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Lesson Title: Africa

Name: Roxane France-Woods

Discipline: Art

School: Northwestern High School

Grade Level: High School

Time Period: 1 period

I. Conceptual Framework

Big Idea: Power

Rationale: I teach in a school that has a diverse student population, and it is important to me that I teach about some of the cultures that are represented in the classrooms. Using power as the vehicle to study West African communities will allow the students to examine the history, culture, customs and artforms of its people. The students will analyze the communities to illustrate that power is an integral part of a hierarchical society that uses various art forms to distinguish between different people.

Essential Questions:

• What is power?
• How does power affect the human experience?
• What is the relationship between symbols and power?

Key Concepts:

• Power is about dominance.
• Power is about conflict.
• Power is about insiders and outsiders.
• Power is about voice.
• Power is about possession.
• Power is about persuasiveness.

State and Local Standards

1. Perceiving and Responding
Expectation B: Select works of art and interpret their meaning based upon the application of expressive characteristics and use of symbolism.

Indicators of Learning

Creative Expression: Working from observation, memory and/or experience, create a work using a mode of representation and format that serves personal ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Critical Response: Describe, analyze, and interpret how artists select modes of representation and formats to express personal ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

2. Historical, Cultural, and Social Context
Expectation B: Determine factors that influenced the creation of art in specific historical eras and places by studying artworks and other sources of information.

Indicators of Learning

Creative Expression: Inspired by diverse cultural values and beliefs, stylistic trends, and technical innovations that have influenced artistic choices, create an artwork that connects art history with personal values or contemporary issues.

Critical Response: By studying selected artworks, examine information from a variety of sources and propose factors that influenced artists and inspired artworks.

3. Creative Expression and Production
Expectation B: Create visual images that reflect knowledge of various subjects from observation and imagination.

Indicators of Learning

Creative Expression: Draw upon individual experiences as the basis for personally meaningful images developed through a process that includes:

• using two or more strategies to generate ideas for personal work
• solving intermediate representational problems by doing research, using references, models, or practicing different strategies
• crafting a quality product demonstrating care, thought, and skill in making

Critical Response: Describe source(s) of ideas for a personal work and discuss how ideas were generated, how representational problems were solved, what visual references and/or sources of information were used, and how the work changed from beginning to completion and what was thought about in the process of making the work.

4. Aesthetics and Criticism
Expectation A: Apply knowledge of aesthetic traditions and conventions including contemporary criticism to find value in diverse artworks

Indicators of Learning

Creative Expression: By exploring different criteria and multiple models for judging diverse works of art, create a series of artworks based on a selected set of criteria.

Critical Response: Critique artworks, applying different theories of art to judge personal artwork and that of others

II. Topics

• The use of symbols in West African societies
• The use of color and design to portray power
• The power of textiles

Key Concepts:

• What are symbols?
• How are symbols used in communities?
• How do symbols command attention?
• What symbols are important to you and why?
• How do symbols carry authority?
• How are design and color used to show power?
• Symbols are powerful images.
• Textile shows power to those wearing it
• Power is about the human experience.
• Color and design sends powerful messages.
• Textiles are sacred cloth.

III. Artworks, Artforms, and Artifacts

• Akan goldweights
• West African textiles
• Royal cloth
• Adinka designs
• Masks
• Visual images

IV. Lessons

Unit1, Lesson 1 – Symbols

Objective(s):
Students will examine the use of symbols to illustrate power in West African societies.

Essential Questions:
1. What is a symbol?
2. How are symbols used in West African communities?
3. What symbols are important to you and why?

Warm-Up:
Students will identify and label the West African countries on a map.

Materials:
Pen, paper, colored pencils, India ink, drawing paper, and reading/visual handout

Teacher Guided:
The instructor will guide the lesson on the history of West African symbols that show power. Symbols that depict everyday life will be discussed. This will demonstrate to the students how symbols are used to portray power in a hierarchical society. The students will be shown images of symbols and their meaning to better understand their usage in West African societies. The instructor will demonstrate to the students how they can create their own symbols by identifying meaningful aspects of their lives that can be interpreted into designs.

Independent Practices:
The students will read and study handouts on West African symbols. They will identify the West African countries of today, and the old Ashanti (Akan) and Mali kingdoms. The students will work independently to create ten thumbnail sketches of symbols. They will then choose two symbols in order to make a final design using color. Each student will write a paragraph describing the significance of his/her creation, and the power that it exudes.

