UNIT TITLE: Family Matters

Unit Overview: Students come from a variety of family backgrounds. This unit will help
students to research their family history and heritage, construct their personal family tree, and
to recreate a family memory. Students will observe and discuss artists from different cultures
and how they portray family, and view various media representations of family to compare and
contrast their personal family.
Target Grade Level: High School

National Core Art Standards

VA:Pr6.1.HSI
o Analyze and describe the impact that an exhibition or collection has on personal
awareness of social, cultural, or political beliefs and understandings.
VA:Cr1.2.HSI
o Shape an artistic investigation of an aspect of present-day life using a
contemporary practice of art or design.
VA:Re7.1.HSI
o Hypothesize ways in which art influences perception and understanding of
human experiences.
VA:Cn11.1.HSI
o Document the process of developing ideas from early stages to fully elaborated
ideas.

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1. What overarching understandings are desired?

Artists incorporate their family in their artwork.

People think of family differently in other cultures.
Each family is unique and has a unique history.

2. What are the overarching essential questions?

What is family?
How do artists from different cultures portray family?
How has family changed over time?

Observe how different cultures view family.

Observe and discuss how artists represent and portray family.
Know how to use different media and techniques to portray family.
Know how to research their family and heritage and apply their research in to artwork.
Write characteristics of each family member and represent each person in artwork.

How is culture represented in your family?

What makes your family unique?

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3. As a result of this unit, students will:
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4. What essential and unit questions will be the focus of this unit?
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What is your role in your family?

5. What evidence will show that students understand the connections between art and
family?

Performance Tasks/Projects:
Project #1: Family Tree
Estimated Completion Time: 5-7, 55-minute class periods

Lesson Objectives:
Observe and discuss how artists represent and portray family.
Know how to use different media and techniques to portray family.
Know how to research their family and heritage and apply their research in to artwork.

Tools and Materials

For Teacher: Uwe Ommers series 1000 Families, Leave it to Beaver clip, Modern
Family family tree, family tree examples from Pinterest board labeled, Family
Unit., link to genealogy forms, Family Tree rubric.
For Students: Notebook paper and pencils, canvas, paint, pens or Sharpies.

Discussion Questions: Look through 1000 Families.

What is family? What makes someone a part of a family? How does a friend (or someone not
related by blood) join a family?

Activity: Watch Leave it to Beaver clip. How is your family similar and different from the
Cleaver family?
Slide of Modern Family family tree. How is your family similar and different from the Pritchett
family?

Process: Define nuclear family and extended family. For the first list, students will list their
nuclear family (parents and siblings, including step family and half family) and then list as
much of their extended family as they can (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins). Next,
students will list people that are considered family (close friends of their parents or
grandparents, friends that are like siblings, etc.) For the second list, they will think of one or
two characteristics of personalities, jobs, appearance, etc., that correspond with each family
member. Using the lists, they will design a modern family tree following these steps. See family
tree examples.
1
Students will brainstorm ideas of what they want their tree/circle/chart to look like.
2
Using the list of names, they will begin to draw out their family tree.
3
Students will paint their tree and then add family members.
4
Each family member will be represented by their characteristics. They can choose a
symbol, color, or another idea to represent that person.

Assessment: Students will complete the Self Critique section in the rubric.
Students will answer the following questions:
What characteristics make your family unique?
If Uwe Ommer took your familys photo, what would it look like and who would be in it?

Artists:
Uwe Ommer photographed one thousand families from all over the world over the span of ten
years. Choose some of the families from the series that are diverse and show a variety of
family cultures. This displays the variety of families in a variety of countries.
http://goo.gl/oeYBOM
Pinterest board link: http://goo.gl/8kMOLh

References:
ABC.com. (2014, Jul 10). The Modern Family Tree. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/7AXsJ4
Nvlynnae. (2014, Jun 16). Free Genealogy Forms and Charts. Retrieved from
http://goo.gl/GWyjQj
TheMacCala (2010, Jun 15). Leave it to Beaver Classic Clip Season 3 [Video]. Retrieved
from http://goo.gl/4rQZGB
U. Ommer. (2010). 1000 Families. http://goo.gl/oeYBOM

Project #2: Family Heritage and Culture

Estimated Completion Time: 7, 55-minute class periods

Lesson Objectives:
Observe how different cultures view family.
Observe and discuss how artists represent and portray family.

Tools and Materials

For Teacher: Ancestry.com Surname Search webpage, family crests/coat of arms
examples from Pinterest board labeled, Family Unit, access to computer lab for
heritage research, link to genealogy forms, Family Heritage rubric.
For Student: Newsprint or scrap paper for preliminary sketches, nice drawing paper for
the final project, pencils and colored pencils.

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Discussion Questions: What traditions/cultures does your family have?
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Process: Students will research their last name and their mothers maiden name through
Ancestry.coms Surname Origin search engine. If the student doesnt know their mothers
maiden name, they can use another family surname.
(For example: McLeod Name Meaning Scottish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Leid, a
patronymic from a Gaelic form of the Old Norse personal name Ljtr ugly.)
Once students know both surname origins, they will research the culture of the origins and
answer the following questions about both names. They can ask their family for help in finding
out the origins of the names and in answering these questions.
1. What is the country of origin for each surname?
2. What are some alternate spellings for each surname?
3. What is the crest and/or coat of arms for each surname?
4. What is the motto for each surname?
5. If either name has a tartan, what colors are in it and design of the plaid?
If they find more information about their last name and heritage, then they can use that for their
project as well.
Using the influence of their heritage, students will create a newer and more modern version of
the coat of arms to represent their family. The coat of arms is required to be in the traditional

shape of a shield, but does not need to have traditional emblems. Each emblem and color
must signify something of importance regarding the students family. Students will begin with
preliminary drawings on newsprint before beginning their final drawing on drawing paper.

