Teacher Lesson Plan – Grade Level 6 – 8

Latinas in Art

Background Information:

Contemporary Latina artists express the cultures they’ve experienced in a variety of multi-dimensional artistic formats. While they often share a Latino-American experience, they incorporate distinct cultural aspects, traditions, politics, gender views, and generational awareness that ground their work. Latina artistic interpretation, whether produced as solitary visual art, performance or collaborative venues, or as large-scale murals, seeks to generate a dialogue with diverse audiences, inviting them to explore the artists’ world view as a Latina, and universal or personal issues.

Strand: Social Studies, Arts

Standards: New York Arts Standards

3 – Responding to and analyzing works of Art.

4 – Understanding the cultural dimensions and contributions of the Arts.

Learning Objectives: Students will be able to:

1. Learn and identify six contemporary Latina artists.

2. Research their life and work in the library and on the internet.

3. Understand what makes their work Latino art.

4. Appreciate the multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary nature of their work.

5. Learn and identify Latino heritage in their work.

Vocabulary:

Chicano, Boricua, Latina/o

Interdisciplinary

Multi-dimensional

Performance art

Heritage

Murals

Materials:

Loose-leaf paper/pens/pencils.

Dictionary and Bibliographic reference books.

Internet access and PPT presentation.

Map of the United States.

Map of Western Hemisphere.

Note: This is a three day lesson. One day is reserved for classroom presentations.

Day 1

Teacher will introduce the topic with a visual PPT presentation of one or two works created by any of the selected Latina artists. The artists are: Amelia Mesa-Bains, Judith Baca, Ana Mendieta, Ester Hernández, and Cecilia Concepción Alvarez.

Activity 1:

The teacher will ask the students to comment on the images shown, writing some key descriptive words from the discussion that pertain to the topic on the board. Teacher will follow with a list of vocabulary words and inform students that they are to research the life and work of one artist out of five choices in the next lesson.

Activity 2:

Students will take notes using a “T” list (a loose-leaf page divided into two columns with main ideas on the left and supportive evidence written on the right. This initial survey will be augmented by their research.

Day 2

Activity 3:

Students will utilize the internet website and reference books on Latinas in history, provided by the teacher, to research the life and work of one Latina artist. This may necessitate a class trip to the school library, or the librarian may bring the reference materials to the classroom.

Activity 4:

Students will prepare a short presentation on the life of their selected artist and find a copy of a work created by that artist.

Day 3

Activity 5:

Students will utilize the vocabulary, the life of the artist and a sample of the artists’ work in their class presentation. They will define the distinctive features in that artists’ work and complete the “T” list they started on day 1.

Closure:

The teacher will show the one or two works presented on Day 1 again and have the students discuss the work from their “learned” perspective.

Culminating Activity:

The students will create a bulletin board exhibit on contemporary Latina artists.