General Overview
Educational Goals, Aim, & Rationale
Students will be able to utilize this Curriculum Web to learn about various war points in history through art. Art provides a unique lens for students, as it is constantly evolving and is solely influenced by the human condition. I am aiming for my students to utilize various arts- be it visual, written or performance – to understand how artists have provided us with a unique, involved and influenced perspective. Using art in this fashion will enable students to think critically and allow them to approach future endeavors with a critical lens. This includes government produced propaganda pieces as well. It is my hope that by the end of the curriculum web, students will be able to understand the stories of war not only as a story, but as a human condition. This will ultimately help them to think analytically about the impact of war and our political structures which are still at play today.
Description of the Subject Matter
This web works best with students who are preparing for Regents Examinations so that they can understand history through the lens of art. Art is influenced by the human condition and thus, many times, most appropriately depicts experiences and thus authors our historical events. With the provisions of visual, written and performing arts, working in tandem with primary source documents, students will learn how the arts show the story of who we are as human kind. Music, for example, changes greatly during times of war. By allowing students to tangibly work with a variety of pieces, categorized by time period, students will be able to more accurately understand what truly happened at various points in history. Students will be encouraged to think critically while they take the facts they have learned and see what the messages behind each piece of art. I will be utilizing anything from expository photography, to propaganda to peace chants and pop music.
More specifically this curriculum web will focus on wars of the 20th century - WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Many pieces of art show messages that may be washed over in many textbook history lessons. Students will also see the development of photography through the 20th century and how its development exposed stories on the frontline that previously would not have been able to be captured.
Description of Your Learners
In the hopes of continuing in the tradition of Catholic education, I look forward to one day teaching at a local Catholic High School. While catholic schools provide a private education, students come from many areas, demographics and backgrounds. At the school which I am currently completing my observations, students speak over 40 languages, travel from three outside states and represent many aspects of today’s economic/social class composition. However, most students are from Urban or Suburban areas and are ethnically comprised of Caucasians, Asians, Blacks and Latinos. While special population students are not as frequent as in the public education sector, there are students which have IEP’s as well as physical and mental handicaps. The school has also recently introduced an ELL program, which enriches non-fluent speaking students with the English skills necessary to excel in the American school system.
In a diversified environment such as this, I feel that there is a wonderful opportunity for students and educators to learn from one another. Although students may not share the same backgrounds, status or language, they may have the same interests or appreciations. By allowing students to express these, I can utilize these mutual interests/experiences to help enhance the learning process. This is especially important as we develop our Curriculum Webs, as much of the students interests can influence how material is presented and therefore absorbed. For example, if a teacher is able to create online lessons, students may be more likely to become involved in the assignment, as this is a platform where they will have more interest.
While this lesson could be tailored for many grade levels, the one that I have created would be best utilized for 9th and 10th grade students. This site will allow them to work through prompts and encourages them to think critically, while utilizing a variety of primary source documents. The lesson will expose them to many forms of art, which can help them to understand and empathize with figures from various points in history. This lesson is specifically focused on 20th Century Wars.
Learning Objectives & Standards
Through creating a lesson which students can relate to, in a medium with which they are familiar (and many times most comfortable working in,) we can cultivate analytic thinking skills, more efficiently reach all types of learners (visual, oral, auditory and kinesthetic) and build an understanding for how history is not just a story of our past, but is all around us. This combination can work to change students’ attitudes towards history, because we change the way we look at history. It morphs students from passive observation to active participation.
Desired Outcomes
Through this curriculum web, all standards for the Common Core State Standards will be met. Practices such as these help students to prepare for higher education through critical thinking and working with primary source documents.
Prerequisites
While students of history are expected to have a baseline of knowledge, it is most important for students to be working at an appropriate level so that they may accurately synthesize the various pieces we are working on.
Students should however, be able to use a computer, be familiar with web technologies and be able to complete assignments via the internet. The lesson will allow for students who are not familiar with the arts, and the wars we will be learning about.
