The Social Struggles of Contemporary Black Art

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 22.03.01

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Rationale
  2. Content
  3. Strategies
  4. Activities
  5. Resources
  6. Appendix on Implementing District Standards
  7. Bibliography
  8. Notes

Reclaiming the Lost Art of Storytelling Using Textile

Irene Jones

Published September 2022

Tools for this Unit:

Strategies

Notice and Wonder

Notice and Wonder is a tool to formatively assess students’ prior knowledge, understanding, and experiences about a topic that is being introduced.  The strategy is designed to elicit student thinking and encourage them to ask relevant questions.  A teacher often uses a short clip, a picture, or a short text to introduce the topic. The first step is to ask students what they notice about the first, then they fill in the “I Notice” column, located on the left column. They can write down as many details as they can in the first column.  The students write relevant questions about the item or topic in the “I Wonder” column in question format. The next part is to consolidate the ideas from the Notice and Wonder chart.  The teachers and students revisit the chart at the end of the lesson to summarize learning.

Culturally Responsive Teaching

Students come to the classroom with diverse backgrounds and learning styles and can be challenging.  The objective of culturally responsive teaching is to link content with students’ traditional and ancestral background.  According to Marcus Guido, learning is more meaningful and more stimulating for a child if the child has some knowledge or has lived through the experience.  Furthermore, elements of culturally relevant teaching significantly increase academic outcomes and increases confidence in cultural identity.  Some questions to ask include: Where do you come from?  What do your parents/ guardians do?  What’s your favorite afterschool activity? Whatever information is collected on the students can be utilized in lessons that include the student’s culture.  Other options to consider include involving parents and especially promote positive media or art portrayals.29

Growth Mindset

Marcus Guido states that the value of effort, persistence, and risk taking in a child’s learning environment are the focus of growth mindset for students in the classroom.  It’s also important to try new things and new concepts.  Some best practices include giving positive feedback, promote a diverse classroom, and encourage goal-based journaling.  When giving positive feedback, it’s important to praise students’ effort like when they try new methods or make new plans.  Diversity in the classroom means allowing students to share and respect the perspectives of all learners.  Setting goals is a good way for students to reflect on progress.30

Tell Picture Stories

Another strategy suggested by Ginger Abbot is adding visual components into classroom learning is a great strategy to incorporate into the art classroom.  In addition, teachers can incorporate pantomime across subject areas to keep students interested in interpreting art.  Students can be given a visual art and asked to tell a story about it.  This would be a useful strategy to use for art portraits, quilts, and pictorial rugs.31

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