Assessment:
Students will answer a worksheet with five questions about what they have learned on symbols. They will participate in constructive class critique of final work and ask questions.

Closure:
Students will hang their work on display boards. They will be responsible for cleaning their own work space.

Assessment:

• Students will write the definition of power using BCRs.
• Students will compare and contrast power in West African communities
  with today’s societies using ECRs.
• Students answer worksheets on the big idea and topics.
• Students will be graded by self- and teacher-directed rubric based on
  craftsmanship, creativity, and following directions

Objectives:

• Students will study the history the Adrinka stamp in order to create a design to be printed on fabric.
• Students will discuss the importance of textiles in West African societies.
• Students will identify patterns in fabrics that illustrate power.
• Students will use their printed fabric to create a three-dimensional work of art.

  Essential Question:

• Why are textiles sacred cloth?
• How do textiles show power to those wearing it?
• What kinds of human experiences do textiles create when worn?

Warm-up: Look at the samples of West African fabrics provided, and write a BCR (brief constructive response) on what a cultural cloth means to you. The cloth can be compared to the clothing that you wear today.

Materials: Pencil, paper, fabric, fabric dye, wax, iron, newspaper, scissors, compress sponge, linoleum block 

Teacher Guided Practice:

• The instructor will show the students different types or West African textiles, and have them try to identify each one. Students will be engaged in classroom discussion analyzing the various types of cloth worn by the people within the communities. The students will then be broken into groups to study the batik, Kente clothe and Adrinka stamps designs and their meanings.   
• The teacher will demonstrate to the students how to create a stamp design to be printed on fabric using the block with fabric dye and paint.    
• Step by step, procedures will be explained to the students in order for them to complete the assignment.

Independent Study: The students will work independently creating four thumbnail sketches in their sketchbooks.  When finished, each student will choose one design to transfer onto the compress sponge or linoleum block. The designs will be cut out using scissors or cutting gauges.     

Assessments:

• Students’ progress will be continuously monitored throughout the assignment with teacher’s feedback.
• A quiz will be administered to reinforce the students’ knowledge of what they have learned from studying West African textiles.
• Students will match the Adinka stamps with their meanings.
• Assignments will be critiqued by their peers. 
• Each student’s completed assignment will be graded based on a rubric.

Closure: Students will cut and mount their work to be displayed in the classroom and showcased. They will clean their areas, wash and put away all work materials.

Unit1, Lesson 3 – Color and Design
1 period – 84 minutes each

Objectives:

• Students will analyze the importance of color and design in different cultures.
• Students will examine the impact of persuasive colors on design in popular culture.
• Students will compare and contrast the use of colors in American and West African societies.
• Students will create a work of art using a West African influenced design and color.

Essentials Questions:

• How are design and color used to show power?
• In what manner do color and design send powerful messages?
• What effect do color and design have on communities?

Warm-up:

• What is design? The students will write their own definition of design.
• In a minimum of five sentences, write a BCR explaining how an image persuaded you to purchase a product.  It could be about a piece of jewelry, clothing, or a pair shoes.

Materials: Paper, pencil, paint, color pencils, design examples and paintbrushes.

Teacher Guided:

• The instructor will introduce color and design theories to the students through classroom discussions and demonstration. 
• The teacher will demonstrate to the students how to identify visual images that engage one’s attention and the messages they imply.  Students’ discussion will be monitored and given for feedback. 
• The teacher will discuss the different types of designs and colors worn by people who hold authority in West African society.        

Independent Study: The students will be broken into groups; they will compare designs that illustrate power and authority in our culture and of the West African culture.  Individually, they will sketch three compositions and choose one to create a logo.

Assessment: At the conclusion of the project, the students will have a class critique.  The will write a summary of what they learned about color and design and the effects it has on different societies.

Closure: Students will display their work in the student gallery.

Internet Sources:

http://www.wisegorilla.com/images/african/african.html

http://africanhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aaAdinkra.htm

http://africa.si.edu/index2.html

http://africa.si.edu/collections/index.html

Bibliography:

Geoffrey Williams.  African Design from Traditional Sources, Dover Publication Inc., New York 1971

John Picton & John Mack.  African Textiles, Harper and Row Publishers, New York 1989

Ali Mazrui. The Africans, Little, Brown and Company, Boston 1986

Jean Laude. The Arts of Black Africa, UCLA Press, California 1971

Jacqueline L.Tobin & Raymond G. Dobard, Hidden In Plain View, Doubleday, New York 1999

Meda Parker Johnston. Design on Fabrics, Van Nostrand, New York 1967