How Do You Rest?

Universal Design for Learning lesson plan.

Overview

“How Do You Rest?” is a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guided sixth-grade lesson plan. The plan outlines an accessible lesson about “Rest Is Power.” Curated by the Center for Black Visual Culture at New York University, the fall 2023 art exhibition focused on how Black people’s “rest is resistance.” My lesson plan covers the pre-trip, onsite, and post-trip.

My plan’s primary outcomes/objectives are that students will:

  • Practice observation, using descriptive language, and building visual literacy.
  • Think about the importance of rest and identify at least one form in their lives.
  • Recognize that rest is an act of resistance for Black people.

Printable Versions

Lesson Plan
“How Rest Is An Act Of Resistance For Black People” (Wilson, 2023)

Worksheet

Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan

An accessible lesson about and visit to the “Rest Is Power” exhibition [1]

Date: December 2023
Subject: English Language Arts
Grade level: Sixth
School: Near Manhattan’s Bowery neighborhood, where the gallery is located

Locations:

  1. Pre-visit: school classroom
  2. Visit: on-site at NYU’s Center for Black Visual Culture’s gallery, 20 Cooper Sq, New York, NY
  3. Post-visit: school classroom (split over two days)

Outcomes: Students will

  • Practice observation, using descriptive language, and (to a lesser extent) building visual literacy.
  • Think about the importance of rest and at least one form of it in their lives.
  • Recognize that rest is an act of resistance for Black people.
[1] The exhibition was curated by the Center for Black Visual Culture at New York University. It focused on how Black people's “rest is resistance.” It ran from September to October 2023. In this imagined lesson plan, the exhibition is current.

Materials

Note: Add student-specific assistive technology where appropriate. For example, a student whose 504 states they can use a computer to type instead of writing something out by hand.

Pre-Visit Materials

Visit Materials

  • Printed Handouts
  • Clipboards
  • Writing implements

Post-Visit Materials

  • Student laptops
  • Visual component of assessment, if applicable.
[2] A social narrative and sensory guide for this one small room (especially one with little of sensory note), likely adds little value, but I want to introduce the concepts and so included templates from the “Sensory Resources Guide For Museum” by NYU’s Ability Project.

Technology

  • Documents should pass Grackle’s (or similar) accessibility audits to support people looking at digital versions.
  • Teacher laptop
  • Classroom projector
  • Computers for students
  • Color printer
  • Any applicable student-specific assistive technology. Examples:
    • Audio player (such as headphones and the student’s cellphone with pre-downloaded MP3s)
    • FM/DM system

Prior Learning Connections

  • “Where I’m From” poems – due to this assignment, students will already be familiar with using descriptive language, discussing personal topics like family, and sharing respectful feedback on other students’ work.

Differentiation

English Writing Skills

  • The Assessment intentionally allows a wide range of English writing skill levels. For example, it is not prescriptive about vocabulary or even minimum length. Students can choose their format (e.g., paragraphs, drawings, etc.) for the second of the two parts.

  • Students will spend most of their time at the gallery working independently. If they finish the activity quickly, then they can select another artwork.

  • As currently written, this lesson plan does not make specific accommodations for students with emerging English multilingualism. The assignment could be written in any language, but the class discussion and sharing activities would likely need person-specific accommodations for students early in their English language acquisition.

Accommodations

This lesson plan is intended to be reasonably widely accessible; however, it assumes that specific accommodations will be made on a case-by-case basis.

This section focuses on accommodations specific to the gallery visit.

Inclusion of the Written Word

  • The site visit worksheet includes the teacher’s example for students who want to refer back to it. While this helps anyone who wants it, it especially aids students with extra needs, such as those with limited hearing or shorter-term memory loss.

Students With Blindness or Low Vision [3]

  • Depending on the student’s level of sight and comfort, it might make sense to go through the exhibition catalog beforehand with the student to select an artwork whose description resonates with them. During the gallery visit, that student and a sighted student could work together. If this occurs, and the two students are willing, they should share their descriptions and experiences crafting it with the class!

