Art History Prehistoric Art Duration: 3 days Class Time: 1.5 hours Supporting Materials: 1. Handout: Paleolithic Cave Paintings (chart) 2. Handout: Video Notes 3. Handout: Venus of Willendorf critique 4. Handout: Map of Prehistoric Art Western 5. Handout: Envelope of Images (for folders) 6. Handout: Neolithic Questions 7. Display: Objectives 8. Display: Famous Cave Paintings poster 9. Display: Unit Title Preshistoric Art 10. Quiz: Paleolithic Art Time Period: Prehistoric 1. Paleolithic Tribes (Old Stone Age) 2. Neolithic Tribes (New Stone Age) Daily Schedule: 1. Hook or Review of Last Class 2. Lesson 3. Review & Closure PWCS Art History Literacy Concepts Artists and Works of Art: 1. Cave Paintings 2. Stonehenge (England/ 2,000 BC ) Major Vocabulary: Prehistoric: people who had no writing Paleolithic: 30,000 10,000 BC (Old Stone Age) Neolithic: 8,000 3,000 BC (New Stone Age) Dating System: B.C. Before Christ; A.D. Anno Domini, In the Year of the Lord Essential Question / Big Idea: Why is it important for artists to learn about prehistoric art? PWCS Art History High School Objectives VISUAL COMMUNICATION AHVC.1.1 The student will maintain a visual journal as a record of class lectures, independent research and group reports including timelines. AHVC.1.2 The student will maintain and use the language of the visual art form orally and in writing to articulate personal observations, responses, and interests throughout the course. AHVC.1.3 The student will identify and describe the purpose of painting, architecture and sculpture during the prehistoric period. AHVC.1.4 The student will work independently, in small groups, and through class lectures to reflect and respond to works of art orally and in writing. AHVC.1.6 The students will make connections between visual arts and other disciplines. CULTURAL CONTEXT AND SOCIAL INFLUENCES AHCC.1.1 The student will identify why people study art and art history versus archeology. AHCC.1.3 The student will research and study drawing, painting, sculpture, decorative arts, crafts, and architecture of primitive to complex cultures, Prehistoric to Modernism. AHCC.1.4 The student will explore and research each culture/society within these contexts: geographic area, climate and food source, building materials, religion, level of isolation or trade, 1
political ideology, military position, and socio-economic conditions. AHCC.1.5 The student will explore relativity of time by identifying global and cross cultural influences on the creation of art. AHCC.1.6 The student will identify artists and works of art reflective of specific time periods and cultures. AHCC.1.14 The student will understand art within a culture, given context by that culture, and enriching the understanding of all manner of history relative to the time and culture studies. AESTHETIC VALUING AND FORMAL CRITICISM AHAV.1.1 The student will identify what is art, the language of art, and how to discuss art orally and in writing. AHAV.1.2 The student will use analytical skills to evaluate and respond to works of art. AHAV.1.3 The student will identify, analyze, and apply a variety of criteria for making visual judgments about different art forms from primitive to modern. AHAV.1.6 The student will demonstrate the ability to conduct an effective critique using the four step critical process: describe (elements of art), analyze (principles of design), interpret, judge (evaluate) AHAV.1.12 The student will evaluate a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas in various works of art. Materials: powdered chalk: white, yellow, orange, pink, brown, violet (7 containers each) powdered charcoal for black (7 containers) 2 spray bottles (to wet student cave art) 2 packets of moss 27 stone slates for cave wall rulers cups of water (30) 7 Venus Statues Glue Folders Prep Work: make chalk into powder divide moss into 30 pieces layout before students arrive: slates (spray to moisten), chalk, moss, cups of water, rulers make Venus paper dolls 7 total Day 3 none Student Steps: Step 1: Make Cave Art Step 2: Clean Up 2
Step 2: Fill in 1 st Column of Worksheet Chart on Cave Paintings Step 3: Video Notes Worksheet (all) Step 4: Fill in 2 nd Column of Worksheet Chart on Cave Paintings Step 5: Gallery Walk and optional presentations Step 6: Turn in Cave Art, Two Worksheets Step 1: Venus of Willendorf Critique Step 2: Two Page Spread Day 3 Step 1: Quiz (no notes) Step 2: Look over graded work (handed back) Step 3: Review questions on worksheet before videos Step 4: Watch Jericho video Step 5: Watch Stonehenge video Step 6: Complete worksheet and turn in (covered way of life, Jericho, Stonehenge) Step 7: Day of the Dead Day Breakdown: Prior to Non-Western Art: (Chapter 4) India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Oceania, World of Islam, Sub-Saharan Africa, Pre-Columbian Art, Native America Day of the Dead Art Critique Process : Paleolithic Art (Prehistoric Art) Cave Paintings (materials, subject matter, time) 2 Handouts: Paleolithic Cave Paintings Chart Paleolithic Cave Paintings Video Notes o Cave Painting 10:28 10:40 On board write Pretend you are in a cave creating art for someone to discover 30,000 years from now, or in the year 32013. Paint on your piece of cave using chalk powder, water, your hand, and moss. You may not use language or symbols. You have 10 minutes, or until 10:40am to complete this. We will clean up all water, moss, and chalk from 10:45 10:50. Leave your cave at your seat on the table. o Clean up 10:45 10:50 o Cave Painting Handout 10:50 11:00 Fill out the first column (we will do the second column at the end of class) o Paleolithic Cave Paintings 11:05 11:55 Show / discuss Famous Cave Paintings poster. Explain they are in order of discovery and all are covered in the four videos we will watch Videos Hand out Worksheet Video, review, video, review, video, review, video, review 3
