Obsessions Unit Plan

Melissa Gerhart and Andrea Hendrix

Unit title: Obsessions
Grade/ Class:
This lesson plan was written for two levels of students, which include a middle
school class and a high school level class. The middle school lesson is directed toward sixth
grade students who meet for 50 minutes a day, each day. The high school lesson was
written for a level one art class, on block scheduling, that meets every other day for 90
minutes periods.
Goals/ Rationale:
We created these unit plans with many goals. As art teachers we of course have the
goal to improve our students art skills, and inflict knowledge about the elements and
principles of design through art making. Students will also learn new techniques to create
art, and new artists they can get their inspiration from. As educators we also have goals
that arent specific to art. Students will realize that obsessions influence many areas in life
including, culture, society, the media, and ones self. We also have a goal to have students
see connections between their art class and other classes in school or in life.
Rational for how Artists and Artworks used meet the goals:
For our unit plan, we tried to focus on artists working with obsessions or recurring
ideas. Each of us decided to use different artists and pieces of art according to the grade
level and the GLEs, but ultimately we had some in common. We thought Andy Warhol was
a great artist to use to represent obsessions in pop culture, which relates heavily to our
lessons. WE also decided to use printmaking in our lessons, which again ties back to a
media similar to Warhols. A reason we might use Heckle in our unit plan is to show the
type of printmaking our students will engage in. This also gives a different aesthetic than
Warhol in terms of printmaking. Monet fits nicely into our obsession unit as he was
obsessed with painting the same image over and over again to show the way light and time
changes the subject. This flows nicely with the idea that time changes obsessions. Although
we used several other artists, these were the ones that fit the entire unit for both age levels.
Enduring Ideas:
Throughout time and across cultures, artist have investigated their own obsessions
and interests.
Throughout time and across cultures, artist have mass produced images that our
society obsesses over.
Throughout time and across cultures, the media has a roll in our obsessions.
Throughout time and across cultures, obsessions can define who we are as
individuals and as a society.
Throughout time and across cultures, artists have been inspired by other artists
obsessions.

Investigative Essential Questions:

Do obsessions occur in art?
How do artists use obsessions in their art?
What are your personal obsessions?
What do obsessions say about the society we live in?
What do obsessions say about what we value?
How does time effect obsessions?
How does the media portray obsessions?
Key Instructional Concepts:
Students will gain basic knowledge about working with clay. Also, students will
explore the print making process and understand positive and negative space. Students will
understand that obsessions are a source for inspiration for artists.
Constraints:
In any lesson at any school, there will be constraints. Some constraints we foresee
are students being at various skill levels when entering the class. Students in the sixth
grade might all be coming from different elementary schools and have very different skill
levels. This also goes for the high school level. Materials and costs are another constraint as
some of the materials for the unit can be costly such as clay and linoleum printing. A
constraint for the middle school is safety when using the sharp tools for relief prints and
clay tools, which I will handle with a safety test to ensure students understand that safety is
important. At both levels, there are concerns about access to technology. Students will need
access to iPads, computers, printers, personal cameras, and various forms of technology,
which might not be offered by the school. Another issue we foresee is the openness of the
students. We want our students to feel free to explore and open up in their art. Trust is
sometimes hard to gain when uncovering and exploring touchy subjects.
Integrative options/ Cross Curricular Correlations:
Our unit lesson will definitely include history as we discuss the history of art in
terms of Greek sculpture, pop art, and even German art. Students will learn about historical
art and the issues surrounding the time period it was created in. At the high school level,
students will learn about the politics and war times surrounding the images made by
Rosenquist. Social studies will be explored as students research how obsessions effect
different cultures.
Students, at both levels, will be asked to write and think critically as they respond to
prompts. This allows students to practice important writing skills, which includes English.
Students will be using magazines at various points in the unit, which allows them to utilize
literature in their art. At different times of the unit, students will be asked to research
topics and ideas, which helps students utilize researching skills used in the English and
language arts class. At the sixth grade level, students will be viewing Maria Kalmans book
My Favorite Things which gives students the chance to explore an illustrative book.
Science is included into the sixth grade unit. Students will be asked to create a time
capsule. The students will need to understand the effects of erosion and corrosion that

could affect their art if not sealed tightly. During the unit, students will learn how the earth
can affect their art.
At the high school level, students will be able to learn about music. The students will
understand how a current musician feels about obsession. They will then understand how
this relates to the medias view of obsession, which relates to what the students are doing
with their art.
Students will take a deep look into German culture, which connects the art class to a
German class at a high school level. Students will explore German art, German language,
and also a brief overview of a portion of German history.
Relationship to the Developmental Needs of Children:
As educators we realize that students in our class have different and unique needs. Some
students will need extra challenges as they have already perfected skills their peers have
not. As teachers we will have questions, and art elements prepared so these gifted students
can continue to learn in our class. There also may be students who lack skills that their
peers have, we will be prepared to give these students the help they need without making
them feel inferior.
It is possible that students in our class will have a language barrier. For these students we
will be prepared to simplify our instructions. We also be prepared to give these students
visual instruction as much as possible. For our special education students in art classes we
will work closely with the special education teachers to make sure we are giving them the
environment they need to be successful.
Opportunities for Students to view and respond to art and art objects:
At the sixth grade level, students will receive the opportunity to view the caste
gallery at Mizzou North when we discuss monuments and structures. During class time,
students will view and respond to images that will be projected. These images will relate to
what the students are working on at the time including images by Warhol, Kalman, and
ancient Greek art. Students will also be given the opportunity to respond to art during a
VTS of Warhols Campbells Soup Can. At this level, students will engage in a lot of open
class discussions about art they are viewing.
Both levels of students will have the opportunity to view carious pieces of art that
relate to their upcoming projects. The student will view most of the art in the form of
projection in the class.
At the high school level students will participate in VTS and other discussions about
artists such as James Rosenquist and Hannah Hch. Students will also have writing
prompts in their journal at the beginning of class about an artist or piece of artwork that
has to do with their current project. Students will also have an opportunity to
respond/imitate the thin and thick lines of Erich Heckels piece in their art journal.
Summative Unit Evaluation and Assessment:
At the end of the unit, the sixth graders will be asked to create an exhibit to display
their art. They will be in full charge of when and where the exhibit will take place, how they
will arrange the area, and the like. This will be a summative assessment of the whole unit

and will give students a chance to showcase their hard work to their peers and the
community. This assessment will allow for students to think deeply about their art and to
make decisions like a real world artists and curator would do. There are also opportunities
for formative assessment in the process of art making such as group discussion and writing
prompts so I am able to see how students are thinking and growing as they explore
obsession.
High school students will have many forms of summative assessment. The
summative assessment that has the most emphasis in the unit plan is the art statement that
is made for each lesson (3 statements) and also an artist statement that works for the body
of work they created in the whole unit. It is also important for the students to be involved
in a class critique at the end of the lesson.