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Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts
Students explore the topic of coming of age through stories about the experiences of professional female artists of color who have fought to claim their space in a world that has long excluded people who look like them.
ELA
Unit 3
6th Grade
Unit Summary
Please Note: In July 2026, this unit and its lesson plans received a round of enhancements. This unit is now 26 instructional days (previously 29 days). The overall content, sequencing, and writing projects of the unit have been adjusted significantly. Teachers should pay close attention as they intellectually prepare to account for the updates.
In this unit, students continue their yearlong interrogation of what it means to come of age by studying the transformative power of artistic expression. By focusing on the experiences of professional female artists of color, students learn about barrier-breaking women who have fought to claim their space in a world that has long excluded people who look like them.
Students read Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, the memoir of ballet dancer Misty Copeland, who made history as the first female Black principal dancer at the American Ballet Theater, one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the United States. Students read about the obstacles Copeland overcame and consider how ballet shaped her coming-of-age experience, as well as the broader impact she has had on the art form.
Students also explore the contributions of women in the visual arts by analyzing the lives and work of artist activists such as the Guerrilla Girls, Latina printmaker and activist Favianna Rodriguez, Japanese American sculptor Ruth Asawa, and Native American painter Jaune Quick-To-See Smith. Through articles, interviews, and videos, students explore how an artist's identity can shape their work and how art can serve as a powerful platform for communicating ideas and driving social change. Daily written responses support this learning by building writing fluency and reinforcing writing as a tool for reflection and comprehension.
In addition to reading about and discussing the lives of artists, students also analyze works of art. For each visual artist studied, students examine the artist's work and discuss observations, questions, and reflections with classmates. Additionally, students complete an informational writing task in which they research a contemporary woman artist and collaborate with peers to create and present a slideshow presentation about the artist's background, style, and impact. This task builds key skills, including selecting relevant information about a topic, communicating ideas through text and visual features, and presenting information clearly to an audience. Students also have the opportunity to create an original piece of artwork that communicates a clear message or conveys a specific mood. As a culminating task, students adopt the perspective of an art critic and write a paragraph that analyzes and explains their own artistic choices. This experience allows students to become artists themselves and engage with the unit's Essential Questions through personal creative work.
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Texts and Materials
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Core Texts
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Book: Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland (Touchstone, 2014)
Supporting Texts
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Article: “The Guerrilla Girls: 'We upend the art world's notion of what's good and what's right'” by Nadja Sayej (The Guardian)
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Video: “Guerrilla Girls – 'You Have to Question What You See' | Artist Interview” by Tate Museum (YouTube)
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Article: “Favianna RodrÃguez: 'Artists are Risk Takers and Truth Speakers'” by Firuzeh Shokooh Valle (Global Voices)
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Video: “Printmaking with Favianna Rodriguez” (PBS (2014))
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Article: “The Black Woman Artist Who Crafted a Life She Was Told She Couldn't Have” by Concepción de León (The New York Times)
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Poem: “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou
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Website: Ruth Asawa
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Article: “How Did Maria Tallchief Become America's First Prima Ballerina?” by Quill.org
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Article: “Misty Copeland Launches Her Own Foundation and Free After-School Program” by Ashley Brandt (Pointe Magazine)
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Video: “Misty Copeland's new foundation focuses on diversity, equity in dance” by Fox 5 New York (YouTube)
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Article: “The Enduring Legacy of Ruth Asawa's Mesmerizing Sculptures” by Daria Simone Harper (Artsy)
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Video: “Ruth Asawa: Objects & Apparitions” by Christie's (YouTube)
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Article: “Beyond the Canvas: Identity and Justice in Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s Art” by Caitlyn Meagher
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Video: “What's in a map? Reading the United 'States'” by Smarthistory (YouTube)
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Video: “Meet Jaune Quick-To-See Smith” by Smithsonian American Art Museum (YouTube)
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Painting: State Names (Smithsonian American Art Museum)
- Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Rubrics
Resources for Lessons and Projects
Assessment
The following assessments accompany Unit 3. For more guidance, see the Summative Assessments and Assessments Accommodations & Modifications Teacher Tools.
Warm Read Assessment
The Warm Read Assessment measures students' ability to apply the core reading standards and their knowledge from the unit to comprehend new, topically or thematically aligned texts. It includes both multiple choice and short written response questions and should serve as the primary assessment for the unit.
Vocabulary Assessment
The Vocabulary Assessment measures students' acquisition of text-based vocabulary words from the unit.
Fluency Assessment
The Fluency Assessment measures students' oral reading fluency with a passage drawn from one of the unit's core texts. See the Assessing Reading Fluency Teacher Tool for more guidance.
Unit Prep
Intellectual Prep
Before you teach this unit, unpack the texts, themes, and core standards through our guided intellectual preparation process. Each Unit Launch includes a series of short videos, targeted readings, and opportunities for action planning to ensure you're prepared to support every student.
Essential Questions
- What can individuals achieve through self-expression?
- How does creating art both reflect and deepen an individual's sense of identity?
