| This
is a Web Quest for Eighth Grade Art Students. It is interdisciplinary with a social studies research project. Students write a
persuasive paper in social studies on a person in history they feel is
worthy of study. Art students create a mixed media portrait.
"Wisdom
begins in wonder." -Socrates
"Not life, but good
life, is to be chiefly valued." -Socrates
"A good moral
character is the first essential in a man. It is therefore highly
important, to endeavor not only to be learned, but virtuous."
~ George Washington
"Each
time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot
of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny
ripple of hope." ~ Robert F. Kennedy
Student Task:
Scenario: "You have been selected by a
well known publisher to author and illustrate a chapter in a new
publication, Heroes in Time. Before you begin your research, you
must first determine what it means to be virtuous
person and of good moral
character as these are requirements for the publication. Use the
Internet sources below to determine what it takes to be of good moral
character and what it means to be a virtuous person. Be sure to
look for similarities across cultures and time periods. Are there
universal "truths"? Are there qualities that are
recognized in all cultures?"
(Click on
underlined words to go to the Internet sites)
| 1. |
The publisher would like to have a forward on
what makes a virtuous person--what qualities exhibit good
moral character. After your Internet search, compile a list of
qualities you feel are most important. Which
qualities do you wish to emulate? Be sure to include
your references. |
| 2. |
Select a person of your
choice--one whom you
most admire for exhibiting the qualities you have
suggested. The person does not need to possess all of the
qualities as it is difficult to be virtuous in every way--all
people have some faults. You may make a selection from the
list in the table to the left--or select one of your own. |
| 3. |
Write a brief introduction to this person. Why
is this person to be included in this publication, Heroes in
Time? Use your worksheet to prepare your introduction.
(SEE SAMPLE WRITING for Martin Luther
King, Jr.*)
"Nonviolent
resistance...is based on the conviction that the universe is on
the side of justice."
~ Dr.
Martin
Luther King, Jr.
|
| 4. |
Select images from the Internet that represent
this person and his or her accomplishments. The publisher has
been impressed with your previous collage work using technology
and would like to see a collage as an illustration for each
person in the book.
(Remember that should this be an actual publication,
copyright issues would need to be addressed. We are going
to be altering the images--cutting and pasting--changing colors
to fit our needs for the collage. We will not be
publishing the actual images that we saved on our disks. See
copyright notice below*) |
| 5. |
Save images to your disk. Right click on
image--save as JPEG or GIF. Save a list of Internet
resources on your disk for your social studies project.
Your images will be printed to be used to create a collage
shadow box ( a three dimensional assemblage of images). This
will be a multi-media project combining writing, drawing,
digital photographs, paints, paint markers and found objects. Shadowbox
will be inspired by the work of American artist, Joseph Cornell-
Click to learn more about Cornell.
Alternate
Lesson: Heroes Portrait
Resources to
learn about Portraits:
Check
out the Portraits in the National Gallery.
Eye
Contact: Modern American Portrait Drawings from the National
Portrait Gallery
Smithsonian - National Portrait
Gallery
National Portrait
Gallery- Hall of Presidents
National
Portrait Gallery of Australia
National
Gallery of London: Artists at a Glance Self-portraits and brief biographies of
12 artists
Explore this Portrait
Interactive National Museum Liverpool.
Here is a link to the National Portrait
Gallery of England
|
Anyone Can be
a Hero Check
the Directory for your hero
Internet Resources on Virtues:
Nine
Noble Virtues While these are from a Norse religion that dates to
pre-Christian times, see if you think these virtues apply today.
Divisions
of Virtues from the Catholic Encyclopedia.
Christian
Virtues (link was broken - send me a good one)
Roman
Virtues.
The way of Ancient Rome can give guidance to us today.
Saint Thomas
Aquinas Philosophy on Virtues. There are four Cardinal
Virtues, in the four principal powers used in moral actions: Prudence,
Justice (will), Fortitude (Courage), and Temperance.
Buddhism on Virtue (link was
broken - send me a good substitute)
A Buddhist Quote: "May all who are virtuous and
possess good qualities remain virtuous and of good qualities. May they
have good thoughts, good actions, mindfulness and wisdom. May all of our
goodness remain and increase throughout the New Year.
Everyone should strive to do good for
oneself, one's society, one's relatives and should be prepared to be
self-sacrificing. Such behavior is considered to bring good fortune
throughout the year." Tibetan
Wheel
Aristotle
on Ethics Aristotle
on Politics Perseus
Project.
Confucius-
Analects. Chinese writing from 500 B.C. What parallels
can you draw to other cultures and belief systems?
Internet Resources on Moral
Character:
Character
Counts - Six Core Ethical Values
trustworthiness, respect, responsibility,
fairness, caring and citizenship.
What is
Character? Do you agree with these qualities from the Center
for Fourth and Fifth R's (Respect and Responsibility)?
