Unit Plan 34 (Grade 5 Art): Final Exhibition Preparation
Celebrate Grade 5 artists with a final exhibition unit: students curate best works showing growth and clear ideas, then mount, label, and organize pieces for a polished gallery display.
Focus: Select and prepare final works for exhibition, highlighting effort, growth, and clear communication through thoughtful mounting, labeling, and organization.
Grade Level: 5
Subject Area: Art (Visual Arts • Presenting)
Total Unit Duration: 1–3 weeks, 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students step into the role of artists and curators, choosing which artworks best represent their effort, growth, and ideas from the year. They learn how to make thoughtful selection decisions, considering which pieces show improvement, strong craftsmanship, and clear messages. Then they prepare those works for exhibition by practicing mounting, labeling, and organizing them in ways that help viewers understand and appreciate what they see.
Essential Questions
- How do I decide which artworks best represent my effort, growth, and voice as an artist?
- What makes an artwork a good choice for presentation in a final exhibition?
- How do mounting, labeling, and organization affect how viewers experience and understand artwork?
- Why is preparing for an exhibition an important part of being an artist?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Review their body of work and select artworks that show strong effort, growth, and clear communication of ideas.
- Use selection criteria (effort, growth, message, craftsmanship) to justify why each chosen piece belongs in the exhibition.
- Prepare artwork for display by mounting, trimming edges, and ensuring pieces are neat and secure.
- Create display labels that include title, artist name, and basic information (medium, brief description or intention).
- Contribute to a simple organization plan for how artworks will be arranged to support viewer understanding and flow.
Standards Alignment — 5th Grade (NCAS-Aligned)
- VA:Pr4.5a — Select artwork for presentation based on effort, growth, and effective communication.
- Example: Students choose artwork for a class gallery showing improvement.
- VA:Pr5.5a — Prepare artwork for display using appropriate mounting, labeling, and organization techniques.
- Example: Students create display labels including title and medium.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can choose artworks that show my effort, growth, and ideas clearly.
- I can explain why each piece I selected belongs in the exhibition.
- I can mount and prepare my work neatly for display.
- I can write clear labels that help viewers understand what they are seeing.
- I can help plan how our class exhibition will be organized so it is easy and enjoyable to view.