The lesson plan describes a 60-minute art class for 11th and 12th grade students focused on still lifes and color theory. Students will read two articles - "An Oak Tree" and "Still-life Paintings in a Consumer Society" - and analyze them using an "Author Says/I Say" strategy. This involves identifying statements from the text, providing their own interpretation, and discussing what they learned. The teacher will engage with students individually and in groups. The goal is for students to better understand the evolving purpose and social context of still lifes over time to apply to their own still life creations.

1. AUTHOR SAYS/I SAY LESSON PLAN
Unit: Drawing with Color Designer: Kyle Guzik
Lesson _7_ of _10_ Topic: The changing role of still lifes Teaching Date: April 1, 2015
Subject/Course: Intermediate
Drawing
Grade Level: 11 - 12 Time Frame: 60 minutes
Context:
The drawing class I worked with met during the first of four blocks from 7:20 to 8:50 am. There are 24 students in
the class in grades 11 and 12. The students were working on a unit on color. This included sketchbook work, practice
with color mixing, as well as development of foreground, middle ground, and background. The students were working on
a unit on color and drawing. The students were in the process of creating still lifes that they would draw with pastel
pencils. After completing this they will work on autobiographical portraits in which the environment surrounding the
subject of the portrait will reflect on some aspect of the subject’s personality. The students will work with reference
pictures that they will take themselves.
Ms. Smith described her students as possessing a wide range of abilities. Many students are very meticulous and
take a long time to create a work. Ms. Stephenson stated that a few of her students are very bright and several are
extremely bright. She stated that these students would be cooperative and do a good job on just about any assignment.
None of the students have IEP’s for gifted services. Some students are described as disinterested. Four students have a
high number of absences and would prefer to spend their time sleeping or typing on their phones. One student has a 504
plan and a few students have ADD and need special attention particularly with organizational skills.
The students will need background knowledge of color theory. The students should also be familiar with the
process of creating a still life. The readings I selected for the lesson were meant to complement the instructional
objectives of the unit. Ms. Stephenson wanted the students to use color effectively while creating still lifes. I felt it would
be useful to give some background on the purposes still lifes have served over time. For this purpose I chose R. G.
Saisselin’s (1976) essay Still-life Paintings in a Consumer Society. Still lifes emerged during the Renaissance as a distinct
genre through the production of vanity pictures. These paintings were distinctive for their symbolism of the
meaninglessness of earthly life and their depiction of the transient nature of all earthly goods and pursuits. The
autonomous still lifes of the 18th
century were paintings of objects only without accompanying figures (people). Over
time, still lifes have developed an increasingly complex interrelationship with consumer society. As Saisselin (1976)
writes, “one begins with pictures of objects at rest within tell-tale interiors that define a certain view of human pride of
possession and of human activities and vanities” and ends with “considerations on a world of objects in which the
depicted Pop art still life is but one very expensive consumer item among masses of others also presenting an indirect
picture of the human condition” (p. 203).
I intended the students to practice the Author Says/I Say strategy by reading An Oak Tree, a conceptual work of
art by Michael Craig-Martin. This warm up activity was not intended to relate closely to the themes in the unit. However
it raises the question of what are the critical characteristics of a work of art, which is relevant to students who are making
decisions on how to create still lifes. The piece is also somewhat argumentative in nature like the Saisselin article.
SOL Objectives
• AII.12 The student will identify historical and
contemporary works of art and artistic
developments
• AII.13 The student will examine and discuss
social, political, economic, and cultural factors
that influence works of art and design.
Outcome Objectives
• Students will be able to compare the functions of still
lifes from different periods.
• Students will be able to document a conversation
between themselves and an author on social, political,
economic, and cultural factors that influence works of
art and design.
Materials and Resources
• There are two readings: “An Oak Tree” by Michael
Craig-Martin and R. G. Saisselin’s “Still-life Paintings in
a Consumer Society”
• I created a glossary to accompany the reading to help
students with complicated terms
• Students will also need a variation of the Author Says/I
Homework
• There was no homework for this lesson.

