8th Grade

Inventing for the Future—Science Sculptures

admin — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 21:54:23 +0000

Inventing for the Future—Science Sculptures admin Fri, 01/14/2022 - 14:54

Inventing for the Future—Science Sculptures

January 14, 2022

Lesson Level

8th Grade

Lesson Category

Science

Lesson Content

Six 50-minute classes

In this project, students explore 8th-grade science concepts involving adaptations.

We will discuss as a class how the environment is changing and what adaptations or inventions may be needed in the future. Students will consider issues like forest fires, rising temperatures, clean water, pollution, the food supply chain, etc. They will then sculpt a model of their invention or adaptation. Students will use materials like cardboard, paperboard, plastic containers and lids to construct their models. Students will learn to translate their 2D sketch into a 3D model.

Objectives:

Students will brainstorm at least three different ideas of possible adaptations or inventions that could help humans in the future
Students will determine which idea they will pursue
Students will fully draw their idea from two different angles to get a better understanding of the objects full form (translation from 2D to 3D).
Students will sculpt a 3D model of their adaptation.
Students will write a three-to-four sentence statement about their artwork

Basic Lesson Outline:

Introduce the project and share slideshow.
Students will determine their adaptation/invention and draw it from two different angles to better understand its form (translate from 2D to 3D)
Students will begin sculpting their idea
Students finalize their sculptures
Students display their work and artist statement, give feedback and discuss

Art Supplies:

extra blank paper for drawing idea from two angles
pencils and erasers
scissors
Xacto knives
cardboard pieces and paperboard pieces
masking tape/duct tape
cardboard tape and sponges
hot glue sticks and gun
(encourage students to bring items from home to add to the supplies)

Other Resources:

PowerPoint slideshow
Brainstorming worksheet
Final drawing worksheet

Idaho State Learning Standards:

Arts and Humanities: Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.

VA:Cr1.1.8a: Document early stages of the creative process visually and/or verbally in traditional or new media.

Arts and Humanities: Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

VA:Cr2.1.8a: Demonstrate willingness to experiment, innovate, and take risks to pursue ideas, forms, and meanings that emerge in the process of artmaking or designing.

Science Objective(s):

MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
MS-LS2-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Academic Language:

Subject area language: adaptation, invention, environment, observation
Art Language: sculpture, form, 2D, 3D, model

Student Use of Vocabulary:

Students will use the words when creating their sculptures, when writing about their work, and when discussing their projects.

Student Grouping:

Students will work independently.

Instructions:

Day 1 – Introduction

Introduce the project through the slide show

Show students the work of Leonardo da Vinci and a short video
Also the work of Alexander Calder and a short video
Engage students by encouraging them to critically think and ask:
o How might our environment change in the future?
o What needs might humans have in the future?
Introduce the project goal of sculpting a model of an adaptation or invention for a possible future need
Discuss project expectations
Begin brainstorming at least three different ideas

Day 2 – Artmaking

Students will determine their favorite idea and draw it from two different angles to get a better understanding of the object’s full form (translate idea from a 2D drawing, to a 3D model)

Day 3 – Artmaking

Students are given tips for sculpting with cardboard and begin the sculpting process

Day 4 – Artmaking

Students continue working on their sculptures

Day 5 – Artmaking

Students continue working on their sculptures

Day 6 – Presentations

Students will write artist statement paragraph
Students will display their artwork and artist statement and participate in a gallery walk where they will observe each other’s works and give feedback to at least two of their peer’s work. Class discusses what they observed in their peer’s work

Slide Show Outline:

Show the work of Leonardo da Vinci and Alexander Calder
Discuss the design process compare/contrast to the artistic process
Share project goals
What is sculpture?
Brainstorming
Our Design Process
Translating from 2D to 3D with drawings
Planning and materials
Sculpting tips
Artist statement question prompts to help students write their own artist statement
Resources

End of Project Artist Reflection and Presentation:

What is your sculpture called?
Your sculpture is a model of an invention, what does your invention do?
What materials did you use to construct your model?
How does it help people?
Why is this important to you/Why did you choose this invention?

PDF of LESSON

DOC of Lessson

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A River Runs Through It—A Watershed Art installation

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 19:39:57 +0000

A River Runs Through It—A Watershed Art installation admin Mon, 03/02/2020 - 12:39

A River Runs Through It—A Watershed Art installation

March 2, 2020

Lesson Level

8th Grade

Lesson Category

Science

Lesson Content

Six 50-minute classes

Students work together to create an art installation of a watershed.

