Teacher(s) Melissa Miller

Subject group and discipline Arts: Visual arts

Unit title

MYP Year

Unit Three: Printmaking

Grade 9, Grade 10

Unit duration 3 weeks (15 hours)

Inquiry: Establishing the purpose of the unit

Key concept

Related concept(s)
Arts: Visual arts
Expression

Global context
Representation

Culture

Personal and cultural expression

Students will be researching a culture they are

unfamiliar with to communicate something about that
culture in this work.

Statement of inquiry
By changing different aspects of replicable art, an artist can express different aspects of their culture and self.
Inquiry questions
What makes art one of a kind?
Conceptual What are the best ways of expressing
oneself?
How can replicable art be varied?
Conceptual How do different cultures value art?
Factual What's the process of creating replicable
Conceptual Do my creations represent the culture
art?
that I'm a part of?
Factual How do linoleum carvings differ from
other artistic mediums?
Factual Who are famous artists who are known for
replicable art?
Factual
Factual

Objectives

Summative assessment

A: Knowing and understanding

i. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of
the art form studied, including concepts,
processes, and the use of subject-specific
terminology
B: Developing skills
i. demonstrate the acquisition and development
of the skills and techniques of the art form studied
C: Thinking creatively

Outline of summative assessment task(s) including assessment

criteria:

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Why make replicable art?

Why is one of a kind art more valuable?
Debatable How can varying aspects of a print
change its interpretation?
Debatable
Debatable

Relationship between summative assessment task(s) and

statement of inquiry:

Students will create a series of prints that demonstrates

their ability to make one of a kind art out of something
that is replicable. It will also demonstrate their ability to
use and show emphasis, as well as their understanding
of the concept of positive and negative space. Lastly,
this will be an opportunity for students to demonstrate
the communicative qualitative of art, as they are

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 iii. demonstrate the exploration of ideas to

shape artistic intention through to a point of
realization.

Task
January

5
Monday

9:00 AM

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Artist Statement and

Evaluation (D)
Students will write their artist
statement for their final piece,
explaining what their process
looked like, what inspired their
decisions, what their vision is, and
explain their work. They will also
grade themselves according to
their rubrics. They will also grade
their artist statement according to
their rubric.

incorporating aspects of another culture while

incorporating research into their brainstorming process.

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Task
January

12
Monday

9:00 AM

Class Critique (A, C)

Students had their first more in
depth critique recently, and so we
will continue more extended
conversations about art with this
project. Some of these questions
have been asked before, and some
are new. They will be asked the
following questions: Describe the
art, What elements and principles
do you see at work in this piece?
What do you think the artist is
trying to communicate? What is
working well in this piece? What
suggestions or questions do you
have for the artist? What do you
see in this that you can learn from
or try in your own piece?
Students will first respond
independently in their DW. Then, I
will open it up for conversation,
starting with volunteers and then
asking students to respond.
Students should be participating a
minimal amount in the discussion,
which will be tracked.

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Exhibit
January

12
Monday

9:00 AM

Final Printmaking Edition (A, B,

C)
Students will use what they have
learned about slightly varying
images to create a set of prints in
which each one varies slightly, also
varying the interpretation the
audience would have. They will use
the original print of a playing card
with a cultural reference
communicating some sort of
message about the culture used
through the image of a playing
card. Students can choose from
varying surfaces of print, colors of
ink, overlapping images, stenciling
(or emphasis with color,) or use of
mixed media. Students will present
their images together, and will write
an artist statement explaining their
thinking and how the cultural
references they have chosen will be
slightly altered with their variations
in printing.

Approaches to learning (ATL)

Communication

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I. Communication skills
Exchanging thoughts, messages and information
effectively through interaction
Interpret and use effectively modes of non-verbal
communication

Learning Experiences
Students will take part in many mini-critiques where
they will be giving each other feedback on their
progress and information on how well the emphasis is
being portrayed, and will also communicate through a
final critique, both verbally and through writing.
What I am more concerned about here, is their
understanding of art as a communication tool. This is
the part that I have up until now had trouble helping
students make connections with. Students should be
using the print to communicate an idea, and they
should use the variation of printing to help change

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that message in some way or another. For instance,

by emphasizing a part of the image with a different
color, it leads the viewers eyes differently, which can
change the interpretation. We will be learning how to
use stencils, different colors of ink, mixed media, and
surfaces, to change that interpretation. Through
these techniques, my hope is that students will
understand the power of printmaking as a
communication tool.

