Submitted by Heidi Kreutzer
Objectives:
Content:
Students will:
- identify Carmen Lomas Garza as the artist of Curandera
- identify the folk art influences and other elements characteristic in Lomas Garza's work
- explain the role and significance of the curandera in Chicano culture
Cultural:
Students will:
- begin to develop an understanding of art as a form of cultural expression
Language: Content Obligatory
Students will:
- use the following new vocabulary terms accurately in written and verbal communication:
el tema, el incienso, el arte folklórico, la rama, la curandera, la limpiezaLanguage: Content Compatible
Students will:
- review and use adjectives (from Days 1-3) that express opinion
- use expressions of emotion (from Days 1-3) to react to the work of art
- practice / review the following language structures in order to describe Curandera: estar with prepositions of place, colors, furniture vocabulary
- use the following expressions to express opinion or hypothesis:
-creo que ...
-me parece que ...
-a lo mejor ...Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will:
- work cooperatively in small groups with each member carrying out his/her role as assigned
- use context clues to enhance reading comprehension
- demonstrate an ability to engage in active listening while using prior knowledge and context to infer meaning of unknown words
- gain practice in note taking work cooperatively in small groups to share and record opinions
Time Frame:
One 50-minute class session
Materials Needed:
Task 1:
- Curandera activity worksheets (picture of Curandera, picture of empty room with cut out objects and vocabulary sheet)
- the book Cuadros de FamiliaTask 2:
- PowerPoint or slide show of Lomas Garza's art
- graphic organizer (first distributed during Lesson 02)
Description of Assessment (Performance Project):
TASK 1
Into: To familiarize students with Curandera and its related vocabulary, I will first briefly review furniture vocabulary, colors, prepositions of place and the new vocabulary as a class.
Through: After giving students a reference sheet containing the new vocabulary, I will have them work in groups of three with one student acting as the language facilitator. One student will be given a copy of Curandera. The other will be given a picture of a room with a bed and a dresser in the center and a set of objects (copied on paper) from the painting. Student A will take an object and ask where it should be placed (e.g. ¿Dónde está ___(la lámpara)__?). Student B will respond using a preposition of place (e.g.: La lámpara está a la izquierda de la cama.). Student A will then place the object in the room and then go on to the next object. At a certain point, after comparing pictures, they can trade roles.
Beyond: Students will then be asked to discuss what they think is taking place in the painting, using the new expressions. After discussion in small groups, students will read the Spanish text that accompanies the picture in the book Cuadros de Familia), underlining words that interfere with comprehension. After discussion as a small group, in English we will discuss the meaning of the text as a class, while also hypothesizing on the meaning of unfamiliar past tense forms.
Task 2
Into: As with the other artists, I will follow the previous activities with a brief description in Spanish of Lomas Garza's life. Again, as on previous days, I would like to use a Power Point presentation to show her other works of art as I speak. I would place particular emphasis on how and why Lomas Garza has focused on Chicano culture.
Through: Students meet in the same small groups as on previous days to discuss their opinions of Curandera in Spanish and record reactions on the graphic organizer distributed on Day 2, again with a language facilitator, recorder and reporter. They will also state whether they like or dislike the subject matter and style and use adjectives and expressions from previous days to give their reasons why.
Beyond: The reporters will report back about each group's opinions and reactions to Curandera and then a brief class discussion will follow in which we discuss Lomas Garza's style and more specifically Curandera. I will tell students to start thinking about what style they will use for their individual projects and why that style might best express the struggle they've chosen to illustrate.
Assessment:
As on previous days, I will circulate through the classroom, watching, listening and commenting when necessary.
I would also collect students' graphic organizers summarizing the information and opinions about the 4 works of art studied during the unit.
References and Resources:
Lomas Garza, Carmen. Family Pictures / Cuadros de Familia. San Francisco: Children's Book Press. ISBN 0-89239-050-6
Attachments:
NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)Curandera - Vocabulario útil
Graphic Organizer (first distributed during Lesson 02)