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E-mail contact
Yvonne Troxell
ytroxel@boston.k12.ma.us
Robert Lamothe
rlamothe@boston.k12.ma.us
Joan Syms
jsyms@boston.k12.ma.us
Teacher Bio
Yvonne Troxell teaches Art at South Boston Odyssey, Excel, and
Monument High Schools. She has also taught elementary Art for
a number of years. A strong advocate for experiential learning
and student directed curriculum, she finds service learning to
be valuable for both students and teachers. Yvonne is a Lead Teacher
for the Boston Public Schools and a National Board Certified Teacher
in Adolescent through Young Adult Visual Art.
Currently a Technology Teacher at Young Achievers,
a BPS Pilot School, Robert Lamothe taught Instructional Technology
at South Boston's Excel High where he and his students enthusiastically
contributed to this project.
Joan Syms, Art Teacher at Boston
Community Leadership Academy (BCLA), a School to Career School,
has been a Boston Public School teacher for 20 years. She has
taught Reading, Special Education classes and Art at all levels.
Graduating from Museum School of Fine Arts, Boston and Tufts University
and with a MEd from UMass Boston, Yvonne incorporates technology,
photography, and computer visualizations into her multi-cultural
arts curricula.
Subject Areas
Visual Arts, Web Design and Advanced Multi-Media Presentations,
English Language Arts, Social Studies
Grade Levels
9 - 12
Students
Inclusive
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Artists
Act Against Homelessness
| Authenticity |
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Key Question
How can art students understand the
causes of homelessness and help homeless families?
Overview
Homelessness in the big
city. Do young people see it as a curse or a cause to be addressed?
Three high school classes, in the fields of visual arts and
instructional technology, vow to do something. Collaborating
on ways to understand homelessness, they research and discuss
issues. The young artists identify university and community
partnerships that provide opportunities to use their art and
media skills. Making murals for a homeless children's party,
organizing a conference on homelessness, and working at an
after school program for homeless children allow them to explore
causes and solutions. Determined that their messages will
be seen and heard, students produce and exhibit a web site,
videos, and graphic arts confirming that artists can successfully
act against homelessness.
| Active
Exploration +
Applied
Learning + Adult
Connections |
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Classroom
Activities
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Community
Activities
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Career
Activities
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Agree
to collaborate with 3 classes on homelessness. |
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Read articles
& view teacher produced slide show on
homelessness. |
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Discuss
service options. |
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Work
with children at after-school program for
homeless children. |
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Plan
homelessness conference at UMass Boston.
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Produce
web site, art, creative writing & video
to document project.
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Make
quilt for homeless shelter.
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Prepare
display boards for school art exhibit.
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Arrange
dates & visits to homeless shelter. |
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Work with children on original play &
books about life in a shelter. |
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Install murals at party for homeless children
& photograph
participants. |
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Spend
day at UMass Boston homeless conference. |
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Screen
student produced video at Mass College of
Art. |
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Donate
quilt to homeless shelter. |
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Exhibit boards, art
& creative writing at exhibit. |
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Show
video & explain activities to students,
staff, parents & administrators during
exhibit. |
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Reflect
& plan to continue making art as a conveyor
of messages about homelessness. |
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Interview
media teacher about experience as Web Developer. |
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Discuss
requirements leading to National Board Certification
with Visual Arts teacher. |
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View
videos of artists as social activists. |
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View
how successful documentary filmmaking can
influence public opinion. |
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Investigate
opportunities in multi
media field. |
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Understand how social programs help homeless
families. |
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Research
how Youth Opportunity Grants can prepare young
people for lifelong learning & employment. |
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Academic
Rigor
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| Learning
Standards English Language Arts |
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Use
agreed-upon rules for informal and formal discussions
in small and large groups. |
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Actively
listen, respond to, and build on ideas generated
during group discussions. |
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Use information to inform or change their perspectives. |
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Summarize
and evaluate what they have learned from the discussion. |
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Conduct
interviews for research projects and writing. |
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Facilitate
discussion groups independent from the teacher. |
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Ask
for clarification when others' responses are unclear.
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Media
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Identify
visual or aural techniques used in a media message
for a particular audience. |
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Create
media presentations that effectively use graphics,
images, and/or sound to present a distinct point
of view on a topic. |
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Apply
established criteria for assessing effectiveness
of presentation, style, and content of films and
other forms of electronic communication. |
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Social
Studies
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Be
familiar with the historical key people, places,
events, documents, movements, and other details. |
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Order
events and construct timelines. |
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Demonstrate
an understanding of cause and effect, and the relations
between events. |
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Make
connections between key people and events. |
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Compare
and contrast ideas, rituals, customs, and concerns. |
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Art
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Connect
visual art making to other curriculum areas. |
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Select
appropriate materials to express ideas. |
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Understand
and applying the elements of art and design. |
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Use
self-assessment as a learning tool. |
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Show
craftsmanship and responsibility to one's work. |
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Cooperate
and collaborate during group projects. |
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School
to Career Competencies
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Demonstrate
Communication and Literacy Skills. |
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Organize
and Analyze Information. |
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Identify
and solve problems. |
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Use
technology. |
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Interact
with others. |
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Act
professionally. |
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Complete
Entire Activities. |
Assessment |
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Students
respond to questionnaires
before and after events. Web Site development
and video are regularly discussed during weekly
conferences with technology instructor. Art teachers
and students use rubric
to self evaluate graphic arts and creative writing
portfolios. Guidelines outline expectations for
reflections. Homeless
shelter workers give anecdotal summaries of students'
mentoring during after school program.
Software
or Materials Used For
technology: see web
page. For videos on artists: Jacob Lawrence,
The
Glory of Expression 1999: L & S Videos;
Faith Ringgold, The
Last Story Quilt 1999: L & S Videos; Diego
Rivera, Portrait
of an Artist: The Frescos
of Diego Rivera 2002: Home Vision Entertainment.
For literature on homelessness: articles from
newspapers and periodicals and from the Internet;
for literature on art:
To
Conserve a Legacy, American Art from Historically
Black Colleges and Universities catalogue
of exhibition 1999: Addison Gallery of American
Art & The Studio Museum in Harlem; Spirits
of the Cloth: Contemporary African American Quilts
by Carolyn Mazloomi, 1998: Clarkson N. Potter
Teacher
Developed Materials Guidelines
and Questionnaires,
Computer Slide Show, Collaboration on Web Site,
Rubric for Art Self Assessment
Student
Developed Materials Video
on Homelessness, Photography, Art
Work, Quilt, Web
Site, Books with children at shelter, Reflections
Web
Sites See list on Artists
Act Against Homelessness
Final
Words Students
learn to value and respect the lives and experiences
of other people through observation, communication,
and self-expression. Using technology and the
arts as expressive tools, students gain insight
into themselves and their society, and develop
a desire to impact change.
Teacher
Tip We have learned
so much as educators and artists about our own
students and the way learning happens. This project
will be ongoing because there are always more
questions and new ways to look for answers. After
a screening of our students' video, one student
turned to us and said, "I have more work
to do."
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