Elementary Art Integration Lesson
Where I’m From Story Quilts
Lindsay Abramo - Master of Arts in Teaching - School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Art and Poetry Integration Inspired by Faith Ringgold’s Story Quilts and poetry written by George Ella Lyon For this art integration lesson students will use poetry and artmaking to create their own story quilts • Each student will write their own Where I’m From Poem • Each student will make a 12x12” quilt square • 12 small patches around the boarder that represent different parts of their poems with both text and images • 1 large square in the middle that represents a favorite memory • Each class will combine their story quilts together to create a collaborative class quilt
EXEMPLAR
MATERIALS • Markers, colored pencils, crayons, oil pastels • Glue sticks • Scissors • 12X12” white tag board • 3x3” colored paper squares (patches)
ART INSPIRATION
Story Quilt by Faith Ringgold Where I’m From I am from clothespins, from Clorox and carbontetrachloride. I am from the dirt under the back porch. (Black, glistening, it tasted like beets.) I am from the forsythia bush the Dutch elm whose longgone limbs I remember as if they were my own.
Excerpt of poem by George Ella Lyon
Elementary Art Integration Lesson
Student Artwork
Lindsay Abramo - Master of Arts in Teaching - SAIC
4th Grade Art Integration
Collaborative Class Quilt
Irma C. Ruiz Elementary School - 2410 S. Leavitt St., Chicago, IL 60608
Lindsay Abramo Art Integration Lesson Plan TITLE: Where I’m From: Exploring identity through story quilts and poetry GRADE LEVEL: 4th Grade TIMELINE: Four weeks (Four 90 minute class periods) DESCRIPTION: For this art integration lesson students will use poetry and artmaking to create their own story quilts. Each student will make a 12x12” quilt square out of paper that represents where they are from. Within each quilt square, there will be twelve small patches around the boarder and one large square in the middle. The small patches will represent different parts of their poems with both text and images, while the large square in the middle will represent a story the students want to tell about where they are from. They will draw inspiration from the contemporary artwork of Faith Ringgold’s story quilts and the Where I’m From poetry of George Ella Lyons. Each class the students will gradually work on writing their own Where I’m From poem while simultaneously creating artwork that visually represents their writing. To write their poems, the students will answer questions and choose words that describe different parts of their lives. They will also relate their words to images that will be drawn into small patches for their individual quilt squares. The students will be given the opportunity to combine all of their quilt squares together to create a collaborative class quilt. Big Idea / Key Concept: Students will explore parts of who they are Essential Questions: • What does it mean to be “from” some place? • How can the place we are from influence our identities (who we are)? • How can you visually represent parts of who you are? OBJECTIVES: • Use elements of art to create patches for their story quilts • Arrange and attach patches onto quilt to create a unique design • Use poetry and artwork to create a story quilt that tells a story about you STATE GOALS: STATE GOAL 25: Know the language of the arts. A. Understand the sensory elements, organizational principles and expressive qualities of the arts. 25.A.1d Visual Arts: Identify the elements of line, shape, space, color and texture; the principles of repetition and pattern; and the expressive qualities of mood, emotion and pictorial representation. Lindsay Abramo - Elementary School Art Integration Lesson Plan - Where I’m From
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STATE GOAL 26: Through creating and performing, understand how works of art are produced. B. Apply skills and knowledge necessary to create and perform in one or more of the arts. 26.B.1dVisual Arts: Demonstrate knowledge and skills to create visual works of art using manipulation, eye- hand coordination, building and imagination. STATE GOAL 27: Understand the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present. B. Understand how the arts shape and reflect history, society and everyday life. 27.B.1 Know how images, sounds and movement convey stories about people, places and times. MOTIVATION / ACTIVITIES: • Day 1: • Integration • Introduce project • Presentation with George Ella Lyons poetry and student example • Students will work on the Where I’m From Poem (answer questions about themselves) • When the students have completed their think sheets, they will circle six words that they want to include on their quilt • The students will list these words on the Story Quilt Think Sheet - #3 (in the six spaces) • Art • Presentation with Faith Ringgold’s story quilts and my example • Draw visually descriptive pictures for each word on the Story Quilt Think Sheet - #3 (one word in each space) • Day 2: • Integration • Restate the project • Students will work on the bottom of the Where I’m From Poem worksheet (write the final draft of their poem) • When the students have completed writing their poems, they will choose six patches and begin to transfer their writing onto the patches for their story quilts • Art • Students will finish working on drawing visually descriptive pictures for each word on the Story Quilt Think Sheet - #3 (one word in each space) • When the students have completed Story Quilt Think Sheet - #3 they will begin to transfer their images onto the patches for their story quilts Day 3: • • Integration • Restate the project • Students will continue transferring their writing onto the patches for their story quilts • When the students have completed transferring their writing onto the patches, they will attach their patches onto the boarder of their 12x12” quilt square
