Making Art: Myths, Magic Mirror
Fourth graders at PS 48 spent a year exploring the roles of myths and mythological characters. Students read Greek myths and discussed the function of myths as explanations for mysteries and questions. The group then developed their own questions about the world and created stories that acted as mythological "answers" to their questions. Students developed central characters from their myths through writing, painting, and musical explorations, and ended the residency by creating detailed costumes to represent the roles and attributes of their invented mythological creatures.
Images for Investigation
- Students will explore the limits and possibilities of paint and color.
- Students will consider the role of gesture and pose in artwork.
- Students will explore the role of motivating questions in creating artwork.
- Students will explore uses of storytelling and aspects of creating meaning.
- Students will consider the role of stories in our everyday lives.
- Students will consider the role of images in our everyday lives.
National Content Standards Addressed
Visual Arts K–4.1:
- Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
- Students describe how different materials, techniques, and processes produce different responses.
- Students use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.
Visual Arts K–4.5:
- Reflecting Upon and Assessing the Characteristics and Merits of Their Work and the Work of Others
- Students understand there are various purposes for creating works of visual art.
English Language Arts K–4:
- Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts: They draw on their prior experience; their interactions with other readers and writers; their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts; their word identification strategies; and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
- Students conduct research on issues and interests, generate ideas and questions, and pose problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
MYTHS, MAGIC MIRROR
- Download Myths, Magic Mirror Full Unit Plan