There is also an "EXPLORE" section available on this Curriculum Web. This will set a baseline for key concepts that students should understand before embarking on their journey of activities. Included are some examples of various photos, paintings, lyrics, poems and performances, which were influenced by war. Below each, an explanation is provided. It demonstrates how one thinks critically about the pieces and how we should understand important influences. In addition a guided “ reading” question section will be provided. These are questions which are important for students to consider as they are working through the site and its activities.
Some example questions may be:
Preparation Information
Materials, Readings, and/or activities
Students will be expected to complete supplementary readings from the text as assigned each night. As many texts are factual with influence, this will allow them to have a baseline for knowledge, as well as provide points to challenge in our work/their creations/assessments.
In addition, I will provide supplementary primary source documents, such as articles and interviews of firsthand accounts to support the experience of the paintings.
There are also additional activities listed below for follow up.
Additional resources related to topic/content
I will be using a variety of resources from both historical and artistic sites. I have listed just a few for your reference below. (As this very detailed, it would be hard to provide all sources at this point, without completed the curriculum web)
This should be done over a week and a half to two week period. This will allow for the information to be absorbed by the students, as well as allow them adequate time to create a thoughtful, relative and successful piece of work.
Grouping Suggestions
For this particular curriculum web, students will be instructed to work individually. The reason for this being that when dealing with art, influence is extremely important. I want students to be as free from outside influence as possible. If students were paired together, their discussions, although productive in another fashion, will influence one another to various conclusions. Instead, students will be able to think independently and then when we share our learnings, we will then be able to make more discoveries about what we covered on our journey.
Teacher Role (Moderator, Facilitator, Student)
As the educator, it is my role to guide students through the learning process. Instead of solely providing them with information, I can instead lead them to information and facilitate inquiry. This helps the students to become involved and responsible for their own knowledge. It also allows me to act as the students, learning what is useful for them and adapting the lesson in ways that will prove to be more successful for them.
Extension/Adaptation Ideas
While this lesson is specific to the wars of the 20th century, it can be adapted for any time period, even pre-history. Through thematic teachers encourage their students to use a certain lens to understand a specific content area. For social studies students, we can easily teach thematically, while with other content areas such as math or science, it is more challenging.
When implementing in the classroom, it is best to follow-up this lesson with current events. As the 20th century concluded in our recent past, it is an easy transition for students to utilize what the students have learned and apply it to today. The ultimate goal is to help our students think critically and apply it. What better way to apply it than to use it in our life experiences?
Implementation Plan
Activities:
Activity One: Students will be provided with a series of sound bites. They will include important speeches, as many of the formative speeches are indeed works of art, songs and performances and then ask students to match them with the appropriate war era. This will be done solely on the web page.
Guidance for Activity: Students will be directed to peruse the “explore” section on the page. They can look at photos, paintings, writings and lyrics and understand what happened to influence these creations. As this is a very preliminary task to engage them in the lesson, they will then be directed to complete this activity. This should be completed on the first day of the lesson.
Activity Two: Students will be directed to go through the propaganda photos/campaigns of our past, which will all be provided on the site. Then they will pick out current propaganda ads/campaigns and I will ask them to infer what this means for our country at this time. (example: National Guard Advertisements in movie theaters)
Guidance for Activity: Students will be guided through a lesson on the meaning of propaganda, its purposes and how it was used to create change in public opinion. After reviewing some examples and learning about their meaning students will be directed to take what they have learned and think analytically about the current political situations and its influence in everyday life through media and culture.
Activity Three: Lastly, they will be asked to take what they have learned from the exploration process and various activities. They should be answering, “If you were artist with an important message about our current political/war condition, what would it be? How would you express it? How would future generations understand this?”
Set-up/Guidance for Activity Three: Students will be asked to take some time to think about what they found to be most powerful about this lesson and something new that they learned. They will then be asked to complete this larger assessment, in the form of a reflection paper, over the course of a week. In addition they may bring their idea to fruition for additional credit.
