Middle School Lesson Plan: Eco-Walk

Eco-Walk

Teacher: Nathan Reinhold

Grade Level: 5-8

Title: Eco-Walk (Google Earth and SketchUp activity)

Brief History and Background:

Eco-Walks are exploratory walks where people can learn about and experience nature while being respectful of the environment. The popularity of Eco-Walks has led to Ecotourism where people who want a similar exploratory experience in other places. Ecological tourism is ecologically and socially conscious tourism that focuses on a local culture and natural environment while attempting to minimize the adverse effects of the tourism on both the local people and environment. While people have loved to explore their own natural environments as well as the natural environments of others for a very long time, ecotourism as it is currently defined, developed in the 1980s. In 2002, the United Nations celebrated the "International Year of Ecotourism".

The natural world has influenced countless artists over the years starting with the early cave painters, who lived their lives in nature, through to contemporary artists such as Andy Goldsworthy who makes artworks in nature by arranging the natural objects he finds there including twigs, stones, mud, snow, flowers, and leaves. Talk about how Richard Long uses Eco-Walks as both a source for inspiration and a location for creating artwork. Landscape painters and photographers have been going into nature for a very long time to find subjects and inspiration for their artworks. Artists go out into their natural environments on a journey, much like an eco-walk.

National Art Content Standards:

5-8 Content Standard: 1:
· Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
5-8 Content Standard: 2:
· Using knowledge of structures and functions
5-8 Content Standard: 3:
· Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas
5-8 Content Standard: 4:
· Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
5-8 Content Standard: 5:
· Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others
5-8 Content Standard: 6:
· Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines

Technology Foundation Standards for Students:

1. Basic operations and concepts
· Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems.
· Students are proficient in the use of technology.
2. Social, ethical, and human issues
· Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.
3. Technology productivity tools
· Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
· Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.
5. Technology research tools
· Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.
6. Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools
· Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions.
· Students employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world.

Goal:

Through this lesson students will produce an eco-walk by researching environments using Google Earth and Google SketchUp.

Objectives:

1. Students will learn to use Google Earth as a research tool.
2. Students will learn to use SketchUp to create a plan.
3. Students will learn to use Google Earth to explore nature parks and preserves all over the country.
4. Students will plan an Eco-Walk.
5. Students will create an artwork responding to the environment.

Resources Materials/ Visual Aides:

· Google Earth demonstration
· Google SketchUp demonstration
· Images of cave paintings
· Images of Impressionist paintings
· Images of Cézanne’s paintings
· Images of Ansel Adams photographs
· Images of Andy Goldsworthy sculptures
· Images of Richard Long’s artwork

Supplies / Materials:

· Computer Lab
· Internet Access
· SketchUp
· Google Earth
· Notebooks
· Writing Tools
· Projector
· Art Supplies
· Printer

Teacher Preparation:

· Projected demos of Google Earth and Google SketchUp
· Directions on how to use Google Earth and Google SketchUp
· Sample SketchUp Eco-Walk plan
· Plan an Eco-Walk to a local park
· Prepare art visual aides.

Teaching:

How to look closely and experience nature for to inform ones appreciation of art and culture. How to plan an experience to enrich themselves culturally, aesthetically while also learning about the natural world both near and far.
Introduction: Students will be introduced to this lesson with a brief introduction of several parks and nature preserves. Students will discuss artists that they think have been inspired by nature in their art. Through a power point presentation, students will be introduced to various artists that have used or addressed nature in their art. Talk about cave painters, landscape painters, Monet, Andy Goldsworthy, and Richard Long are some examples of many. Students will go on a Eco-Walk in a local park and then produce an artwork from it. The students will receive a demo on the use of Google Earth as a research tool. Next, they will be given a demo on the operation of Google SketchUp. The instructor will then explain how these tools will help them with the lesson.

Directions:

1. Go on a walk in a park with the class.
2. Take notes about observations about what you saw and how you felt.
3. Create artwork from this trip.
4. Use Google Earth search tool to find nature preserves and natural parks.
5. In Layers, check all “Parks and Recreation” checkboxes.
6. In Layers, check all “Geographic Features” checkboxes.
7. Select 5 natural sites in the U.S. and save them to your “My Places.”
8. Make a list of each of the 5 sites.
9. Visit each of these 5 sites exploring through Google Earth using different views and zooms.
10. Pick one site and write a short description about it from what you saw on Google Earth and using the links.
11. Use the “Path Tool” to make a path anywhere in this park.
12. Play a tour of your path.
13. Open Google SketchUp.
14. Import scene from the path into Google SketchUp.
15. Print out copy of your path from Google SketchUp.

Extension:

16. Create a sculptural artwork in Google SketchUp for somewhere along your path.
17. Export into Google Earth.

Critique/Evaluation/Assessment:

· Teacher Lead Student Critique
· Teacher Assessment Rubric
· Student Assessment Rubric

Time Budget: 6 – 7 Class Periods

· 1 class for introduction of assignment
· 1 class for research on Google Earth
· 1 class for class trip to a park
· 1 class for SketchUp plan
· 1 class to presentation
· 1 class for presentation of completed project

Vocabulary:

Eco-Walk – An Eco-Walk is a walk where people can learn about and experience nature while being respectful of the environment. For the purpose of this lesson, it is both actual and virtual walk where the participant explores and learns about nature.
Eco-Tourism – Tourism where people can learn about and experience nature in a respectful manner.
Environment Art – Refers to art which involves the creation or manipulation of a large or enclosed space, many effectively surrounding its audience. Many earthworks would qualify as environment art too..
Google Earth – A free program available for download from Google.com, Google Earth is a program that allows the user to explore the world through satellite imagery, maps, terrain and 3D buildings.
Google SkecthUp – A free program available for download from Google.com, Google SketchUp is a powerful yet easy-to-learn 3D software tool that enables you to build and modify 3D models quickly and easily. Google SketchUp allows you to place your models using into Google Earth.
Landscape – A painting, photograph or other work of art which depicts scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers and forests. There is invariably some sky in the scene.
Natural Environment – natural environment comprises all living and non-living things that occur naturally on Earth.
Safety Concerns: Safe and respectful exploring of park or natural environment.

Bibliography/References:

Google.com. (n.d.). Google Earth. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://earth.google.com/

Google.com. (n.d.). Google SketchUp. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://sketchup.google.com/

The International Ecotourism Society. (n.d.). Natural environment. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://www.ecotourism.org

ISTE NETS. (n.d.). NETS for Students. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://cnets.iste.org/currstands/cstands-netss.html

The Kennedy Center Arts Edge. (n.d.). Standards. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/teach/standards.cfm

Richard Long. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://www.richardlong.org/

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Andy Goldsworthy. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Eco-tourism. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-tourism

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Lascaux. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascaux

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Natural environment. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_environment

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Richard Long (artist). Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Long_%28artist%29