Personal Environments
By Kayleigh Roche
Thematic Curriculum
| Unit Plan Overview | |
|---|---|
| Unit Plan Topic | Making Meaning of Our Personal Environments By stopping to look more closely at our everyday surroundings, we are able to find personal and cultural meaning in what at first glance seems familiar and mundane. We find evidence of who we are through what we leave in our environments; having lived, worked, socialized, and more in that space. |
| Grade Level | 10th Grade |
| Enduring Idea | Personal Environments Environments become personal through the accumulation of meaningful experiences we have within them everyday. In considering our personal environments, we consider where we physically belong in the world, and how an environment facilitates and reflects the evolution of our personal and cultural identity. |
| Key Concepts | • Personal environments are reflective of those who reside within them • Personal environments have meaning imbued through one’s experiences in them • Personal environments have both physical and immaterial characteristics • Personal environments are interested in what is everyday and mundane • Personal environments are made up of separate artifacts existing together in one space • Personal environments hold memories and keep records |
| Rationale | Through studying personal environments, high school students can investigate the meanings that develop from an individual’s experiences within a physical space. The physical place develops a distinctive meaning to each person in it because of their unique emotions and memories associated with it. In addition to developing meaning based on memories, the items within an environment have a cultural context that can reveal information about the background, interests, and values of the person who designed the space. At this age, students are developing an increasing awareness of their identity, beliefs and values. Through study of personal environments, students can explore how their identity is shaped by their physical environments, and how their environments are shaped by them. Additionally, they can consider the kinds of experiences they have in different environments, how each makes them feel, and the shifts they feel in their sense of identity and belonging in each. Personal environments in art will be explored by looking at the work of contemporary artists, such as Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Do Ho Suh. Through looking at these artists, students will see the diverse ways in which artists investigate and record spaces, and how those spaces relate to personal and cultural identity. Students will understand how art can be used to express their unique perspective and memory of a place through the details they choose to include and how they are depicted. The study of personal environments will present students with the opportunity to explore how the seemingly-mundane spaces and objects they interact with everyday hold more significant meanings about personal and cultural identity because of their context. Through this unit of study, students share their own personal environments and see what environments have meaning for their peers, in order to explore the diverse perspectives and experiences that make up their learning community. |
| Unit Essential Question(s) | • How do we influence the physical characteristics of our personal environments? • How do personal environments develop unique meanings? • How do environments reveal information about the needs, values, culture, and identity of those who exist within the space? • How does evidence of human presence create meaning within environments? • How can we discover new meanings in familiar environments? |
| Unit Learning Objectives | • Making: Students will be able to create a drawing of a personal environment • Students will be able to make meaningful choices about use of materials, composition, and color to convey personal interpretation of a subject • Conceptual: Students will understand how personal environments reveal information about the needs, values, culture, and identity of those who exist within the space • Students will understand how everyday objects and spaces can hold significant meanings • Students will understand how personal environments hold different meanings to people based on their experiences and memories |
Image #1: Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s work explores themes of home, memory, and union of cultures, particularly the relationship between African diasporic identity and contemporary Western life. The painting depicts a domestic interior, with the objects providing information about the life and culture of the person who lives there, such as the wedding dress, framed art and photographs, and tea kettle. Objects have both personal and cultural context, such as the wedding dress: a white dress is a western tradition and represents a personal milestone. The techniques of photocollage and layering of images in the background presents the artist’s unique understanding of the environment and influences from cultural mass media that permeate the space in a symbolic manner.
Image #2: Do Ho Suh’s work frequently investigates ideas of home and site-specific memory, inspired by his experiences of immigrating to the United States from South Korea for college, and feeling a sense of dislocation between environments. Rubbing/Loving Project is a rubbing made of the artist’s New York apartment, made by covering the entire space with paper and rubbing colored pencil and pastel over every surface, serving as a memorialization of the space and its significance to the artist. Details of the environment are recorded in exact scale- an equitable approach to depicting all characteristics of the space. Through the rubbing process, points of frequent contact between the artist and environment become more brightly colored, highlighting places of interaction between person and space.
Image #3: Lisette Model’s photographs focus on everyday situations and capture modern life; in this image, the use of reflection creates a composition of layered elements, giving a chaotic feeling reminiscent of the Manhattan streets. The photograph is absent of figures, instead focusing on the architecture and objects that populate the environment. The use of photography allows Model to capture the space at one specific moment, a composed but candid record of an everyday moment. The subject of a public street speaks to the cultural identity of the group that resides here; through the tall buildings, bus, and fashion mannequins present in this image, we understand we are looking at a heavily populated cosmopolitan environment of people on the move.
