Students will develop an understanding of different cultures through the study of mosaics from Ancient Greece, The Byzantine Period, Early Christians, The Medieval Period and The Renaissance. Students will study the different medium in which each produced art. After presenting students with historical background and images of mosaics from these different time periods, the students will then construct their own mosaics.

Instructional Plan Title: Mosaics

Keywords: Art Education, Mosaics

Curriculum Area: Art Education

Grade Level: 9 - 12

Appropriate Group Size: Whole Class

Time Expected to Complete Instructional Plan: 18 days

Instructional Objectives: After presenting students with a historical background and images of mosaics from different time periods(Ancient Greek, Byzantine, Early Christian, Medieval, Renaissance...) Students will have an understanding of different cultures and the different medium in which they produced art. The students will then construct their own mosaic using the given information and teacher instruction.

Indiana State Proficiencies Referenced by the Instructional Plan:

Proficiency #1

• Curriculum Area: Art Education
  State Reference Number: 1
  Descriptive Text: Understand the significance of visual art in relation to historical, social, political, spiritual, environmental, technological, and economic issues.

Proficiency #2

• Curriculum Area: Art Education
  State Reference Number: 3
  Descriptive Text: Describe, analyze, and interpret works of art and artifacts.

Proficiency #3

• Curriculum Area: Art Education
  State Reference Number: 4
  Descriptive Text: Identify and apply criteria to make informed judgments about art.

Proficiency #4

• Curriculum Area: Art Education
  State Reference Number: 7
  Descriptive Text: Observe, select, and utilize a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas in their work.

Proficiency #5

• Curriculum Area: Art Education
  State Reference Number: 8
  Descriptive Text: Understand and apply elements and principles of design effectively in their work.

Proficiency #6

• Curriculum Area: Art Education
  State Reference Number: 9
  Descriptive Text: Develop and apply skills using a variety of two dimensional skills and three dimensional media, tools, and processes to create works that communicate personal meaning.

Proficiency #7

• Curriculum Area: Art Education
  State Reference Number: 10
  Descriptive Text: Reflection on, revise, and refine work using problem solving and critical thinking skills.

Materials and Resources: Pencil ,Scissors, Illustration Board(18"x12"), Glue, Magazines, Envelopes

CORBIS Images from databases:

• Byzantine Mosaic 131K
  Adam Woolfitt/CORBIS
• Byzantine Mosaic of Christ 120K
  Peter Wilson/CORBIS
• Byzantine Mosaic in Church, Turkey 221K
  Charles & Josette Lenars/CORBIS
• Byzantine Mosaic of Emperor Constantine the Great 100K
  Chris Hellier/CORBIS
• Carolingian Mosaic of "The Ark of the Covenant" 231
  Gianni Dagli Orti/CORBIS
• Domus of the Dioscuri in Ostia Antica: Mosaic of Venus Anadyomene With Nereids and Tritons 123K
  Vanni Archive/CORBIS
• Early Christian Floor Mosaic with Christian and Pagan Themes,
  Detail Showing Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd with Animals 186K Elio Ciol/CORBIS
• Mosaic in Byzantine Basilica, Phaselis, Turkey175K
  Arthur Thévenart/CORBIS
• "Theseus and Minotaur" Mosaic in the House of the Labyrinth at Pompeii 165K
  Mimmo Jodice/CORBIS

Preparation: Before you present the lesson make sure you have the following ready:
Images you are using for examples of mosaics; lecture notes on the different time periods you are covering(Ancient Greek, Byzantine, Early Christian, Medieval, Renaissance), all necessary materials to complete the project i.e. pencils, magazines, scissors, glue, illustration board cut to size, and envelopes.

Student Instruction:

After the lecture on the historical background and the presentation and discussion of the mosaic images invite the students to construct their own mosaics. To get the students started the teacher will give the following instructions:

1. Students are to start with one sheet of the illustration board(18"x12") and on this illustration board they need to sketch out a particular scene from any book, making use of the whole illustration board. Ideas could come from the Bible, children's books, novels, etc...
2. Once the students have their idea sketched out ask them to decide on what colors they are going to use for their mosaics.
3. After the students have their colors picked out they can then start looking in magazines for particular colors. Once they find these colors they will need to cut or tear the pages of color into "little" squares of color(tesserra). Note: these squares of color should be no larger than one square inch.
4. Invite the students to start gluing the squares of color(tesserra) down in the appropriate places on the illustration board making sure the whole board is filled.

Student Assessment: Students will be assessed on the basis of their finished project. The criteria that their finished project is graded on is as follows:

1. Craftsmanship; Are the squares cut out in the correct size? Are the squares glued on correctly and neatly? Does the finished project look "finished"?
2. Use of the elements and principles of art and design that were discussed. Did the students use a broad spectrum of values in the colors they chose? Does their composition make use of the whole illustration board?
3. Creativity; Did the students create an image that correlates with the written work in which they received it from? How did they use the squares of color?
4. Effort; Did the students work to the best of their ability?

Teacher Notes: I have found when doing this project it is very important to get the students involved in an image they will enjoy working on, such as an image from a favorite story. They will be working on this for approximately three and a half weeks and you as a teacher do not want them to be disinterested. Give them a particular theme and let them choose their own image, with some guidance. Equally important is neatness. We are working with tiny pieces of paper so I have found that it is very beneficial for the students to have envelopes to store their different squares of color. I use colored magazine images as opposed to colored construction paper because you can achieve so much interesting pieces of art with the colors and values of colors the magazine images offer.