Grade Level: 6,7,8
Goals:
*The students will have a chance to create art projects about port cities.
*The students will learn about the culture of port cities through the various art projects.
Materials:
*Squares of colored paper *Beads for masks
*Origami instructions and examples *Sequence for masks
*Paper Mache supplies *Other things for making masks colorful
Content Areas:
*Art
*Social Studies
Concepts:
*Culture
*Following directions
*Origami
*Olympics
*Mardi Gras
Procedure:
1. In this lesson, the students will be given a chance to learn a little bit about the culture of three of the port cities while working on art projects.
2. There will be three different art projects going on at once. The teacher will begin by explaining each of the projects and then breaking the class up into three groups. Each group will start at a different project and when they have completed that project, the student will move onto a new one.
Project #1--Origami
1. The teacher will first begin by asking the students which country they believe origami was developed in. Then he/she will give some background on origami and its significance in Japan.
2. The teacher will then show the students the things that they can make at this station. There will be a boat, the international peace crane, a cup or a parrot. The students will be given enough time to create these, however the crane is more difficult to create and may take a little more time and patience.
3. This lesson will be a lesson in following directions. The teacher will have the supplies set out for the students with the instructions on how to make each. The teacher will be available to go through the instructions step-by-step because the other two stations are a little more individual work.
Project #2--Masks
1. The teacher will begin by introducing New Orleans. The students will be asked to share what they know about New Orleans and the teacher can add in facts about jazz music, Cajun food, etc. The teacher will go over a little bit of the history of Mardi Gras and the importance that it plays in an area such as New Orleans.
2. Then the teacher will explain the actual celebration associated with Mardi Gras and the cultural traditions that exist. It will be explained that masks play a significant role in the celebration of Mardi Gras and individual masks represents something special about the individual who made it.
3. The students will use paper mache techniques to make their own masks. The teacher will explain that they will use their own face as the form for the mask. They can have a partner help them to make the mask.
4. After the masks have dried, the students can decorate them to their liking and make the mask to represent themselves. There will be supplies set out such as beads, paint, sequence, glitter, etc. to add to their masks.
Project #3--Olympic symbols
1. The students will be asked what they know about the Olympics. How often is it held? Where has it been held? How it is determined where it will be held?
2. The teacher will explain in a little more detail some of the history of the Olympics. He or she will also explain that each Olympic ceremony that is held has a symbol created especially for it. The teacher can show the symbol from 1920 Olympics when Antwerp, Belgium, was the host.
3. Next, the students will be asked if they know where the 2000 Olympics will be held. They will be told that the answer is Sydney, another one of our port cities. Their assignment will be to design the symbol for the 2004 Olympics speculating that it will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Evaluation: The students will be graded individually on each project. The students will also have an opportunity to assess the days activities. They will give themselves a grade and evaluate what they did and did not like about the activities. The criteria for success on these projects will be completion, showing creativity, and meeting the learning goals. The students can turn in a piece of paper explaining what grade they think they should receive and also anything they wanted to say about the activities. The teacher will also look at the projects and give grades based on the students self-assessments.
Approximate Time: 5 hours--students will be able to go from one project to another and complete the projects at their leisure.
Resources:
~Coil, Suzanne M. Mardi Gras! New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1994. ~Harbin, Robert. Secrets of Origami: The Japanese Art of Paper Folding. London Books, 1971.
~Hennessy, B.G. Olympics! New York: Viking, 1996.
~Herskowitz, Mickey. One With the Flame. New York: NAL Books, 1985.
~Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane. Mardi Gras: A Cajun Country Celebration. New York: Holiday House, 1995.
~Kieran, John and Daley, Arthur. The Story of the Olympic Games. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961.
~Kinser, Samuel. Carnival American Style. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.
~Ludwig, Jack. The Great American Spectaculars. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1976.
~Tallant, Robert. Mardi Gras. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1948.
Internet sites:
Olympics:
~http://olympics.tufts.edu/ (archived)
Origami:
~http://www.origami.vancouver.bc.ca/ ~http://www-mae.engr.ucf.edu/~ssd/origami.html (archived)
Mardi Gras:
~http://mardi.gras.com/mardi.gras.html (archived) ~http://www.lacajun.com/moms/ (archived)
~http://www.icorp.net/carnival/history.htm
~http://www.neworleanscvb.com/mardi/mga-z.html (archived)
Extensions:
-Another potential art project which relates to the port cities could be creating 3-D tetrahedrons. These diamond-shaped figures can easily be made out of paper. The students could learn about Antwerp, Belgium being the diamond capital of the world and learn about the shape and cut of diamonds through these tetrahedrons.
Teacher's Note: Reminder to the teacher that they need to establish a grading system for the students so they know what they need to do to get their grade (A, B, C, etc.)
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