Recycled plastic serves multiple purposes in this project: it is reusable, economical material; it reflects the plastic waste that is in our water; and it shows students how much plastic we consume. Students create part of a waterfall, a fish, and a plant while learning about the different components of a watershed, including human impact on a watershed.

Objectives:

Students will create elements of a watershed using recycled plastics
Students will identify elements of human impact on a watershed
Students will create an art installation representing a watershed

Basic Lesson Outline:

Introduce the project—slide show
Students create a waterfall, plants, and fish
The watershed is assembled in the installation location

Art Supplies:

Watercolor paints
Acrylic paints
Modge podge
Paint brushes
Water cups for brushes
Scissors
Plastic bottles
Caps
Tissue paper
Glitter paint
Colored masking tape
Stapler
Glue guns
Hot glue
Plastic film / plastic bags
Hemp line / fishing line
Thumb tacks
Dowel or rod to hang the bottles
Wire
Wire cutters
Eye screws
Rope
Colored pencils
Drawing paper

Other Resources:

Visual examples of fish and plants created from plastic
Slide show to introduce project and related artwork (see outline at the end of the lesson plan)

Idaho State Learning Standards

Arts and Humanities: Anchor Standard 4: Convey meaning through the presentation/performance/production of an original work or unique interpretation of a work

Objective PR1.1 Combine knowledge and understanding from two or more disciplines to present/perform their original or interpreted works for an audience
Objective PR1.2 Convey meaning through their presentation/performance

LS2-MS Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

LS2-MS-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
Further Explanation: Emphasis is on cause and effect relationships between resources and growth of individual organisms and the numbers of organisms in ecosystems during periods of abundant and scarce resources
LS2-MS-3. Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
Further Explanation: Emphasis is on describing the conservation of matter and flow of energy into and out of various ecosystems, and on defining the boundaries of the system
LS2-MS-6. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services
Further Explanation: Examples of ecosystem services could include water purification, nutrient recycling, and prevention of soil erosion. Examples of design solution constraints could include scientific, economic, and social considerations.

Academic Language:

Subject area language: watershed
Art language: art installation

Student Use of Vocabulary:

Students will use the words when creating their projects

Student Grouping:

Students will work individually or in small groups

Instructions

Day 1 – Introduction

Introduce the project with a slide show (see additional resources)

Questions to ask:

What do you see here?
How do you think the artist created their work?
Why do you think the artist made this piece?
Students can use the paper and pencils to sketch ideas for fish and plants

Day 2 – Artmaking

Discuss the significance of using the water bottles: their symbolism, recycling, the damage of plastic waste
Demonstrate how to string the water bottles together (follow printed instructions included below)
Working in small groups, students should string together their water bottles to create a waterfall

Day 3 – Artmaking

Demonstrate plant creation with the class. Show the students examples of plastic plants.
Students start creating their plants. Encourage the students to employ the three art techniques: cutting, gluing and embellishment.
When students have finished their plants, decide how they will install them in the installation location

Day 4 – Artmaking

Go over the fish creation with the class, showing the students examples of plastic fish
Students begin creating their own fish
Encourage the students to employ the three art techniques: cutting, gluing and embellishment
When students have finished their fish, hang them up in the installation location

Day 5 – Artmaking

Students should use this period to finish any uncompleted work.

Day 6 – Presentation

Finish installation of student fish and plants in the installation location
When the watershed is complete, the class should go into the hallway to look at and discuss their work

Questions to ask:

What did we create?
What did you learn?
What is a watershed? What is your role in a watershed?
How did you like doing an art project to learn about science?

Lesson Plan Video

Slide Show Outline:

Slide examples:

We will think about:

What is a watershed?
Why are watersheds important?
What is our responsibility to a watershed?

Our art is inspired by plastics and other pollutants and their effects on a watershed

Video: What really happens to the plastic you throw away? by Emma Bryce

What is an art installation?

A 3D, sculptural piece of art that is designed for a specific space
The art is usually temporary and changes how people view the space
Examples: “Paper Planes” by Dawn Ng and “Melting Man” by Nele Azevedo

Photo of recycled bottle waterfall by Chinese artist Wang Zhiyuan

Questions to ask:

What do you see here?
What is this made out of?
Where do you think this is?
What is the artist telling his audience?
How is this art related to water?
Why and how is this an art installation?

