Unit Plan 27 (Grade 8 Art): Personal Narrative Studio Project
Create a polished Grade 8 personal narrative artwork using strong craftsmanship, intentional composition, and purposeful symbolism to clearly express identity and personal perspective.
Focus: Create artwork that communicates personal perspective, demonstrating strong technical skill, intentional composition, and a clear expressive purpose.
Grade Level: 8
Subject Area: Art (Visual Arts • Identity & Storytelling • Studio Production)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students move from planning to full studio production, transforming their Personal Narrative Project Plans into completed artworks. Using their concept statements, symbol banks, and thumbnail sketches from the previous unit, they make deliberate choices about craftsmanship, composition, and expressive details to communicate a personal story or perspective. Along the way, students pause for brief, focused check-ins and mini-critiques to ensure that their visual decisions support their intended meaning. By the end of the week, each student will complete a polished personal narrative artwork that feels authentic, intentional, and visually compelling.
Essential Questions
- How can I use technical skill and composition to help viewers understand my personal narrative?
- Which visual decisions (color, line, texture, symbols, space) most powerfully communicate my feelings, experiences, or identity?
- How do artists stay true to their concept while also adapting and solving problems during the studio process?
- What does it mean for an artwork to have a clear expressive purpose, and how can I tell if my piece achieves it?
- How can I use mini-critiques and self-evaluation to improve my artwork before calling it “finished”?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Use their Personal Narrative Project Plan (concept statement, symbols, thumbnails) as a roadmap to begin a full-scale artwork.
- Apply consistent craftsmanship in their chosen medium (drawing, painting, mixed media, etc.) to support clarity and impact.
- Implement an intentional composition based on their selected thumbnail, managing focal point, balance, and background to guide the viewer’s eye.
- Make visual choices (color, value, texture, symbol placement) that reinforce a clear expressive purpose related to their personal story.
- Participate in brief in-process critiques, using feedback and self-evaluation to refine technical and expressive aspects of the work (VA:Cr3.8b).
- Complete a personal narrative artwork and explain how their artistic decisions connect to their experiences and message.
Standards Alignment — 8th Grade (NCAS-Aligned)
- VA:Cr3.8b — Complete artwork that demonstrates technical skill, intentional composition, and clear expressive purpose.
- Example: Students finalize a personal narrative artwork that uses composition, craftsmanship, and symbolism to communicate an aspect of their identity or experience.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can follow and adapt my project plan to create a full artwork that matches my personal narrative concept.
- I can show careful craftsmanship in my chosen medium (neat edges, controlled shading/painting, thoughtful detail).
- I can use composition (focal point, balance, background) to guide where the viewer looks first and next.
- I can point to specific visual choices in my artwork and explain how they support my story or perspective.
- I can explain why my artwork is finished, using words like craftsmanship, composition, and expressive purpose.