What should be done before Activity One?
Prior to activity one, we will complete the first reading in the text. Again, this will give them a baseline for knowledge. I will also be able to share with them the influences that all expression has, even textbooks. This will help students to understand the power of influence and understanding about “factual learning”
Transition information for each activity
Throughout this Curriculum web, the class and I will work together to understand information. I will also continuously ask questions that establish essential ideas, help them to think critically and also help me to judge their flow of intake for this lesson. After each activity students will be asked if they learned anything new, what they found interesting, and what else they would like to discover.
What should be done between Activity One and Two?
Students will be asked the above questions. In addition a second reading will be done that incorporates documents from each war era that we are studying. These will show the various influences that existed during these times.
What should be done after the class completes Activity Three?
After the final activity is completed, students will be asked if there is anything else that they wish they could learn from this lesson. I am hoping that I will be able to do this through a survey feature on the page. This information will then be populated and a follow up lesson will be given to answer the questions that students have provided. This can be included in a mystery page that will be featured on the page. Doing so would allowed continued participation, as well as a place for interaction with ideas.
——Assessment Plan (Include Rubrics, exams, or checklists) –
——What assessments should be used with the Curriculum Web? (Include Rubrics, exams, or checklists)
——When should you implement the assessment(s)?
——How will you grade student work and/or performance?
After completing each phase of the curriculum web, students will chronologically be asked to complete the curriculum web. Once the entire lesson/curriculum web is completed students will be asked to share their work with the class. While assessments are both online and in person, I will ask students to share their work and then present it to the class. This allows them to demonstrate what they have learned and express their understanding.
Students will be provided with a checklist which gives them detailed information on how they will be graded. While this is similar to a rubric, it allows extra room for individual interpretation of the activities. I do feel that at times rubrics call allow students to more fully understand how they will assessed, however, with a lesson such as this I do not want students to feel limited by the material listed in the rubric. Instead the checklist will encourage students to include important aspects on which they will be assessed.
While these assessments have prepared them in a way that will allow them to think analytically, they will also need to prove this on the NYS Global Regents. In order to make sure that they are utilizing their knowledge in a way that will allow them to succeed on this exam, they will then take an exam, using primary source documents to complete a Data Based Question (DBQ). This will be coupled with a short answer exam. In doing so students will demonstrate what they have learned in a different fashion than their presentations. Assessing in this capacity helps students to make sense of the material and understand it in both practical and manipulative capacities.
——How will you grade student work and/or performance?
Students will be provided with a checklist which gives them detailed information on how they will be graded. While this is similar to a rubric, it allows extra room for individual interpretation of the activities. I do feel that at times rubrics call allow students to more fully understand how they will assessed, however, with a lesson such as this I do not want students to feel limited by the material listed in the rubric. Instead the checklist will encourage students to include important aspects on which they will be assessed.
Checklist –
Each student should demonstrate the following:
- Knowledge about each era and the influences on the human experience.
- The role of government in our lives.
- Understandings displayed through art forms.
- Empathy for the human condition during war.
- Knowledge about the various types of art and how they are chosen/used to relay a message.
- Analytic thinking about current events and situations.
If you complete this lesson with your students you will be meeting the following standards:
ISTE
Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
Educational Goals, Aim, & Rationale
Students will be able to utilize this Curriculum Web to learn about various war points in history through art. Art provides a unique lens for students, as it is constantly evolving and is solely influenced by the human condition. I am aiming for my students to utilize various arts- be it visual, written or performance – to understand how artists have provided us with a unique, involved and influenced perspective. Using art in this fashion will enable students to think critically and allow them to approach future endeavors with a critical lens. This includes government produced propaganda pieces as well. It is my hope that by the end of the curriculum web, students will be able to understand the stories of war not only as a story, but as a human condition. This will ultimately help them to think analytically about the impact of war and our political structures which are still at play today.