Photo of plastic plants by Veronika Richterova

Questions to ask:

What do you see here?
What materials did the artist use?
How many bottles did she use?

Photo of plastic leaves by Veronika Richterova

Questions to ask:

What do you see here?
What materials did the artist use?
How many bottles did she use?
How did she get the leaves to take their shape?

Three ways of manipulating plastic

Cutting
Gluing
Embellishment

Cutting

Takes away material
Creates details
Changes surface

Examples of cut plastic

“Green Plant” by Artist Gulnuroz Daglar

Questions to ask:

What material is used here?
How much of the material has been taken away?

Cut plastic art by Eduard Aldrovandi

Questions to ask:

What material is used here?
How many bottles do you see?
How do you think he did this?

Gluing

We will be using modge podge and hot glue
What does gluing allow us to do? Enables layering and embellishment

Examples of Layering

Artists David Edgar and Jen Stark

Questions to ask:

What materials did the artists use?
How many layers can you see?
How does layering change the appearance of the materials?

More examples of layering

Artists Aurora Robson and Michelle Reader

Questions to ask:

What do you see here?
How are they similar and how are they different?

Embellishment

What is embellishment?

Decoration
Adding to

How can we embellish our plastic creations?

Paint
Add more plastic
Add other materials

Examples of embellishment

“Wreath” by Leanne Stock

Questions to ask:

What do you see here?
How is this embellished?

Installation Directions:

Stringing together water bottles to create a waterfall:

Poke a hole in the plastic (nail or poking tool)
Run the string through the bottle
Make sure the beginning and end of the string are secure
Attach more water bottles
Attach your string of water bottles to a classmate’s string of water bottles

Creating a plastic fish:

Choose a water bottle as the foundation for the fish
Cut the water bottle in different ways to change the shape
Take the cut pieces or other pieces of plastic and hot glue them onto the fish
Embellish fish using paint, tissue paper, modge podge, glitter glue, and colorful tape
Run a string through the fish so we can hang it in the hall

Creating a plastic plant:

Choose a water bottle as the foundation for the plant
Cut the water bottle in different ways to change the shape
Take the cut pieces or other pieces of plastic and hot glue them onto the plant
Embellish plant using paint, tissue paper, modge podge, glitter glue, and colorful tape
Run a string through the plant so we can hang it in the hall

Funding for this lesson plan was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MA-10-19-0563-19].

Additional funding provided by Wendy and Alan Pesky.

PDF of Lesson

DOC of Lesson

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Art Rocks—Earth Science Sculptures

admin — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 05:37:24 +0000

Art Rocks—Earth Science Sculptures admin Tue, 02/25/2020 - 22:37

Art Rocks—Earth Science Sculptures

February 26, 2020

Lesson Level

8th Grade

Lesson Category

Science

Lesson Content

Five 50-minute classes

Students explore earth science, identifying rock types and their characteristics, including luster, formation, location, and density.

Sculptures of the rock are created using chicken wire, papier maché, paint, metallic paints, glitter glue, and tissue paper. To conclude the project students, will present their rock and introduce it to the class using a first-person monologue that explains the rock’s “story.”

Objectives:

Students will choose a rock and identify its type, luster, and composition
Students will create a 3D representation of their rock using materials provided
Students will calculate the rock’s density
Students will write and perform a monologue as a part of the project summary

Basic Lesson Outline:

Introductory slide show
Create sculptures
Write monologues
Present sculptures and monologues to the class

Art Supplies:

Chicken wire
Glue
Water
Tissue paper
Acrylic paint
Metallic paint
Glitter glue

Other Resources:

Slide show to introduce project and related artwork (see outline at the end of the lesson plan)

Idaho State Learning Standards

Arts and Humanities: Anchor Standard 4: Convey meaning through the presentation/performance/production of an original work or unique interpretation of a work.

Objective PR1.1: Combine knowledge and understanding from two or more disciplines to present/perform their original or interpreted works for an audience
Objective PR1: Convey meaning through their presentation/performance

ESS2-MS Earth’s Systems

ESS2-MS-1: Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process. Further Explanation: Emphasis is on the processes of melting, crystallization, weathering, deformation, and sedimentation, which act together to form minerals and rocks through the cycling of Earth’s materials.

