The Album Cover

This lesson was an introduction to a larger unit where students conceptualized and designed album covers. During the lesson, students were given a series of scaffolding questions about their relationships to music and art, guiding their inquiry. They then worked in pairs in a think, pair, and share session, which led into a full class discussion. Based on their individual insights and group discussion, students were asked to fill out note catchers, which helped to capture their ideas, giving each student a foundation of what their musical self looks like. That image is what they used to begin ideating their album covers. Once students completed their note catchers, the class was then introduced to the project by examining the album cover, its design, and what constitutes a successful example of Album cover art. This lesson also connects directly to the Colorado Visual Arts Standard, Observe and Learn to Comprehend and Envision and Critique to Reflect.

 The project lesson introduction was formatted to engage each individual's connection to the big ideas of the unit. Specifically addressing their own perceptions surrounding music, experience, and visual culture. Students were able to participate in small-group and whole-class discussions that framed their thinking and ideation process.  By having them move through individual reflection, peer-to-peer sharing, and whole-class discussions, the lesson taps into the varying ways students learn and communicate depending on their intellectual, emotional, and social development. This knowledge was then captured in writing to assist students throughout the project. They were able to refer back to this original note catcher during their work and see how it either lines up with their project ideas or if their album covers evolved in new ways, discovering how and why it changed. This note catcher also serves as a data point for future lesson planning,  to ascertain student patterns of thinking where ideas originate and how much buy-in they had for the unit as a whole.
 

Lesson Materials

Slide Deck

Note Catcher