Description of the Subject Matter
This web works best with students who are preparing for Regents Examinations so that they can understand history through the lens of art. Art is influenced by the human condition and thus, many times, most appropriately depicts experiences and thus authors our historical events. With the provisions of visual, written and performing arts, working in tandem with primary source documents, students will learn how the arts show the story of who we are as human kind. Music, for example, changes greatly during times of war. By allowing students to tangibly work with a variety of pieces, categorized by time period, students will be able to more accurately understand what truly happened at various points in history. Students will be encouraged to think critically while they take the facts they have learned and see what the messages behind each piece of art. I will be utilizing anything from expository photography, to propaganda to peace chants and pop music.
More specifically this curriculum web will focus on wars of the 20th century - WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Many pieces of art show messages that may be washed over in many textbook history lessons. Students will also see the development of photography through the 20th century and how its development exposed stories on the frontline that previously would not have been able to be captured.
Description of Your Learners
In the hopes of continuing in the tradition of Catholic education, I look forward to one day teaching at a local Catholic High School. While catholic schools provide a private education, students come from many areas, demographics and backgrounds. At the school which I am currently completing my observations, students speak over 40 languages, travel from three outside states and represent many aspects of today’s economic/social class composition. However, most students are from Urban or Suburban areas and are ethnically comprised of Caucasians, Asians, Blacks and Latinos. While special population students are not as frequent as in the public education sector, there are students which have IEP’s as well as physical and mental handicaps. The school has also recently introduced an ELL program, which enriches non-fluent speaking students with the English skills necessary to excel in the American school system.
In a diversified environment such as this, I feel that there is a wonderful opportunity for students and educators to learn from one another. Although students may not share the same backgrounds, status or language, they may have the same interests or appreciations. By allowing students to express these, I can utilize these mutual interests/experiences to help enhance the learning process. This is especially important as we develop our Curriculum Webs, as much of the students interests can influence how material is presented and therefore absorbed. For example, if a teacher is able to create online lessons, students may be more likely to become involved in the assignment, as this is a platform where they will have more interest.
While this lesson could be tailored for many grade levels, the one that I have created would be best utilized for 9th and 10th grade students. This site will allow them to work through prompts and encourages them to think critically, while utilizing a variety of primary source documents. The lesson will expose them to many forms of art, which can help them to understand and empathize with figures from various points in history. This lesson is specifically focused on 20th Century Wars.
Learning Objectives & Standards
Through creating a lesson which students can relate to, in a medium with which they are familiar (and many times most comfortable working in,) we can cultivate analytic thinking skills, more efficiently reach all types of learners (visual, oral, auditory and kinesthetic) and build an understanding for how history is not just a story of our past, but is all around us. This combination can work to change students’ attitudes towards history, because we change the way we look at history. It morphs students from passive observation to active participation.
Desired Outcomes
- Identify at least 3 points during the 20th Century where pieces of art that changed/influenced a political outcome
- Utilize a primary source document to develop opinions and think analytically about the information they have learned.
- Develop an appreciation for the influences around us and our impact on history. (Becoming active in learning
Through this curriculum web, all standards for the Common Core State Standards will be met. Practices such as these help students to prepare for higher education through critical thinking and working with primary source documents.
Prerequisites
While students of history are expected to have a baseline of knowledge, it is most important for students to be working at an appropriate level so that they may accurately synthesize the various pieces we are working on.
Students should however, be able to use a computer, be familiar with web technologies and be able to complete assignments via the internet. The lesson will allow for students who are not familiar with the arts, and the wars we will be learning about.
There is also an "EXPLORE" section available on this Curriculum Web. This will set a baseline for key concepts that students should understand before embarking on their journey of activities. Included are some examples of various photos, paintings, lyrics, poems and performances, which were influenced by war. Below each, an explanation is provided. It demonstrates how one thinks critically about the pieces and how we should understand important influences. In addition a guided “ reading” question section will be provided. These are questions which are important for students to consider as they are working through the site and its activities.
