TEACHING VISUAL ARTS ON SECONDARY / MYP : GRADE 8.

As teacher one of my interests is to provide the necessary information about Art , refferences and styles to my students, all this information will shape little by little that informed profile that is needed when teaching Art. If we as teachers do not pay attention to that important part within learning we can not expect from our pupils to be engaged, and understanding, in all teh different activities presneted in class.This prior knowledge is the basis for any project where pupils will be requested to apply everything learned through independent research and also to use the same resources used by artists in real contexts. One of these challenging activities is Construction of Stuctures.

Sculptures Structures.G8.
The mos interesting on this activity is that pupils learn how to work sculptures with cardboard, folding, cutting, ensambling, etc..only using cardboard. Along thsi activity they understand teh main concepts in sculpture: shape, space and balance; very complex issues when thinking on sculptures. I link thsi activity with architecture, because now the very newly buildings are more sculptures than buildings, think on the Bilbao Gugenheim.

Below I postes a draft planner for this activity. All teh pistures belong to projects and works developed by my G8 pupils.

Stage 1: Integrate significant concept, area of interaction and unit question

Area of interaction focus Which area of interaction will be our focus? Why have we chosen this?		Significant concept(s) What are the big ideas? What do we want our students to retain for years into the future?
Human Ingenuity		Space can be modified

MYP unit question

How can be possible to achieve balance, space and shape as part of a sculpture of building?

Assessment What task(s) will allow students the opportunity to respond to the unit question? What will constitute acceptable evidence of understanding? How will students show what they have understood?

-  Search about modern and contemporary sculpture in Art - Search about architectural projects that could be taken as sculptures - Appreciation of modern sculpture as generator resource of ideas and proposals : Brief Biography of the artist, 2 pictures of Art works, personal comments based on the Art Clues. - Knowledge and Understanding: developing of searches about Naum Gabo constructivist sculptures, Frank Gehry buildings and Isamu Noguchi ensembles. Identifying the influence of these artists in the Art project. - Knowledge and Understanding: developing of searches about Herzog and De Meuron architectural constructions, David Smith abstract sculptures and Louise Nevelson ensembles. Identifying the influence of these artists in the Art project - Application: Developing and building a sculpture using ensemble cardboard. Construction of the sculpture taking on count it’s basic concepts: shape, space and balance. - Personal engagement; shows commitment before, during and at the end of the creative process.

Which specific MYP objectives will be addressed during this unit?

-     Knowledge and Understanding: Shape, space and balance. How to achieve these?? -       Application: Use of cardboard. Cutting, ensambling, connecting, pasting and modifying the material when doing the needed forms in the project. -       Personal engagement: Independent research, application of artists' resources in the project. Adding information taken from the artists experience.

Which MYP assessment criteria will be used?

-     Knowledge and Understanding -       Application -       Personal engagement

Stage 2: Backward planning: from the assessment to the learning activities through inquiry

Content What knowledge and/or skills (from the course overview) are going to be used to enable the student to respond to the unit question? What (if any) state, provincial, district, or local standards/skills are to be addressed? How can they be unpacked to develop the significant concept(s) for stage 1?
What are the differences among classical sculpture and modern? Which are the differences among modern and traditional Architecture? How can we analyze a sculpture? How can we analyze Architecture? What vocabulary will help us to analyze a modern sculpture or Architecture? What are the main concepts in sculpture? What are the main differences among Naum Gabo, Frank Gehry and Noguchi creative process? What are the main differences among Herzog and De Meuron, David Smith and Nevelson creative process? How can we define abstract sculpture? How can we define architecture? - Observation of the sculpture basic concepts within a sculpture: shape, balance and space. - Observation of the architectural constructions related with the environment. - Developing of a three dimension sketch as reference in order to build a sculpture project. - Application of the resources taken from the research about Art History. - Application of color on the sculpture, identifying the way it affects the project.		Standard and Benchmark. CREATING ART: Use the creative processes and the language of art to communicate through a variety of media and techniques. HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT: Understand how art has shaped and preserved history and culture PERCEPTION AND EVALUATION: Using the language of art, students critically analyze, derive meaning from, and evaluate artwork. CONNECTIONS: Use arts to make connections
Approaches to learning How will this unit contribute to the overall development of subject-specific and general approaches to learning skills?
. Identifying the three basic concepts within contemporary sculpture and modern architecture. Identifying the range and way of used for basic concepts when developing an sculptural project. - Organization: What aspects of my organization do I need to develop? How best can I organize myself? Self – management- planning final sculpture, organizing techniques, process, resources and materials. Time management-monitoring progress and making decision according to progress. - Communication: What communication tools do I use? How can I better communicate my understanding? Informing others-selecting ways to use resources- through sketches. - Information literacy: How do I know if the information is reliable? Self awareness- considering techniques, process and materials according to limitations (space, time, age, etc) for personal improvement. Referencing: Use of citations, use of the Library resources and serious web sites from museums and education institutions. Information provided for teacher. - Reflection:  How my reflections helped me learn and how have my designs developed? Self evaluation-Teacher evaluation and comments. These information and process are recorded in the Research book. - Thinking; what tools can help me think in different ways? Inquiring/questioning and challenging information and arguments, developing questions- reflecting about teacher comments and approach. - Transfer: What are the big ideas of Building spaces? Do these ideas overlap? Inquiring in different contexts; space as part of the sculpture, space as part of architecture, space in different cultures.		Vocabulary. Abstract Assemblage Sculpture Shape Balance Space Plaster Carving
Learning experiences How will students know what is expected of them? Will they see examples, rubrics, templates? How will students acquire the knowledge and practise the skills required? How will they practise applying these? Do the students have enough prior knowledge? How will we know?	Teaching strategies How will we use formative assessment to give students feedback during the unit? What different teaching methodologies will we employ? How are we differentiating teaching and learning for all? How have we made provision for those learning in a language other than their mother tongue? How have we considered those with special educational needs?
-       Comparing of a classical sculpture with an abstract one. -       Appreciation of a piece of Art (sculpture). -       Experience bending and assembling cardboard shapes. -       Developing a low scale three dimension sketch.	-       Demonstrations in class of the use of materials and resources -       Demonstration of sculpture construction. -       Presenting images of artists’ Art pieces. Using multimedia resources. -       Reflection in class about the artists’ contributions.