CREATING PERSONAL GLYPHS: INFUSING ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS, ART AND TECHNOLOGY Fifth Grade Integration Unit Visual Art, Social Studies and Language Arts

Curriculum Integration Team South Loop School Paulette Mitchell, Visual Art Teacher Frances Denman, Fifth Grade Teacher Donna Brookens, Fifth Grade Teacher

UNIT OVERVIEW  How has ancient civilizations influenced our lives today? (The Americas from past to present)  What impact do the visual arts have on past and present civilizations?

This school year students in the fifth grade began the school year with the study of Ancient Civilizations in the Americas of the Mayans, Aztecs and Incans. Create personal Glyphs. Compare Mayan and Aztec writing to Egyptian hieroglyphics. Using the internet students will convert their Gregorian birthday into a Mayan or Aztec astrological sign to use when they cast a plaster mold in which to carve their glyph. Taught students what is a Gregorian date. Students will draw, carve, and paint Mayan or Aztec astrological signs on molds.

USING TECHNOLOGY IN THE ART ROOM  This assignment was designed to help students make the connections between ancient and modern writing systems and calendar systems.  We began with gathering the birth date of every student.  Next, each student converted their Gregorian birth date to an Aztec or Mayan astrological sign on the Resonate View website, I can use the internet to research cultures. I can find inspiration for my artwork on the internet.

Supplies Supplies in the order that they are listed. Plaster of Paris Vegetable oil (release agent) Container to mix plaster in. Water (cold) Plaster bowl or food container

CASTING PLASTER FORMS  Mix plaster and cold water together into a smooth consistency like yogurt.  Coat plastic bowl or food container with vegetable oil.

WORKING WITH PLASTER FORMS  Each student printed their conversion and drew an enlargement of their sign for practice at the bottom of their paper. Then after a few practice drawings, students drew their sign in the center of their molds.  Students where amazed to discover how forgiving the plaster was when they made a mistake. All they had to do was to sand away their mistake and start all over again until their sign was to their or my approval.  Drawn lines on the plaster had to be a minimum of a quarter of a inch apart if the sign contained double lines areas e.g. a frame around it which most signs have.  Once signs were drawn on the molds, each student was given a nail to carve the plaster mold. If the plaster cracked, students sanded the broken area and started all over again.

PRIMING AND PAINTING GLYPHS  All mold where primed first prior to painting.  To create more depth a dimension to the relief of the carved surface students dabbed on black paint into the carvings.  Each student selected his or her finishing colors. Lastly, students sealed their finished work with a water-based sealant.

DISCOVERY AND REFLECTION  Students compared both conversion types and found some similarities. They also found out if their conversion had one or two glyph name. Student were also asked if the numbers in their Gregorian birth date and their glyph and long count had any similarities.  During this unit, all instruction was verbal or teacher demonstrated. For final Assement and self-reflection students wrote about the process and how the felt about the assignment.

OBJECTIVES  Create a foundation for generating artistic ideas and constructing a classroom environment in which students feel comfortable with personal expressions.  Interpret self in multiple ways to make connection between self and something else.  Make ideas immediate and aesthetically engaging.

VISUAL ART STANDARDS STATE GOAL 26: Through creating and performing, understand how works of art are produced. STATE GOAL 27: Understand the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present. (Art across time and place) SOCIAL SCIENCE STANDARDS STATE GOAL 17: Understand world geography and the effects of geography on society, with an emphasis on the United States. LANGUAGE ARTS STATE GOAL 3: Write to communicate for a variety of purposes.

VISUAL ART I CANS I can recognize the relationship of parts to the whole in an artwork. I can identify the positive and negative space in an artwork. I can use the vocabulary of elements, principles, and tools when describing a work of art. I can draw manufactured or natural objects from direct observation. I can use the internet to research and create a plan for art.

RESOURCES Resonate View, Art print and slides of Mayan and Aztec art Clearview video on pre-Columbian art Wikepedia