Some example questions may be:
- Who created this piece of art?
- What do you believe their intent was for creating it?
- What message is easily understood by an observer?
- Do you think there are any alternative meanings? What are they? Why?
- Was this work commissioned? If so, by whom?
- What ideals does this artist support?
Preparation Information
Materials, Readings, and/or activities
Students will be expected to complete supplementary readings from the text as assigned each night. As many texts are factual with influence, this will allow them to have a baseline for knowledge, as well as provide points to challenge in our work/their creations/assessments.
In addition, I will provide supplementary primary source documents, such as articles and interviews of firsthand accounts to support the experience of the paintings.
There are also additional activities listed below for follow up.
Additional resources related to topic/content
I will be using a variety of resources from both historical and artistic sites. I have listed just a few for your reference below. (As this very detailed, it would be hard to provide all sources at this point, without completed the curriculum web)
- MOMA.org
- Smithsonian.org
- Discoveryeducation.com
- openculture.com
- neok12.com
- besthistorysites.net
- teachinghistory.org
- free.ed.gov
- pbs.org
- New York Historical Society
- Museum of Natural History
- World War II Museum
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- smashingmagazine.com
This should be done over a week and a half to two week period. This will allow for the information to be absorbed by the students, as well as allow them adequate time to create a thoughtful, relative and successful piece of work.
Grouping Suggestions
For this particular curriculum web, students will be instructed to work individually. The reason for this being that when dealing with art, influence is extremely important. I want students to be as free from outside influence as possible. If students were paired together, their discussions, although productive in another fashion, will influence one another to various conclusions. Instead, students will be able to think independently and then when we share our learnings, we will then be able to make more discoveries about what we covered on our journey.
Teacher Role (Moderator, Facilitator, Student)
As the educator, it is my role to guide students through the learning process. Instead of solely providing them with information, I can instead lead them to information and facilitate inquiry. This helps the students to become involved and responsible for their own knowledge. It also allows me to act as the students, learning what is useful for them and adapting the lesson in ways that will prove to be more successful for them.
Extension/Adaptation Ideas
While this lesson is specific to the wars of the 20th century, it can be adapted for any time period, even pre-history. Through thematic teachers encourage their students to use a certain lens to understand a specific content area. For social studies students, we can easily teach thematically, while with other content areas such as math or science, it is more challenging.
When implementing in the classroom, it is best to follow-up this lesson with current events. As the 20th century concluded in our recent past, it is an easy transition for students to utilize what the students have learned and apply it to today. The ultimate goal is to help our students think critically and apply it. What better way to apply it than to use it in our life experiences?
Implementation Plan
Activities:
Activity One: Students will be provided with a series of sound bites. They will include important speeches, as many of the formative speeches are indeed works of art, songs and performances and then ask students to match them with the appropriate war era. This will be done solely on the web page.
Guidance for Activity: Students will be directed to peruse the “explore” section on the page. They can look at photos, paintings, writings and lyrics and understand what happened to influence these creations. As this is a very preliminary task to engage them in the lesson, they will then be directed to complete this activity. This should be completed on the first day of the lesson.
Activity Two: Students will be directed to go through the propaganda photos/campaigns of our past, which will all be provided on the site. Then they will pick out current propaganda ads/campaigns and I will ask them to infer what this means for our country at this time. (example: National Guard Advertisements in movie theaters)
Guidance for Activity: Students will be guided through a lesson on the meaning of propaganda, its purposes and how it was used to create change in public opinion. After reviewing some examples and learning about their meaning students will be directed to take what they have learned and think analytically about the current political situations and its influence in everyday life through media and culture.
Activity Three: Lastly, they will be asked to take what they have learned from the exploration process and various activities. They should be answering, “If you were artist with an important message about our current political/war condition, what would it be? How would you express it? How would future generations understand this?”
