As an Art teacher at James Hillhouse High School, I have designed this unit for visual art students who are enrolled in advance art courses. The students who are enrolled in these classes should have had some previous knowledge of Mexican arts and crafts from other art courses. This unit will take approximately thirty days to complete and the teaching objective of the unit will be three fold. First, through a brief historical investigation students will be introduced to the history of Mexican art, and how the arts of today link to that of the Pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica. Secondly, as active problem solvers in art, students will complete their own research on the history of Pre-Columbian art and culture. This research will be done using the Internet and other Mexican art web links. One of the issues the students will address through their research is the art that existed during Pre-Columbian times. This art consists of various sculptures and architecture and includes three distinct cultures. The third and final issue that students will explore is the relationship of Pre-Columbian art to today=ðs popular Mexican art. They will look at the relationship of themes in the PreColumbian cultures of the Olmec, Aztec and Maya and how the same themes exist in the Huichol, Otomi, and other cultures that are a part of the popular Mexican arts today.
Another teaching objective of this unit will be to allow students to develop their own portfolios by participating in various hands-on activities. Students will have the opportunity to experiment with different techniques and develop arts and crafts that are a part of Mexican cultures today. These crafts consist of yarn and bead paintings, amate paper cutouts and paintings, gourd making and paper mache.
Other teaching strategies for this unit include the use of various video and audio productions that will put students in the cultures directly and allow them to gather understanding and feeling. The Yale Art Gallery will also be utilized as a foundational resource where students will visit and learn to analyze and interpret Mesoamerican art in order to develop a one-page critique of the art collection located in the Yale Art Gallery.
This unit also addresses many of the art standards that are required in visual art classes in the New Haven Public School district.
Student Objectives:
Knowledge Objectives:
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1.
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Students will describe how art reflects, records, and shapes history in every culture.
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2.
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Students will develop basic vocabulary terms for thinking and writing and producing visual elements in Mexican art.
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3.
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Students will become familiar with library and Internet resources on Mexican art.
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4.
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Students will research Pre-Columbian art using the Internet and other library resources.
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Skills Objectives:
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1. SEQ 1_1 \* Arabic \r 11.
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Students will be able to work with art media such as sculpture, ceramics, and computer based tools to demonstrate and express feelings and ideas about Mexican art.
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2.
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Students will be able to make and justify judgments about aesthetic qualities in works of art from Mexico.
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3.
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Students will develop open-ended problem solving skills.
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4.
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Students will develop their expository writing skills.
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5.
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Students will develop a portfolio of Mexican art.
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6.
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Students will compare and contrast Pre-Columbian art.
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7.
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Students will become familiar with Huichol yarn paintings, gourd designs, and amate paper cutouts.
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8.
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Students will be encouraged to use the Yale Art Gallery and the Peabody Museums as resources for their study.
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9.
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Students will give a ten-min. presentation about their own artwork.
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10.Students will write a one-page critique about the Mesoamerican art collection at the Yale Art Gallery.
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11.
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Students will participate in creative hands-on art activities.
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Attitude Objectives:
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Students will enjoy exploring their creative abilities.
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Students will develop confidence in their ability to express creative ideas, and imagination through visual arts.
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3.
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Students will value their own artistic heritage along with other cultures.
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Process Objectives:
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1.Students will view, discuss, and write about works of Mexican art, from a historical point of view.
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2.Students will create artworks in a variety of media, including paper mache, paper, fibers (yarn), painting, etc.
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3.Students will creatively express themselves in a work of art that they complete that involves the historical aspects of Mexican art.
Experience Objectives:
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Students will encounter historical work of art in the Yale Art Gallery Mesoamerican art collection.
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Students will discover information about Mexico and Mexican art through video.
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