Academic Language:

Subject area language: crystal, luster, hardness, streak, density, cleavage, fracture, ore, metal, nonmetal, gemstone, rock, igneous rock, sedimentary rock, sediment, metamorphic rock, rock cycle, extrusive rock, intrusive rock, clastic rock, conglomerate, organic rock, chemical sedimentary rock, metamorphism
Art language: form, texture, color, space, pattern, sculpture, monologue, artist statement

Student Use of Vocabulary:

Students will use the words when creating their sculptures and in their final presentations

Student Grouping:

Students will work individually

Instructions

Day 1 – Introduction

Introduce the project with a slide show

Questions to ask during the slide show include:

What do you see?
Why do you think the artists made particular the creative choices?
How do you think the artist did that?
How do you think math was used in this art?
How are the artists similar? How are they different?

Review the art terms:

Form
Texture
Color
Space
Sculpture

Discuss the artist statement/monologue

Review the project goals:

Choose a rock and research identifying information about the rock
Calculate the rock’s density
Create a 3D sculpture based on the rock type chosen
Present your work to our group, delivering a monologue that provides rock’s “story”
Display your art at school and in the exhibition

Using paper and pencil, students should sketch ideas for their sculptures

Day 2 – Artmaking

Students will be given a demonstration for how to build using chicken wire and papier maché

Students will begin creating their sculptures

Using chicken wire, students should create the form of their sculpture
Once the structure is created, they should begin building the form of their sculpture using papier maché
When creating their sculptures, students should remember the three art terms: form, color, and texture

At the end of class, students will store their projects with their names by them and let them dry overnight

Day 3 – Artmaking

Students will continue working on their rock sculptures, keeping in mind:

Color scheme of the rock
Texture of the rock
Form of the rock

Students will finish building their sculptures with papier maché and begin adding color and texture

At the end of class, students should store their projects with their names by them

Day 4 – Artmaking

Students will finish their sculptures, keeping in mind:

Texture
Color scheme

Students should complete their sculptures and begin to write their monologues

Students will talk about their artistic choices in the monologue
They will use vocabulary words provided when sharing their rock’s story
They should have their density calculated

At the end of class, students should store their projects and keep their calculations and monologues in a safe place

Day 5 – Presentations

Students will deliver their monologues and present their sculptures to the class. Students should talk about:

Their rock’s “story”: What's the story of this place, my place, my origin?
Who am I? Include rock’s age, type, and composition

Students will turn in their density form and a copy of their monologue

Lesson Plan Video

Funding for this lesson plan was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MA-10-19-0563-19].

Additional funding provided by Wendy and Alan Pesky.

PDF of Lesson

DOC of Lesson

8th Grade

Inventing for the Future—Science Sculptures

Inventing for the Future—Science Sculptures

In this project, students explore 8th-grade science concepts involving adaptations.

Objectives:

Basic Lesson Outline:

Art Supplies:

Other Resources:

Idaho State Learning Standards:

Academic Language:

Student Use of Vocabulary:

Student Grouping:

Day 1 – Introduction

Day 2 – Artmaking

Day 3 – Artmaking

Day 4 – Artmaking

Day 5 – Artmaking

Day 6 – Presentations

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A River Runs Through It—A Watershed Art installation

A River Runs Through It—A Watershed Art installation

Students work together to create an art installation of a watershed.

Objectives:

Basic Lesson Outline:

Art Supplies:

Other Resources:

Idaho State Learning Standards

Academic Language:

Student Use of Vocabulary:

Student Grouping:

Day 1 – Introduction

Day 2 – Artmaking

Day 3 – Artmaking

Day 4 – Artmaking

Day 5 – Artmaking

Day 6 – Presentation

Slide examples:

Funding for this lesson plan was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MA-10-19-0563-19].

Additional funding provided by Wendy and Alan Pesky.

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Art Rocks—Earth Science Sculptures

Art Rocks—Earth Science Sculptures

Students explore earth science, identifying rock types and their characteristics, including luster, formation, location, and density.

Objectives:

Basic Lesson Outline:

Art Supplies:

Other Resources:

Idaho State Learning Standards

Academic Language:

Student Use of Vocabulary:

Student Grouping:

Day 1 – Introduction

Day 2 – Artmaking

Day 3 – Artmaking

Day 4 – Artmaking

Day 5 – Presentations

Funding for this lesson plan was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MA-10-19-0563-19].

Additional funding provided by Wendy and Alan Pesky.

0 comments

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