece - to better help explain their decision
making. Students may also justify their visual decisions and experiences from both activities,
either in discussion, or as a written reflection.
Further curation/display is dependent on circumstances and environments available. Works
could be hung on walls, placed in display cases, hung from hallway ceilings, etc. In an ideal
world, works could be displayed along with options to play the rhythmic beats that influence
their creation as discussed above. This could possibly be accomplished visually using various
technologies (panoramic photography, 3D scans) that are input into a teacher or class webpage
with embedded audio media.

TEACHER REFLECTION
6. How does your curricular design foster skills for the Conceptual Age?
Describe how your curriculum design helps students understand our visual culture.
How is this art experience relevant and meaningful to the iKids lives as they explore
imagination, artistic thinking, and creativity?
How are your students making meaning through meaningful making?
Students use their senses of hearing and touch to define what they cannot see in their rhythms.
By doing so, the are symphonically bringing together multiple parts to create a visual illustration
of what otherwise cannot actually be seen.
Each student works simultaneously as an individual and together as a collective. Meaning is
created by the individual through their rhythmic contribution to the musical composition and
then visually to their illustrative composition. Essentially, the part affects the whole as much the
whole is inseparable from the part.
Students directly use imagination in that what they are creating visually is not something that can
be seen without translation through their other senses. Students translate sounds to imagery,
the abstract into the concrete.