Images+Racontent+L'histoire

**__Images racontent l'histoire__ ** __ Level: __ Grade 6 Visual Arts Content, appropriate for grades 6-8 __Language:__ French, but could be applied to any language __Author:__ Laura Rais, Conte West Hills Magnet School, New Haven, CT Please send comments to laura.rais@new-haven.k12.ct.us __

Guiding Questions: __ How can pictures tell the story of a civilization? What do the Caves of Lascaux, the Bayeux Tapestry, and the Unicorn Tapestries have in common? What do they show us about French history, culture, and practices? __ Summary: __ This unit is based on grade 6 Connecticut Visual Arts Content Standards: art to communicate stories (CS1) and art in relation to history and cultures (CS4). Students will compare and contrast pictorial stories of French civilization from pre-history through the 20th century. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the culture, practices, and symbols of France through the cave paintings of Lascaux, the Bayeux Tapestry, and the Unicorn Tapestries, as well as the Overlord Embroidery and TinTin and Asterix comics. ( The unit plan may be adapted other languages (with artworks selected from the appropriate culture) and to more advanced levels of language proficiency.) Students will use flashcards, digital stories, slapping and matching games to become familiar with descriptive vocabulary. They will use simple phrases and vocabulary to describe the features of the tapestries. They will use technology to discover and explore the caves and tapestries and to create their own versions of the Bayeux Tapestry and other artworks. Students will make additional connections to geography as they use maps to locate Lascaux, Bayeux, and Paris. Students will map the route of the armies of the Norman Conquest in 1066 from Normandy, France to England (Bayeux Tapestry) and the soldiers’ “return” voyage from England to Normandy on June 6, 1944 (D-Day) portrayed in the Overlord Embroidery and the New Yorker magazine cover of July 15, 1944. For their final presentational assessment, students will create a pictorial story in the style of the artwork studied in this unit. Their three tapestry panels will depict a beginning, middle, and end to the story. In an oral presentation, students will describe and answer teacher and peer questions about their tapestry.
 * This unit plan is a work in progress. The wiki will be updated as lesson plans are refined and as teacher resources and materials are created.**