Art Integration Lesson Plan

Katey Lawrence
LTC 4240: Art for Children
Lesson Title & Big Idea*: The Environment and Dr. Seuss The Lorax
Lesson Overview/Summary*:
Students will be introduced to environmental issues through Dr. Seuss The Lorax. Students will explore different issues
and create solutions through the forms of Visual Art, Literacy, and Science.

Grade Level*: 3rd

Class Periods Required:
(please circle)
1

Key Concepts*:
Essential Questions*:
- What changes are caused in the environment from humans and their
1. Visual Art:
activities?
- An artist can convey ideas and views through artwork using a variety of
- What is Dr. Seuss purpose for writing The Lorax?
medias.
- How does Dr. Seuss use illustrations and color throughout The Lorax to
- The use of colors, lines, shapes, and other concepts can change the emotion
depict environmental issues?
and meaning taken away from a piece of artwork.
2. Literacy:
- Authors use stories to portray real-world issues through their writing.
3. Science:
- Humans and their activities can cause changes in their environment that affect
the ecosystem.
- There are ways that humans can improve the environment through positive
changes.
Lesson Objectives*:
1. Visual Art: The students will be able to:
- review artwork created by Jean Shin, a nationally recognized artist known for her epic installations that transform everyday objects into well-designed
expressions of identity and community.
- create a two-dimensional poster using a variety of media to communicate ideas about environmental issues.
2. Literacy: The students will be able to:
- compare environmental issues in "The Lorax" to environmental issues found in our current society.
- construct a written response to reflect on the environmental issues apparent in our world and discuss a solution.
3. Science: The students will be able to:
- discuss how humans and their activities cause changes in their environment that affect the ecosystem.
- construct a list of environmental issues and design ways to address these issues.
Grade Level Expectations (GLEs)
Identify & define common vocabulary that connect the art form with the
1. Visual Art:
other identified content areas:
Strand 1: Product-Performance; Artists communicate ideas through artworks
- Environment- the natural world, as a whole or in a particular

by selecting and applying media techniques and processes, subject matter, and
themes.
1. Select and apply two-dimensional media, techniques, and processes to
communicate ideas and solve challenging visual art problems.
D. Other Media; Demonstrate an additive process (e.g., string, cardboard,
glue, found objects)

3. Communicate ideas about subject matter and themes in artworks created for
various purposes.
A. Subject Matter: Fine Art; Non-Objective: Create an original artwork using
line, shape, and color
C. Theme; Create an original artwork that communicated ideas about the
following themes: community, the environment, group identity

2. Literacy:
Reading
2. Develop and apply skills and strategies to comprehend, analyze and evaluate fiction,
poetry and drama from a variety of cultures and times.
C. Literary Elements; Use details from text to: demonstrate comprehension,
compare and contrast, identify cause and effect, identify events from the
beginning, middle and end, identify author's purpose, identify problems and
solutions.
Writing
3. Write effectively in various forms and types of writing.
A Forms/ Types/ Modes of Writing; Compose narrative, descriptive,
expository, and/or persuasive texts using appropriate text features.

geographical area, especially as affected by human activity.

Environmental issues- harmful effects of human activity on the
biophysical environment.
Pollution- the introduction of contaminants into the natural
environment that causes adverse change.
Deforestation- the clearing of trees, transforming a forest into cleared
land.
Medium- in art, refers to the substance the artist uses to create his or
her artwork.
Two-dimensional- having or appearing to have length and breadth
but no depth.
Three-dimensional- having or appearing to have length, breadth, and
depth

3. Science:
Strand 4: Changes in Ecosystems and Interactions of Organisms with their
Environments
1. All populations living together within a community interact with one
another and with their environment in order to survive and maintain a balanced
ecosystem;
a. Identify ways man depends on plants and animals for food, clothing,
and shelter.
c. All organisms, including humans, and their activities cause changes
in their environment that affect the ecosystem.
Content Areas Integrated*:
1. Visual Art (Inspiration Artist: Jean Shin)
2. Literacy
3. Science

Lesson Activities & Procedure(s):

Class Period #11. Teacher will read aloud "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss to the students.
2. Students write down all of the environmental issues they saw in the book.
3. In table groups, students compile a common list of environmental issues

and teacher facilitates classroom discussion about these issues.

4. Teacher then includes any other environmental issues that are left out of
the classroom discussion. During this time, the proper terminology for these
issues is presented to the students.
5. Students write down the new terminology in their notebooks and reflect on
the material.
Class Period #21. Teacher presents pictures of artwork done by Jean Shin and the classroom
completes a VTS.
2. Students look over the environmental issues discussed in class the
previous day and choose an issue that they are interested in.
3. Students develop a solution to the environmental issue.
4. Students are assigned to create a two-dimensional poster representing the
environmental issue and the solution using a variety of media.

