Healthy Habits Teacher Resource - Smart Museum of Art

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Healthy Habits Teacher Resource 

COMPONENTS in this resource: 

1) Sixth grade science lesson designed by: Valerie Hardy -‐ Jane A. Neil School 

2) Visual Arts lesson plan designed by: Lisa Davis, Smart Museum of Art 

3) Health and Hospitality, museum tour design by: Lisa Davis, Smart Museum of Art 

Social Science-‐ 

The student integrates graphical information(e.g. pictures, videos, maps, time lines) with other information in a 

print or digital text. 

Science-‐ 

Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information 

expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table). 

Reading Standard for Informational Text-‐ 

determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, 

including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings 

Writing 

Write informative/explanatory text to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through 

the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. 

Research to Build and Present Knowledge 

Conduct short research projects to answer a question ( including self-‐ generated question),drawing on several 

sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration 

11:30-‐12:30 Science 6th Grade 

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 

Science Science Science Science Science 

Strategy/ Skill 

Overview 

Students study Still-‐ 

Life Artwork and 

research symbolism 

pertaining to food 

choices. 

• Observe 

• Ask 

questions 

• Describe 

Vocabulary 

Balance, Caption 

Health, inanimate, 

natural, man-‐ made 

Moderate 

Still-‐Life 

Other vocabulary 

words may develop. 

Student Activity 

Students will 

examine several 


Use Information to 

create 

Student Activity: 

Determine the 

meaning of the 

vocabulary as a 

group -‐ 8 

collaboration 

Next students will 

be creating their 

own work of art 

using prior 

knowledge and 

their own resources 

from home. 

(All examples are 

acceptable) 

Students will write 

informative 


Identify a theme 

for further study 

Examine other 

sources of art 


Teachers dialogue/ 

Question-‐ 

In my examination 

of your Still-‐Life 

creation what idea 

or concept kept 

appearing. (types 

of food) 

Teacher-‐ I will 

show you a picture 

of a Still Life. 

Let's reflex back on 

our theme-‐Types 

of food. 


Interpret 

information 

presented in 

diverse media 


Teacher-‐ Before 

trip review 

objectives, 

students will take 

notes. 

Let the students 

know that we will 

discuss what The 

Balanced Plate is 

on Friday, but if 

they are curious 

go provide them 

with the website 

under 

Wednesday's 


Comparing the past 

food choices, with 


Students will compare 

the food choices 

found in the Still-‐Life 

painting from the 

Museum to a. their 

food preference (Mc 

Donald) 

And 

b. the new food policy 

from the Government 

( The Balance of Good 

Health) 

The teacher will also 

discuss possible 

preparation methods 

then and now(fast 

food).

artifacts around the 

classroom. 

Students will be told 

that these object 

could be considered 

Still-‐Life. 

We will discuss the 

meaning of a Still-‐ 

Life(is a work of art 

depicting mostly 

inanimate subject 

matter, typically 

commonplace 

objects which may 

be either natural 

(food, flowers, 

plants, rocks, or 

shells) or man-‐made 

(drinking glasses, 

books, vases, 

jewelry, coins, pipes 

so on..) 

Questions Asked: 

Now that we know 

they are samples of 

Still-‐Life what make 

these pieces of art 

different? 

Note-‐ vocabulary 

terms can be used 

to aid in students 

recognition of the 

words. 

What do you think is 

the purpose of 

these Still-‐ Life?(why 

created)?inferring 

Later I will request 

students to find 

other examples in 

the classroom. 

( Please note the 

classroom has 

vases, baskets and 

bowls with items 

inside representing 

each season) 

paragraphs of their 

interpretation of 

their art work, 

giving their purpose 

for this artistic 

piece. 

2 

Student examine 

pieces of art from 

The Smart 

Museum.( art 

photos in picture 

frames, plastic and 

sleeves for easy 

viewing). 

All art is labeled. 

Is there a story in 

these work of art? 

Let students 

elaborate orally. 

If you see a story , 

who or what do 

you think is the 

most important 

figure, shape or 

object? 

What type of foods 

do you see in the 

Still-‐Life? 

Teacher-‐Remind 

them that the art 

samples are from 

different periods of 

time 

Does the food vary 

due to time 

period? 

What make you 

think this? 

Allow them to 

collaborate among 

themselves, too 

improve their 

written or oral 

answers. 

Place notes from 

the students 

responses on the 

board. 

The teacher said: 

Homework 

Students will 

present their 

reports the 

following Monday. 

