Classroom Resource

Comparing Past and Present

Subject Area

Arts Education

Grade(s)

K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Overview

Students will compare and contrast pieces of artwork that depict life in the past with modern-day objects. They can work as a class or in small groups. 

Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): KG - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.K.12

Interpret art by identifying subject matter and describing relevant details.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.VA.K.12

Vocabulary

  • Art
  • Artwork
  • Collaboratively
  • Collage
  • Cool colors
  • Warm colors
  • Elements of Art
    • Color
    • Line
    • Shape
  • Imaginative play
  • Play
  • Portfolio
  • Primary colors
  • Principles of design
    • Pattern
  • Printmaking

Essential Questions

EU: People gain insights into meanings of artworks by engaging in the process of art criticism.
EQ: What is the value of engaging in the process of art criticism? How can the viewer "read" a work of art as text? How does knowing and using visual arts vocabularies help us understand and interpret works of art?

Skills Examples

  • Identify art in their community, such as landscaping, etc.
  • Communicate the ideas and stories he/she sees in a work of art.
  • Recognize and point out basic elements of art in their own artwork and that of others.
  • Describe the meaning in the marks they make on paper.
  • Compare a photograph or painting of a vase to a real vase.
  • Explain what they think a piece of artwork means.
  • Listen carefully to the point of views of others and recognize that people have different opinions and responses.
  • Share what they see in a piece of artwork by listing items seen using art vocabulary. Answer questions such as, "What do you see?" or "How does this art make you feel?"
  • Explain why they like or do not like a piece of artwork.
  • Explain why he/she likes or dislikes his/her own artwork.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 1 - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.1.10

Select and describe works of art that illustrate daily life experiences.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.VA.1.10

Vocabulary

  • Complementary colors
  • Contrast
  • Curator
  • Elements of Art
    • Texture
  • Landscapes
  • Portrait
  • Positive/ negative space and shape
  • Principles of design
    • Repetition
    • Variety
  • Secondary colors
  • Still life
  • Technique
  • Venue

Essential Questions

EU: Individual aesthetic and empathetic awareness developed through engagement with art can lead to understanding and appreciation of self, others, the natural world, and constructed environments.
EQ: How do life experiences the way you relate to art? How does learning about art impact how we perceive the world? What can we learn from our responses to art?

Skills Examples

  • Identify the basic elements of art in a work of art through group discussion.
  • Discuss how people create works of art to communicate ideas and serve different purposes.
  • Investigate how a select work of art was created.
  • Identify elements of art and principles of design in their own artwork and in those of others using art vocabulary.
  • Connect the stories in works of art to the cultures they represent.
  • Compare Leonardo DaVinci's Mona Lisa with Johannes Vermeer's The Girl with the Pearl Earring to identify different uses of the elements of art and principles of design.
  • Compare images that represent the same subject matter.
  • Connect visual stories with literary stories.
  • Share their art-making processes with peers
  • Classify/ group art work by portraits, landscapes and still life.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 1 - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.1.11

Compare and/or contrast similar images, subjects, or themes.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.VA.1.11

Vocabulary

  • Complementary colors
  • Contrast
  • Curator
  • Elements of Art
    • Texture
  • Landscapes
  • Portrait
  • Positive/ negative space and shape
  • Principles of design
    • Repetition
    • Variety
  • Secondary colors
  • Still life
  • Technique
  • Venue

Essential Questions

EU: Visual imagery influences understanding of and responses to the world.
EQ: What is an image? Where and how do we encounter images in our world? How do images influence our views of the world?

Skills Examples

  • Identify the basic elements of art in a work of art through group discussion.
  • Discuss how people create works of art to communicate ideas and serve different purposes.
  • Investigate how a select work of art was created.
  • Identify elements of art and principles of design in their own artwork and in those of others using art vocabulary.
  • Connect the stories in works of art to the cultures they represent.
  • Compare Leonardo DaVinci's Mona Lisa with Johannes Vermeer's The Girl with the Pearl Earring to identify different uses of the elements of art and principles of design.
  • Compare images that represent the same subject matter.
  • Connect visual stories with literary stories.
  • Share their art-making processes with peers
  • Classify/ group art work by portraits, landscapes and still life.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 2 - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.2.15

Compare and contrast cultural uses of artwork from different times and places.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.VA.2.15

Vocabulary

  • Principles of design
    • Balance
  • Brainstorming
  • Composition
  • Concepts
  • Characteristic
  • Elements of art
    • Space
    • Value
  • Expressive properties
  • Foreground
  • Middle ground
  • Neutral colors
  • Resist

Essential Questions

EU: People develop ideas and understandings of society, culture, and history through their interactions with and analysis of art.
EQ: How does art help us understand the lives of people of different times, places, and cultures? How is art used to impact the views of a society? How does art preserve aspects of life?

