VTS UNIT PLAN
LTC 8900-60 Visual Thinking Strategies II
Teachers Name: Dustin
Shryock
Course Title: Beast Feast
Age/Grade Level of Students: 1st – 4th grade Ridgeway Boys Writers Club
DEFINE THE BIG IDEA: The big idea of the unit that I have developed is
based on Beasts. The class that I have designed my unit for is made up of 1st
– 4th grade boys who have trouble with writing skills. The
curriculum is designed to help them develop their writing abilities by
providing them with opportunities to write in relation to VTS sessions and art
making activities. We look to choose topics that will be exciting for these
young boys that have to do with adventures, heroes, warriors and their codes of
customs. (Ex. Samurai, Knighthood, Wild West, etc.) The topics we select need
to be interesting and inspiring for these young boys. Beasts have proven to be
a topic that inspires a great deal of imaginative thought and dialogue in
relation to the images that we have focused on and the projects that we have
completed.
RATIONALE for BIG IDEA (Why is it appropriate for your students?)
The big ide of BEASTS is appropriate for these young boys because of the
imaginative nature that comes with an interaction with a beast. We are looking
to inspire them to use new words and rich descriptors in their writings.
Placing these youngsters in a setting where they talk and write about what it
would be like to come into contact with a beast lends itself to these rich
descriptions. Fears, smells, sounds, tactics, tools/weapons, and settings are
all things that bring about juicy descriptive words with this topic. The images
that we have come up with provide rich narratives and place these boys directly
in front of a wide array of gnarly beasts.
KEY CONCEPTS and OBJECTIVES:
* Students will learn to analyze environments and determine their effect
on subject matter.
* Students will learn to talk and write about the rich details displayed
in a piece of artwork.
* Students will learn to respectfully discuss their opinions and
feelings about a piece of artwork
* Students will learn to create artwork within a set of limitations.
* Students will learn to create artwork in relation to a rich narrative
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
* What happens when I collaborate with another student’s artwork?
* What do I need to do to make my text relate to my artwork?
* What feelings would I experience if I encountered a beast in the wild?
* How do you create narrative within a piece of artwork?
* Can I expand my vocabulary by looking at and discussing art with
others?
CROSS-CURRICULUAR CONNECTIONS:
This entire unit is designed to accompany an English writing program
within a school. The opportunities to incorporate these lessons in either a
writing program or an art program are the foundational goals of the unit. Students
are being encouraged to write in relation to their creations. By doing this,
hopefully students will find a point of personal inspiration to write from that
perhaps does not exist in many other writing exercises. Perhaps there is an
additional opportunity to connect this Big Idea of beasts to a science
classroom investigating animal classifications or prehistoric creatures.
VTS IMAGES :
Gladiator Vs. Lion
By Miguel Coimbra
I like this image as an introductory image due to
its historical significance and has very rich narrative opportunities. It is an image of
action and ferocity yet it does not contain anything too graphic or violent.
Students are drawn into the role of the gladiator and encouraged to use
descriptive words associated with the experience.
Basilisk
Artist unknown
I chose this image because of the combination of animal arts
that are combined to create this Beast. These characteristics were helpful in
getting the boys to think creatively in regards to the assignment I had created
for them involving collaboration. It builds on the first image by using common
animal features and expanding on the possibility of combining others.
St. George and the Dragon
By Raphael
I incorporated this image because I wanted to expose the students to a
painting done by an important figure in art history and give our unit a wide
range of historical perspective. I also wanted to incorporate images that have
rich detail in the setting of the main figures. I wanted the boys to begin to
look at the surroundings to draw conclusions about the meaning of the images.
The Magma Beast
By Spyders
I chose this image because once again, I hoped to continue to develop student’s
focus to the surroundings of the main characters. I also hoped to expand the
boys imaginations of the make-up of the beasts that we were experiencing and
provide an opportunity for new descriptive words to incorporate into writings.
Doubled Back
By Bev Doolittle
My final image is one that I feel incorporates all of the
characteristics that we were looking for in our images: narrative, rich
environments and strong descriptive words. It also introduces another element
of trickery or optical illusion that provides a very exciting surprise for the
viewer. There is a possibility for an exciting, eye-opening realization for the
students!
VTS IMAGE RATIONALE:
I think that the progression of images that I have chosen allows
students to become involved quickly allowing them to share any prior knowledge
they may have of an era/setting of familiarity with the topic of gladiators.
The first image allows them to become involved with the image by imaging what
it would be like to be in the gladiator’s sandals. We then move into some
alternate forms of beasts giving students a wide range of beastly figures. Each
image hopefully will expand their scope of viewership as they pull more and
more elements out of the surroundings included in the images and relate them to
what is happening to the main characters. I think that all of the images
encourage the use of strong descriptive words and inspire imaginative
adventures. The images encourage the students to look at the picture as a whole
and figure out what is going on instead of simply listing things that they see
inside the image.
In addition to the normal VTS session, we will have a vocabulary board next to the teacher where any rich descriptive words that are shared
will be written for all of the class to see. This allows for students to focus
on these and incorporate them into their own writings. It also reinforces the
use of these words for the students who present them. Students become very
excited to see their words on the board or try hard to have one of their own
added.
STUDIO / ARTMAKING ACTIVITIES:
Monster Mash: This lesson is an Exquisite Corpse style
collaborative project in which the students get to create beast halves and mix
n’ match them with other students to create crazy new combinations. Each
student is given two pieces of paper with initial marks indicating where the
waist of the creature should connect on both papers. On the first page, the
students create the top half of a beast and the bottom half on the other. They
will then be able to trade with other students and have all of their sections
match up on the original marks. They are then asked to write a descriptive
profile for the beast describing its features and abilities. Finally, students
will enter their beast into a class tournament where winners will be voted on
by the entire class.
