Jessica Bisbee

Day One of Xavier Cortada Unit

Clark University Master of Arts in Teaching Program

Learning Activity Plan

I.  Content: Today we will learn about the Cuban-American artist Xavier Cortada. We will learn who he is, where he lives, and about his career as a painter and professional artist. Once we learn some of his biography, we will look more in depth into five different examples of his art career and his artistic style. Some of these investigate what it means to be Cuban-American through visual arts.

II.  Learning Goal(s): Students will know the basic facts surrounding the biography of Xavier Cortada. They will know the following art definitions: style, expressionism, color, cubism. They will be able to discuss the artistic ideas above in relation to Xavier Cortada and his art. Finally, they will be able to discuss one area of Cortada’s art based on their group work. This stage of the unit will be conducted in both English and Spanish.

III.  Rationale: By understanding Cortada and his art students will begin to use art as a medium to investigate culture. Artist statements and visual art can help us learn about another culture so this first day helps us to lay the foundations for future art exploration in regards to Spanish Culture.

IV.  Assessment: Students will grade each other in group work activities by using a scale of 1 through 5 which they will submit to me. This will help me to see how well they worked together and what they understood. If a student didn’t put in any effort, it isn’t likely they understand the material. Also, students will prepare notes for themselves so that they will be able to present their groups findings to other classmates the following day.

V.  Personalization and equity: We will begin as a whole class and discuss the overarching ideas together as well as art terminology. I will then slowly release control to the students, but with strict roles in place so that each student is responsible for the group’s learning and is involved in the process. I will assign the roles so that students are both challenged, but their strengths are also utilized. Within this process I will also aid students that have a hard time with certain areas. For instance, a student that has a hard time reading can follow along while their peer takes on the reader role and reads the piece aloud to the group. We will also begin with more English and slowly incorporate more Spanish to ensure everyone is getting the correct information and is comfortable with the new unit.

VI.  Activity description and agenda


Activity / Description / Timeframe
Starter / Open response to prompt: Write in notebooks: “How can art help us understand other people? What examples of art do you think of when you think about art from other cultures?” / 5 minutes
Unit Introduction / PowerPoint on Xavier Cortada, his biography, his art and art terms / 15 minutes
Notes / Art terms and definitions:
Style, Expressionism, Cubism, Color / 5 minutes
YouTube Video / YouTube video by Artista Mundo on an opening for Xavier Cortada in a Miami art studio. / 5 minutes
Group Work Instructions / Hand out group materials. Students will already be seated in their assigned groups. As they look over materials, I will go over the project orally. / 5 minutes
Group Work / Groups work in assigned roles to become experts on one section of Xavier Cortada’s art. They will then prepare to present their findings with their classmates in a jigsaw tomorrow. / 25 minutes
  1. I anticipate there being debate over who should have which role. To eliminate this complication I will pre-assign the roles and have them written on each group’s instruction sheet prior to the beginning of class. I also anticipate certain personality conflicts so I will have strategically assigned the groups and have them posted as students enter the room. Finally, I anticipate that students will be anxious about who does the most work so to make each individual responsible in the group work process I will have students give their team members an evaluation of their performance which will become part of their grade.

VII. 

  1. Standard 7 Connections
  2. Standard 4 Cultures
  3. (Visual Arts) Standard 7: Roles of Artists in Communities
  4. (Visual Arts) Standard 10: Interdisciplinary connections

VIII.  Reflection

a.  Activities were successful in regards to students acquiring a nice overview of the biography of Xavier Cortada. This was evident because they were able to review the information orally the following day as a class. Activities were unsuccessful in regards to time management. I had students affix notes pages into their notebooks which took more time than intended due to sharing some materials. This therefore pushed the notes section to take up most of the period. We had time to introduce the group projects for the following day, but not to move into our new groups. Also, not all students took down notes. I could be more explicit about what to write when so that they do have the necessary information. If I were to teach this lesson again, I might have students preview a short text about Cortada individually as a starter to then lead into our notes. I’d also make sure to check in with students more frequently to ensure they were taking notes on their sheets as we went along to ensure better retention and having a resource for later in the unit.

b.  I learned that I need to accommodate for adjustments in the schedule. I also need to utilize deadlines during class to ensure students have adequate time to complete tasks, but not so much time that they drag their feet to complete something. This will ensure we can move at a pace that accommodates learning, but is also not too fast either. I also know I will need to observe a few particular students to ensure they are following along actively.

Revised 5/15/13