Digital Unit Plan Template

Unit Title: Draw Me A Story! Making visual connections in classic

literature
Content Area: Visual Art

Name: Shannon Brayshaw

Grade Level: 9-12 Advanced

CA Content Standard(s)/Common Core Standard(s):

Develop Perceptual Skills and Visual Arts Vocabulary
1.1 Identify and use the principles of design to discuss, analyze, and write about visual aspects in the environment and in works of art,
including their own.
Impact of Media Choice
1.5 Analyze the material used by a given artist and describe how its use influences the meaning of the work.
Skills, Processes, Materials, and Tools
2.1 Solve a visual arts problem that involves the effective use of the elements of art and the principles of design.
Connections and Applications
5.2 Create a work of art that communicates a cross-cultural or universal theme taken from literature or history.
Careers and Career-Related Skills
5.4 Demonstrate an understanding of the various skills of an artist, art critic, art historian, art collector, art gallery owner, and philosopher of
art (aesthetician).
Big Ideas:
Visual Language: Visuals are used daily to communicate information whether the imagery is accompanied with text or not. Many symbols
are universally understood.
Story Telling: Mankind has passed down stories for generations as a form of communicating thoughts, ideas, imagination, and lessons.
Graphic Novels: Graphic novels communicate their stories by utilizing multiple design elements and principles to create an enticing, easy-toread composition that engages readers from panel to panel.
Elements and Principles of Design: The design elements and principles can be employed in certain ways to contribute towards creating a
mood to a portrayed story and capture a setting.
Unit Goals and Objectives:

Each student will be able to:

Understand art as an essential form of communication and story-telling.
Distinguish between various elements and principles of design in famous illustrators artwork that work together to create an
engaging, narrative experience for the viewer.
Use technology research tools to explore themes in their selected book and understand the culture, history, and messages conveyed in
the literature as well as learn to create a digital slide show presentation on a selected famous illustrator whose work will be used as
inspiration.
Replicate the steps illustrators use when producing work in order to add quality to their own illustrations.
Experiment with and employ various forms of media in their book illustrations, taking care to thoughtfully select art media that will
best portray their literary scene in a complex and rich way.
Collaborate with their peers focused on same works of literature to brainstorm and reflect on text's overlaying message and zeitgeist.
Unit Summary:

Art transcends all cultures across the globe and is the most effective and universal form of communication shared by humanity. Whether you
realize it or not, you use art in various ways to communicate daily, such as through the words you choose to express yourself to family and
friends and the clothes you wear to the emojis or pictures you choose to send to friends in your text messages or in SnapChat. We live in an
age where cultures are defined by and rely heavily on visuals to go about life as we know it.
The best and most meaningful forms of communication are ones from which we gather information and learn from, therefore allowing us to
advance. The earliest human beings created and illustrated stories upon cave walls, Ancient Egyptians defined and recorded their culture
through detailed visuals in the form of hieroglyphics, and Ancient Greeks commemorated mythological legends and war heroes through
illustrations upon pots and through mosaics. Using graphic and oral communication, stories and their lessons have been passed down
through the ages.
Now it's your turn! Focusing on a famous work of literature currently being studied in your English class, you will choose a powerful scene
from the book and tell the story in a fresh, dynamic way in the spirit of a graphic novel page. In this unit, we will analyze multiple illustrators
and graphic designer's work to learn how the elements and principles of design come together with written words to create strong
compositions and powerful story telling. Research skills will also be integrated and strengthened through using online and offline resources
to inform your work and to effectively capture the zeitgeist and mood of your particular book.
Assessment Plan:

Entry-Level:

Formative:

Brainstorm: Give an example of art

that tells a story.

Lesson 1
Student Learning
Objective:
Students will explore
and understand the
importance of visual
communication,

Acceptable Evidence:
Students can list several
versions of visual
communication and
how it is used in graphic
novels to effectively tell
a story.

Summative:

Think Write Pair Share: "How do

we use visuals to communicate and
tell stories? What are some elements
to a great story?

Recall, Describe, Question,

Connect, and Comment (RDQC) as a
way to recall information from the
Teacher Lecture on Graphic Novels
and Visual Communication

Exploring Graphic Novel Concepts

Online Survey

"My Ideal Solution" to help students

visualize how they want their end
graphic novel page looking like.

