A Place in Time
Cindy StricklinGra-Mar Middle School
575 Joyce LaneNashville, Tennessee 37216
The Big Idea: Place
Topic: Mind over matter
Place: noun
1. a physical place (a building) 2. an ordering position (1st place)3. a particular spot (a hurt spot on a body, lost my spot in a book)4. numeral position (3 places after the decimal) 5. a suitable location (not the place for that) 6. situation formerly occupied (took the place of) 7. position (job)
Key Concepts
Place is a location, somewhere to go.Place is a location, where you are from.Place is a location, where you are.
Place is a state of mind.
Place is existance.
Essential Question: What is place?
How do people influence place?How does community influence place?How do you influence place?
Rationale
Middle school students question who they are and where they belong. Through the study of place, students can examine their place, be it physical or a state of mind, and those who affect it.
Lesson 1
Key Concepts:Place is a location.Place is where you are.
Essential Question:What is place?
Artist
Frida Kahlo
1907 – 1954 Mexico
Kahlo regained the ability to walk, though she would be tortured by pain and fatigue throughout her life and would undergo more than 30 operations for her injuries. "I never lost my spirit," she once said, "I always spent my time painting."
Frida Kahlo’s artwork was deeply influenced by events in her personal life. Kahlo contracted Polio when she was six years old and when she was almost 18 had a serious accident.
Written by Jennifer Beck Photos courtesy of Rachelle Drouin
Lesson 1Frida Kahlo
Self Portrait Between the Borderline of Mexico and the United States
On the left side of your paper list the symbols that represent Mexico. List the symbols that represent the United States on the right side of your paper.
Salvador Dali
May 1904 – January 1989
Spain
Salvador Dalí's artistic repertoire also included film, sculpture, and photography. He collaborated with Walt Disney on the Academy Award-nominated short cartoon Destino, which was released posthumously in 2003. He also collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock on Hitchcock's film Spellbound.
“ Persistence of Memory”
What do the symbols represent?Write your answers in you journal.
Salvador Dali
John Biggers
1924 - 2001
North Carolina
Dr. Biggers retired from teaching in 1983 and devoted himself exclusively to his art. The works of John Biggers features prominently in the history of African American art and is included in private collections and museums at home and abroad.
John BiggersSaltmarsh
http://www.biggers.coe.uh.edu/mural10.htm
Biggers uses symbols: turtle represents the setting sun and rabbit represents the rising moon; symbols of water and nature represent pollution problems.
Sketch the first idea that comes to your mind.
PAST:Where are you from?
What do you remember about the place?
What objects do you associate with your past?
Present:
What experiences have shaped where you are today?
Do you feel a special attachment to where you live now?Why or why not?
Future:How do you imagine yourself twenty-five years from now?
Where do you imagine yourself in twenty-five years?
Lesson 2
Key ConceptsPlace is a location.Place is where you are.
Essential Questions:How do people influence place?How does community influence
place?
Who creates place?
What places do you see on the way to school?
Why do you notice these places?
Create a colorful postcard depicting a
special place that best represents your
community.
Lesson 3
Key ConceptsPlace is a location.Place is where you are.
Essential questionsWhat is place?How do you influence place?
Activity
Describe your place:
(Answer these questions in your journal)What does your place look like?
How do others describe your place?
What things influence your place?
How does your place change?
Lesson 4
Key ConceptsPlace is a location.Place is where you are.Place is a state of mind.
Essential QuestionsHow do people influence place?How do you influence place?
In the Video “A Wrinkle in Time”, Meg had to learn some life lessons.
She had to learn to overcome her desire for
conformity. Meg had to learn to be patient.
How did Meg influence her place?
Write your answer in your journal.
Lesson 5
Key ConceptPlace is a state of mind.
Essential QuestionHow do you influence place?
Create a self portrait
Include:Who you are now …Who you were in the past … Who you want to be in the future.
Your drawing can be realistic or surreal.Use linear perspective.
Books to read
From Far Away by Robert Munsch
The House That Jack Built by Jenny Stow
Mama Do You Love Me by Barbara Joosse
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
New Hope by Henri Sorenson
The House on East 88th Street by Bernard Waber
Power and Glory by Emily Rodda
Visit to a Green Planet by Mike Benton and Scott Deschsine