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.

icon/ela/white

ELA

Unit 3

6th Grade

Unit Summary


In this unit, students will 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 will 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 will 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, the most prestigious ballet company in the United States. Students will read about the ways that Copeland overcame obstacles in her life, and think both about how ballet shaped Copeland's coming-of-age experience, and the broader impact that Copeland has had on the art form of ballet. Students will also engage in writing a short analysis of a dance performance.

Students will also spend time studying women in the visual arts, analyzing the lives and work of feminist art activists, the Guerrilla Girls, Japanese-American sculptor Ruth Asawa, Native American painter Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, the quilters in Gee's Bend, Alabama, and Latina printmaker and activist, Favianna Rodriguez. Through articles, interviews, and videos, students will learn about the myriad ways that an artist's identity can shape the work that they make, and the ways that art can be used as a powerful platform for communicating ideas and changing the world.

In this unit, students will read and talk about artists, but they will also regularly analyze and talk about works of art. For each visual artist that students study, they will spend time looking closely at the artist's work and discussing observations, questions, and reflections with classmates.

Please Note: In October 2024, this unit and its lesson plans received the enhancements outlined here. Teachers should pay close attention as they intellectually prepare to account for the updated content.

Fishtank Plus for ELA

Unlock features to optimize your prep time, plan engaging lessons, and monitor student progress.

Texts and Materials


Some of the links below are Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you click and make a purchase, we receive a small portion of the proceeds, which supports our non-profit mission.

Core Materials

Supporting Materials

Assessment


The following assessments accompany Unit 3.

Content Assessment

The Content Assessment tests students' ability to read a "cold" or unfamiliar passage and answer multiple choice and short answer questions. Additionally, a longer writing prompt pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge or unit essential questions in writing. The Content Assessment should be used as the primary assessment because it shows mastery of unit content knowledge and standards.

Vocabulary Assessment

The Vocabulary Assessment tests student's knowledge and usage of the unit's of text-based vocabulary.

Fluency Assessment

The Fluency Assessment measures students' ability to read a grade-level text with accuracy and prosody, at a proficient rate, with a reading passage drawn from one of the unit's core texts. Find guidance for using this assessment and supporting reading fluency in Teacher Tools.

Unit Prep


Intellectual Prep

Unit Launch

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

adversityalienatedcallouschaoticcontributiondefiantdistortedhoneintuitionlegacynurtureprestigiousprodigyrepresentationsensationalsurpasstenacitytrailblazerturbulentupend

Literary Terms

afterwordcentral ideacitationclimaxillustrateinferenceinternal conflictmemoirmediummoodparaphraseprologuereferencesimilestructuresymbol

To see all the vocabulary for Unit 3 , view our 6th Grade Vocabulary Glossary.

Notes for Teachers

  • The content students engage with in this unit is introductory, focusing on visual artists from the 20th and 21st centuries. The women introduced in this unit have made a significant unit, 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.
  • Be aware that this unit discusses some difficult topics. Life in Motion includes descriptions of domestic violence, eating disorders, and use of the N-word. 
  • Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina includes descriptions of domestic violence, eating disorders, and use of the N-word. Guidance on how to intellectually prepare for lessons including these topics are included under "Note for Teachers" within designated lessons. Be mindful of your students' experiences when planning. 
  • In this unit, "Misty" is used when referring to the text to maintain a formal and respectful tone towards the literary work, emphasizing its themes and narrative. Conversely, "Copeland" is used in Key Questions, Target Tasks, and other analysis throughout the unit when discussing Misty Copeland as an author. This allows for an analysis of her writing style, personal insights, and broader influences on literature and culture.

Fishtank ELA Connections

Lesson Map


Common Core Standards


Core Standards

L.6.1
L.6.1.a
L.6.5
L.6.5.a
RI.6.2
RI.6.3
RI.6.4
RI.6.5
RI.6.7
RI.6.9
RL.6.5
RL.6.9
SL.6.1
SL.6.1.a
SL.6.1.c
SL.6.2
SL.6.3
SL.6.4
SL.6.5
W.6.1
W.6.1.a
W.6.1.b
W.6.2
W.6.2.a
W.6.2.b
W.6.2.c
W.6.2.d
W.6.5
W.6.6
W.6.7
W.6.8

Supporting Standards

L.6.1.b
L.6.2
L.6.2.a
L.6.2.b
L.6.3
L.6.3.a
L.6.3.b
L.6.5.b
L.6.5.c
L.6.6
RI.6.1
RI.6.6
RI.6.8
RI.6.10
RL.6.1
RL.6.2
RL.6.4
RL.6.10
SL.6.1.b
SL.6.6
W.6.1.c
W.6.1.d
W.6.1.e
W.6.2.e
W.6.2.f
W.6.4
W.6.9
W.6.9.b
W.6.10
icon/arrow/right/large copy

Unit 2

Challenging Authority: The Giver

icon/arrow/right/large

Unit 4

Finding Connection: The Outsiders

Request a Demo

See all of the features of Fishtank in action and begin the conversation about adoption.

Learn more about Fishtank Learning School Adoption.

Contact Information

School Information

What courses are you interested in?

ELA

Math

Are you interested in onboarding professional learning for your teachers and instructional leaders?

Yes

No

Any other information you would like to provide about your school?

We Handle Materials So You Can Focus on Students

We Handle Materials So You Can Focus on Students

We've got you covered with rigorous, relevant, and adaptable ELA lesson plans for free