o 2 nd Column of Cave Painting Worksheet 11:55 12:08 (all answers were provided in videos and discussions and poster) o Gallery Walk and Cave Art Presentations o Turn In Work (even if not done) 12:08 12:12 cave art (stack on table), both worksheets (put in bin on table) : Paleolithic Art continued, focus on sculpture (Venus of Willendorf) and introduce to Neolithic Art (transition); culture / way of life 4 Handouts: Group Critique Envelope of images for two page spread Folders Maps o Caves were the first paintings, but probably not the first art. Older art could have been done on perishable objects like wood, sand, hides, or paintings in the open air or it may not yet be discovered. Relate the cave paintings with the small sculptures (Venus). o Today will we finish Paleolithic Art by learning about the carvings and sculptures from this time period. Many of these carvings were done before cave paintings. After that, we will start learning about Neolithic Art, which came after Paleolithic. o Venus of Willendorf group critique to finish Paleolithic o (write on board) Dating System: B.C. Before Christ; A.D. Anno Domini, In the Year of the Lord o (verbal) Transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic - culture (how life changed) o Two Page Spread o (verbal) Why did architecture gain importance during the Neolithic era? o Turn in what you ve completed for Two Page Spread (any loose pieces put in envelope and write name on it). all goes in bin. o If time goes by too fast, they can compare and contrast the bison carving with the bison cave painting? Day 3: Neolithic Art (Jericho and Stonehenge); finish up Day of the Dead (mentor lesson) 2 Handouts: Paleolithic Quiz Neolithic 3 Question Worksheet o Quiz on Paleolithic Art (10 minutes) o Hand back all work and folders (5 minutes) o Look at your folders where it says way of life. Tell me how life has changed from the Paleolithic Era to Neolithic Era. (5 minutes) 4
o What type of art started to develop in the Neolithic Era? Architecture / monuments (3 minutes) Why did architecture gain importance in the Neolithic era? (way of life, technology, climate change, etc.) o Hand out worksheet and go over questions due at end of class they should watch the entire of each video before answering questions #2 and #3 o Jericho video (12 minutes) o Stonehenge video (35, possibly 38 minutes) o Worksheet (3 questions turn in) (10 minutes) o Have a good break! o Day of the Dead critique worksheet Unit Reflection: I should have summed up the lesson for the day so students really knew what I wanted them to get out of it. Why were animals so important in prehistory society? (hunters and gatherers) The culture of the Paleolithic Era; The mystery of cave paintings because it s before writing was invented. The materials and subject matter of cave paintings. How old cave paintings are and how they are still being discussed. I need an overall theme and list of what students should learn each day, and how they connect. This was the most successful day. The group critique worked well and they learned from each other. The two page spread kept them engaged. My only weakness was a wrap up for the day. One other problem was that some groups worked quicker than others. I will have to better monitor. The group that finished first was the AP studio art students. Unfortunately, they did not take the activity seriously and did the worst on it. Day 3 This was my second attempt to make a video worthwhile. When I showed the video on Jericho it was successful. It was only 12 minutes long and the question I designed for the video was simple and interesting. The Stonehenge video was not engaging enough and too long. I tried to design two questions for 35 minutes of video, but some students did not really watch it. If I taught art history again, I would maybe have an interactive PowerPoint (Smart Board), or group activity for Stonehenge. This classroom had no Smart Board and the Projector location near the windows make any PowerPoint pointless. The video was good about bringing history to life and showing computer models of the wooden henge, but there must be a better way of teaching this. Unfortunately, many students were also absent because it was before break. Possible wrap up activity for the unit: put artwork in date order: Venus, Caves, bison, Jericho, Stonehenge (group activity). Another Stonehenge activity for prior and anticipation activities would be to guess the purpose of Stonehenge. Maybe we could build a Stonehenge together for the lesson? Posting formal objectives was worthless. I think each day s theme or key themes for the unit would be more useful for the students to see. They could care less about formal objectives. It s more for me and administrators. 5