Lindsay Abramo - Elementary School Art Integration Lesson Plan - Where I’m From
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• Art • Students will continue transferring their images onto the patches for their story quilts • When the students have completed transferring their images onto the patches for their story quilts, they will they will attach their patches onto the boarder of their 12x12” quilt square • Students will create artwork for the large square in the middle that represents a story about where they are from • Day 4: • Integration • Students will share their poems with the class • Art • Students will collaboratively assemble their quilt squares • We will reflect on the project and talk about what it means to share parts of yourself through art and poetry CLOSURE: • At the end of the project, each student will share their story quilt with the class ADAPTATIONS FOR EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS: If the students have difficulty reading or writing in English, they will have the ability to choose answers from prepared handouts that incorporate pictures next to the text. This will allow students to look at the pictures, chose the words they want to use, and copy the words directly onto the handout without having to struggle with spelling or sentence formation. MATERIALS: • Powerpoint of artists • Where I’m From Poem handout • 12X12” white tag board (quilt squares) • 3x3” colored paper squares (patches) • Markers, colored pencils, crayons, oil pastels, water colors • Glue sticks SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS: Powerpoint, artist inspiration images, step by steps, Where I’m From Poem handout, and exemplars
Lindsay Abramo - Elementary School Art Integration Lesson Plan - Where I’m From
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ART INSPIRATION: Faith Ringgold - Story Quilt
George Ella Lyon - Where I’m From I am from clothespins, from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride. I am from the dirt under the back porch. (Black, glistening, it tasted like beets.) I am from the forsythia bush the Dutch elm whose long-gone limbs I remember as if they were my own. I'm from fudge and eyeglasses, from Imogene and Alafair. I'm from the know-it-alls and the pass-it-ons, from Perk up! and Pipe down! I'm from He restoreth my soul with a cottonball lamb and ten verses I can say myself. I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch, fried corn and strong coffee. From the finger my grandfather lost to the auger, the eye my father shut to keep his sight. Under my bed was a dress box spilling old pictures, a sift of lost faces to drift beneath my dreams. I am from those moments-snapped before I budded -leaf-fall from the family tree.
ASSESSMENT RUBRIC: Rated 1-6 Students will be graded on the following criteria
(six being the highest and one being the lowest)
Think sheet is complete Poem is complete Six image squares are complete Six text squares are complete One large quilt square drawing is complete Quilt tells a story about who the student is Name is written on the back of the artwork
Lindsay Abramo - Elementary School Art Integration Lesson Plan - Where I’m From
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Name: ___________________________
Class: _________
!"#$#%&”'%($)'%*)#' Please FILL IN the spaces with your ANSWERS
1. I am from ______________________________________________ (what is your favorite food?), 2. from __________________________________________________ (what is your favorite color?) and 3. wanting to be ___________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________ (what do you want to be when you grow up?). 4. I am from __________________________________________________ (what are you good at?). and 5. _____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________ (what is your least favorite thing to do?), 6. I am from _________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________ (what do you like to do after school?).
When you are done filling in your answers, please COPY the WRITING ABOVE to CREATE your FINAL DRAFT of your “Where I’m From” Poem ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________
Name: ___________________________
Class: _________
!"#$%&'()*"&+,)-.&!,//" Please CHOOSE 6 WORDS from your poem that you want to represent in your Story Quilt. DRAW a picture that represents each word.