AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SELF PORTRAITS
Overview: To begin students will look at several examples of autobiographies and self-portraits. They will use prior knowledge to compare and contrast the two and discuss ways in which they each communicate identity. Student will then create autobiographical poems using a template. The poems will include the student’s name, likes and dislikes, activities, and so on. Next, the students will create typographical self-portraits that use descriptive words instead of lines. From here students will work to translate their words from both their autobiographical poems and typographical portraits into images with “Open Mind” self portraits.
Big Idea: Identity
Key Concepts: Identity is what makes us unique. Identity can be communicated in various verbal and non-verbal ways.
Essential Questions:
What is identity?
Why is identity important?
How is identity formed?
How can identity be communicated?
Rationale: Identity is an important aspect of adolescent development. This unit will teach students how to express their identity by thinking and creating interdisciplinarily. Additionally, it will show them how to apply previous knowledge to new contexts.
Target Student Group: Middle School Exceptional Education
Specific Unit Objectives:
Lesson 1- Autobiographical Poems
Objective: Students learn about identity and ways in which it can be formed and communicated. They will look at examples of autobiographical writing and self-portraiture, comparing and contrasting the two. The will then create an autobiographical poem using a template that expresses their personal identity.
Lesson 2- Typographical Self-Portraits
Objective: Students will combine English with art through the creation of typographical self-portraits. Descriptive words will be used in the place of lines to create their images.
Lesson 3- Open Mind Self-Portraits: Part 1
Objective: Students will work to translate the words from their typographical self portraits into illustrative self-portraits. They will focus on expressing their unique identity through physical features and personal style.
Lesson 4- Open Mind Self-Portraits: Part 2
Objective: Students will translate their autobiographical poems into images by drawing objects and interests. They will combine these drawings with their portraits from the previous lesson to create “open mind” self-portraits.
National Art Standards:
6. Content Standard: Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.
Virginia Art SOLS:
SOL 8.5, L: Use prior and background knowledge as a context for new learning.
SOL 8.7: The student will write in a variety of forms, including narration, exposition,
persuasion, and informational.
SOL 8.7, B: Use prewriting strategies to generate and organize ideas.
SOL 8.7, E: Select specific vocabulary and information for audience and purpose.
Lesson 1: Autobiographical Poems
Objective: Students will learn about identity and ways in which it can be formed and communicated. They will look at examples of autobiographical writing and self-portraiture, comparing and contrasting the two. The will then create their own autobiographical poems that expresses their personal identity.
Materials- pen/pencil, poem template and loose-leaf paper
Snapshot- Read a chapter of The Maze Runner.
Hook- We will briefly talk about “selfies” as a contemporary form of self-portraiture and self-expression.
Instructional Input- There will be a brief presentation with examples of autobiographical writings (i.e. Roald Dahl's Boy and Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl) and self-portraiture (i.e. van Gogh, Renoir, and Picasso) to compare and contrast. The students will then be invited to provide any additional examples that they have encountered in their personal experiences.
Guided Practice- Discussion will revolve around identity’s role in autobiographical writing and self-portraits. Students will be asked questions about how and why identity is formed, how it can be communicated and the importance it serves in our lives. Additionally, they will be asked to reflect on what the world would be like if identities weren’t unique. They will then be directed to create an autobiographical poem using a template that describes their personal identity. There will be a brief demonstration on how to use the template before students begin. The students will be invited to participate by suggesting words to fill in the blanks.
Template
Line 1. Your name Line 2. I am ____, ____ and ____.
(Three adjectives that describe you.)
Line 3. I love ____, ____ and ____.
(Three things you love.) Line 4. I feel ____ and ____.
(Two emotions you feel right now or often.) Line 5. I am most happy when ____ and ____. (Two things you are happy doing.) Line 6. I need ____, ____ and ____. (Three things you cannot live without.)
Line 7. I fear ____ and ____ the most.
(Two things that you fear.) Line 8. I would love to see ____.
(Something you would love to see.)
Line 9. I enjoy ____, ____ and ____.
(Three things you enjoy doing.)
Line 10. I like to wear ____, ____ and ____.
(Three types of clothes or accessories you like to wear.)
Line 11. Add something interesting about yourself.
Example:
Ms. Ayers.
I am a friend, an artist, and a teacher.
I love plants, cats, and fall weather.
I feel happy and excited.
I am most happy when I’m teaching and when I’m outside.
I need my friends, my family and my camera.
I fear spiders and getting lost.
I would love to see the Grand Canyon.
I enjoy hiking, riding my bike, and painting.
I like to wear skirts, necklaces and a braid.
I’m a student at VCU.
Independent Practice- Before the students begin working, there will be a review of the directions in which they are asked to repeat them step by back to me. They will then use a template to create a poem that uniquely describes who they are.
Closure- Clean up. Students will have the opportunity to share their poems with the class.
Lesson 2: Typographical Self-Portraits
Objective- Students will combine English with art through the creation of typographical self-portraits. Descriptive words will be used in the place of lines to create their images.
Materials- pencils, markers, head template and paper
Snapshot- Read a chapter of The Maze Runner.
Hook- Students will look various approaches of blending art and language, including popular musical artists portraits created with only their song titles.
Instructional Input- There will be a brief presentation with examples of typographical art that use a play on text and images to communicate ideas to the viewer. Students will be asked to discuss the crossovers between language and art.
