Thanks for checking out my curriculum! It’s always a work in progress, but you’re more than welcome to explore. Eventually, I’d like to complete lessons for all units as well as integrate Notion templates so its simple to put in to practice. Stay tuned!
Introduction
Artmaking has the potential to empower and transform. Art itself can be a unheard voice seen, a salve that helps invisible wounds heal, and an invaluable tool for conscientization.
During this program, each child will take on the role of artist, activist, and researcher. Collaboratively, they will investigate injustice within their community, develop creative responses of resistance, and present their work to the broader community. In doing so, the artists will develop their personal/artistic voice and appreciate their valuable contribution to contemporary social justice movements. The possibilities are limited by the creativity of the young artists, ergo the possibilities are endless.
Along this journey, the young artists will engage in individual, group, and community reflection. They will reflect on justice, diversity, inclusion, identity, and emotions as they grow as artists and activists. Each child will (re)imagine their future, artistically express this vision, and, ultimately, manifest it.
Graduation Goals
All Students
- Students will engage in and practice loving and caring dialogue with peers to seek solutions to problems faced in everyday life or globally
- Apply critical thinking to make connections between the past (historical) problems and modern/future problems to create solutions or responses
- Students will be able to recognize, analyze, and take action against oppressive social forces that shape society.
- Students will be able to explore and articulate their own strengths, values, and interests that will guide their choices after graduation
- Students will be able to recognize their own social-emotional needs and understand their personal and collective actions have power to impact others outside of their own community
Visual Arts
- Engaging with the creations that artists of diverse identities, students will understand the history, role, and significance of the arts in social justice movements.
- Students will challenge dominant narratives by creating artwork to better understand, critique, and (re)imagine their world. They will find and express their inner voice through the medium of their choice.
- Students will explore their place in their own world, set their own goals, and determine how they want to be seen in order to develop a positive sense of identity. They will express and affirm their identity through the artwork that they create.
- Students will understand and embody the principles of diversity, justice, inclusion, and equity. They will apply these principles to recognize, analyze, and take action against the oppressive social forces that shape society.
- Students will develop the intrapersonal skills necessary to recognize, regulate, and express emotions in a healthy way. These will be evident through their interactions with their classmates as well as their reflective journal entries.
- Students will be able to take the perspective of and empathize with others in order to develop healthy and rewarding relationships with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Resources for Educators
Background
Annotated BibliographyThis project was originally conceived while problematizing art therapy in schools. For a deeper review of literature check this out:
Essay: The Promise and Problem of Art Therapy in Schools
Standards and Competencies
Interactive table of all standards
Feel free to sort and filter to find what you’re looking for!
