Melody S. Gallagher
In addition to writing the new curriculum, the New Haven School System has developed three Power Standards for the Visual Arts: Creating Art, Connecting Art (to other disciplines), and Responding to Art. For the purpose of this unit I am striving to integrate literacy components into my art lessons. Not only does this integration fulfill the "Connecting Art" Power Standard but it also allows for students to grasp objectives on a more holistic level by learning how concepts relate between language arts and visual arts. In particular, this unit will incorporate skills and concepts that fall within the fourth grade CMT strand for language arts, as many of our students struggle with these tests.
Our school system has asked all teachers to test out the objectives and concepts presented to determine if any changes are needed. To address this district need, I began to think about concepts that my students have trouble understanding. Students seem to have had little or no prior exposure to authentic art criticism. They tend to struggle with this both during oral and in written responses to art. Therefore, this unit is designed to allow for students to develop their ability to respond to artwork in a critical manner.
My aim in teaching this unit will be to have students recognize the connection between artistic and literary processes by increasing their skills in reading, interpreting, and making judgments that are based on their critical analysis of an artwork while learning how techniques of interpretation of characters in literary works correspond with the process of art criticism.
