Curriculum
The core component of Expanding The Frame is the development and implementation of arts integrated units. Classroom teachers and artist instructors collaborated to teach units that addressed specific skills in Math, ELA, and Art, all while making use of technology in the classroom.
Sixteen units were developed by Studio artist instructors and administrative staff, to be adapted by the ETF teaching teams through joint planning sessions. See overviews of these units below, and sign in to download additional materials, including lesson plans and visual resources.
[Expanding The Frame is still being implemented, and so units are still being prepared for online dissemination. Materials below are in their early drafts and only available for some units. Please check back throughout the year for updates, and contact us with any questions or feedback. Thank you.]
Digital Mosaic Creatures
Through developing skills in simple paper mosaics and exploring mosaics in a digital format, students will work with mathematical and geometrical concepts such as grids, decimals, place values, percentages, and more. Inspired by street artists and mosaic art found in public places, students will create digital creatures using tablets and post them around their school.
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Futuristic Self-Portraits
In this drawing unit, students create imaginative self-portraits in their ideal future occupations, and hone their ability to identify author/artist point of view, write with explicit detail, determine a theme in a text or artwork, draw inferences, use specific details, and provide evidence.
Angular Cityscapes
4th Grade students will explore aspects of architecture as they learn about angles and how to use protractors. By exploring map applications, students will use technology to view buildings from above and below. Creating their own designs from a particular perspective, students will explore how geometry is used in architecture and how inked line and watercolor can produce dynamic cityscapes.
Persuasive Posters
Students use digital technology as well as traditional drawing materials to investigate how artists create symbols and metaphors in their work. They explore how both language and art can be used to have a strong impact and concisely express an opinion.
Playful Solids / Netbots
Students create models of public sculptures and learn that artists can create artwork that transforms a public space, create balance using 3-D forms and negative space, and utilize persistence, precision, and imagination. In Math, they improve their understanding of area, volume, and two- vs. three-dimensional shapes. This unit can also be done as Netbots, in which students design a robot.
