B.CR.1.1 Experiment with ideas, forms, and meaning to create art.

B.CR.1.2 Create an original planned work of art that explores a personally meaningful theme, idea, or concept using symbolism to communicate an idea.

B.CN.1 Relate visual arts ideas and works with personal, societal, cultural, historical, and daily life contexts, including diverse and marginalized groups.

B.CN.1.2 Apply concepts from other content areas to support the creation and presentation of visual arts.

B.CX.2.2 Recognize the interdisciplinary knowledge used in the creation of art.

VA:Cr2.2.Ia Explain how traditional and nontraditional materials may impact human health and the environment and demonstrate safe handling of materials, tools, and equipment.

ESS.EES.5 Evaluate how

human consumption patterns

impact Earth's systems.

ESS.EES.5.5 Construct an argument to evaluate potential solutions that will ensure

sustainable consumption of Earth's resources.

• 2D drawing

• 3D forms

• Visual communication of ideas

• The relationship between content areas, including math, science and visual art.

• Elements of art

• Principles of design

• Sculpture techniques

• Role of themes in visual arts

• Specialized art tools and safety practices

• Human consumption and the impact on the Earth's resources

• Visual arts share common concepts with other content areas like math and science.

• Artists communicate ideas of personal and cultural context through visual artwork.

• Artists use the elements of art and principles of design to communicate personally meaningful ideas and themes.

• Artists use recycled materials to create planned sculptures from 2D drawings into 3D forms to promote planetary preservation.

• Artists safely use specific tools to communicate ideas and support themes in visual art.

• Scientific and artistic thinking intersect when solving problems related to waste and sustainability.

• Repurposing waste materials into art helps reduce environmental impact and promotes sustainability.

• Sketch ideas and plans

• Demonstrate prior knowledge of 2D drawing

• Follow plans and instructions

• Utilize math and/or science to create visual art

• Work in groups

• Measure and multiply

• Read isometric drawings 

• Repurpose trash to aid in the sustainable consumption of Earth's resources

• Curiosity through the exploration of materials and ideas

• Experimentation in drawing and sculpture

• Collaboration with peers and consideration of others

• Creativity in design and medium choice

• Critical thinking through connecting form and function

• Resourcefulness with recycled materials

TED.com could be used as an activating strategy to pique curiosity. See, Think, Wonder will help students engage in understanding what they saw, what they think they know and what they still wonder about or want to know. The video introduces kinetic sculptures, the idea of 3D forms in motion, and the use of recycled materials to produce art.

In this video, the viewer gets to experience actual scenarios of how a plastic bottle can have different outcomes based on human action. This can be used as an activating strategy to pique curiosity and recall the viewer's prior knowledge of environmental science. The video can be analyzed using Windows Notes to connect concepts of planet conservation to an artist's role in the process.

In this article, 13 artists are highlighted for their contribution to raising awareness of planetary conservatism. These amazing artists use materials that would otherwise be considered trash and repurpose them into sculptures or works of art to inspire readers to reuse, recycle, and repurpose trash.

• How can artists use the elements of art and principles of design to communicate personally meaningful ideas and themes?

  
  

• What can artists use to create sculptures to promote planetary preservation?

  
  

• What are the benefits of creating 3D forms from 2D drawings?

  
  

• How can artists safely use special tools to communicate ideas and support themes in visual art?

  
  

• How can an artist use sculpture to demonstrate sustainability and planetary preservation?

  
  

• How does repurposing waste materials into art help reduce the environmental impact and promote sustainability?

  
  

• In what ways do art and science intersect with regard to environmental sustainability and planetary preservation?

  
  

• How does human consumption impact Earth's resources?

This article reiterates the unit subtitle and provides examples of artists from the past and present who have utilized recycled materials in their artwork. It is uplifting and inspiring, encouraging a world change using sculpture. It explains the benefits of planetary conservation and how artists can contribute and help influence societal views.

Google Arts & Culture provides a variety of examples of recycled sculptures from around the world to inspire students. It is easy to search for various artists in minutes and explore the materials used by artists who repurpose found objects or discarded items. This site is a great exploration and research tool for students to find examples of artists that create 3D forms and sculptures using recycled materials.

Earth Song by Michael Jackson is a thought-provoking song that makes listeners consider all of the planet that we have discarded or forgotten. It asks multiple questions like "What about forest trails?" or crying whales? This opens up multiple questions regarding planet conservation and the responsibility of everyone.

The National Gallery of Art features artist Chakaia Booker, an artist known for recycling rubber tires into inspirational sculptures. The brief introduction to the video provides insight into Booker, her well-known sculptures, and a description of each work. The included video gives insight into how the artist used tires to transcend past issues of race, environmental devastation, and the history of labor of African Americans.

This video documents artist Thomas Danbo creation of the Future Forest. This 3-ton plastic waste artistic display repurposes trash and turns it into a beautiful rendering of a botanical garden. It sheds light on the overuse of plastic and how man is replacing nature with waste. More than 1000 volunteers were needed to create this sculptural garden, reiterating the responsibility of everyone to protect the Earth, preserve its resources, and recycle man-made materials.

Artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles proposes a collaborative restoration event that transforms Fresh Kills, NY, from a garbage dump to a park. Her proposal would need 1 million people and capture a million pieces of trash into recyclable glass blocks that would allow visitors to scan a barcode and hear the person who picked it up talk about why that piece is important and why they are sharing it. The project has been going on from 2010 to present.

This interesting article and video feature Thomas Danbo's Forest Giants, which are made from reclaimed wood that would otherwise be found in a landfill. The giant sculptures are made to break down and biodegrade back into the Earth. The film explains the biodegradation process and provides an understanding of natural resources.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2AjuMKVboQ provided by teacher toolkit

• Learning Target: Students will be able to define and show examples of 3D form and sculptures and non-examples of 2D shapes

• Strategy: Frayer Model

• Resource: Google Arts & Culture

• Outline of Learning Experience: Students will google images of 2D shapes and 3D forms. They will copy the images and categorize them into examples of 3D forms and non-examples of 2D shapes. They will articulate their own definition as a means to introduce the concept of a 3D form or sculpture based on what they see from their examples and identify characteristics of 3D forms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC8HEc_LrZs from the Smithsonian Center for Learning

• Learning Target: Students will identify problems with plastic consumption and acknowledge art as a means to advocate for planetary preservation and become a means of recycling

• Strategy: Unveiling Stories- Global Thinking & Digging Deeper

• Resource: Smithsonian Center for Learning

• Outline of Learning Experience: Students will identify the possibilities of the plastic bottle as outlined in the video. Students will then determine the human involvement in the life of a plastic bottle. Students will contemplate and reveal how the world is impacted by humans' choices regarding trash. Finally, students will determine a 4th and alternative option for the life of a bottle to engage their thoughts about recycling and planet preservation. This will tie into the previous video on moving 3D kinetic forms and scaffold the idea of using art as a means of planetary preservation.

https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/see-think-wonder

• Learning Target: Students will activate their curiosity by analyzing moving 3D sculptures, the materials used to create them, how they function, and question the artist's intention for creation.

• Strategy: See-Think-Wonder

• Resource: My creations, a new form of life

• Outline of Learning Experience: Students will watch the video and document their understanding of how the sculptures work and what they are made of. They will then notate their response to the sculptures, what they think about the works and the message they think the artist is trying to communicate. Finally they will write at least 2 things they still wonder about after watching the video and learning about the sculptures. The viewing and documentation will serve as the introduction to the topic of 3D forms and sculptures using recycled materials that aid in planetary preservation.

https://thoughtfulclassroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Window_Notes_Tool.pdf

• Learning Target: Students will recognize artists who have made a difference by recycling materials and acknowledge their feelings on planet conservation, as well as recycled art, and determine what their questions and ideas are based on what they have read and seen

• Strategy: Window Notes- Thinking and Notetaking

1. Resource: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/925

2. https://www.tomorrowsworldtoday.com/art/recycled-art-turning-trash-into-treasure/

3. https://www.causeartist.com/incredible-recycled-art-materials-creations/

4. https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2025/in-the-tower-chakaia-booker.html

5. https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/the-future-forest-a-plastic-filled-garden-mexico-thomas-dambo

• Outline of Learning Experience: Students will choose at least 2 of the 5 resources to read and/or watch. They will complete Windows Notes based on their understanding of the similar or connecting facts between the resources, their feelings on the topic, their questions regarding planet preservation and art, and their ideas for repurposing trash. This will connect the concepts of 3D form to planet preservation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejtljvJ9fik provided by The Learning Resource-South

• Learning Target: Students infer meaning from text, read and comprehend indirect text and identify cultural planetary issues.

• Strategy: Reading for Meaning - Comprehension and Understanding

• Resource: https://open.spotify.com/track/4GCGH6TJ69neckwITeBFXK?go=1&sp_cid=76c7c88761835b3348699eda2051389c&utm_source=embed_player_p&utm_medium=desktop&nd=1&dlsi=ffeff94818b04699

• Outline of Learning Experience: Students will read the lyrics and listen to the song. They will find evidence to support the cultural issues of ocean conservation, human destruction of the Earth, and deforestation by refuting or supporting a list of statements. They will share their evidence at their table groups and collectively support or refute each statement. Students will then use their findings to share their understanding and comprehension of the text during a class discussion to introduce the importance of planetary preservation.

• Learning Target: Students will be inspired by speaker Chris Jordan as he shares how he uses art to engage others in cultural issues of pollution and infer good presentation characteristics.

• Strategy: TedTalk as a Learning Hook

• Resource: https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_jordan_turning_powerful_stats_into_art

• Outline of Learning Experience:

  A presentation from Chris Jordan on how he uses art to raise awareness of cultural issues with pollution through powerful photographs will be used as learning hook. Students will watch the presentation and infer and notate what the speaker does well. Using the inferred presentation effectiveness information, they will reflect on and form a presentation on what, why, and how they created their kinetic sculpture to demonstrate what they have learned as a formative assessment that will be peer-reviewed and judged by potential buyers.