To The Educator
Welcome to Identity and Rungius.
Grade Level: High School, Middle School
Big Idea: Identity
Purpose Statement: Identifying who we are as unique individuals is critical when considering what we want to do with our lives. Once identified, we are empowered with self-understanding so that we may make better choices about meaningful careers and lifework. Carl Rungius is an example of an individual whose artwork directly reflects his personality and what was important to him. This lesson uses Rungius as an inspiring example of someone who knew what he loved and worked hard to express this.
Software Required: Microsoft Notepad©, Claris Homepage©, DreamWeaver©, or other software used to write HTML code for creating webpages.
Hardware Required: Internet access, scanner, printer, disk or memory space for storing personal research.
Internet Resources:
National Museum of Wildlife Art
Joslyn Art Museum
Museum of Nebraska Art
Smithsonian's American Art Museum
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery & Sculpture Garden
Standard Resources:
Printmaking Supplies
Books
Other Websites
Content Objectives:
Instruction Will:
* Expose students to fine art and the biography of the artist, Carl Rungius, as a prompt for students to begin to identify their own interests.
* Expose students to a wide range of art forms including visual art as well as dance, drama, music, and literature.
* Ask questions to further provoke the students to identify their interests, values, and personal history.
* Provide link to interest inventory.
* Facilitate students' study of a biography based on an individual life influenced by ethnicity, historical events, and personal interests.
* Explain how to make a block print that will reflect the students' interests and values.
* Provide info needed for students to create a Web page.
Students Will:
* Use deductive reasoning to understand how a single artist, like Carl Rungius, used his art to express who he was as an individual.
* "Browse" artwork in the NMWA collections to find their favorites.
* Connect with an art form that expresses something about themselves. Share a specific example with class. (Examples from visual art, dance, drama, music, or literature.)
* Reflect on who they are as individuals. Students identify formative experiences, likes, dislikes, important values. These findings are recorded in journal entries stored on a disk.
* Read and report on a biography of an individual whose life was influenced by ethnicity, historical events, and personal interests.
* Create an original visual expression of their unique identity using printmaking techniques.
* Create a Website that synthesizes and expresses this identity, as well as connects them to their classmates and the larger community.
Final Products: Student journals, printmaking edition, personal Web page.
Reflection:
Instruction Will:
* Survey teachers and students to find if the content and objectives were relevant.
* Review the instructional material. Was there ample information, for example, on how to create a block print or Web page?
* Did instructor help students in search for a wide variety of art forms and other resources?
Students Will:
* Ask whether the unit was approached as an opportunity to learn about themselves.
* Discern whether the questions were answered thoughtfully and honestly?
* Consider how the understanding of themselves helps them make choices in the future.
Biography Extension
The Artist and Identity