Mollee J. Daniels

Student Work

Exploring Identities Through Portraiture

Unit Rationale

Many middle school students begin to question their identities through societal roles, school associations, and the cultural experiences each student carries. One form of art that captures and explores multiple identities is portraiture.

While students build observational skills when drawing from life, students will also develop an understanding of differing identities from their own. Students observe different aspects of their own, someone they know, or someone they look up to in life, reflecting on lived experiences and identity. As students learn to render and build form two-dimensionally, they build perseverance and patience skills, as drawing realistically and self-discovery take a long time.

Enduring Understandings

People have many identities.
Identity is made up of a compilation of internal and external influences.

Essential Questions

What is identity?
How do people show their identities?
How can artists represent someone else’s identity in a drawing?
How does identity affect people’s lived experiences?

Gargoyles & Grotesques

Unit Rationale

As emotions run rampant in middle schools, students are feeling emotions they might have never felt before.

Students build fine motor skills while working with clay, and develop an understanding of how to create expressions through 3D form. Students will observe different aspects of their personalities, and create a sculpture that expresses a personality through forms and texture. As students learn to build emotive forms, they also learn how to channel their inner emotions to create a piece of expressive artwork.

Enduring Understandings

Emotions can be expressed through different body languages and textures.
Artists use their artwork to express something about themselves or their personality.

Essential Questions

How do artists use clay to create sculptures?
How can forms create expressions in clay?
How can texture add to and enhance expression?