2. AUTHOR SAYS/I SAY LESSON PLAN
Say chart developed for understanding argumentation
• Students will receive a copy of the chart for the warm
up and a copy for the main reading
• I prepared a PowerPoint presentation with color
images from the reading
Instructional Procedures:
Warm Up (15 minutes): The teacher will introduce the concept of the Author Says/I Say chart and explain the purposes of
each section. The students will read the hand out of the text for An Oak Tree. The students will complete the chart for
three concepts they choose from the reading. The students will work in pairs and will discuss the arguments they found
for the “Author Says...” section and their own interpretations in the “I Say…” section with their peers before making
connections and developing inferences in the “And So…” section. The teacher will rotate around the room engaging with
each student. The teacher will point out examples of effective student progress.
Independent Practice (35 minutes): The students will read the Saisselin article. The students will complete the Author
Says/I Say chart using the same procedure as in the warm up. The students will enter responses for five separate
concepts. The teacher will continue to work around the room engaging students in discussions based on the concepts
identified in the text.
Conclusion (10 minutes): The teacher will present the students with color images of works discussed in the reading. The
teacher will provide background information about the works in relationship to the key themes of the reading. The
students will share conversations they have documented with the reading strategy.
Differentiation: Students were placed in pairs based on similar artistic interests. Students have the opportunity to match
themselves with peers of similar interests and ability levels. This lesson provided opportunity for a great deal of one-on-
one teacher-student interaction. I was able to mentor students who were having trouble and encourage more advanced
students to consider more complex concepts.
Accommodations / Modifications: I allowed the students to work at their own pace as long as they were being
productive. This meant that some of the students completed more of the assignment while others completed less. I
provided feedback in individual conversations appropriate to the student’s level of progress.
Assessment
(Formative)
• Formative assessments were conducted through
observation of student work and conversations with
the students about their progress.
(Summative)
• The students completed an Author Says/I Say table to
document their conversations.

3. AUTHOR SAYS/I SAY LESSON PLAN
Instructions
First we will read the art work An Oak Tree By Michael Craig-Martin
1) Please write your name in the blank space at the top right of the page.
2) Look at the image and read the statements the artist wrote about the work
3) Instructions for Author Says…
Choose a statement from the text. The text should include an argument or some kind of claim.
Q: Yes, of course. What I’ve done is change a glass of water into a full-grown oak tree without
altering the accidents of the glass of water.
A: The accidents?
Q: Yes. The colour, feel, weight, size…
4) Instructions for I Say…
Elaborate on the statement. Do you agree with the statement? What does the statement mean to
you?
Is the artist running a scam? What does it mean to alter an object without changing it’s physical form?
Many Catholics believe in transubstantiation where the Eucharist becomes the body and blood of
Christ. Is the artist making fun of religion?
5) Instructions for And So…
This is where you register how you have pulled your thinking into ideas you have learned from
this text. It will be easiest to fill out this section if you have read the full text. Discuss your
Author Says… and I say… entries with your partner. Write what you have learned from the
text in the And So… blank.
The author has created a work of conceptual art. The work demonstrates that art can be an idea. The
work is interesting because it is intentional (the artist has made choices on purpose) and it plays with
the notion of subjective experience. Is the glass of water an oak tree? I am not sure but the next time I
see a glass of water on a shelf I may look at it differently.
Next we will read Still-Life Paintings in a Consumer Society by R. G. Saisselin
1) Read the glossary to familiarize yourself with some of the more challenging terms in the text
2) Read the full article individually.
3) Use the same procedure to fill out the three blanks. Find a quote from the text where the author
makes a claim. Write your interpretation or how you relate to the claim. Discuss your responses with
your partner. Then write what you have learned about that claim from the text.

4. AUTHOR SAYS/I SAY LESSON PLAN
4) Repeat the procedure until you have filled out the full page.
5) Please write small and include lots of information. Thank you so much for your participation!

