No Dragon is the same

Big Idea: Throughout time and across cultures people have had discovered relationships with nature where they are one in the same. Grade/ Class: 6th and 7th grade Time Allotment: 6-8 class periods 80 minutes each, varying intro times and at least 5 minute clean up at the end of each class period Overview:

Lesson Summary: Students will explore the relationships that dragon riders have with their dragons in the animation, “”. They will then create their own dragon, which has the same type of relationship with themselves. The students will finish off the lesson by writing a poem about themselves and their dragon. Artworks/ Artists/ Artifacts: Nico Marlet, Simon Otto, Nunzio Paci, Seon Ghi Bahk, Rebecca J Coles, Kuncan and other Daoist art, team lab’s presentation, “Flowers and People…”, Caravaggio, How to Train Your Dragon action figures, “The Art of How to Train Your Dragon”, “The Art of How to Train Your Dragon 2” Key Concepts: Humans have discovered many parallels between themselves and nature. Humans and nature are one. Humans and nature are intertwined. Essential Questions: What are some of the parallels that can be seen between humans and nature? Why can humans and nature be considered one? How are humans and nature intertwined? Standards: 9.1.8.B Recognize, know, use, and demonstrate a variety of appropriate arts elements and principles to produce, review, and revise original works in the arts. Visual Arts: draw, craft, sculpt, and paint. 9.1.8.E Communicate a unifying theme or point of view through the production of works in the arts. 9.1.8.G Explain the function and benefits of rehearsal and practice sessions. 9.1.8.K Incorporate specific uses of traditional and contemporary technologies in furthering knowledge and understanding in the humanities. Interdisciplinary connections: Science (anatomy, biology), English (poetry, short story) Objectives: Students will be able to distinguish between outer and inner characteristics of a person by discussing and sketching with a partner. Students will be able to list the anatomical elements of animals and show how the part would function through animation based brainstorming process sketching. Students will then be able to invent their own anatomical elements by applying their knowledge of already existing body parts through animation based sketching. Students will create their own dragon using sketches and pastel rendering techniques and connecting to elements of their identity. Students will be able to demonstrate methods of brainstorming through sketching exercises. Students will use modern animation styles and inventions along with classical forms of art such as pastels. Students will reflect on their processes and write a poem about the relationship they have with their dragon. Assessment:

Formative: During the first day movie, students will be asked to notice visual and personal similarities between the dragons and their riders. When students list 5 of each type of trait they possess, they will share their traits with a partner and use their lists as the exit slip for the day. During the two days following, students will be observed along with their brainstorming strategies by either how much or how differentiated their sketches are. Students will receive checks on the rubric for doing an appropriate amount of brainstorming. Students will be given checks or minuses coordinating with participation each day. A check resembles above and beyond participation, nothing resembles expected participation, and a minus resembles poor participation (some students will naturally give less participation due to a shy/quiet nature). Summative: After their sketch has been enlarged and rendered, students’ work will be graded including processes. A rubric scale will determine a grade or point value that accurately describes the student’s work and ethic in the class. On the final day, students will pull together their dragons’ qualities and their own and write a poem conveying their relationship. This allows students to think back to the big idea, and will be placed with the pieces once on display.

Instructional Procedures Day One Motivation: Students will be paired with a partner to do a sketch exercise. One partner will sketch while the other person names 3 positive/neutral qualities of themselves on the inside and on the outside. The sketch will be a character who possesses these qualities. The students will then switch roles, and hand their sketches to their partners. Students will write their original 3 qualities and 2 more in each category next to the sketch given by their partner when it is finished. Time allotment: 5-10 minutes Development: Students will be walked through an interactive Prezi about the relationships of qualities between humans and nature, and the many similarities they have. They will be introduced briefly to a few artists who have studied this relationship. Ask students the essential questions and discuss them in teams and report their findings to the class. They will be introduced to the dragon aspect through short video clips, which will also hold examples of relationships between humans and nature. Two books will be passed around to see up close the comparisons of dragon riders and their dragons. Closure: Students will then brainstorm animal inspirations for their dragons or ways their dragon could communicate the same character traits they have. This will lead into the next day’s work by starting the brainstorming process. Students from this day forward will be referred to as ‘animators’. Day Two

Motivation: Students will be asked to do a timed sketching exercise. Students will sketch as many kinds of animals as they can think of in one minute. Students will then sketch as many animals of a certain type as they can within a minute (for example, cats). Students will then try to sketch one specific animal in as many ways as possible within one minute. It is not a competition, but an exercise in brainstorming to gear the students towards broadening their ideas instead of being worried about a final design right away. Development: With emphasis on creating a wide range of options, students will sketch out ideas for their dragons. They will be dissecting the necessary parts of a dragon, and all the variations those parts could take on. Students will think back to how dragon’s traits relate to their own, and will brainstorm connotative and denotative designs for their dragon parts. Closure: Students will review their parts and begin to think which parts would fit best together, creating the most effective relationship between themselves and a dragon. This will gear students towards thinking about a final product, which they will be on their way to create during the next class period.

