What's in a Face?
Strategies
Before Reading-
Book talks allow teachers to introduce books to students so they may become interested in reading them. The teacher presents the book, its characters, and read a short excerpt from the material to peak students’ curiosity. The teacher can pick one or more books, so more than one books are relatable in some way. A short and simple presentation is given to the students which includes the title, author, topic/genre, pictures, and a summary of the plot.
For this lesson, I would introduce the book, 100 Pablo Picassos by Mauricio Velásquez de León to the students to get them interested in the artist and his variety of artistic styles.
Vocabulary-
Graffiti vocabulary allow students to represent specific concepts visually by creating word posters. Generally, vocabulary words are drawn in bubble lettering, or some type of expressive font style, and then a brief definition of the word written in the students’ own words. The students will then draw at least three images that represent the vocabulary word. The teacher can then create a display using the students’ posters.
For this lesson, students can use terminology, such as, Cubism and Pablo Picasso to create this fun Graffiti posters for the rest of their peers to use as resources.
Comprehension-
Intra-act is a comprehensive strategy that revolves around reflective discussion. Students participate in the process of valuing the material as the read. The process of valuing allows students to actively read the material with thought and feeling. Intra-act consists of four phases: comprehension, relating, valuation, and reflection.
During the comprehension phase of this lesson students will gather into small groups and summarize and clarify the main points of the book, 100 Pablo Picasso, and after the brief summary students shift their discussion to what their personal reactions and opinions to the life of Picasso. Once this discussion is over, the teacher hands out a “game sheet” for students to value different declarative statements which the students can agree or disagree with. The reflection phase allows students to share their responses from their “game sheets”, and the teacher acts as a facilitator. Click for Intra-Act Template.
Writing-
This writing activity allows students to understand information through a simple poetic format. Bio poems follow a particular pattern that allows students to reexamine important information they have read and reconstruct what they have learned about a particular person, place, thing, concept, or event under evaluation. It enables students to focus on certain characteristics about the material under study and lets the student “become the subject being studied”.
After reading 100 Pablo Picassos, students will create a biopoem about Pablo Picasso and the students poems will be displayed outside the room for fellow students/teachers to see. Click for Biopoem Template.
After Reading-
A comparison and contrast matrix can help students organize concepts from their reading materials by using a matrix outline. It aids in showing the similarities and differences of multiple subjects, and helps students target specific concepts and ideas.
For this lesson, students can compare/contrast Picasso’s artistic style as he evolved throughout his artistic career. They can also use this matrix to take note on the images we will discuss during class. Students can compare Picasso’s more realistic paintings to his abstract ones, as well as, his color choices and brushstrokes. Click for Compare and Contrast Template.