I teach in a self-contained classroom at Edgewood Magnet School in New Haven. I find the neighborhood/magnet setting a rewarding environment, with students coming to school each day from a variety of home circumstances and with differences in academic levels. As a result of these variables, the children have differing levels of background knowledge and life experiences. The classroom is a mixture of varied ethnicities, economic strata and social and emotional strengths and weaknesses. The use of collaboration allows all students at all levels to learn in an inherently differentiated environment, learning new concepts and experiences through hands-on practices. Throughout the school year, the Kindergarten curriculum centers heavily on social development, which is certainly appropriate for five- and six-year old children. Our school mission and vision statements focus on equity and inclusion, acknowledging and including everyone in our learning environment. This unit will be in direct alignment with my responsibility to design curricula that helps our students learn social and community responsibility.
This unit focuses on children’s book illustrators who are from families of African American artists and authors. My goal is to use a new lens and approach when bringing the picture book art to my students through literature we enjoy throughout the year. This artist/author study includes the works of Leo and Diane Dillon, a husband and wife team who have been creating art together since they met at the Parsons School of Design in 1953; Jerry and Brian Pinkney, father and son, who have earned between them dozens of awards and recognitions for their work on children’s books; and, Donald Crews, Ana Jonas, and their daughter, Nina Crews, all authors and illustrators of a great variety of picture books and stories.
I find the shared talents of family members intriguing and this unit brings the work of these three families to my students as they bring life, voice and African American heritage to children through their artistry. The student activities will center on a visual literacy approach for my students to learn about the art through observation and questioning and will introduce De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats strategy for viewing art and considering art pieces.
The rationale and purpose of my unit are defined through the following questions:
What do my students gain knowing about the illustrators or would miss without their work? What strategies make the most sense for this unit and age group (primary students)? How did these families share and project and how did they decide on which projects to collaborate and synchronize? How does the work they produce veer from their picture book illustrations if it does? How does their work adhere to the conventions of the field or is it revolutionary art showing freedom of expression? What do their award speeches share about their craft as African American illustrators and what insights might they reveal? What is the synthesis between their images and the text of the books they illustrate?