Research

VI. Information literacy skills

Finding, interpreting, judging and creating information
Access information to be informed and inform
others

X. Transfer skills
Utilizing skills and knowledge in multiple contexts
Apply skills and knowledge in unfamiliar situations
Thinking

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Learning Experiences
Students will have a few weekly homework
assignments that will support the work they are doing
in class. They will have Developmental Workbook
assignments as well as digital sketchbook
assignments. The developmental workbook
assignments are as follows:
1. Students research a culture they are unfamiliar
with and come up with three sketches of symbols,
objects, images, etc, that represent aspects of that
culture that are interesting to the student. They will
also include the source and explanation of the image
and its significance.
2. On the upper half of your next clean DW page,
make a detailed drawing of an object that has an
irregular or otherwise interesting shape (think a used
work glove, a houseplant, seashell, etc.) Then, reflect
the drawing on the bottom half of the paper so that
you have a mirror image. This should take at least
thirty minutes. For an extra challenge, like the
example shown here, you can try and find a way to
see it as a recognizable image. Add in details. In

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this case, when the images were turned upside down,

they looked a little like two nomads in conversation so
the faces were added.
3. Make a list of five objects (including people or
animals), such as clock, asparagus, clown, etc. Then
make a list of five locations or environments, such as
junkyard, ocean, theater, etc. Choose one item from
each list and combine them into a single drawing in
some unusual way. You may want to make several
preparatory sketches to work out your idea. Strive for
some believability in your final drawing. Make it look
convincing, no matter how absurd the combination of
elements.
Optional, for the adventurous: Make a list of qualities
- adjectives such as soft, ominous, melted, etc.
Choose one from this list and one each from the other
two. Combine all three elements in one drawing.

The digital sketchbook requires students to look up a

piece of artwork and respond to it by thinking through
the following questions:
- What elements and principles are present?
-What is the content?
- What is the artist's intention?
On a daily basis, students will respond to Bell Ringer
exercises and Reflections that challenged them to
learn and think about the art of many printmakers.
They will also being working on warm-up drawing
excercises that will help get them thinking about
many aspects of the work they are doing.
In addition, here is the sequence of other learning
experiences that students will go through to ensure
success in their final project:
- Take notes on a presentation on printmaking
techniques and vocabulary for the unit.

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- Take notes on a presentation on how emphasis is

used and created in artwork.
-Practice creating each of the major types of
emphasis.
-Watching a demonstration on how to safely use
printmaking materials.
-Practice using the tools and techniques of printing
on small erasers for practice.
- Create a small book as a form of artist cards.
- Work and talk to a printmaker in the Chicago area.
-Take a vocabulary quiz to ensure their understanding
of the correct language.
- Drafting out the image they will be working on, and
drafting out which areas will need to be cut out and
which areas will need to remain untouched.
- Try changing colors of ink.
- Try overlapping images
-Try stenciling within their image.
-Print on various surfaces
- Try a variety of mixed media.
- Participate in both mid unit and end-of-unit
critiques.
- Write an artist statement to explain their process
and intention.

Action: Teaching and learning through inquiry

Content

Learning process

Knowledge & Skills:

Learning Experiences

Anchor Standard #3. Refine and complete artistic

work. - See more at:
http://www.nationalartsstandards.org/content/nationalcore-arts-standards-anchor-standards#creating
Anchor Standard #8. Interpret intent and meaning in
artistic work. - See more at:
http://www.nationalartsstandards.org/content/national-

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Students will have both Developmental Workbook drawing assignments as well as a digital sketchbook
assignment each week. The digital sketchbook asks students to respond to a piece of art and develop skills
surrounding talking about art.
Additionally, students will have a Bell Ringer each day, some of which are drawing assignments which will
develop specific skills and some of them are responses to artists. Specifically in this unit, we will look at print
and paper art from the following artists: Martin Puryear, Kiki Smith, Picasso, Matisse, John Holmes, MC Esher,

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core-arts-standards-anchor-standards#responding
nchor
Standard #11. Relate artistic ideas and works with
societal, cultural and historical context to deepen
understanding. - See more at:
http://www.nationalartsstandards.org/content/nationalcore-arts-standards-anchor-standards#responding
Standards:

