Kelley Finley

Lesson Title: Art Heals

Enduring Idea: ​Art can act as a form of self reflection and healing.

Overview:
● Lesson Rationale: ​This lesson will help teach students how to reflect on their own
emotions and how to help alleviate stress by practicing and learning about self-care,
while also highlighting the way art can be a form of therapy and promote healing. This
lesson is valuable as it will help teach students an important life skill, practicing self-care
and how to reflect on their emotions, stress, and anxieties and provide them with different
ways of combating stressors such as: making art, journaling, meditation, yoga, and
restorative circles.
● Lesson Summary: ​In this lesson, students will be exploring how art can function as a
form of healing. Students will be individually reflecting on their stressors and anxieties
while using art as a way to represent how they practice self-care. They will perform
self-care through art by making, exploring, and creating. The teacher will lead students in
reflective, meditative, and self-care activities each class inspired by an artist's personal
self-care routine.
● Artists:
○ John Edmonds

○
○ Susan Cianciolo
 ○ Misha Kahn

● Key Concepts:
○ Art is a form of therapy.
○ Art helps individuals explore their inner self.
○ Art is a personal interaction between physical actions and emotions.
● Essential Questions:
○ How does art help people heal?
○ What does self-care mean to you?
○ How do you feel when creating your personal artwork?
● National and Pennsylvania Standards:
 ○ Pennsylvania:
■ 9.1.8.A. Know and use the elements and principles of each art form to
create works in the arts and humanities. i.e Visual arts: multimedia (​Skill)
○ National:
■ VA:Cr3.1.7a Reflect on and explain important information about personal
artwork in an artist statement or another format. (​Knowledge)
■ VA:Cn11.1.7a Analyze how response to art is influenced by
understanding the time and place in which it was created. (​Disposition)
● Objectives:
○ Students will express how they use art as a way to heal by describing the piece
they created and its importance to them through an artist statement. ​(Knowledge)
VA:Cr3.1.7a
○ Students will learn what a multimedia art piece is through creating, exploring, and
incorporating a variety of mediums into their artwork. ​(Skill) 9.1.8.A.
○ Students will expand their beliefs on the relationship between art and healing
through a written reflection that documents the thought process behind their piece
during the time it was created, what stressors they were reflecting upon, and
finally how they feel after creating the piece. ​(Disposition) VA:Cn11.7a
● Assessment:
○ Pre-assessment:
■ Entrance slip on the first day.
○ Formative:
■ Students will complete the “I have stress, but I also have self-care”
worksheet and record how they personally deal with stressors, and get
them brainstorming about what they will do for their art project.
○ Summative:
■ Collection of students short written reflection, artist's statement, and final
rubric.
● Accommodations and Modifications:
○ Students who are shy do not have to share with the class on the final day or share
any of their personal reflections.
○ Students with sensory processing disorder can complete the assignment digitally
so they do not have to get messy or come in contact with materials that make
them uncomfortable.
● Interdisciplinary Connections:
○ Psychology will be connected to this lesson because students will have to analyze
how they are feeling in a moment and figure out how to handle their emotions or
recognize what would help them to alleviate their stressors. Learning and
practicing self-care is a skill that will benefit students throughout their life to help
with their psychological wellness.
● Instructional Procedures:
○ Day 1: ​Playing and experimenting with mediums.
■ Hook: ​Teacher will begin handing out the entrance slip, followed by a
quick discussion about the entrance slip questions. Teacher will then
introduce the project and the artist, John Edmonds, and his self care
routine. “​When I don’t have time to talk to a friend or see a therapist, I
keep a journal”​ Students will try out one element of his routine -
journaling for ten minutes (outside if weather permits).
■ Development: ​Teacher will provide the students with the information of a
study done that found, ‘​three-quarters of participants experienced lower
levels​ of the ​stress​ ho​rmone cortisol during their 45-minute art-making
session – regardless of previous art experience.” This will lead into the
next part of the lesson which will be time for students to lower their
cortisol levels by playing, exploring, and experimenting with different
mediums or art techniques: watercolor, gel prints, shaving cream
marbling, painting, pen and ink, paper cutting, etc.
■ Closure: ​Students will be given the worksheet, “I have stress, but I also
have Self-Care” to take home and bring in for the next class.
○ Day 2: ​Creating your Self-Care routine visually.
■ Hook: ​Students will try another artist's routine, Susan Cianciolo, and
meditate for the first few minutes of class. Teacher will briefly explain
what meditation is and how it can help relax a person and alleviate stress.
■ Development: ​Students will use the worksheet previously assigned as
reference for their ideas and begin working on their project creating
symbols of what they do for self care.
■ Closure: ​Teacher will play the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN2rTaFUlxs
○ Day 3: ​Bringing it all together.
■ Hook: ​Teacher will introduce the last artist, Misha Kahn. Students will
take part in being active by doing yoga. ​“Being creative feels like my
tether to a connected humanity and world. It’s when I feel tuned into
everything the most. I count it as spiritual.” Misha Kahn.
■ Development:​ Students will have the day to work on their artworks
focusing on their imagery and continuing to explore the different mediums
they are the most attracted to.
■ Closure: ​A short discussion will act as the day’s closure: How does art
help people heal?
○ Day 4: ​Reflection Day
■ Hook: ​Have students read back to their day one journal entry. Allow them
time to reflect on what they wrote and write down their reflections.
 ● Students should focus on how they felt initially at the beginning of
the project, what stressors or anxieties they were dealing with,
things they learned about themselves and art, and how they felt
after creating the piece.
■ Development: ​Students will have class time to work on the finishing
touches of their piece:details, glueing, writing artist statement, etc.
■ Closure: ​Restorative circle- Students will be asked to share what routines,
things, or practices they do to practice self-care. Students who are
comfortable talking about their piece and what specific imagery they
chose can share in the circle at this time. After the students voluntarily
share the projects, written reflections (done in journal), and artist
statements will be turned in.
● Teacher Preparation:
○ Knowledge on self-care, meditation, and journaling
○ Yoga exercise
○ Powerpoint showing artists
○ Materials prepared for the lesson i.e. watercolors, paper, brushes, pen and ink, etc.
○ https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-7-artists-self-care-rituals-creative

Art Heals Rubric

Created a piece of art that Student created a Student did not create a
incorporated more than one multimedia work of art that multimedia piece of
medium. ​(Skill) incorporated more than one artwork and only used one
medium, and showed an medium.
exploration of materials.

Student wrote an artist The student wrote an artist The student did not write
statement. ​(Knowledge) statement that mentioned an artist statement.
how art helps them and
why their artwork is
important to them.

Written reflection. The student wrote a The student did not write a
(Disposition) reflection on the 1st day of reflection on the 1st or last
the project and the last day day of the project.
of the project recording
their beliefs and ideas on
how art heals and how they
felt throughout the project.