TETAC Guidelines for Arts-Centered Instructional Units

Content
The guidelines for developing art-centered instructional units for content fall into two categories. The first category addresses the content of art: art production, criticism, history, and aesthetics, key concepts and terms, and the ways appropriate art knowledge and skills can make natural and logical connections to other disciplines.

The second category offers ways to organize content to draw attention to: the way content is sequenced in a logical way, the need for overall cohesiveness within the unit, providing for appropriate developmental levels, and listing resources.

Criteria		Explanation		Examples
1. All four arts disciplines are developed in the unit with enduring ideas, relevant knowledge, and skills.		Knowledge refers to concepts,facts, and generalizations (K); skills refer to the application of knowledge (S).
1a. Art Production		Artmaking. Dance performance. Dramatic performance. Music performance.		Art making is about exploration and inquiry into ideas (K). Art making is about making artistic choices for expressive purposes (K). Students learn how to select materials and techniques for expressive ends (S).
1b. Art Criticism		Interpreting and judging artworks.		Students support judgments about artworks with evidence (S). Single artworks can sustain many plausible interpretations (K). Artworks are about symbolic and/or metaphorical meanings (K).
1c. Art History		Examining the historical, social, and cultural context of artworks.		Connect artworks to time, place, and culture (S). Artworks are influenced by an interconnected arts world that includes artists, historians, critics, curators, playwrights, composers, dancers, actors, and others (K).
1d. Aesthetics		Exploring the nature and value of the arts.		National Content Standards for the Visual Arts: People have questions and beliefs about art (K). Students consider the views of others as they formulate their own philosophical ideas about art. (S).
2. The unit addresses sufficiently all the knowledge and skills that need to be taught in order for students to achieve the unit goals and objectives.		There should be evidence of planning for sufficient instruction to support desired learning.		Students make self-portraits that express their identity as they: are introduced to the concept of identity through definition, examples, and connections with students' experience. explore the concept of identity through artists' self-portraits. explore their own identity through concept webs and peer interviews. given a range of media and materials, make specific artistic choices in creating self-portraits. generate a set of reflective questions about concepts of identity. respond to their own and others' self-portraits
3. The unit addresses in logical sequence all the knowledge and skills that need to be taught in order for students to achieve the unit goals and objectives.		Prerequisite skills and knowledge contribute to logical sequence. Students are guided through activities, step by step.		As part of a unit, students research the history of ceramics, sketch original designs, construct works from clay, fire once, glaze, fire again, reflect upon the work, then display it.
4. Concepts/key terms are introduced and sufficiently developed.		Students need to explore examples and nonexamples of key terms and make connections to their own experiences in order to understand the concepts.		When the word "artifact" is a key term in a unit, students refine and test their understanding of its meaning by engaging in discussion.
5. The enduring ideas, key concepts, and essential questions provide focus and cohesiveness throughout the unit.		The enduring ideas, key concepts, and essential questions are revisited throughout the unit. Topics and supporting topics support rather than distract.		The enduring idea/key concept, Questioning the Survival/Revival of Tradition, unifies the unit through a pattern of progression showing the significance of clay's heritage to culture, to geographical region, to an individual potter, and to students.
6. Content and skills are appropriate for student developmental levels.		Content reflects student ability and interest levels.		For relief printmaking, younger students could use pencils and foamboard; older students might use linoleum cutters and linoleum blocks.
7. Specific, substantive connections between the arts and other content areas are developed as appropriate.		Connections should be meaningful and enrich both arts and other subject areas.		Investigate parallels between narrative art and narrative writing, such as meaning and main idea. Compare and contrast Leonardo da Vinci's role as an artist and a scientist as he investigated reality. Investigate how Picasso's Cubism and Stravinsky's pantonalities reflect historical events leading up to World War I in Europe.
8. The necessary resources/background materials for teaching the unit are listed.		The commercial availability of resources such as reproductions, videos, and other resources should be considered when planning units.		The teacher is provided ordering information for securing necessary resources.