Unit Plan 13 (Grade 7 Art): Style & Culture Project

Focus: Create artwork inspired by a specific cultural style, connecting personal themes to cultural, historical, or societal contexts and developing ideas through research and visual brainstorming.

Grade Level: 7

Subject Area: Art (Visual Arts • Art History & Culture • Studio Practice)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this unit, students explore how cultural art styles reflect the histories, beliefs, and daily lives of the communities that created them. Through a guided “style gallery,” short readings, and visual analysis, they identify key features of a chosen cultural style (such as motifs, color choices, patterns, materials, or composition). Then, using research and brainstorming, students select a personal theme—like identity, community, change, or environment—and plan an artwork that is inspired by (not copying) that cultural style. By the end, they can explain how their piece both honors the source culture and expresses their own ideas.

Essential Questions

• How do specific cultural art styles reflect the histories, values, and daily life of the people who created them?
• What does it mean to be inspired by a cultural style while staying respectful and mindful of its context?
• How can research and visual brainstorming help me develop a personal idea that fits within a chosen style?
• In what ways can my artwork show both my own perspective and connections to another culture’s visual language?
• How does knowing the cultural context of a style change how we interpret artworks created in that style?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Examine examples of a specific cultural art style, identifying visual characteristics and explaining how they relate to cultural, historical, or societal contexts (VA:Cn11.7a).
2. Use short texts, images, and notes to describe how a chosen style reflects its origin culture’s beliefs, traditions, or environment (VA:Cn11.7a).
3. Develop artistic ideas by brainstorming personal themes and mapping how those themes can connect to a cultural style through imagery, motifs, and composition (VA:Cr1.7a).
4. Create thumbnail sketches and a visual planning page that combine personal ideas with stylistic elements from the chosen culture (VA:Cr1.7a, VA:Cn11.7a).
5. Begin a Style & Culture Project artwork that demonstrates intentional use of cultural style characteristics and clearly communicates a personal idea, supported by a brief planning/reflection note (VA:Cn11.7a, VA:Cr1.7a).

Standards Alignment — 7th Grade (NCAS-Aligned)

• VA:Cn11.7a — Explain how art reflects cultural, historical, or societal contexts and influences interpretation.
  • Example: Students compare artworks from a specific cultural tradition and describe how context shapes motifs, materials, and meaning.
• VA:Cr1.7a — Develop artistic ideas by exploring themes, current issues, or personal interests through research and visual brainstorming.
  • Example: Students create concept maps and thumbnail sketches connecting a personal theme (e.g., “community”) to a selected cultural style.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can explain at least two ways my chosen cultural style reflects the culture and context it comes from.
• I can show which visual characteristics (motifs, colors, patterns, composition) I borrowed from the style in my planning pages.
• I can describe my personal theme and how I connected it to the cultural style in my ideas and sketches.
• I can create an artwork plan (thumbnails + notes) that balances respect for the source culture with my own voice.
• I can talk or write about how context and style might influence how viewers interpret my finished piece.