Representing Illness
In this activity, students will create a work of art that challenges cultural myths or stigmas about a specific illness.
ILLNESS LESSON 1: FINE ART / CREATIVE WRITING
1—2 class periods (45-90 min) + visual, musical, oral, or written assignment
VIDEOS:
Illness as Metaphor Video and Transcript
HANDOUTS:
Handout 1 (as needed)
Handout 2 (as needed)
WORKSHEET:
Fine Arts/Creative Writing Worksheet
TEACHING PLAN:
- Art and Culture
Medium > Visual Arts
Subject Matter > Philosophy
- History and Social Studies
Themes > Culture
Themes > History of Science and Technology
Themes > Modern World
- Literature and Language Arts
Genre > Biography
Genre > Drama
Genre > Fables, Fairytales and Folklore
Genre > Poetry
Genre > Short Stories
Place > American
Place > Modern World
- Analysis
- Creative writing
- Critical thinking
- Cultural analysis
- Discussion
- Journal writing
- Letter writing
- Making inferences and drawing conclusions
- Oral presentation skills
- Painting
- Photography
- Poetry writing
- Representing ideas and information orally, graphically and in writing
- Role-playing/Performance
- Summarizing
- Synthesis
- Visual art skills
- Visual presentation skills
- Writing skills
- ELA Reading: 4, 7
- ELA Writing: 3-6, 10
- ELA Speaking & Listening: 1-2, 4-6
- ELA Language: 5
- HSS Reading: 4, 7
- HSS Writing: 4-6, 10
- Encourage students to collaborate with people in their communities who are directly affected by illness, either by creating work with family, friends, or community members with serious illnesses or by coordinating your exhibit with a local clinic, activist group, or support organization (see our Information for Teachers).
- Choose a single myth or stigma to explore as a class—with individual students highlighting examples of this myth across different illnesses—and arrange a public exhibition of the work (see our Information for Teachers Activities). Alternately, choose a single illness to explore as a class, with individual students highlighting different examples of its myths.
- Allow additional time for peer review, editing, revision, and critique of work.
- Publish a selection of art and writing in the school newspaper or literary/art journal, coordinate a class magazine, blog, vlog, or web gallery, or encourage students to submit their final pieces independently.