Assessment: How has your family kept any traditions or cultures from your heritage?
Students will pair up to complete their critiques. The partner is to fill out the Self Critique
section of the rubric.

Artists:
View examples of family crests, coat of arms, and mottos on the Pinterest board
http://goo.gl/8kMOLh

References:
Ancestry.com. (2014). Discover the meaning and history behind your last name.
http://goo.gl/STO8MQ
Nvlynnae. (2014, Jun 16). Free Genealogy Forms and Charts. Retrieved from
http://goo.gl/GWyjQj

Project #3: Family Memories

Estimated Completion Time: 5, 55-minute class periods

Lesson Objectives:
Write characteristics of each family member and represent each person in artwork.
Know how to use different media and techniques to portray family.
Know how to research their family and heritage and apply their research in to artwork.

Tools and Materials

For Teacher: Carmen Lomas Garza video clip, link to Carmen Lomas Garzas website,
link to the Metropolitan Museums Mary Cassatt page, Family Memories rubric.
For Student: 10x10 canvas, paint, oil pastels, chalk pastels, charcoal, pencils,
crayons, colored pencils, watercolors, pen and ink, permanent markers, any other
medium you deem fit.

Discussion Questions: What is your role in your family? What are some of the chores and
jobs you have to do around the house? Why are those chores or jobs important?

Activity: Watch clip Creative Arts Alumni: Carmen Lomas Garza. Then, observe Garzas
work before answering the questions.
Where does Garza get her ideas for her paintings? What does Garza hope people think
about when they look at her paintings?
Read about Mary Cassatt from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, then observe Cassatts Young
Mother Sewing.
Cassatt began painting scenes of mothers with children. What would be reasons
behind this shift in subject?

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How are Cassatts paintings similar to Garzas? How are they different?
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Process: Students will brainstorm a memory that involves their family traditions or culture.
Similar to Garzas paintings, the student must be somewhere in the artwork since this is from
their memory. After coming up with three to five different ideas, students will choose two to
sketch out in preliminary drawings. During this preliminary stage of the process, students will
need to observe their family and take notes on how they respond to each other. How do your
parents respond to children, how do siblings respond to each other, and how do you respond
to other family members? These notes will help them portray their family memory in their
artwork. Students will decide on which of their two preliminary drawings they want to make as
their final project. The final project will be 10x10 and will consist of at least three different
mediums.

Assessment: Students will discuss in class: What is your role in your memory artwork? How
do you see yourself responding to your family members? Complete the Self Critique section
of the rubric.

Artists:
Carmen Lomas Garza paints from her childhood memories. Students will need to think of
memories from their childhood that they would like to paint.
http://goo.gl/iHbBF8
Mary Cassatt is in contrast to Garza because she painted mother and child scenes that she
observed. She was not a mother, but still portrayed an accurate view because of the attention
to relationship. Students will need to pay attention to their family members to accurately
portray the relationships.
http://goo.gl/nokSEq
The Family Unit Pinterest board has some examples of both artists.
http://goo.gl/8kMOLh

References:
Cassatt M. (1900). Young Mother Sewing. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
http://goo.gl/VJvv6m
Garza C.L. (2012). Paintings. http://goo.gl/iHbBF8
Itelson M. & Mauricio L. (Producers). (2011, Mar 8). Creative Arts Alumni: Carmen Lomas
Garza. http://goo.gl/LYALhs
Weinberg H. B. (2004 Oct). Mary Stevenson Cassatt. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
http://goo.gl/nokSEq

6. Student Self-Assessments, Quizzes, tests, and other academic prompts

Essay Questions

How do different cultures view family? Describe two examples from the media used in
this unit.

How has family changed over time? List comparisons from the examples of Leave it to
Beaver and Modern Family.

Student Self-Assessments

Describe how your definition of family has changed since the beginning of this unit.

Describe your role in your family. What are your expectations do you have (either from
yourself or other family members)?

7. Given the targeted understandings, other unit goals, and the assessment evidence
identified, what knowledge and skills are needed?

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Students will need to know:
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How to use various techniques and media to portray family.

How to use research in artwork.

Think abstractly about family members.

Conduct research about family history.

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Students will need to be able to:
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8. What teaching and learning experiences will equip students to demonstrate the
targeted understandings and skills?

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Projects that involve representing family in various ways.

Observing and discussing artwork from different cultures.

References:
ABC.com. (2014, Jul 10). The Modern Family Tree. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/7AXsJ4

Ancestry.com. (2014). Discover the meaning and history behind your last name.
http://goo.gl/STO8MQ

Cassatt M. (1900). Young Mother Sewing. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

http://goo.gl/VJvv6m

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Garza C.L. (2012). Paintings. http://goo.gl/iHbBF8
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Itelson M. & Mauricio L. (Producers). (2011, Mar 8). Creative Arts Alumni: Carmen Lomas
Garza. http://goo.gl/LYALhs

Nvlynnae. (2014, Jun 16). Free Genealogy Forms and Charts. Retrieved from
http://goo.gl/GWyjQj

TheMacCala (2010, Jun 15). Leave it to Beaver Classic Clip Season 3 [Video]. Retrieved
from http://goo.gl/4rQZGB

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U. Ommer. (2010). 1000 Families. http://goo.gl/oeYBOM
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Weinberg H. B. (2004 Oct). Mary Stevenson Cassatt. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
http://goo.gl/nokSEq