Teacher-‐ Remember 

your presentations 

are due Monday! 

Show how creative 

you can be. 

Reread the letter you 

received from the 

NIB.

3 

Our class has just 

receive a letter 

from the NIB 

(Nutritional 

Investigation 

Bureau) 

Teacher -‐read 

letter orally while 

student follow 

along . Surprise it 

is all arranged we 

leave Thursday for 

The Smart 

Museum. Let us 

review our task 

and form 5 teams. 

Teams are created 

and they are given 

time to discuss 

how they plans to 

accomplish the 

three task. 

Science Homework : 

Monday-‐ Bring objects to class to form your own/group Still-‐ Life 

Define Vocabulary word and discuss the next day. 

(If the teacher wishes to do so, they may brings objects in the class to help with the construction of the Still-‐ 

Life). 

Tuesday-‐ Student given Smart Museum website to examine works of art 

To View: 

1. Go to this website-‐http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/ 

2. Locate and press on the word Collection 

3. Insert the word Still-‐Life in search box 

4. Look the bottom and view the first set of drawing, then look press 2 for second set of artwork 

Wednesday-‐ Examine A Balance Plate for Health website to see how to construct their plate-‐ 

http://www.planet-‐health.org/pdf/Five_food_groups.pdf 

Review letter from the NIB 

Thursday-‐ trip day to the Smart Museum for follow-‐up .yeah 

Friday-‐ team completes project for presentation on Monday 

Educational Support Staff Responsibilities-‐ circulating to help student stay on task 

Extension Resources: 

Are You Pealing? by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers-‐ show vegetables with feelings 

Fun With Foods A Recipe For Math +Science -‐ AIMS Activities Grade 5-‐9 

Eat Right American Dietetic Association-‐ pamphlets 

Illinois Department of Human Services-‐ pamphlets 

Super Size Me -‐ CD on the effect of fast food

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U.S. Department of Agriculture-‐ Agricultural Research-‐ magazine with the details of new techniques in food 

development 

Renaissance artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo-‐ uses food to create a mosaic image 

Websites 

A Balanced Plate for Health 

www.planet-‐health.org/pdf/Five_food_groups.pdf -‐ Similar to A Balanced Plate for Health 

From J. Carter, J. Wiecha, K. Peterson, S. Nobrega, and S. Gortmaker, 2007, Planet Health, 2nd ed. (Champaign, 

IL: Human Kinetics). A Balanced Plate for 

Food a fact of life -‐ Food a fact of life 

www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/section.aspx?siteid=3§ionid=37 -‐ Similar to Food a fact of life -‐ Food a fact of life 

Activities. IMAGE balanced plate activity. Make a balanced plate! Can you match the food to the groups? 

IMAGE lunchbox activity ·∙ Make a healthy lunchbox! ... Interactive

y Valerie Hardy 

5 

Good Morning Room 130, Your Mission, if you decide to take it is-‐ 

The Department of Health and Welfare has chosen your classroom to investigate the following questions: 

1. What types of food choices were made throughout history? 

2. What was the food choices based on during the time period? 

3. Did these food choices effect the health or appearance of the parties involved? 

4. What is our current approach to making healthy food choices? 

In ordered to accomplished this assignment you will be given a trip to The Smart Museum, there you will 

observe Still-‐ Life paintings , artifact showing various foods and dining styles at different time periods. 

Your teams will find example of books, articles and websites about food choices. Finally you and your team will 

compile a presentation which will be composed of : 

1. original drawings of Still-‐ Life painting of foods with captions 

2. two individual reports on Still-‐Life painting from The Smart Museum , with captions on what you think they 

tell us about the time, people and the food available 

3. construction of a Balanced Plate, with foods in correct proportions, using the new guide lines. 

If you or your classmates fail in this mission The Department of Health will disavow any connection with you 

or your team. We have instructed Ms. Hardy to issue citations according to completed and accurate tasks. 

Go Luck ! 

MISSION POSSIBLE 

This paper must will be taken away from you in one class period. This will give you time to discuss the 

assignment, plan, and designate jobs in your groups.

Teacher Name: Lisa Davis 

Class: Science 

Grade: sixth 

Lesson Title: The Science of Observation 

Start Date: 

Time Needed: 30 minutes-‐ one hour 

Objectives: 

1. Students will build observational skills 

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Visual Arts Lesson Plan 

2. Students will create (3) sketches of a still-‐life based on observation 

3. Students will discuss healthy and unhealthy food choices 

4. Students will create their own healthy food still-‐life collage from their initial sketches 

Materials Needed: 

Still-‐life reproduction image (poster or projected), still-‐life objects ( including food from the four food 

groups, “unhealthy” food choices, utensils, place settings of any material), pencils, erasers, paper, 

scissors, glue sticks. Each student gets four sheets of paper: three for initial sketches and one for the 

final piece. Their names should be on each piece before they begin the project. 