Set-up/Guidance for Activity Three: Students will be asked to take some time to think about what they found to be most powerful about this lesson and something new that they learned. They will then be asked to complete this larger assessment, in the form of a reflection paper, over the course of a week. In addition they may bring their idea to fruition for additional credit.
What should be done before Activity One?
Prior to activity one, we will complete the first reading in the text. Again, this will give them a baseline for knowledge. I will also be able to share with them the influences that all expression has, even textbooks. This will help students to understand the power of influence and understanding about “factual learning”
Transition information for each activity
Throughout this Curriculum web, the class and I will work together to understand information. I will also continuously ask questions that establish essential ideas, help them to think critically and also help me to judge their flow of intake for this lesson. After each activity students will be asked if they learned anything new, what they found interesting, and what else they would like to discover.
What should be done between Activity One and Two?
Students will be asked the above questions. In addition a second reading will be done that incorporates documents from each war era that we are studying. These will show the various influences that existed during these times.
What should be done after the class completes Activity Three?
After the final activity is completed, students will be asked if there is anything else that they wish they could learn from this lesson. I am hoping that I will be able to do this through a survey feature on the page. This information will then be populated and a follow up lesson will be given to answer the questions that students have provided. This can be included in a mystery page that will be featured on the page. Doing so would allowed continued participation, as well as a place for interaction with ideas.
——Assessment Plan (Include Rubrics, exams, or checklists) –
——What assessments should be used with the Curriculum Web? (Include Rubrics, exams, or checklists)
——When should you implement the assessment(s)?
——How will you grade student work and/or performance?
After completing each phase of the curriculum web, students will chronologically be asked to complete the curriculum web. Once the entire lesson/curriculum web is completed students will be asked to share their work with the class. While assessments are both online and in person, I will ask students to share their work and then present it to the class. This allows them to demonstrate what they have learned and express their understanding.
Students will be provided with a checklist which gives them detailed information on how they will be graded. While this is similar to a rubric, it allows extra room for individual interpretation of the activities. I do feel that at times rubrics call allow students to more fully understand how they will assessed, however, with a lesson such as this I do not want students to feel limited by the material listed in the rubric. Instead the checklist will encourage students to include important aspects on which they will be assessed.
While these assessments have prepared them in a way that will allow them to think analytically, they will also need to prove this on the NYS Global Regents. In order to make sure that they are utilizing their knowledge in a way that will allow them to succeed on this exam, they will then take an exam, using primary source documents to complete a Data Based Question (DBQ). This will be coupled with a short answer exam. In doing so students will demonstrate what they have learned in a different fashion than their presentations. Assessing in this capacity helps students to make sense of the material and understand it in both practical and manipulative capacities.
——How will you grade student work and/or performance?
Students will be provided with a checklist which gives them detailed information on how they will be graded. While this is similar to a rubric, it allows extra room for individual interpretation of the activities. I do feel that at times rubrics call allow students to more fully understand how they will assessed, however, with a lesson such as this I do not want students to feel limited by the material listed in the rubric. Instead the checklist will encourage students to include important aspects on which they will be assessed.
Checklist –
Each student should demonstrate the following:
- Knowledge about each era and the influences on the human experience.
- The role of government in our lives.
- Understandings displayed through art forms.
- Empathy for the human condition during war.
- Knowledge about the various types of art and how they are chosen/used to relay a message.
- Analytic thinking about current events and situations.
If you complete this lesson with your students you will be meeting the following standards:
ISTE
- Creativity and Innovation: Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge and develop innovative products and processes using technology
- Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to communicate and works collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others
- Research and Information Fluency: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate and use information
- Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making: Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
- RH.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
- RH.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
- RH.9-10.3 Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
- RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
- RH.9-10.5 Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis
- RH.9-10.6 Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
- RH.9-10.7 Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.
- RH.9-10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
- RH.9-10.10 By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
