How+We+Express+Ourselves+Unit

Our last unit of the year has the transdisciplinary theme **How We Express Ourselves**; An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.

Our central idea is : //The way we understand the world around us can be influenced by the perspectives we take.//

We will begin this last, shorter unit on Friday, June 1st. We are focusing this unit on photography- depending on different factors such as our culture, beliefs and experiences we all have a different perspective when we look at art and photographs. Also, how can the students find clues in the photograph to understand what the artist wanted to express? How can the students use their new knowledge of photography to create their own thoughtfully taken photographs?

We will be linking this unit to what they are currently learning in art about line, perspective, vanishing points, etc. as well as music. Mr. Radek will teach students how to choose and apply music to a slideshow of photos. The final assessment will be for the students to tell a story using 5 photographs- a Beginning, Middle, End and two transition photos. They will help to create the rubric to include their new photography skills and knowledge. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Week 35

Students had a discussion about what makes a "good" photograph. Their final mind map is an impressive list of things to consider about a photograph.

Students also viewed photos from usatoday.com, which has a feature called "The Day in Pictures." All the pictures were taken on the same day, June 4th but are from all over the country and show many different emotions in interesting ways. Here are two examples of the class's observations from two photos. We noticed that our best observations only came after looking and considering the photo for several minutes.

Students noticed that they are in a garden or mountain or farm. They look like they are friends. They could be important men like presidents because they have gray hair and suits. They are standing far away from anyone else, maybe because they are talking about important things and don't want to be disturbed. It could be an interview. It seems like a calm photo because it is so green and sunny.

In actuality it is "German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, left, and his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius, walk through the garden at Villa Borsig in Berlin. Photo by Johannes Eisele, AFP/Getty Images. They were very accurate in their observations!

Students noticed that there is a far away vanish point, showing that it is a big city and there are many people. They have candles, so it is likely a religious service. They look like they are praying. Many students guessed that they are Chinese. We are not sure if they are angry, sad or happy.

In actuality, "People participate in a candlelight vigil in Hong Kong on the the 23rd anniversary of the 1989 Chinese military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square." Photo by Kin Cheung, AP. Again, they were very accurate and drew on their knowledge from recent art lessons about 3 dimensional perspectives.

To see the rest of the photos and observations please view the Prezi here.