Students With Limited Mobility

  • If the student’s level of mobility makes it difficult for them to study an artwork in its current configuration, the artist and gallery might allow the student to use a high-quality printout of the work’s photo during the lesson.

  • The gallery appears to be wheelchair accessible.

Neurodivergent Students

[3] While not applicable for this visit, swell printing seems like an intriguing way to potentially interact with two-dimensional art, especially as three-dimensional printing continues to be more widely accessible. The Guggenheim Museum's Mind's Eye Programs have previously used it.

Special Concerns

(Classroom management items, medication information, etc.)

  • Allergies: Do not use food students are allergic to in the “lemon identification activity.”

Assessment

Formative Assessment

The teacher will monitor, without grading, student learning throughout their participation (both verbal and non-verbal). During the independent work time at the gallery, the teacher will circulate.

Summative Assessment

See the “Assignment Details” section of UDL Rest Worksheet.

Procedure

This section is closely related to § Materials.

Pre-Visit

In-class (45 minutes)

Part one: Visit-specific social narrative [2] and an introduction to tomorrow’s plan. (5 minutes)

  • The larger the site, the more critical we talk through the visit beforehand.

Part two: Lemon identification activity “When Life Hands You a Lemon, Peel It” (15 minutes)

  • The activity encourages students to look closely at objects and describe what they see. It further allows students to explore through touch and sight, allowing them to participate in learning beyond verbal discussion. As stated in the activity description, this activity also reminds students that “despite outside differences, people are often similar on the inside.”

  • Passing out two or three different types of fruit may simplify and streamline the activity.

Part three: Read and discuss the Huffpost article (linked in § Materials) (25 minutes)

  • Rationale: This article is more approachable to sixth graders than the “Curatorial Statement” in the exhibition catalog (p. 6) or the Nap Ministry website. The seven different kinds of rest listed are also helpful for preparing for our visit.

  • Note on activity ordering: Students will do the lemon identification activity before this because (1) it will allow the students to move around and be silly before needing to be serious, and (2) the class will end on this topic, making it easier for students who wish to continue to think about and discuss the article do so.

Visit

On-site (60 minutes)

See § Worksheet.

Post-Visit

Part one: On the day after the visit, the class will spend the first part of class reflecting on the visit (5–15 minutes).

Part two: On the day the summative assessment is due, students will spend most of the class period sharing their work in small groups.

Worksheet

Worksheet

Ms. Stein’s Example

The teacher’s example below is from pages 1–2 of the worksheet.

Artwork Overview

Title My Mother Named Me Beloved
Artist Kalila Ain
Year 2021
Dimensions 24 in x 36 in
Accompanying Text “My mother named me Kalila, Ain (meaning: beloved, apple of my eye) because my birth brought her abundance and a new capacity for love that was so all encompassing, she had previously thought it inconceivable. Namesake of Toni Morrison’s 1987 novel, My Mother Named Me Beloved centers the deep, unwavering love between mother and daughter, water as a source of reconnection, and exhalation as a result of this union.”


Images

Painting is described in the next section, called 'Description'.
Uneven paint layer thickness creates the illusion of sparkles on the girl's bathing suit
Exhibition catalog photo of My Mother Named Me Beloved (left). Zoomed in and angled photo taken of the painting by Ms. Stein at the exhibition showing different paint texture (right).

Description

My Mother Named Me Beloved by Kalila Ain (2021) is a three-foot wide, two-foot high painting. The painting’s background is blue and white. There are a lot of different shades of blue. The brush strokes and even the brush hairs are visible in many places. Some strokes come together to form peaks, giving the background the appearance of water over about ⅜ of the canvas. A much darker blue item on top of the water appears to be a blanket or towel. Two figures, appearing like a woman and a girl, lie on the blanket with their eyes closed. The woman covers about ⅜ of the canvas, and the girl ⅛. The woman is visible from head to midthigh. The girl is visible from her head to part of her backside. They are lying close together, but it is unclear if they are touching. The woman is on her right side, and the girl is on her stomach. Their faces are towards the viewer.