Image #4: John F. Peto’s painting depicts objects with personal meaning, such as the photograph of his daughter, allowing the viewer to learn about the time and place in which he lives, as well as what he values. The context from the title positions these objects as souvenirs, collected over time to serve as reminders of meaningful events in the artist’s life. The painting is reminiscent of a still life in its focus on realistically rendering objects, but the objects are composed in more of a collage-like manner, layered on a surface. Everything depicted in this image is simply paper, however, there are distinctive characteristics and associations with them being a newspaper, a letter, a photograph, a postcard, or more. Being presented in conjunction with each other provides the viewer a more holistic understanding of who the artist is based on the knowledge that he found these objects important enough to record in a painting.
| Lesson Summaries at a Glance | |
|---|---|
| Lesson 1 | Thematic: Journaling on Environments and Memory Through journaling about multiple environments using a sketch book and pencil, students will be able to generate and organize memories and narratives based in significant environments, and will understand that artists take inspiration from their own experiences. |
| Lesson 2 | Studio: Exploring Framing and Scale through Observational Sketches Through drawing an observational sketch of an object or group of objects in their classroom using drawing paper and ebony pencil, students will learn to render shape, value, and texture based on observation, and will understand that artists use scale and framing to present familiar things from a new perspective. |
| Lesson 3 | Thematic: Personal Environment Mind Map Through brainstorming about a personal environment by creating a mindmap using a sketch book and pencil, students will be able to identify physical characteristics, memories and emotions associated with an environment, and will understand that artists use objects to represent ideas, memories, or other abstract concepts. |
| Lesson 4 | Research: Artists’ Perspective on Local Environments Through virtually visiting and note taking on gallery and museum exhibitions showing work about local/NYC environments using iPads/laptops, a sketch book, and pencil, students will be able to identify and write/speak about visual characteristics in a work of art, and will understand that each artists’ unique perspective allows them to represent a shared environment in a unique way. |
| Lesson 5 | Studio: Thumbnail Sketches from Reference Images of Environments Through drawing thumbnail sketches based on reference images of their chosen environments using a sketchbook and ebony pencil, students will learn to simplify complex references into basic lines and shapes from observation and will understand that artists use thumbnail sketches to plan and explore compositions. |
| Lesson 6 | Studio: Exploring Expressive Qualities of Composition Through arranging their thumbnail sketches into one composition using sketch paper and glue, students will learn to use compositional techniques such as framing and leading lines to create focal points and will understand that artists can deviate from “realistic” one point perspective to incorporate multiple views into one image in order to convey expressive qualities. |
| Lesson 7 | Feedback: Peer-to-Peer Assessment of Composition Through engaging in peer-to-peer feedback on composition, students will learn to observe and offer constructive feedback on the formal qualities of a work of art, and will understand that artists revise their work based on others’ feedback to align the formal and conceptual qualities with their vision. |
| Lesson 8 | Studio: Colored Pencil Exploration and Observational Study Through creating an exploration page using colored pencils and sketchbook, students will learn to create a variety of marks, mix colors, and create a range of values using colored pencils and will understand that artists explore and experiment with a medium to discover possibilities and visual effects before working with it. |
| Lesson 9 | Studio: Oil Pastel Exploration and Observational Study Through creating an exploration page using oil pastels and sketchbook, students will learn to create a variety of marks, mix colors, and create a range of values using oil pastels and will understand that artists explore and experiment with a medium to discover possibilities and visual effects before making informed plans to use it in a work of art. |
| Lesson 10 | Studio: Chalk Pastel Exploration and Observational Study Through creating an exploration page using chalk pastels and sketchbook, students will learn to create a variety of marks, mix colors, and create a range of values using chalk pastels and will understand that artists explore and experiment with a medium to discover possibilities and visual effects before working with it. |
| Lesson 11 | Studio: Observational Studies in Three Mediums Through creating a triptych of studies of the same image repeated in three different mediums using colored pencils, oil pastels, chalk pastels and drawing paper, students will learn that they can to render value, color, and texture based on observation and will understand that different materials produce different visual effects and impact the way a subject is represented and interpreted. |
| Lesson 12 | Feedback: Peer-to-Peer Assessment of Medium Through engaging in peer-to-peer feedback on their completed triptych of studies, students will learn to observe and make comments about the visual and expressive qualities of a work and will understand that artists seek out feedback at multiple points in their artmaking process to assess their choices and ideas so far, and solicit advice from their community of artists. |
| Lesson 13 | Thematic: Environmental Narratives Through discussing narrative contemporary artworks depicting personal environments, students will learn to interpret and infer narratives in art based on visual evidence, and will understand that our prior knowledge and unique cultural experiences allow us to interpret and connect with art in different ways. |