Day Three

Motivation: Students will be faced with a large puzzle of a line drawing where every student has a different piece to the puzzle. Each piece will have a different word or picture correlating with the traits of the final line drawing, a picture of the dragon Toothless. Students must solve the puzzle within 5 minutes. The purpose of the activity is to show that the students will be piecing together all of their ideas and representations of themselves to create one unified dragon. It is also physical, interactive, and just plain fun. Development: Students will be working to combine their best elements and designs of their dragons, forming one dragon. Students will then draw their final dragon in different poses to grasp their concept in three dimensions, and also pick the angle that best describes the way their dragon will behave. Students will make a final drawing on a sheet of pre- cut black paper on which they will render their dragon. Closure: Students will turn in their final sketch as an exit slip for the day and will receive a check on their grading sheet for a progress check. Day Four:

Motivation: Students will approach their seats while the lights are out where there will be a set of pastels and a still life under one light source. The students will be given one simple instruction, to draw what they see using pastels on black paper. This will be an exercise in light and using the black paper as the darkest element and building light to better render their dragons. Students will be shown work by Caravaggio and other artists who capture light well as multiple examples. This will take about 20 minutes. Development: Students will then work with pastels on their dragon drawings by applying their discoveries in the pastel exercise. How can the student create a sense of light? How can the student showcase the intensity of a dragon, or the delicacy of one? How can students show a sense of space? In what ways can students use the pastels to create shadows for three dimensionality? Closure: Students will share discoveries and techniques with the class to give fellow artists inspiration and tips as they are rendering their own dragons. Day Five (Or Six)

Motivation: Students will watch a short sequence of the animation process from how to train your dragon to feel as a part of an animation team. They will also be shown examples of computer rendering programs where objects have been rendered in the same fashion as they are using with pastels. This is to show the possibility and reality of career paths and future art classes. Development: This will be a studio day where students will finish rendereing their dragons. Students will have been instructed to shade in color, value, and shapes first. Then today students will work towards refining details. Examples of texture and detail will be shown. Closure: Students will turn in finished drawings at the end of class as an exit slip. If not finished, it must be finished outside of class. If the majority of the class is not finished, an extra studio day will be added. Day Seven (Or Eight) Motivation: Students will start the class with a gallery walk of all the finished dragons from the class. There will be sticky notes next to each piece where two questions will be answered. “Who’s dragon do you think this is?” and, “What does this dragon say about its’ rider through color, anatomy, and surroundings?” This will help students be reminded of the relationship they have been designing along with their dragon and not the dragon alone. Development: Students will then be instructed to write a poem about their relationship with their dragon they created. This should include the traits they portrayed (both internal and physical) and how they were communicated in their piece. They can also include insights to how their dragon behaves, moves, or reacts to certain situations to better communicate other traits. Students can choose any type of poem style to present their final product. Closure: Once typed or written, the poem will be attached to the coordinating dragon. The student will choose how they would like to matte or present the two works as a pair. The works will be hung along with preliminary work to communicate the entire design process and the student’s journey as an ‘animator’. If an extra day is needed for the matting and preparation of hanging, an extra day can be added. Preparation

Teacher Preparation and Research: Materials will need to be prepared such as white sketching paper and cut to size black final product paper. On day one, small sheets of paper will need to be cut for the sketching exercise/ hook. The Prezi and video clips will need to be readily accessible, and books will need to be in the classroom. Sheets of sketching paper will need to be out for the end of class. For the second day, students will need sketch paper for the hook and the remainder of the class period. On the third day, a giant puzzle will need to be made and prepared for the hook. The black paper will need to be accessible as students will be drawing their final product this day. On the fourth day, a still life will need to be set up along with pastels and scrap black paper at seats surrounding it for students to sketch. Images of artists will need to be readily accessible. Students work will then be brought out for them to begin rendering. On day five, videos will be shown and need to be readily accessible. Students’ work will be brought out again along with pastels to finish rendering. On the final day, sticky notes will be dispersed next to the finished dragons which will all be set up for a gallery walk. Paper or open computers will then be provided for poem writing. Matting paper will need to be ready along with scissors and glue to finish the process. Links for interviews, videos, and online research is listed below: http://www.artofvfx.com/?p=339 http://howtotrainyourdragon.tumblr.com/post/166595486/filmmaker-profile-of-the-week- interview-with-art http://characterdesignnotes.blogspot.com/2010/11/nico-marlet.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-jPAYD2wlk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPCNc0wFvrA https://vimeo.com/user2143127/videos/page:2/sort:date http://www.empireonline.com/features/how-to-train-your-dragon-designs http://howtotrainyourdragon.tumblr.com/post/336430449/interview-with-simon-otto-head- of-character https://www.google.com/search?q=caravaggio&biw=1366&bih=610&source=lnms&tbm=isch& sa=X&ei=IYxBVaLqL4ykgwTv4YGYCA&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ https://www.google.com/search?q=3d+rendering+objects&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=g oxBVZjYNIWgNsqogMgN&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=610 http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/daoi/hd_daoi.htm http://www.asiasociety.org/attitudes-towards-nature-daoist-art http://mrstsarteducation.weebly.com/humans--nature-in-art.html http://www.bleaq.com/2015/nunzio-paci http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/11/seon-ghi-bahk_n_5481989.html http://www.team-lab.net/en/all/art/kunisaki.html “The Art of How to Train Your Dragon” “The Art of How to Train Your Dragon 2” Student Supplies: Bring a pencil to class each day. Adaptations: If a student has a cognitive disability, they would be instructed to only have to incorporate 2 traits in each category instead of five to make their dragons. In the case a student is knowledgeable of the topic, they could make two renderings of different views in a smaller size to better exercise character development, while keeping within the workload of other students. If a student is slower, they can be provided with extra time in the morning to come in and work, and also take the project home to finish work their instead of keeping it at the school. For students having trouble grasping animation processes or concepts, they can design their dragon using a more traditional drawing approach where the world is only two dimensions existing on a flat plane instead of a three dimensional space.

Instructional Resources: Rubric, Prezi: https://prezi.com/nwuctljpkcus/humans-and-nature/