Teachers' Circle Lesson Plan Template Name: Erin Rieff Subject

Teachers’ Circle Lesson Plan Template

Name: Erin Rieff

Subject area: Visual Art

Grade level: 3-8 (I am using it with 4

th

grade)

Lesson title: Individual Gallery Critique created through IMovie

Brief summary/lesson plan description

 Students will view a gallery of artwork. They will then choose one piece of artwork

from the selection. Next, they will fill out a critique form based upon the piece they

chose. This form becomes their script for creating an IMovie presentation about their

artwork.

 The students will import the image of their artwork and create a presentation that

outlines skills students should develop to be able to critically think and speak about

artwork. The most basic explanation of those skills is the student praising,

questioning, giving ideas, and expressing how a piece of artwork makes them feel.

 This journey through processing feelings into words is important for students.

 This is also a great venue for students to use key concepts and vocabulary that we

have been learning through the years.

Prior Knowledge (What do the students need to know before they come to make this lesson

meaningful?)

Students should have some experience expressing their viewpoints or ideas. Students should

have some relevance to art elements and principles of design to be able to clearly explain

their thoughts and connection to those concepts in their explanations. They should also have

a basis of other important concepts in art. (composition, background, middleground,

foreground, etc)

Normally, I would have had a critique with the students on a previous piece of artwork prior to

the I-Movie presentation. This would give them a bit more practice with explaining their

thoughts thoroughly and using vocabulary throughout.

Common Core or State Standards Addressed

4.VA.Re.7.1 Summarize messages in art referring to contextual information, relevant subject

matter, details, and use of media.

4.VA.Re.8.1 Analyze components in visual imagery that convey messages.

4.VA.Re.9.1 Apply one set of criteria to evaluate more than one work of art.

Essential Skills and Strategies Addressed (Creativity/Critical Thinking/Communication)

The most essential skills and strategies addressed in this lesson are critical thinking and

communication. The students are required to share their “voice” about the artwork they are

viewing. The students are also allowed to select the artwork they prefer to analyze which

gives them a stronger connection with the work they speak about.

Instructional Strategies/Differentiation

 The guide sheet and an example video gave the students direction on what concept

they should be explaining and demonstrated examples for the students to refer to.

 All students were asked to fill out the form. Some students explained their feelings to

a teacher, as the student’s ideas were documented by the teacher.

 I loved allowing the students to express their voice within the IMovie presentation.

This allowed students to record their own voice (analyzing the artwork and expressing

their ideas.)

Lesson objectives (Students will understand...)

 Students will study a piece of artwork and process how the artwork makes them feel.

 Students will express their viewpoint on a piece of artwork. They will follow an outline

that builds a comfort with critiquing a piece of artwork. They will praise, Question, give

an idea, and express how the artwork made them feel.

 Students will communicate their thoughts in writing and orally to other people.

 Students will create a 1-2 minute IMovie expressing how they feel about a chosen

piece of artwork.

Essential Questions to guide this unit/lesson and focus teaching and learning:

 What significance does the “viewer” play in the success of an artwork?

 Why is it important for an audience to take time to observe and analyze a piece of

work, rather than just like or dislike it?

 Can a piece of artwork affect a person’s mood or how they feel?

Technology and Resources Needed

 Access to IPads and IMovie

 Access to a Visual Art Gallery

Procedure (learning activities)

The teacher will go over the expectations of “Praise”, “Question”, “Idea” and “How it made you

feel” that is outline on the guide sheet. The students need to be given time to reflect in a quiet

environment and then write down their thoughts pertaining to the artwork they selected. After

they have it written, the next class is directed toward the outline of the video. The

expectations of the slides and the presentation of their thoughts.

Assessment Method

A rubric will be designed to outline expectations within each them for the critique.

Museum Exhibits/Resources Utilized

Washington Pavilion Visual Arts Gallery

Additional materials:

Gallery Critique topics from my classroom

Notes:

Once the critique concepts of Praise (P), Question (Q), and Idea (I) are taught to the students

in a thorough way, they can be used for quick class discussions, within small group settings,

or to have shoulder partners troubleshoot ideas before a project is complete. I will them use

this method for critique through the entire class of art.

IMovie was a great way to get students invested into demonstrating their knowledge or ideas

within a concept.

Speaking for a cause, demonstrating your thoughts, having a voice are all skills that students

need to develop and we need to scaffold. Relating this assignment to all students is

important. Not every student wants to be or will be an artist, but they will need to work at

some point in their life. Being able to put thoughts into writing and then transfer that

information into audio helps students build skills that prepare them for defending a thought

and supporting their thoughts to others.

Name: ___________________ Class: _______ Date: _______

Title: _____________________________________

Artist: _____________________________________

Media:_____________________________________

Choose one piece of artwork. It can be your favorite, least favorite or one that

simply appeals to you. In the spaces below, write out what you will say to support

your thoughts on the artwork. Connect it to each of the following critique topics:

Praise, Question, Idea, & How it made you feel.

1. Praise: To compliment a specific piece of artwork. Give a specific comment that is

praising the artwork you are viewing. (Ex: I really enjoy how the artist added details to

the background of the painting. It allowed me to get to know more about the artist and

the story they wanted to tell.)

Write your “praise” here: __________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________

****You will record your voice saying your comment(s) of “praise” about the artwork in

the Imovie presentation you make.

2. Question: Asking a specific question about a piece of artwork. The question needs to be

open ended. No asking of questions that can be answered in a yes or no. (Ex: What made

the artist choose the subject matter that they did?)

The student must also read the artist statement or information next to the art to see if

their question can be answered.

Write your “question” here: _________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

****You will record your voice saying your comment(s) of “Questions” about the

artwork in the Imovie presentation you make.

3. Idea: Something the artist could add or change to their artwork. This is most beneficial

when shared with the artist, during the making stages. This helps the artist think about

their art differently and get an understanding of what other viewers think of their art.

(Ex. It would have been fun to see yellow used with the blue to boost the contrast in the

painting.)

Write your “idea” here: ___________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

****You will record your voice saying your comment(s) of “Ideas” about the artwork in

the Imovie presentation you make.

4. How it made you feel: The final slide will be a chance for you to evaluate how the

painting made you feel. This would also be beneficial for some artists to hear. Often

times, viewers can have feelings in connection to images that weren’t even intended by the

artist creating the artwork. (Ex. I enjoyed this piece from the first glance to the last. It

related to an activity that my family would often do, so it not only appealed to me in its

content, but also in the remembrance to something special that my family did together.)

Write your “how it made you feel” here: _______________________________

___________________________________________________________________

****You will record your voice saying your comment(s) of “How it made you feel” about

the artwork in the Imovie presentation you make.

Slides needed in presentation

1. Introduction (artwork visible)

Introduce Artwork and Artist

information

 Title (Name of the Artwork)

 Artist (Who made the painting)

 Media (Material used to make the

artwork)

 Year (year the painting was finished)

2. Praise (what you like and why)

3. Question (what you would ask the

artist about the artwork)

4. Idea (One thing you might change or

suggest to the artist that they could

change)

5. How it made you Feel (and why)

6. Closing (who made the video and

thanks for watching

Teachers’ Circle Lesson Plan Template

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