| Lesson 14 | Studio: Planning Expressive Color Schemes Through choosing a color scheme and creating a color thumbnail sketch using their chosen medium and sketchbook, students will learn to compose color to create focal points through emphasis and will understand that artists use color to communicate information about emotion and mood. |
| Lesson 15 | Studio: Acrylic Wash and Three-Value Blocking Through applying a wash and three-value blocking using acrylic paint and mixed media paper, students will learn to mix and paint a wash as well as to observe basic shapes and values from a reference image and will understand that artists build up representational information in layers, beginning with large shapes and basic values. |
| Lesson 16 | Studio: Underdrawing in Chosen Medium Through creating an underdrawing using their chosen medium on final paper, students will render basic lines and shapes in their composition based on observation of reference images and their thumbnail sketches and will understand that artists use an underdrawing as a foundation as they add more material to a drawing. |
| Lesson 17 | Studio: Rendering Value with Chosen Medium Through beginning to render their drawings using their chosen medium on final paper, students will learn to create a range of values based on observation of a reference image and will understand that artists build up a drawing in layers, working from areas of large value to a wider range of values that is more refined. |
| Lesson 18 | Studio: Rendering Color with Chosen Medium Through continuing to render their drawings using their chosen medium on final paper, students will learn to layer and blend their medium to mix colors based on an expressive color scheme of their choice and will understand that artists build up a drawing in layers, working from general to more specific color information. |
| Lesson 19 | Studio: Rendering Texture and Detail with Chosen Medium Through continuing to render their drawings using their chosen medium on final paper, students will learn to use a variety of marks to create visual texture based on observation and will understand that artists build up a drawing in layers, adding smaller details and marks once larger areas of color and value have been rendered. |
| Lesson 20 | Feedback: Peer-to-Peer Feedback on Final Stages of Drawing Through engaging in peer-to-peer feedback on their in-progress drawing, students will learn to make constructive and complementary remarks about the technical and expressive qualities of a work and will understand that artists continually refine their work based on advice from their peers. |
| Lesson 21 | Studio: Rendering Focal Points Through continuing to render their drawing using their chosen medium on final paper, students will learn to use negative space in their composition to create focal points and will understand that artists use levels of detail to direct the viewer’s eye to look more closely at important elements of the composition. |
| Lesson 22 | Thematic: Exploring Personal Environments as Cultural Narratives Through discussing contemporary works of art depicting personal environments, students will learn that the physical characteristics of environments can reflect cultural values and histories, and will understand that works of art function to share about cultures and experiences with new audiences. |
| Lesson 23 | Reflection: Self-Reflection and Artist’s Statements Through writing an artist’s statement reflecting on their process, finished drawing, and the ideas and meanings related to their personal environments that evolved over the course of the unit, students will learn to convey the choices behind and meaning of their drawing in writing using academic artistic language and will understand that artists use additional materials (interviews, gallery wall text, reflective writing) to communicate about the meaning and ideas of their work. |
| Lesson 24 | Feedback: Gallery Walk and Peer Feedback Through viewing and offering feedback on peers’ work, students will learn about their class community by viewing and discussing their representations of personal environments, and will learn to provide relevant and meaningful observations, questions, and interpretations of the formal and conceptual elements of artwork. Students will understand that artists present their work to share about their perspective and experiences with others, and view artwork in order to learn the same about their peers. |
| Lesson 25 | Presentation: Student-Curated Exhibition Through curating an exhibition of this unit’s work, students will learn to hang art work, wall text, and/or planning materials and will understand that curators display related art works in a meaningful manner to gather multiple points of view and deepen viewer understanding of a theme or topic. |
| Lesson #1: Thematic: Journaling on Environments and Memory | |
|---|---|
| Lesson Summary Statement | Through journaling about multiple environments using a sketch book and pencil, students will be able to generate and organize memories and narratives based in significant personal environments, and will understand that artists take inspiration from their own experiences. |
| Question of the Day | How do physical environments act as records of human experiences? |
Supporting Project Example
| Tools and Materials | Materials Sketchbook Printed brainstorm template Pencil and/or ballpoint pen Eraser |
Artwork/Resources
| Learning Objectives | Students will be able to • Brainstorm and write about 3-4 environments that are significant parts of their life • Describe memories related to those environments Students will understand that • Artists use writing to generate ideas • Art is a means, different from writing, to record and preserve memories |
| Standards | Strand 2: Developing Art LiteracyLooking at and Discussing Art Strand 4: Community and Cultural ResourcesOnline Resources and Libraries |
| Academic Language | Personal Environment: the immediate surroundings of a person; can include natural and constructed characteristics |
