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Teaching thematically offers flexibility. Lessons are not tied to a chronology of events, so units may easily be shortened or expanded. Hands-on projects tap students' interests and encourage discovery and experimentation.
Our middle school philosophy shaped the design of the course. Most lesson plans
are original to the class; some have been adapted from other sources and revised
to be accessible to a middle to early high school audience. In these cases we've made every attempt to provide a link to the
original source. All KET resources are aligned with the National Standards in the Arts, Kentucky's Academic Standards and Core Content in the Humanities.
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What's Inside
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Themes begins with an eight-day introduction to the arts. "Color Across the Arts," covers color in visual art and tone color in music. The second lesson, "Line Across the Arts," begins with lines and pathways in dance, moves to poetic line and then the painter's use of line. "Form Across the Arts" opens with a call-and-response activity. Next students see triangular form (Freytag's Pyramid) in theater. The lesson ends with visual arts and musical examples of A-B-A form. "Texture Across the Arts," the last of these two-day lessons, begins with texture on stage. Next, the class listens for depth and relationships among sounds--musical texture. Finally, students see ways poets weave words--creating texture through sound and silence. |
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All lessons in "The Natural World" are linked by a common theme: the artist's relationship to nature. A few of the lessons: Vivialdi's Four Seasons encourages students to listen to timbres of various instruments. Students learn about locomotor and non-locomotor movements in dance, and begin experiments with their observations from nature. In visual arts, they'll explore weather conditions through Monet's work and their own experiments. Ando Hiroshege's work teaches students about the Asian reverence for nature. |
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The link between an artist and family, society, and the spirit world forms the thematic basis of the "Relationships" unit. Several projects in this unit lean on drama, and students will have fun creating a new family member; they'll see an excerpt from The Great Gillie Hopkins, and will create and perform their own ritual. The Billy Collins poem, Another reason why I don't keep a gun in the house, invites students to consider their relationships with neighbors (and neighbors' dogs!); Words of Power reflects on Sojourner Truth and the power of the spoken word to change society. There's a Beethoven worksheet in each of the three units, and in "Relationships" students will listen to the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony--the composer's monumental work celebrating the brotherhood of man. |
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"Search for Self" is a collection of lesson plans that center on the artist's need to find his or her own identity and individual means of expression. By the time students have studied and experimented with nature-based works and creative products based on relationships, they may be comfortable expressing some of their own feelings. The unit begins with "Found Art and Found Poetry;" they'll create a cubist self-portrait and search for their own "Animal Totems." The rebellious ones can "Create a Piece of Peaceful Protest Art," and the poets can write their own personal narrative ballad. Throughout each of these three units, students will have options for writing, visual art, diagrams, and critiques to include in a Theme Portfolio. |
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How do you evaluate a series of thematic lessons and translate hands-on experiences into a cohesive collection? This short section provides terms and concepts for review, ideas for evaluating the Theme Portfolio, and suggestions for open response questions. If you're considering which lessons to use or what concepts would mesh with your own philosophy, visit this site for a concise overview of what's here. |