Confucius Quote: "The Moral law begins in the
relationship between man and woman, but ends in the vast reaches of the
universe." (Doctrine
of the Mean)
"To educate a man in mind and not morals is to educate a
menace to society." -Theodore Roosevelt (From
New Horizons for Learning)
Biographical
Sketches What moral characteristics do you admire in these
famous people? Here is a link to information
on more famous people (not authoritative sources - these are student
projects)
Voice
of Indigenous People - Native American Views
(link was broken)
Wisdom from
Tecumseh - I admire his respect for fellow
man (broken link) Trouble no one about their religion; respect others
in their view and demand that they respect yours. ~ Chief
Tecumseh
Native
American Wisdom Native
American Proverbs
Wisdom from
the Hindu Tradition (link was broken)
Wisdom from
Islamic Tradition (broken
link) The
Islam Rule on Tolerance
Wisdom from
the Jewish Tradition (broken links) "The
highest wisdom is kindness." (BERAKOT, 17a)
Six
Pillars of Character from the Josephson Institute of Ethics
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do
nothing.’’
— Edmund Burke, 19th-century English political
philosopher
Quotes on
Character from PBS. You may do your report on one
of these admirable people, if you choose. Character
Above All Essays - available on line.
Values
important to workers in the Information Age. From the SCANS
Report (Labor Secretary's Commission on Necessary Skills) and amended by
William Huitt)
An African View of Wisdom- African Proverbs
"A man who pays respect to the great paves
the way for his own greatness." --African
Proverb
Quotations
Page. Search by author to
see if you can find an inspirational quote from your own heroes. Read
many of the quotes by others and think how these help build character.
Evaluation:
Students assessment will take many
forms:
Observation and participation on worksheets, Internet activities and
class discussions; Worksheets on Virtues and Moral Character will be
evaluated with a Rubric. The Writing (a few paragraphs based on
initial research--more will be in social studies) will be graded with a
Rubric.
The art project will be graded on
various criteria: Originality of design, use of art elements and
principles of design; variety of materials used; narrative quality
of piece (Does it tell a story about who your selected person was?); and
skills/craftsmanship in using materials.
Curriculum Resources:
Character
Through the Arts CTTA
connects the arts, teaching artists, and the Bernstein Artful Learning®
instructional model.
Artful
Learning®
is a K-12 arts-based, comprehensive school reform model that prepares
teachers to engage the arts and the artistic process to strengthen
teaching and learning in core subjects.
Character
Education Lesson Plans North
Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Might have some interdisciplinary
possibilities.
Character
Education Guidelines:
Georgia Quality Core Curriculum--search subject
[character education] for desired grade level
Resources
for Character Education Utah
Education Network.
Values:
Making Good Choices for Life:
A ThinkQuest activity. This site focuses on values that most people
believe to be particularly important in life. Some of these values
include respect, responsibility, cooperation, honesty, and environmental
awareness.
The
Character Counts! Coalition
Copyright
Notice:
This is not legal
advice - it is practical. Unless images used for this lesson are in
public domain, students and teachers should get permission to manipulate
images and "appropriate" them into a new work of art - if one
follows the letter of the law. What this lesson proposes is what is
called a "derived work". Since I feel the benefits of this
lesson outweighs the risks, I am leaving it on Incredible Art
Resources. Educational use and Fair Use applies as your defense
for this lesson. As long as you do not intend to actually publish your
works, you need not worry at all. Additional issues arise when one
considers a contemporary celebrity as they own the rights to their
image. Many estates own the rights to display images of the person you
may select. If you want to put the work on your web site, you can always
write to the estates for permission. Finding the copyright holder of a
photograph that you find online is next to impossible, however. Teach
what practicing artists would have to do by law as I did - then do your
lesson for the value of the lesson. Read up on copyright
law and rights and it will make your head swim. If you use an image
without authorization for personal, educational use nothing will happen.
If you put it on your web site, the worst that will happen is you will get a
letter asking you to take it down, which of course you will do. Images
of Dr. King on this lesson went unnoticed by the estate until I asked
permission to use them. I was
asked to remove images of Dr. King and of course, I did.
*NOTE: IF YOU WISH TO
POST PORTRAITS OF DR. KING ONLINE, PLAN AHEAD FOR
THIS PROJECT. IT MAY TAKE 5 TO 8 WEEKS FOR YOUR PROJECT TO BE
APPROVED. YOU WILL NEED
TO GET A NON-PROFIT LICENSING AGREEMENT FROM THE ESTATE OF DR. MARTIN
LUTHER KING. THEY WILL WANT TO SEE A SAMPLE OF WHAT THE PROJECT WILL
LOOK LIKE. I WILL PROVIDE THAT FOR YOU, AT YOUR REQUEST.
SEND REQUESTS AND ALL
LESSON MATERIALS TO:
Estate of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr
Intellectual Properties Management
One Freedom Plaza
449 Auburn Avenue NE
Atlanta, GA 30312
IF YOU DO NOT GET A
RESPONSE BACK IN TIME FOR YOUR PROJECT, THE FAIR USE PROVISION OF
COPYRIGHT LAW PERMITS YOU TO DO THIS LESSON. USE YOUR OWN JUDGMENT ON
POSTING THE STUDENT WORK ONLINE.
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