1.+CREATING+A+RELATIONSHIP+WITH+NATURE

= =

= = These photos were taken on July 27, 2009 at the MET during the Art and Science Inquiry Workshop (part of M.S. 217's Green Magnet professional development for teachers) in the American Landscape Gallery. We were invited to use the skill of close observation as part of the inquiry process. = =

CREATING A RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE: Created by ** Linda Hoffman **as an inquiry unit of study
How can close observation shape our understanding of a landscape? How does a landscape painting make choices about the natural environment? What kinds of negative and positive changes can affect a natural environment? Student-friendly inquiry rubric – teacher-created Student laptops **__ Objective: __** first 45 minutes Students will use close observation to zoom in and out of different scenes in //Zoom//. Students will use descriptive language to talk about what they see and to record their noticings. **__ Content Overview: __** This wordless picture book presents a series of scenes, each one from farther away. For example, a girl playing with toys on one page is actually part of a picture on a magazine cover. 1. The teacher will use the book //Zoom// to sharpen students’ skills of close observation by questioning students as they zoom in and zoom out of different scenes. 2. Students will zoom in on one page and answer the questions, “What do you see?” and “What’s your perspective” The teacher will probe for evidence by asking “What’s your evidence in the scene?” 3. Students will zoom out on another page and answer again: “What do you see now?” and “What’s your perspective now?” The teacher will again probe for evidence by asking “What’s your evidence in the scene?” 4. The teacher will repeat this process until the end of the book is reached. 5. Students will use the chart below to record their observations and evidence: ** NOTICINGS and EVIDENCE ** Students will use close observation to zoom in and out of different portions of Duncanson’s painting //Blue Hole, Little Miami River.// Students will use descriptive language to talk about what they see and to record their noticings. 1. The teacher will place students in 5 groups of six students each. 2. The teacher will give students the web site for saving an image of the painting to their laptops. 3. Students will work independently looking for noticings in the foreground, middle ground, and background of the painting. 4. After working independently for ten minutes, students will have another ten minutes to turn and talk, sharing their noticings and evidence with the rest of their small group. 5. Students will have an opportunity to expand their chart with additional insights. (See chart below) ** NOTICINGS and EVIDENCE ** || ** What’s your evidence? ** || Students will read the short biographical sketch of Duncanson. They will use a highlighter to underscore key points. They will also create three questions about things they still want to investigate about the painter and his painting. They will bring these questions to class for the next meeting. **__ Objective __** : first 45 minutes Students will read an environmental history (//A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History//) by Lynne Cherry) Students will use a graphic organizer in order to find evidence of how human actions can affect an ecosystem ** Ways of Seeing the Nashua River **  ** Inquiry Questions: ** Group A: Who does the river really belong to?
 * __ One Week Mini-Unit Of Study __**** : ** Time-frame - 5-days - daily double periods (90 minute block or two 45-minute periods) for grade 8 literacy (English Language Arts) classes
 * __ Title __**** : ** Creating a Relationship with Nature through Visual Art, Literacy and Science
 * __ Big Idea __**** : ** relationships
 * __ Essential/Overarching Question __**** : ** How can we shape a relationship with the natural environment?
 * __ Enduring understandings __**** : **
 * __ Materials __**** : ****// 1. Zoom //**** by Istvan Banyai 2. Copy of landscape painting //Blue Hole, Little Miami River// – Robert Scott Duncanson Robert Scott Duncanson, an African-American artist, was influenced by the Hudson River School of painters. Duncanson and like-minded painters saw America's untamed wilderness as a source of inspiration and national pride. **
 * 3. ** ** [|Short Biographical Sketch - Duncanson] **
 * 4. //A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History// by Lynne Cherry (an environmental success story) – (picture book) ** The author Lynne Cherry traces the ecological evolution of New England's Nashua River - how it was respected by generations of Indians, polluted and ultimately deadened in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, and restored in recent years through the efforts of concerned citizens.
 * __ Supplementary materials: __**
 * __ Lesson One __**
 * __ Skills: __**
 * __ Procedure for sharpening close observation skills: __**
 * ** What do you see? ** || ** What’s your perspective? ** || ** What’s your evidence? ** ||
 * __ Objective: __** second 45 minutes
 * ** What do you see? ** || ** What’s your perspective? **
 * __ Homework: __**
 * __ Homework: __**
 * __ Homework: __**
 * __ Homework: __**
 * __ Homework: __**
 * __ Homework: __**
 * __ Lesson Two __**
 * __ Content Overview __**** : ** Students will read an environmental history in order to develop an understanding of how an ecosystem can be affected through human action – both in negative and positive ways.
 * Skills: ** Students will continue to work in their small groups. They will examine the text for evidence of how these different groups used different ways of seeing the Nashua River. Students will place their text support under the headings in the graphic organizer below:
 * ** The Nashua Indians ** || ** The settlers ** || ** The industrialists ** || ** The conservationists ** ||
 * __ Objective __** : second 45 minutes
 * __ Procedure: __**
 * 1) Students are asked to re-read the text before they begin their small-group discussions.
 * 2) Students will use the text as a springboard for their thinking about a particular question.
 * 3) Each group of students is responsible for only one question.
 * 4) Students will come to consensus about a reasonable and logical answer for their question.
 * 5) Students will chart their responses and then share them with the whole class.
 * 6) Students in each group will create an additional question of inquiry about some other concern or issue in the text.
 * __ Procedure: __**
 * 1) Students are asked to re-read the text before they begin their small-group discussions.
 * 2) Students will use the text as a springboard for their thinking about a particular question.
 * 3) Each group of students is responsible for only one question.
 * 4) Students will come to consensus about a reasonable and logical answer for their question.
 * 5) Students will chart their responses and then share them with the whole class.
 * 6) Students in each group will create an additional question of inquiry about some other concern or issue in the text.

