Goals and Objectives
Students will learn the importance of painting and poetry in medieval China. Students will investigate the Daoist influence on Chinese landscape painting and poetry, and analyze the use and purpose of color, size and perspective in the paintings.
CA Content Standard/Common Core Standard
7.3 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of China in the Middle Ages.
Vocabulary
The students will create virtual flashcards with images of the important terms in the lesson. The terms deal with aspects of art and poetry and include:
- Landscape
- Hue
- Perspective
- Mood
- Scale
- Monochrome
Lesson Introduction
The students will engage in a quasi-simulation activity entitled Choose Your Way. The teacher will read the beginning of a story which envisions each student as a young poet in China's Golden Age. The students listen to the story and then are given choices to make. Their choices will lead them down diverse paths and to different conclusions. As students read what happens to them after each decision they make, the teacher will direct them to share with the class. After the activity is over, the teacher will debrief the activity by asking the students what they discovered about painting and poetry in medieval China.
Content Delivery
The teacher will
discuss (through a slideshow presentation) the elements of Chinese landscape
painting and poetry, and the Daoist influence on the themes. The presentation will
involve how color, size, perspective and placement of humans within the scenes
are used to create specific moods. The presentation will also include the types
of poetry that accompanied these paintings.
Student Engagement
The students will search the internet to find information on several Chinese artists and poets (Li Po, Zhao Mengfu, Tu Fu, Wang Wei, Su Shih, Li Yu, etc.) and explore several poems and paintings created or influenced by these artists. Students will choose one artist and create a poster (digital or paper) that showcases their paintings and/or poetry. The poster will describe the Daoist influence on the painting & poetry, the mood set by the choice of colors, perspective, scenery, and the effect of the artwork on the people of China. Students will display these posters in the classroom or on the class website.
Lesson Closure
Students will take a Gallery Walk around the room and study all the posters. They will take post-it notes and write down a short analysis of 5 pieces of art/poetry and stick it on the appropriate posters. Comments should be about Daoist principles, hue, perspective, scale or mood.
Assessment
Formative – The teacher will check for understanding by asking questions during the introductory presentation. The teacher will also roam the room while students are researching the artists/poets and will check on the progress of student posters. The teacher will ask driving questions to probe student thinking and deepen understanding. If students are off-track, the teacher will re-direct and re-explain the concepts/directions to get students on the right trajectory. The teacher will also read the post-it note comments to determine if students formed the appropriate concepts of Daoist painting and poetry.
Summative – The teacher will assess and score the painting and poetry posters according to a structured scoring guide. The assessment will determine if the objectives of the lesson were met.
Summative – The teacher will assess and score the painting and poetry posters according to a structured scoring guide. The assessment will determine if the objectives of the lesson were met.
Accommodations for English Learners, Striving Readers and Students with Special Needs
The flashcards (with images) provide vital vocabulary support for English Learners and students with special needs. Additionally, paintings will be provided with scaffolds built in, including captions and side notes on the paintings and vocabulary terms defined for the poetry.