Library Digital Services and Development


Understanding Civilizations through Art

Created By: Donna Holinga, Lincoln Magnet School (Springfield, IL)
Grade Level: 7th
Content Area: Fine Arts and Social Studies
Database Integration: Students will use the TDC database to research artwork of either the ancient Egyptian civilization or Africa. Students will gather information from the database about the form of the artwork, the materials used in the art and the use of the artwork.


Illinois Learning Standards Achieved

Standard Achieved

Activity that Meets this Standard
STATE GOAL 3 (Language Arts): Write to communicate for a variety of purposes. Students will complete research about a work of art and write a report about that piece of artwork.
STATE GOAL 5: Use the language arts to acquire, assess, and communicate information. Learning Standard C: Apply skills and strategies of an independent learner. Students will complete research about a work of art and write a report about that piece of artwork.
STATE GOAL 25 (Visual Arts): Know the language of the arts.
Learning Standard A: Demonstrate an understanding of the sensory elements, organizational principals and expressive qualities in each of the arts. 		Students will create their own artwork using the artwork they research as a model.
STATE GOAL 26: Through creating and performing, understand how works of art are produced.
Learning Standard A: Describe and/or demonstrate how works of art are produced. 		Students will create their own artwork using the similar materials, colors, patterns, and form as the artwork they researched.
STATE GOAL 27: Understand the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present.
Learning Standard A: Describe the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present. 		Students will describe the role of their selected artwork in their written report.
STATE GOAL 18 (Social Studies): Understand social systems, with an emphasis on the United States.
Learning Standard A: Compare characteristics of cultures as reflected in language, literature, the arts, traditions and institutions. 		Through discussion students will compare the importance of the artwork in each civilizations to the importance of similar objects in the United States. The report students create will include characteristics of the cultures of the civilizations being studied. Students will cite the lasting contributions made by each culture through their art.

Materials:


Procedures:

Students in the sixth grade will study Ancient Civilizations in world history and seventh grade students will study the countries of Africa in geography.

  1. Students will spend two class periods researching various types of artwork and artifacts from the civilization they are studying.
  2. Students will choose a piece of artwork or artifact on which to do in depth research.
  3. Students will create their own artwork or artifact using their chosen piece as a model.
  4. Students will write a report including information about who used the original piece, the material used to make it, a description of the piece and how it was used by the people of the civilization.
  5. The artwork/artifact made by the sixth grade students will become part of the Virtual Ancient History Museum which is on the Lincoln Magnet web site. The seventh grade creations will be on display for parents and friends to view as part of the educational event, The African Extravaganza.

Assessment:

Students will be assessed using predetermined, teacher created rubrics which will be presented to them at the beginning of the project. These rubrics will be used to assess the report students write and the artwork/artifact students create.