Arts and the common core: Visual arts units
These units connect common core components with art-making and visual arts across elementary, middle, and high school grade levels.
Included Resources
In this unit, Arts and the Common Core: Researching and Painting Our Environment, students create a painting inspired by their environment. They will learn how artists are inspired by their environment and how they use different techniques to represent different elements of the environment. Students will reflect on their observations and process through various expository, descriptive, and persuasive writing activities. This unit is for the elementary school level.
In this unit, Common Core and Printmaking: History and Exploration of Techniques, students will be given an introduction to the history of print and an exploration of printmaking techniques. Students will reference primary sources pertaining to the history and development of printmaking and engage in web-based interactive printmaking activities. Students will explore how printmaking inspires other art forms such as poetry and music. This unit is for the middle school level.
In this unit, Common Core and Drawing: Transforming Figures in a Setting into Geometric Forms, students examine the work of Fernand Léger to see how he transformed human figures in a setting into machine-like geometric forms. They discuss how Léger's work was influenced by his personal experiences and explore how some artists create a personal view by incorporating the work of other artists. This unit is for the high school level.