Standards Addressed: 

Check each strand of the scope and sequence addressed in this lesson: 

X Art Making X Arts Literacy X Evaluation/Interpretation X Making Connections 

Prepare in Advance: 

Complete other lessons in this unit as preparation. Set up a still life at each table group (or where each 

student can see one still-‐life). Sharpen pencils. 

Warm Up Activities: 

1) 5-‐10 minutes: Students should practice observing, spending one full minute looking at a poster 

or projected image of a still-‐life. Next cover that image (or remove it) and see how many details 

they can recall; this can be done verbally or as a written exercise. If you have time, this activity 

can be done again with a different image. 

2) 5 minutes: Students should practice sketching by making marks on a blank page. They can 

explore various ways to use their pencil (tip, side for shading, etc) to make marks. Sketching 

should be defined as initial observations and mark making not intended to be a final artwork.

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Main Activity: 

1) Students will complete three sketches, on three different sheets of paper, based on observation. 

The objective is to increase observation skills through noticing details and including those details 

in their sketches. Students should be given 5 minutes for each sketch. After the first sketch, 

students should change seats to get a different perspective of the same still-‐life. The students 

should change perspectives again after the second sketch. This will give them three sketches 

from various perspectives. 

2) In their table groups, students should decide which objects in their still-‐life are healthy choices 

and which are unhealthy. They can remove (give back to the teacher) those objects which are 

unhealthy. 

3) The final piece will be a collage still-‐life using their initial sketches, but with only the healthy 

choices included (the objects remaining on their tables can help remind them which should be 

included in the finished product). Collage is defined as a completed image assembled from 

other images. The word comes from the French word “coller”, to glue. Students can cut objects 

out of their sketches to put together on the fourth piece of paper. If you have time, students can 

add details using colored pencils. 

Wrap Up/Cool Down: 

Teachers can repeat the warm-‐up activity with different images. Have student write down the details 

they recall before sharing as a group. Students can also do a turn and talk with others to explain their 

artwork and why they chose to include certain objects. 

Assessment Strategy: 

1) Using the written list of details from the wrap-‐up activity, teachers can determine if students 

increased their observational skills. 

2) Teachers can collect the (3) sketches of a still-‐life based on observation to determine if this 

objective was satisfied. 

3) Using the artwork itself the teacher can determine if students were able to identify and include 

only the healthy food choices. 

4) Teachers can collect students’ collages made from their initial sketches to determine if this 

objective was satisfied. 

Teacher Reflections:

Smart Museum of Art 

Health and Hospitality: Lessons Learned Around the Table 

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Theme: 

Themes of health and hospitality have been explored by artists in various ways throughout history, from 

traditional still-‐life representations to contemporary artists considering the meal itself as an artistic medium. The 

current exhibition, for instance, Feast addresses the art of the experience of the shared meal. 

Tour Objective: 

Today we will be exploring artists’ representations of health and hospitality, taking time to look a still-‐life works 

to objects across cultures that represent the act of serving and the ritual and ceremony of eating together. Today 

we will observe artworks, describe details, and ask questions to discover the answer to the following questions: 

1. What types of food choices were made throughout history? 

2. What are the food choices based on during the time period? 

3. Did these food choices affect the health or appearance of the parties involved? 

4. What is our current approach to making healthy food choices? 

Artworks to see today that relate to this theme: 

*in-‐storage, arrange in advance for Study Room display 

1. Still-‐life with Fruit and Flowers on a Draped Ledge, Michiel Simons, 2007.137 

2. Bowl, Korean (12 th century), 1986.157 

3. Five Piece Coffee Set, Designer Unknown, 2003.75b 

4. Dining Table and Six Chairs, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1967.73-‐79 

5. *Still-‐Life with Man, 1979.25 AND 

6. *Still-‐life with Woman, Justus Juncker, 1979.26 

7. *Still Life No. 1, Martha Erlebacher, 1978.167 

8. *Untitled (breakfast, smoked fish), Laura Letinsky, 2001.40 

9. *Guests at a Table, Otto Gleichman, 1998.80

Healthy Habits Teacher Resource - Smart Museum of Art

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