Question for Understanding
What other work can be associated with the big idea underlying this work?

Objective
Students recognize themes addressed by various artists.

Activity Ideas for All Students
Ask students to list themes from movies, TV, or novels that they have experienced more than once, such as young love, betrayal, the beauty of nature, struggle with nature, moral conflict, family loyalty, coping with death, patriotism, confused communication, friendship, sacrifice, love across cultural divides, etc.

Show the DVD segment, “Big Ideas,” asking students to listen for themes the artists use in their work. Give students practice and feedback by using some or all of the interactive “Big Ideas” CD activities, which you can project for an entire class or which individual students can view in a computer lab. Students can use the CD to 1) review what they learned on the DVD, 2) apply what they learned to their everyday visual world, and 3) recognize how inquiry into themes applies to old and new art.

Activity Ideas for Art Students
Ask students to review their own portfolios to see if any general themes emerge.  Ask students to use a theme from one of their earlier works as the starting point for a new artwork addressing the same theme in a different way.

Complementary Activities from Stories of Art
A K-12 curriculum resource from CRIZMAC
The theme, Global Village, invites students to discover diverse artworks that address broad universal issues and ideas.