Overview & Essential Questions
Lesson Goals
Assessment
Artwork, Background Materials, Resources
VAPA Standards

Overview & Essential Questions Guiding this Lesson:

The Big Idea of this lesson is communication. Another underlying theme is that of balance and the exploration of balance in artwork as a metaphor to life. The focus and challenge is to design and construct a kinetic and balanced mobile based on a book of the student’s choice. The mobile sculpture design should reflect the meaning or intention of the book. Materials used will vary depending on the grade level and knowledge of media. In the exploration of mobiles, it is clear that shapes (2D) can become forms (3D). The focus of this mobile lesson is to manipulate shapes and transform these shapes into a balanced mobile. Essential questions include: What is communication and how do we reflect and develop this process? How do artists use the art of communication in artmaking? How can we apply this process of communication and meaning to our own artmaking?

Additional integration of this lesson beyond visual art and language art includes science (equilibrium, balance, kinetic energy) and mathematics (patterns in art and nature, equations and problem-solving process).

• Students will explore the idea of communication as it relates to artmaking.
• Students will view a variety of mobile artworks and gain an understanding of threedimensional artwork.
• Students will explore various mobile processes such as balance and stability.
• Students will learn the vocabulary of contemporary sculpture and be able to distinguish between abstract and realistic as well as biomorphic and geometric.
• Students will make a mobile using a media of choice with an application and consideration of elements and principles of design i.e. rhythm, movement, balance, and space.
• Students will be able to identify and talk about the meaning of the mobile design as well as assess mobile sculptures.

• Students will describe the qualities (i.e. elements and principles) of various mobile sculptures.
• Students will have completed a mobile using the Visual Arts grade level guidelines.
• Students will critique their own sculptures and how they might change or alter they own mobile techniques.
• Students will be able to journal and reflect on the mobile process and how the mobile design communicates of the meaning of the selected book.

Artwork examples, resources, websites and bibliography are contained in the San Luis Obispo library website link http://www.slolibrary.org/einfo.html

VAPA Standards available at – http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/vamain.asp.

• Artistic Perception
• Historical and Cultural Connections
• Creative Expression
• Aesthetic Valuing