Writing
Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Durer, Batriz Corone, Jean Gumpper and Stanley Donwood. If we extend this project, I would like students to
see how this can relate to pop art with Warhal, Banksy (using templates and alphabets.)
Students will learn the vocabulary of the unit both for the art concepts ( Emphasis, Focal Point, Subordination,
Positive and Negative Space) and Print- specific vocabulary ( Printmaking, linoleum block, ink, lino cutter, brayer,
registration, relief, intaglio, etc.)
Students will learn that emphasis can be created in many ways, but specifically through value, size, color and
composition. They will practice identifying these kinds of emphasis and choose one for a drawing before they
start with the printmaking aspect of the unit.
As printmaking is introduced, students will watch a few videos of artists in action and interviews talking about
the process of printmaking. They will also spend a day making small stamps with either a shape or a letter.
They will learn and practice creating type so that it reads correctly when printed. They will try both additive and
reductive forms and print them. We will be making small books so that students can see each other's work.
This is a different form of artist trading cards that allows students to have some experience and a reference of
several different techniques and variations of small stamps. This also serves as a practice for students so that
they can have some experience with the tools and the materials before they start their actual project.
Students will have a few days to work on their cutouts. They will be documenting their process to see the
growth and development of their linoleum block throughout the unit. They will participate in a mid-unit critique
in order to get When they are finished cutting,
Teaching strategies
This unit can be differentiated in a few ways. For the Vocabluary quiz, I will modify and give more examples to
students with special needs who require those accommodations. I will also give one-on-one guidance to some
students to focus on simplistic images that can still be quite powerful and communicative. Students can also
choose more simplistic compositions if they are drawn, as there is a lot of choice in their composition. They
can, for instance, choose to work with a joker or an Ace of any suit, which would be more appropriate for some
students of lower skill levels. For students who are ready for more of a challenge, I am encouraging them to
think through what they can really tell about a culture through the image. I am also going to encourage those
student to overlap images. While they will play with this idea in class, they can also create another image on the
back of their linoleum block to print as an overlapping image which would give more depth to their final project.
Students will learn the vocabulary explicitly and will have references in their DW's. I also post the vocabulary
clearly with a visual component so that students can easily reference them. Additionally, we will be using the
words regularly throughout the unit, as students will need to refer to the correct materials. Students will have a
vocabulary quiz which will allow me to understand how well they understand the concepts. If I find that they do
not understand, we will immediately address. The vocabulary is imperative as it allows students to articulate
their ideas and thoughts and also prepares students to better understand deeper concepts later on in their art
careers.

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Task
December

Emphasis Exercise
Students learned four ways to create emphasis in a piece: size, color, composition and value.
They then take out an object and use one of the four ways to create value in their own piece.

Thursday

9:00 AM
Task
December

Emphasis Exercise
Students learned four ways to create emphasis in a piece: size, color, composition and value.
They then take out an object and use one of the four ways to create value in their own piece.

Thursday

9:00 AM
Task
December

5
Friday

9:00 AM

Task
December

9
Tuesday

Exercise in cutting Lino block

Students will practice cutting linoleum blocks by working on a much smaller version with just
one letter. They will do this in both a positive and negative space form, so that they can
compare. This will give them experience with the cutter and thinking through backwards
images, positive/negative aspects of printing before they start on their project. When they are
done, they will use one to print in a small mini-book we will each create. Students will print
their blocks in each other's books so that they have a variety of ideas and references they can
start with as they design their block next week.
Designing and Cutting the Block
Students will come in with some ideas but will design their block in their DW including some
aspect of the culture they are interested in, and incorporate the use of a playing card.
Students will make some sketches and when they are ready, will marker their whole block,
start drawing in pencil, and color in the areas they want to cut out.

9:00 AM
Task
December

15
Monday

Printing on multiple surfaces

Students will practice printing. They will print on white drawing paper, and bring in other kinds
of papers to add. They can also try with color and printing white ink on black paper, etc. They
will be experimenting. I will demonstrate the process, and then students will begin working.
As I see their beginning prints, I will stop students to make adjustments as needed.

9:00 AM

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Task
December

16
Tuesday

9:00 AM

Task
December

17
Wednesday

Overlapping images.
Students will try overlapping their plate with some else's, in different orders and in different
colors to see how the process might change the overall effect of the image. They will try
different combinations and will look at work of other artists who depend on these kinds of
processes. Students who are ready to be pushed can use the other side of their block to
design their own background. We will also look at the idea of reductive prints. Again, I will
make adjustments as necessary as students begin working and printing.
Stenciling
Students will learn various ways to use stencils to show emphasis using the printing method
(as opposed to working with mixed media after the print. Students will turn in at least two
prints with stencils used. Again, I will demonstrate this, and students will use the time to
create their stencil and print.

