I like to collaborate with other teachers in the building in order to create lessons that encompass knowledge from multiple sources. This happens to be one of those projects, but in a somewhat strange way. The phys-ed teacher walked into my room at the beginning of the year and just gave me a look. When I asked what was up, she explained that one of her new requirements this year was for her 5th grade students to make posters about being physically active. What? I understood her look at this point. Apparently this makes total sense to Ohio lawmakers who know oh so much about building appropriate curriculum.
Anyway, I told her that I'd be happy to help out. In the past, I've used a lesson about Keith Haring as a way for students to create a poster about social issues. I ask them to build their image in a way that does not require any words for the viewer to understand the message in the artwork. I simply adapted that lesson for physical activity.
I think the results came out pretty nice. My students really connected with Haring's bright, simple figures. Check out my regular social issue Keith Haring lesson here!
This is another project that I enjoy beginning the year with. In 5th grade, I design projects to push the boundaries of what students have done in art before. My lessons for 5th grade are increasingly complex, either technically or intellectually. This particular project is inspired by the work of Keith Haring.
Instead of starting out with a Keynote presentation, I start this one old school. I break out a class set of Scholastic Art magazines from 1998. We start the project by reading a couple of short articles about Haring's life and artwork. After talking about Haring's style, I focus the class on major themes in Haring's work. We talk about major social causes that Haring addresses with his work. Each student chooses an important social cause to make artwork about using Haring's style. It takes a whole different thought process than most students are used to using. I have them focus on boiling down all of their ideas into just a few key images that will get their point across without the use of any text. It is a challenge, but most students end up with very powerful work.
Download this lesson plan!!!
5th graders recently finished a project based on the work of Keith Haring. Haring is famous for his use of simplistic shapes and bold colors. Haring's work often dealt with important social causes or topics. Each 5th grade student completed a painting in the style of Keith Haring. Students picked a social cause that was important to them and based their work on their chosen topic. Recycling was a popular topic, but work was based on everything from anti-smoking and anti-war to one poster that encourages viewers to eat healthy food. The project was finished with a short writing project that each student completed in order to explain their artwork. These paintings are currently hanging in the art room hallway and will be up for the next couple of weeks.
