Grade 9 - Context (Creating/Communicating)

This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will create personally meaningful 2-D and 3-D images, communicating an understanding and appreciation of a number of personal, social, cultural, and historical contexts.

It is expected that students will:

create images that:
- support or challenge personal and societal beliefs, values, traditions, or practices
- demonstrate an awareness of the styles of various artists, movements, and periods
- respond to historical and contemporary images or issues
- reflect a sense of personal and social responsibility
make and arrange a display or portfolio of work, taking into consideration the nature of the artwork, venue, and audience

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Context (Creating/Communicating) in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Challenge students to create a 3-D "container" as a work of art that reflects a social issue. To prepare, have students consider questions such as:
- How will I build my container?
- How will I show the seen and unseen sides of the issue? (See Grade 9 criterion sample in Appendix D.)
Provide students with a selection of works that are characteristic of particular styles, periods, or cultures. Have each choose one work and, using materials similar to those employed by the original artist, attempt to imitate the work. Discuss progress individually, asking questions such as:
- What challenges have you encountered in imitating their work?
- What techniques and materials do you need to use?
Have students create images in response to a newspaper headline or photograph.
Brainstorm a variety of social concerns (e.g., environment, gender equity, special needs). In small groups, students select and research an issue and then create an image expressing or supporting a point of view.
Organize a formal gallery opening for which students select the venue and particular works to be displayed, keeping in mind the audience (e.g., parents) and the occasion (e.g., formal gathering).
Students select from their portfolios, journals, or sketchbooks a piece that they feel represents them. In pairs, they share their reasons for choosing the work.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

Student work should communicate an understanding of self and others in an increasingly comprehensive fashion. Look for evidence that students are developing a sense of social responsibility and proficiency in demonstrating this understanding. Observe the extent to which students have moved beyond a simple belief or value system as it relates to art and culture to a more complex view of issues as they relate to individuals and groups.

Students brainstorm questions and then interview an artist about the reasons certain techniques and materials are used. Encourage students to use technology to interview artists both within and outside of their community (e.g., telephone, e-mail). They may also consider interviewing artists in other classes in the school. Students share their findings by presenting profiles of the artists they interview and commenting on insights they may have developed that apply to their own work.
Using the images students created from newspapers or photographs, ask:
- Why did you select these particular images?
- How does each part contribute to your main message?
- Is there anything you would like to add or subtract?
After viewing a display of students' works, have students respond to particular images by answering questions such as:
- What issue does the image represent?
- What is the most interesting part?
- What do you like best?
Students complete mind maps to display beside their artwork. Look for representations of their cultures, value systems, likes and dislikes, family make-up, beliefs, and interests.