Thumbnail Sketches and peer

feedback on graphic novel page
progress

Instructional
Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation

Famous illustrator Google Slides

class presentation

Final literary graphic novel page

and critique

Lesson Activities:
1. Lesson will open up with a class brainstorm of
providing examples of art that tells a story (EL).
Student responses will be recorded on the board to
engage students to grow list and teacher will be able to
assess any student prior knowledge or comprehension
of art variations that contribute to storytelling,

primarily focusing on
the graphic novel.

Organization
Interaction

conventional or every day. Students will be asked to

reflect on different existing art forms that tell a story
and then informally share their examples in class
discussion. The aim is for students to see art as a
crucial story-telling agent and to be aware of the
various modes art takes to do so. This will serves as the
opening discussion opening the unit plan and setting
the lesson theme.
2. Think Write Pair Share will be used next to prepare
students for the Teacher Lecture, Graphic Novels and
Visual Communication. In pairs, students will take a
minute or 2 to ponder and then write a response to the
following in their art journals: "How do we use visuals
to communicate and tell stories? What are some
elements to a great story?. Student pairs will take
turns sharing reading their responses to each other and
collaborate to combine their answers on one sheet of
paper and turn it in anonymously at the end of class the
day before the Teacher Lecture. This will inform the
teacher on what to emphasize and clarify in the lecture
the following day as well as gauge where students are
at in their prior knowledge and outlook on the theme if
the lesson.
3. Teacher will launch into the Intro to the Graphic Novel
and Visual
Language lecture and will be expected to follow along
and ask questions throughout by filling out the
accompanying Graphic Novels and Visual
Communication worksheet.

Lesson 2
Student Learning
Objective:

Acceptable Evidence:
When prompted, a
student can discuss how

Instructional
Strategies:
Communication

Lesson Activities:
1. Students will be assigned Web Quest assignment to
reinforce new material covered in Teacher Lecture.

Students will pair up to

explore the artistic
process an illustrator
uses when illustrating a
story by selecting a
famous artist and
designing and
presenting a digital
slide show of the
illustrator to the class.

a specific famous
illustrator approaches
their work. Students can
also analyze an
illustrators work based
on the design elements
and principles to assert
whether the illustration
effectively tells a story
or not.

Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction

2. Recall, Describe, Question, Connect, and Comment

(RDQC) would be in direct response to the Teacher
Lecture on Graphic Novels and Visual
Communication the day following the lecture.
Borrowed from Donna Beatties Assessment in Art
Education, this strategy assesses recall of
discipline-specific content and knowledge through
group interaction and contribution. The class will
be divided into five groups aligned with the
assessments title. Group 1 (Recall) will make a list
of the most significant concepts and ideas covered
in the lecture (e.g. forms of visual communication,
graphic novel definition) and rank the concepts in
order of importance. Group 2 (Describe) writes a
brief description of each concept on the list. Group
3 (Question) comes up with any questions left
unanswered on the concepts listed. Group 4
(Connect) connects the lesson objectives and goals
to the concepts and Group 5 (Comment) makes
evaluative points about the lecture, such as where
they found the lecture points most interesting,
where it may have been too vague, etc.
3. Exploring Graphic Novel Concepts Online Survey:
After reading through and analyzing Jane Austens
Pride and Prejudice, adapted/illustrated by Huxley
King & Terrence Boyce, found in the class copy of
The Graphic Canon in table groups, individually
students will complete a survey hosted on
SurveyMonkey. Students will complete all 5
questions to build off their observations of the
illustrated text.
4. Students will apply all resources allotted to them
thus far and, with a partner, conduct research on an
assigned illustrator in a Famous Illustrator Google
Slides class presentation: With a partner, students
will be assigned a famous illustrator from a

provided list (or an approved illustrator of their

independent choosing) and will create a Google
Slides of the illustrator focusing mainly on the
illustrators style and methods for creating art. The
Google Slide show must be a minimum of 8 slides
including picture examples of the illustrators work
and the student is required to critique one of the
illustrators art examples and explain to the class
how the illustration is successful, listing
principles/elements of design and specific
examples of the illustration that make it successful.
This will benefit the student in that it will allow the
student to analyze a professional artists approach
to art-making as well as study what makes an
illustration successful in storytelling by researching
and presenting such revelations to the class as a
whole to reap from. From this presentation the
teacher will be able to gauge each individuals
understanding of the illustration knowledge aimed
for as well as get some insight on the students
competency in PowerPoint media and research
knowledge. This will take place halfway through the
unit plan while students are still conducting
research for the design of their graphic novel page
based on the literary excerpt they received and
going through the process of drawing out
thumbnails and finalizing certain features to
include in their illustrations.
Lesson 3
Student Learning
Objective:
Applying all they have
learned so far on visual
communication and
how graphic novels tell

