Name: Ashley Cox

Class: LTC 8740 Curriculum in Art Education

Assignment: 21st Century Gods & Goddesses
Date: 5/8/2015
I.

Setting Goals & Expectations

Big Idea: Throughout time and across cultures we have studied Ancient Greece
Culture to learn more about how they lived. We will focus on their worship to
Gods and Goddesses and the stories behind each of these deities.
Key Concepts: With this project I anticipate my students gathering information
about Greek Gods and Goddesses along with stories that correlate with these
characters. They will focus on why these mythological stories that contained so
much meaning to the Grecian people. Students will use their knowledge of 21 st
century celebrities and important figures to base their 21 st century Gods and
Goddesses figurines off of.
Student goals:
Examine Greek Gods and Goddesses
Investigate a Greek God and Goddess stories
Identify 21st Century Gods and Goddesses and their
traits/characteristics
Construct a 3-D figurine based off of their 21 st century God or
Goddess
Assess the finished product to acknowledge acquired knowledge
Essential Questions:
What celebrities/famous people make a large impact in our lives?
What makes up someones traits and characteristics?
What makes someone/something important?
How do we know when someone has made a large impact in our life?

II.

Responding and Connecting

Students will begin this project by identifying works of art that was created by the
Greece culture and includes statues of Greek Gods and Goddesses. Each student
will use their iPad to research and investigate different sculptures of Greek Gods
and Goddesses and will do a group share at each table. They will also use the iPad
to reference back to their own PowerPoint that they created in Social Studies.
(Va:Re.7.2.6a) (Va:Re.8.2.6a) (This is a sixth grade lesson therefore they will already
be supplied with this tool to use) From here we will hold a classroom discussion
about how we can connect these Gods and Goddesses to our modern day society.
At this point we will be addressing the essential questions do a quick compare and

contrast of the Gods and Goddesses in Greece in comparison to the celebrities that
we find to be so important now. (Va:Cn11.16a)
This lesson has been developed to be cross-curricular therefore pairing sources
and information with the English and Social Studies department in my building.
Within their social studies class they are asked to create a PowerPoint based off a
Greek God of Goddess of their choosing. I feel like incorporating their knowledge of
the Greek deity that they focused on and combining that with a 21 st century famous
figure could make for an interesting piece of artwork. We will use English as a way to
help us develop our stories along with using our schools constructed response to
create our artist statement to accompany our finished product.
Some of the artwork that we will be looking at will include the following:
Greek Gods & Goddesses:
http://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/
The Greek Gods and Goddesses website is a reliable and safe resource
for students to easily navigate to further their understanding of the different
Greek Gods and Goddesses.
The British Museum (Ancient Greece Online Exhibit):
http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/gods/explore/exp_set.html
The Ancient Greece Online Exhibit hosted by The British Museum is a
wonderful resource when searching for ancient artifacts. Using this link you are
able to click on the tabs labeled: Introduction, symbols, story, objects, places,
and festivals.
Greek God & Goddesses PowerPoint:
http://www.beachwoodschools.org/Downloads/myth%20intro.pdf
This is a PowerPoint created by Beach Woof Schools that introduces
Greece and its well-known Greek Myths. Once again, this is an additional
resource that students may use to review for their project.
Noel Cruz:
http://www.ncruz.com/
Noel Cruz is an artist who creates his artwork by using manufactured dolls
and then wiping off all the factory settings and then creating the doll to
resemble the character in a more realistic form. Students viewing this artwork will
realize the 21st century impact that celebrities and figurines make in our society.

III.

Creating
Students will use their sketchbook to answer the essential questions and write
lists of people they are influenced by in our 21 st century world. VA:Cr2.1.6a
(Demonstrate openness in trying new ideas, materials, methods, and approaches in

making works of art and design) VA:Cr1.1.6a (Combine concepts collaboratively to

generate innovative ideas of creating art VA:Cr1.2.6a (Formulate an artistic
investigation of personally relevant content for creating art)
From here they will pick out the celebrity/famous figure that they would like to
base their artwork off of and use their sketchbook once again to write down the traits
that correlate with their celebrity and sketch out what they intend on their figurines to
look like. (i.e. If I were to choose Katy Perry I would write down some of her traits:
bright colors, cartoonish characters, pop music etc. etc. I would then propose the
idea of having a goddess named Katrius Perrero Goddess of Summer Hits, cherry
Chap Stick, and dressing in costume. From there I would sketch out what her
character would look like and what symbols I would feel necessary that she adorn)
We will be having a few mini play days (with one of them being with modeling
clay) where students will be able to experiment with texture and different attachment
styles when it comes to clay. Our ultimate goal is to create a small clay figurine (6x
3 height and width maximum). Creating the small figurine will help them bring
together all these big ideas as a cumulating ending art project.
IV.

Assessment
Formative and summative assessment will both be used to check in for the
students understanding of the assignment. As students are working I plan on setting
aside time to sit with each student to discuss their artwork and talk through the
process that they plan on using. The discussion between myself and the artist will be
used as a form of assessing their thought process and potential actions for the
project it will also be a way to do some preventative problem solving with issues that
they may encounter.
As they are working on their project they will be filling out a rubric that I have
created to assess their overall knowledge that has been accumulated over the
duration of the project. At the end of the project we will be combining our rubrics to
see the progress that we have made collectively as a class. (Please refer to my
rubric creation at the end of the lesson for further understanding)
Using my assessment as a form of ongoing assessment has been proven to be
beneficial for a variety of reasons. According to Chapter 29 Seven Practices for
Effective Learning written by Jay McTighe and Ken OConnor out of the book
Kaleidoscope: Contemporary and classic readings in education: they state that
ongoing assessments and continual adjustments on the part of both teacher and
student as the means to achieve maximum performance. The authors later go on to
state that well-designed ongoing assessment has the ability to provide the kind of
specific, personalized, and timely information needed to guide both the learning and
teaching (Ryan 174).

V.

Presenting
Students will present their creations to the class by the use of a gallery walk.
They will receive verbal feedback from their peers. Students will also be asked to
create a write-up describing the famous figure they decided on and the
characteristics it entails. With the written portion and on their rubric I will provide
written feedback about their art project. We will display our projects in the display
case outside of my room with the potential of displaying somewhere within the
community.

Teacher Reflection:
Through the lesson students will educate themselves about Greek mythology
and their understanding of modern society. As artist students they will learn about
idolizing in our culture and how it pertains to generations past. When using the iPads
they will further their understanding that iPads are tools for research and
investigation, not just a social media device. Overall, this art experience will be
relevant and meaningful to students in the 21 st century through the use of iPads,
meaningful art making, and their ability to adapt their figurines loosely based off of
Greek mythology.

Resources (Books/Articles)
Egan, K. (1989). Teaching as story telling: An alternative approach to teaching and
Curriculum in the elementary school. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Pennebaker, J., & Seagal, J. (n.d.). Forming A Story: The Health Benefits Of Narrative.
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1243-1254.
Pink, D. (2006). A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future. New York:
Riverhead Books.
Ryan, K. (2010). Kaleidoscope: Contemporary and classic readings in education (12th
ed.). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Thomas, D., & Brown, J. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination
for a World of constant change. Lexington, Ky.

Resources (Online Images)

Greek Gods & Goddesses:
http://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/
The British Museum (Ancient Greece Online Exhibit):
http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/gods/explore/exp_set.html
Greek God & Goddesses PowerPoint:
http://www.beachwoodschools.org/Downloads/myth%20intro.pdf
Noel Cruz:
http://www.ncruz.com/