Stefanie Koszarek

EDMT 380-002
Fall 2004
Project #1

Description/Summary:
O’Keeffe is a 60-minute video about the life and works of Georgia O’Keeffe. It is a very interesting documentary that explains the trials and tribulations Georgia went through before she became a famous painter. This video has fantastic visual support as it shows a large number of Georgia’s works ranging from landscapes and flowers to bones and abstract pieces she has painted. The viewers feel like they really understand Georgia and her artwork after they have watched the documentary.

Credibility/Content/Reasoning:
WNET/Thirteen is a part of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), a reliable and respectable company. O’Keeffe is a truthful documentary that looks beyond Georgia O’Keeffe’s artwork to show viewers the woman behind the masterpieces.

The video segment is appropriate for this lesson because Georgia O’Keeffe’s artwork is the core and motivation of the lesson. The teacher chose this particular segment of the video because it is short and sweet, yet gives the students insight into why Georgia painted the flowers the way she did. The video segment shows samples of different paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe as she names the kind of flower she painted. She then goes into detail about a one painting, pointing out the specific part of the flower she painted. That is the end of the chosen segment which leads beautifully into the science part of the lesson: Naming Parts of a Flower.

Lesson Use
(For 4-6th grade class creating a Flower book)

Class Preparation
The teacher would prepare the students by asking questions such as, “Does anyone have a favorite flower?” “What time of year do you see the most flowers?” “Where else do you see flowers besides outside?” Next, the teacher would lead into the idea that many artists are inspired by flowers and choose to express their feelings about flowers through paintings, literature, and scientific studies. The teacher would then introduce Georgia O’Keeffe and explain she is a famous painter of flowers and that the students are going to see a video to learn about her works and her modes of inspiration. The students should be reminded they are to watch the video to learn names of flowers and parts of flowers and why Georgia decided to paint flowers.

Viewing Details
The entire video would not be appropriate for the content of this lesson. However, the teacher chose a specific segment of the video for this lesson because it will raise students’ interest in Georgia O’Keeffe, art, and flowers.

The selected segment of the video will be played early in the lesson. First, the teacher will ask opening questions (see Class Preparation above) to engage and interest the students. Then the teacher will show the tape.

Note: Cueing the Tape

Start segment at 32:10 when Georgia says, "That big Hollyhock with blue Larkspur can go in any direction."
End segment at 34:35 when museum curator says, "...really same kind of thing she does in landscape and in still life." (camera zooms out on painting)
Restart at 34:50 with the interviewer asking Georgia, "Why have you done those paintings in series?"
End segment at 35:47 with Georgia saying, "Does that make sense to you?"

Post Viewing Interaction
After the video is played, the teacher distributes the handout. It asks students what different names of flowers Georgia talked about painting, why she painted her flowers so large, how did people respond to Georgia’s works at first, and what specific part of the flower did Georgia chose to paint and of what type of flower? The teacher allows about ten minutes for the sheet and the whole class will discuss afterward.

Web Component

Lesson Plan Outline

Main Page

Last Updated 28 October, 2004

Questions? Contact koszarsj@uwec.edu