Lesson Plan Model
Guidance on preparing students for a museum gallery tour
The purpose of this generic lesson plan is to guide teachers in preparing students for a visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art. During the preparation, each teacher is encouraged to use his or her own specific teaching strategies and techniques.
Gallery Tour Topic: African Art
Focus: What is to be learned?
Students will be introduced to the arts described in the Gallery Tour Topic. The lessons are thematic and appropriate for elementary and middle school grades, but can be enhanced and taught at the high school level as well.
Purpose: Why visit an art museum?
Exploring, studying, and understanding the historical, artistic, cultural, scientific, and technological developments of the world's diverse cultures can help us to better understand ourselves and our place in history and the world.
Developing a greater sensitivity to other cultures by learning about their beliefs, practices, and art fosters an appreciation of different cultural perspectives.
Motivation: The "hook" to stimulate interest and set the tone of the lesson.
The lesson will introduce the material through engaging questions and answers, and various interactive strategies. Close observation of art works, discussion of artistic qualities and styles, and consideration of the "how to" techniques artists used to create their works will "web" with many disciplines.
Students will be asked to imagine journeying to faraway places and long-ago times, or to take a fresh look at our own culture and times.
Objectives: What will the student be able to do at the end of the lesson?
Students will understand how museum collections conserve and preserve original works of art that provide valuable clues to man's past.
Students will learn how geography, climate, lifestyle, and religion helped shape the history and art of various geographical areas.
Students will understand how art objects can define individuals or social groups.
Students will learn to identify the art works of a particular culture or time period.
Students will learn to identify certain motifs, patterns, and subject matter that relate to specific cultural groups.
Through direct encounters with the arts of different world cultures, students will learn to think critically about the differences and similarities to their own culture of present-day America, and how we view the arts today.
Students will learn to see artistic beauty and cultural symbolism in objects they may not initially consider works of art.
Students will learn how the choice of materials can affect a work's appearance.
Input: Things that help connect a work of art to the Focus.
Vocabulary, webbing, maps, and other visual aids are often introduced.
Check for UnderstandingCritical thinking: The student moves from collecting specific information to constructing a conclusion. Assessment does not have to be in the form of a question.
Students will be asked questions as the lesson is taught and will be encouraged to build upon what they have learned earlier in the gallery session.
Students will "problem solve" by applying knowledge gained from examining one object toward understanding the forms and purposes of other objects shown later in the gallery session.
Students will be asked to consider similarities and differences between cultures and civilizations they have studied.
Students will be asked to observe, comment on what they see, question, and draw conclusions about the topic of discussion.
The teacher may follow up the presentation by incorporating the topic's vocabulary, suggested activities or questions, or other ideas and resources presented in the Teacher Preview Packet.
Closure: The summation relates back to the Focus, and reiterates and summarizes the Objectives. Suggestions for continued activities or research are offered.
Students will reinforce what they have learned during the lesson and will be encouraged to continue their visual and cultural explorations with follow-up activities at school and at the museum that will enable students to demonstrate and build upon what they have learned from their visit.
Students will be introduced to some of the interdisciplinary possibilities in many fields, such as social sciences, government, history, languages, literature, mythology, religion, geography, natural sciences, and mathematics. They will be asked to make connections to other subjects they are studying.