ISBN:  978-0-7614-5383-3                        Subjects/Genres:  Artists, Poetry, Biography                            Grades: 5-8

 

Diego Rivera's life in verse, enlivened by mixed media illustrations.

 

Q/P 5/3 

8^th Grade Visual Arts Curriculum

Lesson Plan Title: Art as Social commentary

Concept / Topic To Teach: Students will study the work of Diego Rivera to explore how art can communicate with the public.

Standards Addressed: 3.1 Examine and describe or report on the role of a work of art created to make a social comment or protest social conditions. 

General Goal(s): Students can articulate alternatives to the verbal word in expressing political or social commentary.

Specific Objectives: Students are able to discern the intended message from works of various artists.

 

Required Materials: Art from a number of artists known for political criticism (i.e Frida,

 

Anticipatory Set (Lead-In): Students will read Diego: Bigger than Life  to learn about the impact that art can have in terms of career decisions and future life choices.

 

Step-By-Step Procedures:

1.      Teacher reads the particular poems that focus on the parts of Rivera’s life that proved troublesome.  These poems include: “True Mexico (pg. 30), “Diego the Red” (page 42) and “Man at the Crossroad” (pg. 45).

2.      For a local angle, teacher shows the class Paintings on the Left: Diego Rivera, Radical Politics, and San Francisco’s Public Murals.  The book is made available to students for browsing after the teacher is done

 Closure (Reflect Anticipatory Set):  Teacher leads discussion on censorship, inviting students to share personal experiences with their work being censored or second hand experiences that they may have had.  Teacher encourages students to think of censorship in broader terms, such as a parent refusing to buy an album because of an explicit lyrics sticker.

Assessment Based On Objectives:

            Students are asked why Rivera’s work was destroyed.  Students are asked for suggestions of other artists (visual or otherwise) who have suffered a similar fate.

 

Adaptations (For Students With Learning Disabilities):

            “Diego Rivera: Postcards” is available for students who may struggle with the reading level of Diego: Bigger than Life”

Extensions (For Gifted Students):

  Students are offered the opportunity to research the relationship between Frida Kahlo and Rivera, and the impact that the relationship had on each of their art.  Research other artists who made a statement through their art.

Possible Connections To Other Subjects:

            History Standard 8.6-7  Identify common themes in American art as well as transcendalism and individualism.

BVG, 8/2/09