9:00 AM
Task
December

18
Thursday

Mixed Media
Students will learn various ways to put their print in another context by using mixed media.
They can draw on top of it, use pastels, watercolor, acrylic paint, collage, sewing, or other
medias. We will talk about how adding these details can change the interpretation someone
might have of a piece of art.

9:00 AM
Describe how you will differentiate teaching & learning for this unit?
For students who are ready to be challenged further, I will ask them to make another overlapping image to
include in the background. We will look at a few artists who do overlapping images, and talk about how the
addition of another plate (the back of their original) can help improve their image or composition. This will push
them to think further about the intersection of images and how that might lead to a different idea.
For all students, which may benefit some more than others, I have them draw the image before they start
carving. This helps them plan out both in their DW and on their plate, what the image will look like backwards,
and ensure that they do not cut it in a way that will be unfixable. They will play more with their composition
before they actually get started on their plates.
Also, I find it useful to require students to use a black marker to help visualize the positive and negative space
for a relief print. Not only are they outlining where they want their lines to go, but they will also be shading the
areas that are being cut out, so that they can see what will be white and what will be black. Students run into
problems if they want two areas that are adjacent to be the same value. They will problem solve with these
issues then, before they actually start carving into their blocks.
We also started working with linoleum not with a large plate, but with a small 2x2 square which students carved
out a letter in both the positive and negative forms. This helped students understand how to use the materials

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before they actually started on a bigger plate. It also gave them something structured to work with, so that they
were able to focus more on the technique and and less on the conceptual aspect.
Learner Profile
Inquirers: Students need to think about other ways to vary images using what they have already learned this year and other ways that they could potentially change an
image in order to change the meaning or interpretation.
Resources
Journal:
https://prezi.com/g_c5kx9igapw/linoleum-block-printing/
http://www.pinterest.com/melmiller7/unit-3/
https://docs.google.com/a/cps.edu/presentation/d/1H6npIaQcrJWSk6TubPxdeEWsDIvgyWG55tnHow-f2kw/edit?usp=sharing
Reflection: Considering the planning, process and impact of the inquiry
Prior to teaching the unit

During teaching

Why do we think that the unit or the selection of topics

will be interesting?
What do students already know, and what can they do?
Are there any possible opportunities for meaningful
service learning?

What resources are proving useful, and what other

resources do we need?
What skills need more practice?
What is happening in the world right now with which we
could connect teaching and learning in this unit?

I think these will be interesting because they get to

chose the culture that they will be researching and
portraying. They also have a choice in how they
would like to incorporate an aspect of emphasis into
their work, so they have some freedom to play and
choose what they would like to do. Also, I think this
unit will be interesting because they will clearly be
able to document progress of their work, to see
immediate improvements and changes, and that the
project is physcially involved. They will be using skills
they haven't used yet this year.
Students already know about positive and negative
space, as we played with the idea during unit 1, both

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

After teaching the unit

I am having trouble finding work that is easier to

understand, however showing images and asking
students to think through how they were created is
helpful.
Many students have expressed interest in the major
new stories like Michael Brown and Eric Gardner. I
asked students in the Bell Ringer last week if they had
no limits to their supplies and resources, what art they
would make in order to respond or communicate their
ideas about the recent events. Many of them
specifically choose one of these cases, so I think
leading this unit into a unit about public art and graffiti
would be exciting and engaging for them.

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with the Notan squares, and also with creating a

drawing with white on black. This will similarly be a
reductive process. They can use that process, but
this will be a more involved process, and they will be
able to flush out bolder shapes and lines in this
project. This also includes the idea of replication of
images. We will be talking about why an artist might
want to replicate an image, and why that might also
be useful in other areas (ie. printing books.)

Students seem engaged in this unit because they are

constantly seeing changes to their pieces. In the
future, I think they may need to be set up better and
given more strict guidelines on their original
composition. Some of them, despite my remindings,
choose random symbols and there is not a clear
message being communicated.

I am not sure how I want this to play out yet, but I

would like to add an aspect of mailing art. This
serves as both a way for students to show their work
to others and helps them share ideas and thoughts
with their peers. In turn, I hope that they will use each
others' ideas. I have planned an activity of creating a
mini book from paper and sharing their stamps with
each other from the first exercise, but I want to push
students to a bigger level of sharing art for their final
projects. So, sharing art and methods of mailing has
potential for involvement with the community. I
would also potentially like to add to the end of this
unit with some form of book arts. Students could
learn other aspects of paper art.

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