From the viewer’s perspective, the woman’s body is curved, with her left thigh in the upper right corner and her right hand extended into the lower left corner. The figures have similar hair colors and golden brown skin. Based on the painting’s title and the accompanying text, the child and woman may be the artist, Kalila Ain, and her mother. The woman appears to be wearing a blue one-piece swimsuit, and the girl a sparkly blue two-piece. The girl has goggles resting over her eyebrows. The blanket comes apart at the edges. At two points at its bottom, it drips down. It fades around its upper edge. The blue shadowing on the figures’ left arms suggests their bodies are slightly in the water. The reflection of the woman’s left hand is visible in the water.

Personal Connection

Growing up, my father and I went to the public swimming pool most days after my summer camp and his work day. I loved it. Even though I was in the pool at camp, this was much more fun. In the evenings, I did not have swim lessons. When I was little, my father and I would play together in the pool. When I got older, I would play with other kids, and he would swim laps. Then we would relax by the pool. We often had a snack. Sometimes, we napped like Kalila Ain and her mother. Sometimes, we read our books side-by-side. I love swimming. But, most of all, I loved spending that time with my dad. Those summer evenings are some of my favorite memories.

Students’ Turn

Students will complete pages 3–4 of the worksheet. It follows the same format as the teacher’s example, but provides a couple hints.

  1. Spend a few minutes looking around for an artwork you feel strongly connected to.

  2. Fill out the "Artwork Overview" table. (Note: The chart does not include "Images".)

  3. Write a "description" guided by the following:

    • How would you describe it to someone over the phone (when you can't video call or send photos!)?

    • Try to be objective and descriptive. For example, instead of "a beautiful day," say, "the sun is in a light blue sky with no visible clouds."

    • Try to avoid making significant assumptions. For example, the teacher wrote that "[b]ased on the painting's title and the accompanying text, the child and woman may be the artist, Kalila Ain, and her mother" because it does not say that they are, but it seems like a reasonable guess.

  4. Write a "personal connection" guided by the following:

    • Explain why you feel strongly connected to this artwork. Choose whatever format you prefer. Examples: a poem, a song, a drawing, one or more paragraphs.

Assignment Details

Page 5 of the worksheet outlines the post-visit assignment.

For the exhibition catalog, go to bit.ly/rest-exhibit-catalog.

Type up your work.

  • Times New Roman 12pt font, double-spaced, 1-inch margins.

  • Remember to italicize the title of the work of art.

  • Include the work's photo from the exhibition catalog. You will probably need to take a screenshot of the image to include it.

  • If the work has an artist “statement” in the catalog, include that in quotes.

  • Aim to make your description at most two pages long. There is no minimum length, but remember to be thorough. The work's photo and the artist's “statement” do not count.

  • Use correct [Standard American] English spelling and grammar.

  • Notes on the personal connection part:

    • Standard spelling and grammar are not required in your song or poem.

    • If yours is visual, such as a drawing or collage, include it separately.

Before turning in your work, you will share both parts in small groups in class on the due date.

  • This informal presentation will not be graded.

  • At the start of group time, you should have the photo of the exhibition artwork you chose on your computer ready to be shown to your group as you share your description.

  • If your personal connection part is visual, you must have it ready to be shared.

  • You can prerecord the reading and play it for your group instead of reading it out loud in real-time. Prerecording is optional. If you decide to, you must have it ready at the start of the group time. Remember to test it before class!

  • The teacher will select the groups. Each group will have around six people.

Acknowledgments

Images:

  • This page’s project cover photo a screenshot from an Instagram Reel (i.e., short video) posted by the exhibition’s creator, the Center for Black Visual Culture at the Institute of African American Affairs, NYU.


Additional Resources