- How do female artists—and specifically female artists of color—use art as a medium for empowerment?
Enduring Understandings
- Women and minority artists have historically faced many obstacles to their success, and the fight against prejudice and discrimination in the art world continues today.
- Art is a powerful way to express oneself and one's own identity, and can be a platform for an artist to communicate their unique perspective to the world.
- Many artists mentor and support other developing artists, which empowers a larger community to continue to express their unique identities and perspectives.
Vocabulary
Text-based
adversityalienatedcallouschaoticcontributiondefiantdistortedhoneintuitionlegacynurtureprodigyprestigiousrepresentationsensationalsurpasstenacitytrailblazerturbulentupend
Literary Terms
afterwordillustratemetaphormemoirmediumprologuereferencerepetitionsimile
Writing Terms
analysiscohesionirrelevantparaphraserelevant
To see all the vocabulary for Unit 3, view our 6th Grade Vocabulary Glossary.
Notes to the Teacher
- The content students engage with in this unit is introductory, focusing on visual artists from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The women introduced in this unit have made a significant impact, yet there are still many extraordinary, diverse artists—including men, women, and non-binary individuals —that are not introduced. By focusing just on ballet and the visual arts (and just on Americans working in the last fifty years), we have had to omit the vast majority of art forms and art makers.
- To support pacing and prioritize relevant content, some sections of Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina are not read or discussed in this unit. As part of intellectual preparation, review the Summary of Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina (G6, U3), which provides a comprehensive overview of the text and highlights key plot points to share with students from skipped sections. Additional guidance on when to provide these summaries appears under the Notes to the Teacher sections within designated lessons.
- Be aware that this unit discusses some difficult topics. Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina includes descriptions of domestic violence and eating disorders, as well as the use of the N-word in Chapter 3. Be mindful of your students' experiences when planning. As a part of intellectual preparation, review the following resources to further prepare for daily instruction:
- "The N Word in the Classroom" by Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor (TED)
- "How the N-Word Became the 'Atomic Bomb of Racial Slurs'" by PBS NewsHour (YouTube)
- "Straight Talk About the N-Word" by Sean Price (Learning for Justice)
- "Strategies for Addressing Racist and Dehumanizing Language in Literature" by Facing History & Ourselves
- In this unit, "Misty" is used when referring to the individual or narrator within the text, especially when discussing her experiences, thoughts, and development as presented in the narrative. In contrast, "Copeland" is used when discussing the author's choices—such as her writing style, structure, or purpose—in Key Questions, Target Tasks, and other analytical components. This distinction helps students differentiate between the individual's experiences within the content of the text and the author's craft and intent.
Content Knowledge and Connections
Previous Fishtank ELA Connections
Future Fishtank ELA Connections
Lesson Map
Research a contemporary woman artist and collaborate with peers to create and present a slideshow presentation about the artist's background, style, and impact.
Gather relevant information about a topic and take paraphrased notes using digital sources.
- List of Artists and Resources (G6, U3, L12)
- Artist Presentation Template (G6, U3, L12)
- Artist Note-Catcher (G6, U3, L12)
Standards
W.6.2.bW.6.9
Create an organized slide about a topic that includes supporting details and text features.
- List of Artists and Resources (G6, U3, L12)
- Artist Presentation Template (G6, U3, L12)
- Artist Note-Catcher (G6, U3, L12)
- Single Paragraph Outline
- Non-Exemplar Artist Presentation (G6, U3, L12)
- Artist Presentation Reflection Sheet (G6, U3, L12)
- Informational Text Features Reference Sheet (G6–8)
Standards
W.6.2.aW.6.2.b
Draft cohesive speaker notes that develop and connect supporting details using transitional language.
- List of Artists and Resources (G6, U3, L12)
- Artist Presentation Template (G6, U3, L12)
- Artist Note-Catcher (G6, U3, L12)
- Single Paragraph Outline
Standards
W.6.2.bW.6.2.c
Revise speaker notes by adding descriptive phrases within sentences, using correct punctuation.
- Artist Presentation Template (G6, U3, L12)
Standards
L.6.2.aW.6.5
Present information about an influential artist and learn about artists with different backgrounds, styles, and impacts.
- Artist Presentation Reflection Sheet (G6, U3, L12)
Standards
SL.6.4SL.6.5W.6.2
Write a paragraph that makes and supports a claim about the message or mood of a piece of art.
Generate multiple claim ideas and select the one that is most clear, complete, and well-supported.
- Single Paragraph Outline
Standards
W.6.1W.6.1.a
Draft a paragraph that includes an analysis of what the details mean and how they support the claim.
- Single Paragraph Outline
Standards
W.6.1W.6.1.aW.6.1.b
Revise a paragraph by adding descriptive phrases that give more detail about nouns, using correct punctuation.
Standards
L.6.2.aW.6.5
Projects
These projects are optional and serve as a great way to enrich students' experience and deepen their content knowledge in this unit. If teachers have flex days in their schedules, we strongly recommend any of the below options.