a place in time cindy stricklin gra-mar middle school 575 joyce lane nashville, tennessee 37216

A Place in Time

Cindy StricklinGra-Mar Middle School

575 Joyce LaneNashville, Tennessee 37216

The Big Idea: Place

Topic: Mind over matter

Place: noun

1. a physical place (a building) 2. an ordering position (1st place)3. a particular spot (a hurt spot on a body, lost my spot in a book)4. numeral position (3 places after the decimal) 5. a suitable location (not the place for that) 6. situation formerly occupied (took the place of) 7. position (job)

Key Concepts

Place is a location, somewhere to go.Place is a location, where you are from.Place is a location, where you are.

Place is a state of mind.

Place is existance.

Essential Question: What is place?

How do people influence place?How does community influence place?How do you influence place?

Rationale

Middle school students question who they are and where they belong. Through the study of place, students can examine their place, be it physical or a state of mind, and those who affect it.

Lesson 1

Key Concepts:Place is a location.Place is where you are.

Essential Question:What is place?

Artist

Frida Kahlo

1907 – 1954 Mexico

Kahlo regained the ability to walk, though she would be tortured by pain and fatigue throughout her life and would undergo more than 30 operations for her injuries. "I never lost my spirit," she once said, "I always spent my time painting."

Frida Kahlo’s artwork was deeply influenced by events in her personal life. Kahlo contracted Polio when she was six years old and when she was almost 18 had a serious accident.

Written by Jennifer Beck Photos courtesy of Rachelle Drouin

Lesson 1Frida Kahlo

Self Portrait Between the Borderline of Mexico and the United States

On the left side of your paper list the symbols that represent Mexico. List the symbols that represent the United States on the right side of your paper.

Salvador Dali

May 1904 – January 1989

Spain

Salvador Dalí's artistic repertoire also included film, sculpture, and photography. He collaborated with Walt Disney on the Academy Award-nominated short cartoon Destino, which was released posthumously in 2003. He also collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock on Hitchcock's film Spellbound.

“ Persistence of Memory”

What do the symbols represent?Write your answers in you journal.

Salvador Dali

John Biggers

1924 - 2001

North Carolina

Dr. Biggers retired from teaching in 1983 and devoted himself exclusively to his art. The works of John Biggers features prominently in the history of African American art and is included in private collections and museums at home and abroad.

John BiggersSaltmarsh

http://www.biggers.coe.uh.edu/mural10.htm

Biggers uses symbols: turtle represents the setting sun and rabbit represents the rising moon; symbols of water and nature represent pollution problems.

Sketch the first idea that comes to your mind.

PAST:Where are you from?

What do you remember about the place?

What objects do you associate with your past?

Present:

What experiences have shaped where you are today?

Do you feel a special attachment to where you live now?Why or why not?

Future:How do you imagine yourself twenty-five years from now?

Where do you imagine yourself in twenty-five years?

Lesson 2

Key ConceptsPlace is a location.Place is where you are.

Essential Questions:How do people influence place?How does community influence

place?

Who creates place?

What places do you see on the way to school?

Why do you notice these places?

Create a colorful postcard depicting a

special place that best represents your

community.

Lesson 3

Key ConceptsPlace is a location.Place is where you are.

Essential questionsWhat is place?How do you influence place?

Activity

Describe your place:

(Answer these questions in your journal)What does your place look like?

How do others describe your place?

What things influence your place?

How does your place change?

Lesson 4

Key ConceptsPlace is a location.Place is where you are.Place is a state of mind.

Essential QuestionsHow do people influence place?How do you influence place?

In the Video “A Wrinkle in Time”, Meg had to learn some life lessons.

She had to learn to overcome her desire for

conformity. Meg had to learn to be patient.

How did Meg influence her place?

Write your answer in your journal.

Lesson 5

Key ConceptPlace is a state of mind.

Essential QuestionHow do you influence place?

Create a self portrait

Include:Who you are now …Who you were in the past … Who you want to be in the future.

Your drawing can be realistic or surreal.Use linear perspective.

Books to read

From Far Away by Robert Munsch

The House That Jack Built by Jenny Stow

Mama Do You Love Me by Barbara Joosse

Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold

New Hope by Henri Sorenson

The House on East 88th Street by Bernard Waber

Power and Glory by Emily Rodda

Visit to a Green Planet by Mike Benton and Scott Deschsine