| Questions | Essential Question How do personal environments develop unique meanings? Introduction • In what ways do we construct our own environments? • In what ways can an environment relate to memory and record keeping? • Why might an artist choose to create art about an environment? • How can an environment relate to the artist’s personal experiences and identity? Demonstration • How can we begin to brainstorm and organize our ideas about personal environments? • How can we identify the different ways in which these environments are important? Work-time • What are the different environments that you spend time in every day? • In what ways do those environments hold memories for you • How do different environments relate to different parts of your life and daily experiences? Reflection • What new, deeper ideas developed about each environment over the course of writing about it? • What connections can you make between your own experiences and the idea of an environment as a record-keeper? |
| Lesson #2: Studio: Exploring Framing and Scale through Observational Sketches | |
|---|---|
| Lesson Summary Statement | Through drawing an observational sketch of an object or group of objects in their classroom using drawing paper and ebony pencil, students will learn to render shape, value, and texture based on observation, and will understand that artists use scale and framing to present familiar things from a new perspective. |
| Question of the Day | How can artists reframe our perspectives on what is familiar or mundane in an environment? |
Supporting Project Example
| Tools and Materials | Tools Paper viewfinder Materials Ebony pencil 6” x 6” white drawing paper White vinyl eraser |
Artwork/Resources
| Learning Objectives | Students will be able to • Use an ebony pencil to create a variety of lines, marks, and values • Draw shape, value, and texture from observation • Draw a subject at an enlarged scale Students will understand that • Artists represent mundane or familiar objects to help viewers view and think about it in a new way • Artists investigate and study their own environments |
| Standards | Strand 1: Artmaking 8th Grade Drawing: The use of a range of values to describe volume and formPurposeful use of drawing pencils to create varied line quality and visual textures Strand 2: Developing Art Literacy Looking at and Discussing Art |
| Academic Language | Framing: the arrangement of elements within a composition to draw attention to, or “frame” a subject Scale: the physical size of an artwork; can be made smaller, larger, or true to life |
| Questions | Essential Questions • How can we discover new meanings in familiar environments? Introduction: • How can we identify the individual parts that make up a larger environment? • What can we learn from those parts? • How does framing impact that way a viewer “reads” the meaning or importance of a subject? Demonstration • How does the subject of my drawing represent what this environment is used for or the people within it? • In what ways could I frame this subject within my composition? • How will that affect the viewer’s understanding of my drawing? What kind of information should I start drawing first? • How can I simplify three-dimensional objects as I begin my drawing? Work-time • In what new ways can you look at this environment? • What new details and meanings can you uncover through a changed perspective? • What is the most important part of your subject? • How are you using framing in your drawing’s composition to direct the viewer’s eye to that information? Reflection • What are the implications of enlarging and/or reframing subjects in art? • How does it change the viewer’s interaction and perception? • What new details did you notice about this environment through creating your drawing? |
Through this planning process, I discovered I need to understand the whole picture before I work out individual details. I found it difficult to work sequentially and fully plan out each individual lesson in order; it was most productive to write lesson statements, then make supporting project examples, then Questions of the Day, and then jump around to plan different elements based on what seemed less challenging at the time. I began by planning lessons that felt familiar– usually studio lessons with similar content to what I have taught before– and then returned to earlier thematic lessons in the sequence. In planning the Unit, I feel I was successful at finding visual resources related to lesson objectives, as well as crafting questions that deepen student thinking about their work and thematic concepts. There were many changes I made while planning the sequence of lessons as I continually reassessed my work, and I was able to work flexibly and adjust what information was included when.
After initially planning out the individual lessons, I made revisions to their sequence after learning how to categorize lessons as studio, thematic, feedback, research, or presentation. As I assessed my lessons, I realized the majority were studio lessons with a few feedback and thematic lessons. I became more conscious about integrating thematic lessons into multiple points of the Unit to help students develop a deeper understanding of personal environments by considering it from different angles. While adding feedback lessons, I identified moments of decision-making during which students would benefit from self-reflection and peer feedback. Through this, I better balanced the conceptual and making learning objectives by meaningfully integrating them throughout the Unit, as opposed to beginning with a few thematic lessons before transitioning solely to studio lessons. I would like to further strengthen my ability to pace and transition between the different sections of the Unit. This is also something that I think I will learn through actually teaching a Unit Plan of this length and gaining more practical experience and understanding of how long students will need to plan their projects or experiment with materials.
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Kayleigh Roche
Kayleigh Roche is a graduate of the BFA/MA Art and Design Education program, 2026. As an educator, she enjoys designing projects that link material choice with conceptual meaning and facilitating…