Dare to Dream

Big Idea: Dreams & Nightmares

21st Art Education Approaches:
● Psychological Safety
● Meaning-Making

By: Corrine Delaney, Julie Jenkins, Sarah Marie

Ramirez, and Tatiana Washington
Lesson Overview
● Grade Level: 3rd
● Artists will investigate the difference between dreams and nightmares
by discussing, analyzing, and expressing these experiences through
our studio investigation. Our studio will cover the difference between
dreams and nightmares through learning vocabulary and participating
in discussions with peers. Students will complete a dream journal that
includes a written and painted representation of a dream or nightmare
they have had.
Lesson Objectives & Assessments
1. Content area 2 Literacy : The students will (TSW) be able to write a journal
entry about a dream or nightmare they have had.
● After reading the article we chose, students should have a better
understanding of what it means to write about something personal in a journal
format. Students will also learn how to connect two different mediums (writing
and painting). Students will complete their own journal entry before the studio
addressing a dream or nightmare they had. Students will write 4-5 sentences
where they explain in detail a dream or nightmare, and how they either felt
about the dream or nightmare or how they overcame the dream or nightmare.
The writing sample will be collected with the studio, which teachers can
access for understanding.
Lesson Objectives & Assessments Continued
2. Content area 1 Visual Art: The students will (TSW) be able to express their
dream or nightmare through painting and creating their own work of dream art.
3. Content area 3 Science: The students will (TSW) be able to understand that
dreams are apart of our everyday life and that dreaming occurs during REM sleep.
● Students will complete the studio addressing a dream or nightmare they have
had. The teacher will walk around during studio time asking students about
their artwork. This will allow the teacher to assess whether or not the student
is addressing the key concepts of the studio.
Vocabulary
1. Daydreams
○ “A series of pleasant thoughts that distract one's attention from the present” (Oxford University
Press, 2018).
2. Dreams
○ “A series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep”
(Oxford University Press, 2018).
3. Aspirations
○ “A hope or ambition of achieving something” (Oxford University Press, 2018).
4. Nightmares
○ “A frightening or unpleasant dream” (Oxford University Press, 2018).
5. REM Sleep
○ “A kind of sleep that occurs at intervals during the night and is characterized by rapid eye
movements, more dreaming and bodily movement, and faster pulse and breathing” (Oxford
University Press, 2018).
Essential Questions
1. What causes dreams and nightmares?
2. How do young learners achieve their dreams?
3. How do young learners overcome, work through or avoid
dreams and/or nightmares?
4. How do young learners make their dreams come true?
5. When do dreams and nightmares occur and why?
 Inspiration
Artist:
Salvador Dali

Have no fear of perfection - you'll

never reach it.
- Salvador Dali
More Salvador Dali
● Salvador Dali was born on May 11,
1904 in Figueres, Spain.
● He took a ton of influence from
Picasso, Magritte and Miro, which
later inspired his first and most well-
known painting “The Persistence of
Memory”.
● He quickly became one of the most
influential surrealist artists and much
later in life, passed at the age of 84.
● He has numerous museums
dedicated to his work, in fact the
largest on the west coast is located in
Monterey, CA.

“Salvador Dalí.” Biography.com, A&E

Networks Television, 27 Oct. 2017,
www.biography.com/people/salvador-dal-
40389.
Dream Journal
1. Reflect on a dream, nightmare or goal that you have
2. Write 4-5 complete sentences where you describe in
detail the dream, nightmare or goal you had. Mention how
it made you feel, what you saw, if this was a reoccuring
dream/nightmare, etc.
Studio Instructions
1. Begin by sketching your dream or nightmare lightly with a pencil on the paper
provided on each table.
2. Once your sketch is complete, two members from each table group will grab
paint brushes/Q-Tips, put water in their cups, grab paper towels and get small
amounts of acrylic paint for them and their partner.
○ Make sure to only grab a small amount of paint at first, so artists don’t
waste any materials.
3. Now artists will begin painting their dream or nightmare using techniques
shown during the demonstration (using colors to show mood, using different
sized brushes depending on the line thickness, and using Q-Tips to add
texture).
Materials
● Paper
● Water Cups
● Paint Trays
● Paint Brushes
● Q-Tips
● Acrylic Paint - various colors
● Paper Towels
“A Star, a Wish, and Three things I Learned” Worksheet

A star: something you liked about this studio

A wish: something you wish was different with this studio

Three things I learned: about dreams/nightmares, goals,

Salvador Dali, or painting techniques
References
Lynn Sanders-Bustle (2008) Visual Artifact Journals as Creative and Critical
Springboards for Meaning Making, Art Education, 61:3, 8-14

Oxford University Press, (2018). The World's Most Trusted Dictionary Provider.
Retrieved April 13, 2018, from https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/

“Salvador Dalí.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 27 Oct. 2017,

www.biography.com/people/salvador-dal-40389.