Art Lesson: Can Art Change Society?
Lesson Plan
1 hour 20 minutesGrades9, 10, 11, 12Visual and Performing Arts
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Written by Carolyn McGrath
About this lesson
In this lesson, students investigate how artists use their platforms to spread awareness about climate change, then write a reflection.
Inquire: Students discuss how art and artists change society and the role of art in addressing climate change impacts.
Investigate: Students learn about six artists addressing climate change through their art.
Inspire: Students reflect and write about how art and artists can change society, specifically how art can be used to raise awareness about climate change.
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Everything you need to teach it
How to edit these materials (video)Teaching tips
Suggestions
- Students consider the role of art as a form of climate activism and are exposed to a variety of artists and types of art addressing climate change.
- Student and teacher rubrics are provided in the Student Reflection and Rubrics document.
- Students can engage in various levels of art analysis including medium, colors, shapes, lines, composition, and principles of visual design to aid in interpretation.
- Teachers can modify the assignment and assessment as needed.
- Teachers can incorporate specific writing techniques for personal reflection or art analysis such as descriptive writing, comparative analysis, or contextualization.
Prerequisites
- This is lesson 1 of 3 in our 9th-12th grade Art Unit: Portraits.
- This lesson should follow a basic introduction to climate change science, exploration of global and local impacts, and climate change solutions.
- Some prior knowledge of contemporary art practices is useful, but not required.
- Teachers should preview the mentioned artists and art, highlighting key artistic components to discuss.
Differentiation
- Teachers can provide instruction multimodally.
- Students can engage in brainstorming, outlining, or verbally process before writing.
- Students can use various visual art principles such as balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, proportion scale, etc., to support their interpretations and reflections.
- Students can compare and contrast the messaging and artistic components of two of the artists in the Investigate section.
- Students can discuss how changing one specific artistic element would affect the message and intent of an art piece.
From the scientist review
This lesson encourages students to think about how artists and their art can be used to teach and inspire others about climate change. Many videos are included in the slideshow. Videos include one of Sarah Lewis, an art historian discussing how one person’s artwork can shift things, and a second one featuring “Earthrise,” a poem by Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history. There are an additional six videos covering artists and their artwork about climate change. This lesson finishes with great reflection questions and an opportunity for class discussion. This would be a great lesson for teaching the effects of art on the public perception of climate change.
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About the teacher writer
Carolyn McGrath
K-12 Art Teacher
Carolyn McGrath has been an art educator since 1998. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Art, English, and Psychology from Rutgers University, a Certificate in Art Education from Parsons School of Design, and a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Art from the Maine College of Art. She is a certified K–12 Art Educator in the state of New Jersey and has received multiple honors for her teaching, including the Governor’s Educator of the Year Award and recognition from the New Jersey Art Education Association for excellence in arts education.