Acceptable Evidence:
In their graphic novel
page composition,
students will clearly
and thoughtfully tell
their classic literature

Instructional
Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration

Lesson Activities:
1. My Ideal Solution would be used before they
officially begin drawing out ideas for their literary
graphic novel page. Students will be requested to
close their eyes and envision how they would like
their graphic novel page to look like. They will also

a story, each student

will design and create
their own graphic novel
page depicting a scene
from classic literature
being read in their
English classes.

scene through selected

imagery choice and
quotes from the text.
At least 2 or more
design elements and
principles should be
present in their work
and student should be
able to explain why
they used specific
principles or elements
in their page.

Presentation
Organization
Interaction

be asked to reflect on how their chosen famous

illustrator they are studying goes about their artmaking process. In their art journals, students will
list specific criteria they think they will use and
need for their art. Students will answer the
following criteria list and, next to each, specify how
they wish to implement it in their artwork:
What will be your illustrated subject matter?
What mood or feeling does your literary excerpt present
that you should include in your art/
How will you compose your graphic novel page to better
tell the story?
Which elements/principles of design will you emphasize?
Why might that be?
Will you leave your graphic novel page in black and white
or in color? How might that better help tell the story?
2. Thumbnails (mini quick sketches conducted in a
4x4 box drawn out in their art journals) will be
required of students in order to test out and plan
different variations of composition and style for
their graphic novel page. Students will be required
to turn in no less than 10 thumbnail sketches along
with their final graphic novel page to receive full
credit.
3. Final literary graphic novel page and critique:
Reflecting everything covered in the lecture,
individual research, and group sharing, this will
serve as the accumulative project reflecting the unit
plan. Students will create a finished, researchbacked graphic novel page effectively and
appropriately representing a scene from the
section of a work of literature provided to them.
Students will be graded based on the grading rubric
provided gauging for craftsmanship, completeness,

thumbnails and process work. This will take place

the last day of the unit plan and will concluded via
short class critiques of each students work.
Students will get a chance to talk about their work
to the rest of the class, explaining the process they
took and how they made choices in their
illustration based on the story from the literature
they attempted to express. Students will receive
immediate peer feedback as well as formal
feedback from the teacher.
Unit Resources:
Graphix Webcast: Words Are Only Half the Story: http://www.scholastic.com/teacher/videos/teachervideos.htm#3183923084001/1553803601001
Jeff Smith BiblioFile: https://www.princeton.edu/cotsen/gallery-programs/bibliofiles/jeff-smith.pdf
Illustrator GoRaina! Website Graphic Novel Resource: http://goraina.com/2013/08/how-a-graphic-novel-is-born-and-raised/
Raina Telgemeir website: http://goraina.com/about/
Kazu Kubiushi website: http://boltcity.com/faq/
Exploring Graphic Novel Concepts surveymonkley http://brayshawnarrativeart.weebly.com/assessments.html
Teacher Lecture Prezi Presentation http://brayshawnarrativeart.weebly.com/lesson-1-teacher-lecture.html
Illustration WebQuest http://brayshawnarrativeart.weebly.com/lesson-2-webquest.html
Graphic Organizer Words are Only Half the Story Popplet http://brayshawnarrativeart.weebly.com/lesson-3-graphic-organizer.html
Graphix Words Are Only Half the Story Video http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/guide-using-graphic-novels-children-andteens
The Graphic Canon. Volume 2 : From "Kubla Khan" to the Bronte Sisters to the Picture of Dorian Gray. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2012.

Useful Websites:
http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/polar-mammals/book-arts-a-creative-means-to-promote-learning
http://artinspired.pbworks.com/f/ArtHistoryGoesGraphic.pdf

http://www.artisancam.org.uk/flashapps/superactioncomicmaker/comicmaker.php
http://www.comicbookproject.org/
http://teachingliterature.pbworks.com/f/NJ_Graphic_Novel_Paper.pdf
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/guide-using-graphic-novels-children-and-teens