Area: Aesthetics

The Day the Crayons Quit

The Day the Crayons Quit (Daywalt and Jeffers) offers a humorous foray into re-imagining the habitual roles we play in group activities. In this lesson, the class room teacher will mirror Duncan’s shift as the “artiste” to the “note-taker” and give the students the opportunity to shape how class activities could be run. By using The Day the Crayons Quit

“Afternoon of a Faun”

Whole Sequence Breakdown: Welcome and warm-up (c. 5-10 minutes) Brief introduction to the “scene” of “Afternoon of a Faun” (5 minutes) Exploring Various Media (20 minutes) Whole-group share and discussion (20 minutes) Possible extensions (for extra time, or additional lessons) Welcome and Warm-up Welcome students and share any updates, or follow-up on points from the “Afternoon of a Faun”

Water Walk by John Cage

Water Walk by John Cage Whole Sequence Breakdown: Welcome and warm-up (c. 5-10 minutes) Brief introduction to John cage and Water Walk  (5 minutes) Viewing to Water Walk (without giving away the “secret”) (5 minutes) Small group discussions (c. 10-15 minutes) Whole-group share and discussion (20 minutes) Possible extensions (for extra time, or additional lessons) Water Walk by John Cage

“Respect” by Aretha Franklin

black and white photo of Arthea Franklin singing

Objectives: To explore the ways Aretha Franklin’s song “Respect” can inspire and facilitate philosophic discussions of respect, especially with regards to identity. This lesson is designed primarily as a way of using music to do moral philosophizing; however, it could easily overlap with philosophizing about music and/or aesthetics simultaneously. Whole Sequence Breakdown: Welcome and warm-up “Respect” by Aretha Franklin

Baboon on the Moon

Baboon and the Moon still

This lesson plan can be used either in a classroom or online. Plot Summary: This six-minute film is about a baboon who lives alone on the Moon. Wordless and moving, the video portrays the baboon as full of longing for the Earth, struggling with feelings of sadness and loneliness. Looking wistfully out at Earth, he Baboon on the Moon

On the Beautiful and the Sublime

On the Beautiful and the Sublime…Aesthetics as Subjective Experience One of the longstanding questions that’s been debated in the field of aesthetics involves the nature of Beauty; one question in this area asks us where Beauty lies, in the object or in our eyes.  Taking this further, if Beauty is in us rather than in On the Beautiful and the Sublime

What Do We Find Beautiful?

Rose on sheet of music

Introduction Students should be given a week to do the following assignment (though it can be revised as needed to fit your time constraints): Pick as many “beautiful” songs as you are old. So, for example, if you are 16, you will pick 16 of the songs you feel are the most “beautiful.” Please make What Do We Find Beautiful?

What is Art?

Have each student draw two pictures. One drawing must be a drawing they would call art, and the other one they would not call art. Ask the students who want to do so to share their drawings. Some questions you can consider include: What makes one art and the other not? Does the intention of What is Art?

Can animals make music?

3 monkeys playing musical instruments

We all love music. Some of us sing daily, if just to ourselves. It could be our favorite tune from Frozen or simply a tune we made up ourselves. What makes sound music? Let’s start with ourselves. The teacher/facilitator may wish to share this video and have the children sing along, or you may choose Can animals make music?