Clash of the Titans: In this lesson, students will create beast puppets
and engage in some beastly smack talk with another student. Using paper bags,
construction paper, glue, scissors, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, etc.,
students will create a beastly puppet. Then they will collaborate with another
student to write a dialogue taking place in the midst of an intense battle
between the two creatures. The students will then have the opportunity to
preform their beastly smack-talk for the rest of the class.
Beast Feast: In this final lesson, students will create a three-dimensional beast out
of a wide array of snack foods. Using Rice Krispy treats, small donuts and
tootsie rolls as the moldable armatures, students will then add candy, icing,
and cereal to create a three-dimensional beastly creation. Once the creations
are complete, photographed, and presented to the class, we will commence the
unit with a Beast Feast!
LESSON SEQUENCE
Lesson #1 “Monster Mash”
This will be a three-day lesson. The first day we will start off with a
VTS session using the Gladiator vs. Lion image
to get the kids thinking about being in the presence of a beast and using
strong descriptive words. After the VTS we will begin the art making exercise. This
lesson is an Exquisite Corpse style collaborative project in which the students
get to create beast halves and mix n’ match them with other students to create
crazy new combinations. Each student is given two pieces of paper with initial
marks indicating where the waist of the creature should connect on both papers.
On the first page, the students create the top half of a beast and the bottom
half on the other. They will then be able to trade with other students and have
their entire sections match up on the original marks. The second day, I will
show the Basilisk image and lead a VTS session to get them thinking in creative
ways to create unique beasts. They are then asked to write a descriptive
profile for the beast describing its features and abilities. Finally, students
will enter their beast into a class tournament where winners will be voted on
by the entire class.
Lesson #2 Clash of the Titans: This will be another three-day lesson. We will start out doing a VTS
session using The Magma Beast image
to get the students thinking about the interactions between the two figures and
how they interact with their surroundings. In this lesson, students will create
beast puppets and engage in some beastly smack talk with another student. Using
paper bags, construction paper, glue, scissors, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners,
etc., students will create a beastly puppet. We will incorporate the image of St. George and the Dragon for a VTS
session on the second day, continuing to emphasize descriptive words and
interactions between figures. Then they will collaborate with another student
to write a dialogue taking place in the midst of an intense battle between the
two creatures. The students will then have the opportunity to preform their
beastly smack-talk for the rest of the class.
Lesson #3 Beast Feast: This will be a one-day lesson to end
the unit. We will start with a VTS session on the Doubled Back image. This image will get the students thinking about
all of the components that we have been focusing on in the other images and
also introduces another
element of trickery or optical illusion that provides a very exciting surprise
for the viewer. In this final lesson, students will create a three-dimensional
beast out of a wide array of snack foods. Using Rice Krispy treats, small
donuts and tootsie rolls as the moldable armatures, students will then add
candy, icing, and cereal to create a three-dimensional beastly creation. Once
the creations are complete, photographed, and presented to the class, we will
commence the unit with a Beast Feast!
ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES
*With all of these assignments, students will be asked to
present or share their writings and creations with the class. Their willingness
to share their work and contribute to the VTS sessions will be the main form of
assessment.
*The student’s ability to collaborate with peers and
maintain respectful classroom behavior in the VTS process will be an important
component of the assessment.
*Students will also be assessed on their writing. Not
necessarily their quality of writing but their attempts to use strong
descriptive words that will be emphasized throughout the unit.
UNIT EVALUATION & ASSESSMENT
Success
· This unit will be
a success if students complete writing exercises using strong descriptive words
found on the word bank created during our VTS discussions.
· The unit will be
a success if students are respectful of one another during their discussions
and build off of each other’s ideas as they develop a knowledge base.
· The unit will be
a success if students are excited to see the new VTS image that is revealed and
re eager to share their answers.
*Hindsight*
Success
· The word board
was a very big success. Having strong descriptive words spoken by classmates
written up on the board in front of them really enhanced their willingness to contribute
and their use of these words in their writings.
· The images chosen
seemed to be a big success. The conversations were lively and the students were
drawn in to the fine details of each image. They were desperate for answers and
were excited to create once the session was over.
Disappointments
· While conducting
the VTS sessions for this unit, I was disappointed in the amount of student
comments I was able to get to in each VTS discussion. It seemed like many
times, there were students waiting with their hands up to be called on that we
didn’t get to because I was not able to keep the class comments on point and
allow each student to share only one thing. Many times, students were sharing a
laundry list of things and eating into the time we had leaving little time for
the rest of the class.
Revisions
After going
through this unit, I would omit the exercise of having students vote on a class
winner based on their writings describing their Monster Mash creations. After
each student shared, it seemed much to brutal to have only one winner and a
classroom full of losers. Watching them
work so hard on their writings and struggle to share in front of the class,
voting on which one was better did not seem appropriate at all.
Daum Alternative Assignment
ReplyDeleteFirst off let me say that I love this big idea and the concept behind the boys writers club. I really can’t wait to use the big idea of beasts in my classroom now. It is obviously very appropriate for you group of boys and their age level. I’m not sure that there is a better big idea. I really liked that idea of the word board and using that support them is a great idea. The images that you chose to VTS were great I especially like the final image. I have only done VTS with high school students so I have no reference to the challenges that are presented with your age group but it seems that VTS is enhancing their learning and writing. So bravo! The studio work that the students were doing was great. I wanted to be in the class. I love exquisite corpse and use it in my classroom anytime that I can. Beastly smack talk ....YES. Treat Monsters... again YES! I love it all and want to use it all. I’m so impressed. Great Job!