Group B: Who maintains the health of an ecosystem?

Group C: How do you know if your actions/behaviors are irresponsible?

Group D: How do you know if your actions/behaviors are responsible?

Group E: How can a change in thinking bring about a change in actions/behavior? **__ Days Three and Four – Two 90-minute blocks of time __** As a culminating project, each student will create is a journal of three pages. In their journals, students will describe two American landscapes of Albert Bierstadt as well as compare and contrast these two compositions. Students will visit [] to view his complete works and to make their selections. The journal will be composed of 2 pages: “Descriptive Language - How I See These Paintings Through Close Observation,” and 1 page: “The Similarities and Differences of These Two Paintings” Students will show their mastery of descriptive language. Students will show their mastery of comparison and contrast. G - The goals are to apply the principles of close observation and inquiry-based questioning to a landscape painting, a biographical sketch, and a non-fiction picture book. R - The roles you are assuming are that of an observer of works of art, a creator of questions, a writer of descriptions and explanations, a non-fiction picture book reader, and a writer of connections to art and science. A - The target audience (you need to share your insights with) is your fellow classmates and literacy teacher. S - The situation or context you find yourself in is being able to write descriptions and reflections in response to visual art and the written word. P - The product you need to create is a journal of three pages in which you describe and compare two American landscapes of Albert Bierstadt. The pages are: (1-2) How I See These Paintings Through Close Observation, and (3) My Conclusions about the Inquiry Process S - The standards you will use are: Apply thinking skills, such as define, classify, and infer, to interpret data, facts, and ideas from informational texts Draw conclusions and make inferences on the basis of explicit and implied information Compare and contrast information from a variety of different sources Draw conclusions and provide reasons for the conclusions The Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts: []
 * __ Content Overview __** : Students will have in-class work time to create their journals.
 * __ Skills __**** : ** Students will show evidence of mastery of close observation through this culminating project.
 * __ Day Five - 90 minutes __**
 * __ Content: __**** In-class Share Fair of Student Work **
 * __ Objective __**** : ** Students will share their insights by reading and explaining from their journals.
 * Skills: ** Students will share their painting selections using the Smartboard and participate in an oral presentation of their journal insights to the whole class.
 * __ GRASPS: __**
 * NYS ELA - Reading Grade 8: **
 * NYS ELA - Writing Grade 8: **

=**EfS - Education for Sustainability Standards:**= Multiple Perspectives - Students will know, understand, and draw value from multiple perspectives to co-create shared and evolving visions and actions in the service of a healthy and sustainable future locally and globally. 1. Formative assessment - Create inquiry-based questions 2. Formative assessment - Write explanations which use close observation and descriptive language 3. Formative assessment - Write a reader’s response to ecological issues and outcomes in //A River Ran Wild// 4. Culminating project: Create a three-page descriptive and reflective journal
 * __ Assessments: __**