Think Outside the Book

A high school art lesson about transformation and creative thinking.

LESSON SUMMARY: Students are to create a list of ways to transform a

book into a work of art. They will work in class and at home to complete the
assignment. Students are to come up with a concept and theme for their
project prior to creation. On critique day, students will use the Form, Theme,
and Concept worksheet to discuss their artwork.
Class Time: 4 sessions, 80 minutes per class.

BIG IDEA: Transformation

If students can learn how to take a book and transform it into something they
have never seen or heard of before, those problem solving skills can translate
into all areas of life.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
1. What is Transformation?
2. What is Conceptual Art?
3. How does transformation relate to conceptual art?
4. How are these terms relevant in everyday life?
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS:
Transformation is all around us. It is the process of taking one thing and changing it
into something else. The definition used for this lesson is: a change in form,
appearance, nature or character. In this lesson students will be like chefs creating a
new recipe.
Conceptual art is art that focuses on the idea behind the art making. In this kind of
art, the idea comes first and the form and creation come second.
These two terms relate in this project because to transform something means to
think about how to transform the object first. If a chef just starts adding random
ingredients to a dish, it probably wont come out great. He must think first how to
blend the right ingredients to make a masterpiece. In conceptual art, thought must
come before action.
These terms relate to our everyday life because thinking before acting most always
leads to the best outcome.

OBJECTIVES:
1. The student will be able to transform a given book by changing its form,
appearance, nature, or character.
2. The student will create a list of 100 ways to transform his/her book.

3. The student will be able to complete Renee Sandells Form, Theme, Context
worksheet either before or after the creation of his/her book transformation.
4. The student will be able to identify and include at least one ART ELEMENT and one
DESIGN PRINCIPLE within his/her book transformation.
5. The student will be able to speak about his/her artwork to the class and use the
FTC worksheet to vocally critique other student work.

VOCABULARY:
Transformation: A change in form, appearance, nature or character
Concept: A general notion or idea
Form: External appearance of a clearly defined area, as distinguished from color or material;
configuration
Theme: A subject of discourse, discussion, meditation, or composition; topic:
Context: The set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc.