6th Grade

Students will have an opportunity to refine their use of expository writing.

Small groups of students will first speculate on a chronology for these three selected paintings. Then each group will explore one of these three paintings, looking closely at the artwork, discussing it and finding out about the artist and its context. Students next speculate about what the painting tells about the past and how people lived at this time. After small groups present what they discovered and speculated, class as a whole returns to the original speculated chronology and corrects it if needed. To conclude lesson, each student selects two of the three artworks about which to write. Each student will compare and contrast and reveal what each tells the viewer about the past and how people lived at that time.

Students will learn about Greek mythology and the pantheon of gods by creating a class book of Great Greek Myths.

Small groups of students will look closely and explore two 19th century portraits, painted only 12 years apart.  They will then compare and contrast the two portraits. The small groups will define criteria that they believe create a good portrait. They will then use these criteria to select the better of the two 19th century portraits and create a persuasive paragraph / presentation in support of their conclusions.

Students will learn that specific marks are used to identify the image of Buddha. Students will identify the Buddha marks, which characterize the Amida Buddha from the Crocker Art Museum.

Pairs of students will learn about a female artist, write a 500 to 750 word essay from a list of specified questions, find a representative work by the artist and if possible, a photograph of the artist. Students will also learn how to research the artist. Students will finally participate in creating a timeline of all the female artists, researched by the class. Each pair of students will introduce their artist to the class in a five-minute report.

Students will improve their understanding of linear equations and rate. This lesson is intended to supplement and reinforce existing math curriculum for the corresponding reporting clusters for California CST and STAR testing. Students will gain an understanding of genre painting, triangular composition, and collage.