5. AUTHOR SAYS/I SAY LESSON PLAN
Author Says… I Say… And So…

6. AUTHOR SAYS/I SAY LESSON PLAN
Glossary
Here are some somewhat unfamiliar words that are important to understand when reading this article.
The words are presented in the order they appear in the text. These are not the full definitions for all of
the words. I have included the definitions most relevant to the reading.
Protean - 1) of or resembling Proteus (ancient Greek sea-god or god of rivers and oceans) in having a varied nature or
ability to assume different forms 2) displaying great diversity or variety : versatile
Mercantilism - 1) the theory or practice of mercantile pursuits : commercialism 2) an economic system developing during
the decay of feudalism to unify and increase the power and especially the monetary wealth of a nation by a strict
governmental regulation of the entire national economy usually through policies designed to secure an accumulation of
bullion, a favorable balance of trade, the development of agriculture and manufactures, and the establishment of foreign
trading monopolies
Neo-Keynesian - Neo-Keynesian economics is a school of macroeconomic thought that was developed in the post-war
period from the writings of John Maynard Keynes. 2) Keynesianism- the economic theories and programs ascribed to John
M. Keynes and his followers; specifically : the advocacy of monetary and fiscal programs by government to increase
employment and spending
Aesthetic - 1) a : of, relating to, or dealing with aesthetics or the beautiful <aesthetic theories> b : artistic <a work of
aesthetic value> c : pleasing in appearance : attractive 2) appreciative of, responsive to, or zealous about the beautiful;
also : responsive to or appreciative of what is pleasurable to the senses
Par excellence- better than all others
Utilitarian - 1) of or relating to or advocating utilitarianism (see also utilitarianism) 2) Utilitarianism a doctrine that the
useful is the good and that the determining consideration of right conduct should be the usefulness of its consequences;
specifically : a theory that the aim of action should be the largest possible balance of pleasure over pain or the greatest
happiness of the greatest number
Vanity Pictures - In the arts, vanitas is a type of symbolic work of art especially associated with still life painting in
Flanders and the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries, though also common in other places and periods. The Latin
word means "vanity" and loosely translated corresponds to the meaninglessness of earthly life and the transient nature of all
earthly goods and pursuits. Ecclesiastes 1:2;12:8 from the Bible is often quoted in conjunction with this term.[1]
The Vulgate
(Latin translation of the Bible) renders the verse as Vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas.[Eccl. 1:2;12:8]
The verse is translated as
Vanity of vanities; all is vanity by the King James Version of the Bible. Vanity is used here in its older (especially pre-14th
century) sense of "futility".[2]
Prose - writing that is not poetry : ordinary writing
Concrete Poetry - poetry in which the poet's intent is conveyed by the graphic patterns of letters, words, or symbols rather
than by the conventional arrangement of words
Didactic - 1) a : designed or intended to teach b : intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and
entertainment <didactic poetry> 2) making moral observations
Hegel - 1) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel 1770–1831 German philosopher 2) Hegelianism- the philosophy of Hegel that
places ultimate reality in ideas rather than in things and that uses dialectic to comprehend an absolute idea behind
phenomena
Nostalgia - pleasure and sadness that is caused by remembering something from the past and wishing that you could
experience it again

7. AUTHOR SAYS/I SAY LESSON PLAN
Discursive – 1) a : moving from topic to topic without order : rambling b : proceeding coherently from topic to topic 2)
marked by analytical reasoning 3) of or relating to discourse <discursive practices>
Narrative – 1) something that is narrated : story, account 2) the art or practice of narration 3) the representation in art of an
event or story; also : an example of such a representation
Subjective – 1) philosophy : relating to the way a person experiences things in his or her own mind 2) based on feelings or
opinions rather than facts
Ubiquitous - seeming to be seen everywhere
Rapport - a friendly relationship
Autonomous still lifes - still lifes of objects only, without accompanying figures (people)
Assemblage - an artistic composition made from scraps, junk, and odds and ends (as of paper, cloth, wood, stone, or metal)
Chiaroscuro – 1) pictorial representation in terms of light and shade without regard to color a : the arrangement or
treatment of light and dark parts in a pictorial work of art b : the interplay or contrast of dissimilar qualities (as of mood or
character) 2) a 16th century woodcut technique involving the use of several blocks to print different tones of the same
color; also : a print made by this technique 3) the interplay of light and shadow on or as if on a surface 3) the quality of
being veiled or partly in shadow
Patrician - a person who is a member of the highest social class
Nihilism – 1) a : a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless b
: a doctrine that denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths 2) a : a doctrine or belief that
conditions in the social organization are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake independent of any
constructive program or possibility b : capitalized : the program of a 19th century Russian party advocating revolutionary
reform and using terrorism and assassination
Physiocratic – relating to a member of a school of political economists founded in 18th century France and characterized
chiefly by a belief that government policy should not interfere with the operation of natural economic laws and that land is
the source of all wealth
Phenomenon - something (such as an interesting fact or event) that can be observed and studied and that typically is
unusual or difficult to understand or explain fully
Subordinate – 1) in a position of less power or authority than someone else 2) less important than someone or something
else
Salient - very important or noticeable
Proustian – 1) relating to Marcel Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Proust 1871–1922 French novelist 2) of pleasure)
Derived from personal memory.
Pre-cellophane – before the days of any of a variety of transparent plastic films, especially one made of processed
cellulose.
Unwonted - not normal, usual, or expected
Surrealistic – 1) having a strange dreamlike atmosphere or quality like that of a surrealist painting 2) Surreal - marked by
the intense irrational reality of a dream; also : unbelievable, fantastic
Problematical - difficult to understand, solve, or fix

8. AUTHOR SAYS/I SAY LESSON PLAN
Michael Craig-Martin An Oak Tree