Anticipatory Set (Gaining Attention)*:

- To gain attention in class period 1, I will read Dr. Seuss The Lorax.
- To gain attention in class period 2, the students will VTS a piece of
artwork from the artist Jean Shin.
- To gain attention in class period 3, the students will be given the
opportunity to briefly share the posters they created, which will lead
into a discussion about the reflection paper.

Formative Assessment strategy:

Students will take part in classroom discussions, table group discussions, and
partner discussions throughout the course of the lesson over topics within the
content areas.

Class Period #31. Students present their posters in class.

2. Students are given class time to write a reflection over the material covered
about environmental issues through designated prompts.
Closure (Reflecting Anticipatory Set):
To close the lesson, the teacher will hand out a colored leaf to each of the
students after collecting the reflection papers. The teacher will then ask each
student to write down a suggestion to how we can help the environment on
the leaf. After all of the leaves are collected, they will be stapled together
onto a bulletin board to create a one-of-a-kind Truffula Tree capturing
different ways to address environmental issues. This tree will be displayed in
the room and the posters that were created will be placed around the school
for a constant reminder to the students about what they learned.
Summative Assessment strategy*:
Visual Art: Student artwork contains the use of a variety of medias and
contains the information given on the rubric.
Literacy: To assess whether or not students understood the lesson, I will use a
three-point rubric to evaluate the students written reflection. Students will
include references to their artwork and science concepts in their reflection.
Science: Students will be given an assessment at the end of the science unit
that includes questions over the terminology of environmental issues

presented throughout this lesson.

What student prior knowledge will this lesson require/draw upon?
- The prior knowledge that this lesson will require students to draw upon is the ability to listen to a story, comprehend the story, and draw the main
points from the story.
- Students will need to be familiar with the process of VTS for the lesson portion beginning class period 2.
- Students should be familiar with using all of the art supplies that will be provided to complete the poster portion of this lesson.
- Students will also need to have a basic understanding about what types of things hurt the environment we live in; they do not need to know the correct
terminology for environmental issues.
How will you engage students in imagining, exploring, and/or experimenting in this lesson?
- In class period 1, students are given the opportunity to explore issues that were addressed in Dr. Seuss The Lorax.
- The VTS process in class period 2 allows the student to use their imagination to explore what is happening in the artwork.
- For the students poster creation, they are given the freedom to experiment with any of the given media to depict the environmental issue they chose
and their solution to that issue.
How will this lesson allow for/encourage students to solve problems in divergent ways?
- Students will be given the opportunity to decide which environmental issue is most important to them and develop their own solution. Through this
process, students are able to solve the issues in their own unique ways.
- Students will not be required to use only specific medias when designing their posters. They have written guidelines about what the poster should
include, but other than that they have the flexibility to represent their ideas in different ways.
How will you engage students in routinely reflecting on their learning?
- Throughout the lesson, I plan on referring back to concepts the students discussed in The Lorax and also in Jean Shins artwork.
- I will also have students reflect on their knowledge of environmental issues throughout the lesson in their Science Notebooks.
- Students will complete a written reflection over the material learned and the poster they created in class period 3.
How will you adapt the various aspects of the lesson to differently-abeled students?
- For disabled students, I will provide a Para-professional or a classroom buddy to help the student complete the different aspects of this lesson.
- For students struggling to stay on task, I will provide a schedule for the student to follow where they have to meet certain checkpoints at a given time. I
will make sure to meet with this student more often to insure that the student stays on task.
What opportunities/activities will students be given to revise and improve their understandings and their work?
- Students will be given the opportunity to take home their posters for any extra time to improve or revise their artwork. There will also be given some
class time at the beginning of class period 3 to work on these changes.
- Students are able to reflect on the solutions they chose in the written reflection portion of the lesson. This will give the students a chance to write about
why they chose the environmental issue and why they chose how to solve it. The student will be asked if there are any revisions or improvements that
they would have like to make.

What opportunities/activities will you provide for students to share their learning in this lesson?
- Students will share and discuss with their table groups about the environmental issues they found in The Lorax. There will also be an opportunity for
students to share what issues are most important in their eyes to the rest of the classroom.
- Students are also given the opportunity to share ways that they want to help solve these issues through creating a poster.
- The VTS at the beginning of class period 2 will give students the opportunity to share what they notice in Jean Shins artwork. During this time,
students are free to share their ideas out loud in a safe classroom environment.
Lesson Resources/References (please be very specific by providing links, authors, titles, etc.):
Seuss, D. (1971). The Lorax. New York: Random House.
Lorax Project in the Classroom | Dr. Seuss Educators | Seussville. (n.d.). http://www.seussville.com/Educators/lorax_classroom/educatorlorax_discuss.php
Jean Shin. (2011). http://www.jeanshin.com

* Include this information during the Popplet presentation.

References
Silverstein, L. B. & Layne, S. (n.d.). Defining arts integration. Retrieved from
http://www.americansforthearts.org/networks/arts_education/publications/special_publications/Defining%20Arts%20Integration.pdf