Third Grade Student Art
Third graders created the drawings below during a virtual trash awareness art lesson I designed and taught at Union Elementary School. I constructed the lesson to highlight my project's motivations and main ideas: connecting climate action and art, repetition, our trash production, and the exploration that arises from observing the same subject. Each student worked with a piece of paper folded into four sections and used four different materials. The third graders had five minutes to draw their pieces of trash using each medium for a total of four drawings. At the end of the lesson, each student had a booklet of different views of their piece of trash. I introduced the class to the curriculum through a pre-recorded video in which I discussed the environmental impacts of waste. I led the lesson virtually while the ar teacher assisted in the classroom. I plan to bring the lesson to other elementary school classrooms in my community.
Students At Work
Introduction Video
The attached introduction explains my motivations for conceiving Discarded: Daily Views of Trash, describing how I connected my climate action to art. The video was played before the lesson to give students background about the project and tie the lesson to the student’s current unit; what do we value? The video talks about why climate action is significant in Vermont to teach the students the importance of being mindful of our impact on the earth.
Lesson Plan
The attached lesson plan outlines the trash awareness curriculum I developed, explaining the supplies needed, directions, learning goals, and art standards. The plan was used to lead an art lesson for third graders at Union Elementary School in fall 2021. I designed the course to be flexible so that the lesson can be taught to different age groups or directed by an art teacher without my instruction. Even though the lesson I taught was virtual, the plan can be adapted for in-person teacher instruction.