Skills Examples

  • Students compare, contrast and discuss how art can reflect artists' personal experiences or interests.
  • Compare materials and techniques in works of art using descriptive language.
  • Identify and share the uses of visual arts outside the classroom.
  • Teacher provides a diverse selection of artworks that represents different times and places for student viewing and discusses subject matter with students.
  • Recognize and respect cultural differences in works of art.
  • Compare and contrast Australian Aboriginal dot painting and Plains Indians pictographs.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 3 - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.3.15

Recognize that responses to art change depending on knowledge of the time and place in which it was made and on life experiences.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.VA.3.15

Vocabulary

  • Creativity
  • Criteria
  • Critique
  • Design
  • Media
  • Mixed media
  • Monochromatic
  • Principles of design
    • Rhythm
  • Technology
  • Visual image

Essential Questions

EU: People develop ideas and understandings of society, culture, and history through their interactions with and analysis of art.
EQ: How does art help us understand the lives of people of different times, places, and cultures? How is art used to impact the views of a society? How does art preserve aspects of life?

Skills Examples

  • Discuss how art can be used to express ideas in poems and short stories.
  • Observe and compare similar themes, subject matter and images in artworks from historical and contemporary eras.
  • Discuss the relationships between the elements of art.
  • Use historical and cultural artworks to answer questions about daily life.
  • Discuss how we encounter art and artists in everyday life.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 4 - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.4.15

Through observation, infer information about time, place, and culture in which a work of art was created.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.VA.4.15

Vocabulary

  • Constructed environment
  • Cultural traditions
  • Digital format
  • Engagement
  • Tertiary color
  • Preservation
  • Proportion
  • Principles of design
    • Unity
  • Shade
  • Style
  • Tints & shades

Essential Questions

EU: People develop ideas and understandings of society, culture, and history through their interactions with and analysis of art.
EQ: How does art help us understand the lives of people of different times, places, and cultures? How is art used to impact the views of a society? How does art preserve aspects of life?

Skills Examples

  • Create a quilt square in the style of the Gee's Bend Quilters.
  • State what materials or processes you prefer and why.
  • Discuss how art and design serves multiple functions such as to inform, entertain, invest, persuade, ritualize or assist in everyday tasks.
  • Observe and discuss the statue of Vulcan in Birmingham and talk about its relationship to history of the city.
  • Investigate differences in cultural style, genres, and context through historical time periods.
  • Discuss how art reflects the interests, accomplishments and conflicts of culture and society over time.
  • Use details and descriptive language to identify universal themes, subject matter and ideas expressed across arts disciplines.
  • Identify and describe how artists have depicted Alabama history.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 5 - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.5.12

Interpret art by analyzing visual qualities and structure, contextual information, subject matter, visual elements, and use of media to identify ideas and mood conveyed.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.VA.5.12

Vocabulary

  • Cultural context
  • Formal & conceptual vocabulary
  • Genre
  • Linear perspective
  • Preserve
  • Principles of design
    • Movement
    • Emphasis
  • Relief
  • Vanishing point

Essential Questions

EU: People gain insights into meanings of artworks by engaging in the process of art criticism.
EQ: What is the value of engaging in the process of art criticism? How can the viewer "read" a work of art as text? How does knowing and using visual arts vocabularies help us understand and interpret works of art?

Skills Examples

  • Compare and contrast artworks in terms of content, stylistic characteristics, and techniques.
  • Collaboratively observe, analyze, and interpret a body of artworks about places, focusing on content, style, and technique.
  • Identify and analyze the terracotta Army and its relationship to Chinese Culture.
  • Describe the relationship between works of art from different cultures being respectful and mindful of cultural sensitive themes.
  • Discuss differences in art of familiar and unfamiliar cultures.
  • Discuss the reasons and value of documenting and preserving works of art and objects for a culture.
  • Recognize what was learned and the challenges that remain when assessing a work of art.
  • Use criteria to assess works of art individually and collaboratively.
  • Use contextual cues to discuss notions of beauty and aesthetic value.
  • Compare and contrast different media and techniques.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
Link to Resource
https://philamuseum.org/doc_downloads/education/lessonPlans/11704_EDU_Lesson-Pl…

CR Resource Type

Learning Activity

Resource Provider

Philadelphia Museum of Art
Accessibility
License

License Type

Custom

Custom License Type (URL)

https://philamuseum.org/webpolicies?page=2

Approved Date

ALSDE LOGO

This site may contain links to other websites or content belonging to or originating from third parties or links to websites and features in banners or other advertising. Such external links are not investigated, monitored, or checked for accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness by us. WE DO NOT WARRANT, ENDORSE, GUARANTEE, OR ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY INFORMATION OFFERED BY THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES LINKED THROUGH THIS SITE.
Alabama Learning Exchange © 2002-2023 by Alabama State Department of Education is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Design by Adaptive Theme