Guided Practice- Discussion will be focused on the similarities and differences between art and langauge. Students will be asked questions such as "What do art and language have in common?" and "Can art and language be combined?". We will investigate how each approach provides different methods of communication. The students will then be directed to combine art language in the creation of their own typographical self-portraits. I will show the students how to use a template provided to trace the head and shoulders onto a sheet of paper. I will then demonstrate how to outline the features of the face and fill them in with descriptive words. The students will be invited to participate by suggesting descriptive words to use for different facial features.
Independent Practice- Before the students begin working, there will be a review of the directions in which they are asked to repeat them step by back to me. Students will then draw lightly with pencil to create a basic self-portrait. They will then use markers to fill in their features with different words.
Closure- Clean up. Students will have the opportunity to share their portraits with the class.
Lesson 3- Open Mind Self Portraits: Part 1
Objective- Students will work to translate the words from their typographical self portraits into illustrative self-portraits. They will focus on expressing their unique identity through physical features and personal style.
Materials- pencils, oil pastels, head template and white construction paper
Snapshot- Read a chapter of The Maze Runner.
Hook- Students will be invited to share with the class features about themselves that they feel make them unique.
Instructional Input- There will be a brief presentation providing students with examples illustrating the various ways to approach self-portriature. The examples will come from both past and contemporary artists and students will be invited to give their interpretations of each one.
Guided Practice- Discussion will revolve around how self-portraits work to portray a specific individual. While looking at several examples, we will address questions such as: “What makes each of these portraits unique? Is it the features? The style?” and “How can we make sure our portraits all look unique from each others?”. The students will then be directed to combine art create their own unique self-portraits. I will briefly review how to trace the head template onto a sheet of paper and then demonstrate how to use oil pastels to illustrate various facial features. I wll stress the importrance of producing a unique self-portrait that not only conveys their facial features, but also shows their personal style.
Independent Practice- Before the students begin working, there will be a review of the directions in which they are asked to repeat them step by back to me. Students will then use oil pastels to create a self-portrait that shows what makes them unique.
Closure- Clean up. Students will have the opportunity to share their drawings with the class and explain how they incorporated their own features and style to create a unique portrait.
Lesson 4- Open Mind Self Portraits- Day 2
Objective- Students will translate their autobiographical poems into images by drawing objects and interests. They will combine these drawings with their portraits from the previous lesson to create “open mind” self-portraits.
Materials- pencils, scissors, oil pastels, head templates and colored construction paper
Snapshot- Read a chapter of The Maze Runner.
Hook- Students will be invited to give their opinions to the question "Can you draw a self-portrait without a person?".
Instructional Input- There will be a brief presentation providing students with examples of self-portraits using only objects and symbols to communicate meaning.
Guided Practice- Discussion will focus on the ability of a collections of objects to communicate a person's identity. We will look at the examples from the presentation and students will be asked questions such as "If you were to describe this person, what would you say about them?" and "What do the objects chosen to represent them tell you about them?". They will then compare each image and discuss how we are able to tell that were depicting different people despite the fact that there is no physical person in them. The students will then be directed to work back into their portraits from the previous lesson by cutting off the top of their heads and adding in drawings of things that make up their unique identity. They will use their autobiographical poems as inspiration, but will be encouraged to incorporate other things if they please. Before starting, I will briefly demonstrate how to cut off the top of the head and paste it ajar on a new piece of paper, creating a space to fill with drawings.
Independent Practice- Before the students begin working, there will be a review of the directions in which they are asked to repeat them step by back to me. Students will then cut and paste their portraits as instructed onto a colored piece of construction paper. They will then fill the space with drawings of things that they are interested in.
Closure- Clean up. Students will have the opportunity to share their portraits with the class and explain why they included the imagery they did.
The lessons in the unit have been modified to fit the needs of a group of students with a diverse range of special needs. After my first day working with them, I quickly realized the importance of simplicity in my lessons. I revised my remaining lessons to use concise and familiar language, and found that the students not only appeared to understand more, but were also were also more willing to answer questions and share their opinions. Additionally, I found that the students worked at a slower pace than I had initially expected. In response, I decided to streamline the curriculum of each lesson, allowing for more independent work time. For example, I had originally intended to spend time in Lessons 2 and 3 discussing facial proportions; however, removed it because I was more concerned with students investigating their identities through their portraits than I was with them having proper facial proportions. Lastly, I observed the importance of closing activities with this group. In the past, I have had varying experiences with student’s willingness to share their creations; however, I quickly saw that many of these students enjoyed and took pride in being able to share their work with the class. In response, I made sure to include time at the end of each lesson for students to do so.
Instructional Strategies & Assessment:
Instructional Strategies:
Review prior knowledge.
Review of self-portraits and autobiographies- concepts the students were familiar with prior to this unit.
Use of technology tools.
Use of PowerPoint presentations during discussions and the document camera for demonstrations.
Group discussion.
Students were often invited to answer questions and participate in discussion during presentations.
Demonstrations.
Prior to each independent practice, students were shown how to do the activity step-by-step.
Independent practice.
Students were given a large chunk of class time each period to work independently on that day’s activity.
Differentiated instruction.
During independent practice, I walked around and helped each student individually. I came up with unique ways of explaining things that fit each individual students learning style (whether it be visual, verbal, tactile, etc.).
Assessment:
Check for understanding.
I made sure to check for understanding (both with concepts and directions) before moving. Review was generally oral and step-by-step.
Closure.
Student had the opportunity to share with class their creations and explain how they used what they learned that day.