Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District
Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Arts-for-All
2016-17 Advancement Grant Abstract
FROM STEM to STEAM:
The Art of Scientific Observation and Technical Drawing
General Information:
The Los Angeles County Arts Initiative, “Arts-for-All,” is dedicated to enhancing K-12
arts education. The School District Advancement Grant offers financial support to
assist with providing quality arts education for all public school students. Grant funds
are intended to help school districts achieve key action items in their district arts plans
and cultivate skills and practices that can be sustained beyond the term of the grant.
The District has the opportunity to reapply for the Arts-for-All School District
Advancement Grant offered through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. The
grant application for the 2016-17school year will continue the District’s partnership
with the Palos Verdes Arts Center (PVAC) and focus on extending the art experience
into the STEM program (putting the 'A' in STEAM) at the elementary level by
providing grade four students instruction in botanical and technical drawing. The
expected outcome of the grant will be the integration of these skills through the use of
Interactive Science Notebooks as a regular part of STEAM/Science instruction. Future
expansion of this project would include collaboration with PVPUSD graphic design
teachers and students to reinforce design and technical drawing skills at the elementary
level and carry them forward into intermediate and high school STEM/Science
programs.
The District, in collaboration with the Palos Verdes Art Center, will plan and
implement the program in the 2016-17 school year.
Project Plan:
This eight-week residency program will bring PVPUSD elementary teachers and PVAC
artists together to create a cross-curricular unit using art to explore the themes of
botanical and technical drawing. Standards-based visual arts lessons will be used to
develop observational and technical skills to be recorded in the Interactive Science
Notebook which will enhance learning in the STEAM (Science, technology,
engineering, art, and math) disciplines.
The PVAC artist-in-residence and classroom teacher will work together to implement a
sequential, eight-week unit that addresses specific grade level standards for the Visual
and Performing Arts (VAPA) and the California State Standards, while leaving room
Exhibit A - Arts-for-All Grant Abstract 2016-17
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for classroom teachers to explore creative ways to use the Interactive Science
Notebooks and essential skills in their daily class work beyond the scope of the grant.
Fourth and fifth grade teachers will receive professional development on utilizing the
Interactive Science Notebook and how the skills learned through the residency can be
used regularly in STEAM/Science instruction.
Students will come away from the eight-week unit with the ability to "see like an artist",
"draw like a naturalist", and "record like a scientist". They will learn how to use the
Interactive Science Notebook in a specific way to record learning, observational data,
process, and share results. These skills will carry over into fourth and fifth grade PLTW
LAUNCH STEM/Science units, intermediate school, and beyond.
Who will be served:
In the 2016-17 school year this project will serve the fourth grade students in all 10
PVPUSD elementary schools, as well as provide professional development to the
fourth and fifth grade Science teachers.
Partnerships:
The PVPUSD will continue its partnership with the Palos Verdes Art Center to deliver
these art activities at the school sites. The Educational Services Department is also
exploring the possibility of developing partnerships which will extend beyond the life
of the grant with local agencies such as the Pt. Vicente Interpretive Center, the Palos
Verdes Land Conservancy, the South Coast Botanic Gardens, as well as reaching out to
local architects and engineers. Partnerships with the intermediate school and high
school graphic art teachers will also be explored.
Specific Activities:
Eight one hour lessons, taught collaboratively by the PVAC artist-in-residence and
classroom teacher, will be scheduled at school sites for each grade 4 classroom.
Lesson 1: Introduction to Science Note-booking / Technical Drawing
Students will learn about how scientists/naturalists use Interactive Science Notebooks
to record information about their environment, questions, experiments, and data.
Students will learn the interactive note-booking format that they will use throughout
the course.
Lesson 2 and 3: Seeing Like an Artist and Scientist
Students will use their Interactive Science Notebooks to engage in a series of
experiential exercises that challenge them to draw what they see, not what they
“expect” to see. This new way of seeing like an artist/scientist, and the ability to record
Exhibit A - Arts-for-All Grant Abstract 2016-17
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what they see, will become one of the essential skills learned by students. They will be
introduced to the elements of art with particular emphasis on line and shape.
Lesson 4: The Science and Art of Botanical Illustration
Focusing on the contributions made to Science by women artists Maria Sibylla Merian
(18th C) and Beatrix Potter (19th C), author of the Peter Rabbit books, students will
use their Interactive Science Notebooks to create botanical illustrations from life using
shading techniques and color applications found in engraving. Emphasis will be placed
on the elements of color and value. [Possible field trip to PV Botanic Gardens or the
Pt. Vicente Interpretive Center]
Lesson 5: Observing and Recording Nature
Taking their Interactive Science Notebooks outdoors, students and teachers will engage
in an interactive lesson in life Science. Students will be asked to closely observe, draw
and label a botanical specimen in their Interactive Science Notebooks. Students will be
reminded that scientists rely on their ability to both carefully observe and document
observations using drawings. [Possible field trip to PV Botanic Gardens or the Pt.
Vicente Interpretive Center]
Lesson 6: The Science and Art of Technical Drawing
Students will learn about technical drawing and artistic techniques such as sketching
and shading three dimensional objects which will allow them to record experimental
processes in their Interactive Science Notebooks.
Lesson 7: Observing and Recording a Series of Still Objects (Spheres, Cones,
and Rectangular Prisms).
Students will observe a series of objects under specific lighting conditions and learn
how to sketch them in three dimensions utilizing shading, contrast, and other drawing
techniques.
Lesson 8: Culminating Project – Using the Interactive Science Notebook to
Record Observations/Illustrations.
Students will create a large technical drawing for display at the annual PV STEM
symposium of both botanicals and made-made objects (for example, a garden box,
flower in a pot, simple machine, etc.). Students will be required to measure the object,
draw it to scale, label it completely, and provide observational notes that include the
five senses.
Exhibit A - Arts-for-All Grant Abstract 2016-17
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Professional Development:
 Throughout the lessons there will be ongoing embedded professional development for
fourth grade teachers on the development and use of Interactive Science Notebooks
while incorporating botanical and technical drawing.
 A two-hour, after school, professional development workshop will be provided to the
fourth and fifth grade STEM teachers in integrating the use of Interactive Science
Notebooks and technical drawing within the PLTW Launch STEM program.
Extensions:
 Ongoing integration of technical drawing into the existing fourth and fifth grade
STEM/Science program as an element of learning and accountability.
 Developing meaningful partnerships with the Palos Verdes Botanical Garden, Point
Vicente Interpretive Center, and the Palos Verdes Land Conservancy to provide
students with increased opportunities for outdoor Science learning including botanical
and technical drawing.
 Developing meaningful partnerships with local architects and engineers to provide
students with increased opportunities for technical drawing and design.
Budget:
 Per the terms of the grant, eligible school districts may apply for up to $25,000 in
matching funds.
 The PVPUSD grant obligation will not exceed a $25,000 contribution from the general
fund.
 The budget will include the following components:
o Direct Services for Students: Cost of contracting with the PV Art Center
o Professional Development: Cost of providing teachers with training for
integrating technical drawing into the STEM program
o Curriculum Development: Cost of teacher planning time and materials
o Instructional Materials and Equipment
o Transportation Costs (for one field trip if applicable)
The grant application is due by April 6, 2016 and notification of awards will be in July
2016.
Exhibit A - Arts-for-All Grant Abstract 2016-17
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