Learning Activity

Recording Culture Through Illustrations

Subject Area

Arts Education
English Language Arts

Grade(s)

3

Overview

Students will use a text's illustrations to gain information about the character's culture.

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.19

Determine the explicit or implied main idea and supporting details of a text.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.3.19

Vocabulary

  • Explicit main idea
  • Implied main idea
  • Supporting details

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The main idea is the most important idea presented in the text.
  • Sometimes an author will clearly state the main idea, while other times an author will merely suggest the main idea.
  • The supporting details explain the main idea or provide more information about the main idea.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify the main idea in of a text.
  • Determine if the main idea is explicitly stated or implies.
  • Identify the supporting details of a text.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Literary and informational texts have a main idea, or most important message, and supporting details, which provide more information about the main idea.
  • An author can choose to state the main idea in the text or provide clues to imply the main idea.
  • A text usually just has one main idea, but multiple supporting details.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 3 - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.3.9

Identify and explain how and where different cultures record and illustrate stories and history through art.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.VA.3.9

Vocabulary

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

Essential Questions

EU: Objects, artifacts, and artworks collected, preserved, or presented either by artists, museums, or other venues communicate meaning and a record of social, cultural, and political experiences resulting in the cultivating of appreciation and understanding.
EQ: What is an art museum? How does the presenting and sharing of objects, artifacts, and artworks influence and shape ideas, beliefs, and experiences? How do objects, artifacts, and artworks collected, preserved, or presented, cultivate appreciation and understanding?

Skills Examples

  • Communicate the process used to make a presentation of visual artwork within limited space.
  • Select and present visual arts in accordance with given topics and ideas.
  • Describe the sequence of the process used to create the artwork.
  • Discuss Chauvet cave paintings, Diego Rivera's mural (The History of Mexico), or the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the events of the Norman Conquest.
  • Discover how and understand why the color yellow is a special color in other cultures and explore the color symbolism of various cultures.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 6: Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.

Phase

During/Explore/Explain
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to identify and explain how illustrations can show a person's culture by explaining key details in a text. 

Activity Details

Read aloud the book Why the Sky is Far Away by Mary-Joan Gerson. While the teacher reads the story aloud to the students, the students are recording their observations on sticky notes. Encourage them to pay attention to the color and style of the illustrations. 

After reading the book aloud, ask students to share what they noticed. Record their thoughts on the whiteboard or on a piece of chart paper. 

Ask the students what do they think the illustrator was trying to tell about the Nigerian culture. Make sure they cite specific evidence in the book to defend their answers. 

Assessment Strategies

Assessment Strategies

Have students write in their journals and explain how the illustrator recorded the culture of the Nigerian people. 

 

Variation Tips

Have students create their own illustration to demonstrate what is important to them. 

Background and Preparation

Background / Preparation

The teacher needs a copy of Why the Sky is Far Away by Mary-Joan Gerson.

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

coolhandliz
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