Age/Grade Level: High School/Grades 9-12
Lesson Duration: 60 minutes
Interdisciplinary Subjects: Biology, Mathematics, Psychology, and Art
Learning Objectives
- Understand the mathematical and biological basis of spirals in nature.
- Analyze the parallels between spirals in nature and social/emotional spirals.
- Develop self-awareness and self-management skills through understanding emotional spirals.
Materials Required
- Slides showing examples of spirals in nature
- Art supplies for creating personal spirals
- Reflection journals
Lesson Outline
- Introduction to Spirals in Nature (15 mins): Start the lesson by showcasing different spirals found in nature: seashells, flowers, hurricanes, galaxies, etc. Introduce the mathematical concept of the Fibonacci sequence and the golden spiral. Discuss how these spirals are examples of regenerative patterns in nature.
- Exploration of Spirals in Emotions (15 mins): Transition into the psychological concept of spirals in human emotion. Discuss how positive thoughts and emotions can lead to an upward spiral of wellbeing, while negative thoughts and emotions can trigger a downward spiral of despair or depression. Introduce the concept of emotional regulation and coping mechanisms. Connect these emotional spirals to the concept of spirals in nature, emphasizing how natural it is for emotions to fluctuate.
- Art Activity (15 mins): Students create their own ’emotion spirals’ using art supplies. They will start at the center with a color or symbol representing their current emotion, and then spiral outward, expressing how their emotions might change or progress.
- Reflection and Discussion (10 mins): Students will reflect on their art and their understanding of spirals in nature and emotions in their journals. Open up for a class discussion where students share their thoughts and feelings about the activity and the parallels they’ve drawn between natural and emotional spirals.
- Regenerative Learning Closure (5 mins): End the lesson with an emphasis on regenerative learning. Discuss how understanding and visualizing emotional spirals can help us recognize our patterns and make constructive changes. Reiterate how nature, too, regenerates and adapts, reinforcing the parallel between nature’s spirals and our emotional spirals.
Assessment
Students will be evaluated based on their participation in the discussion, their reflection journal entries, and their creation of an ’emotion spiral’ in the art activity. The goal is not just to understand the theory behind spirals in nature and emotions, but also to apply that understanding to self-awareness and emotional regulation.
Extensions
Students could research more on spirals in nature, emotional spirals, or the Fibonacci sequence and present their findings in the following class. They could also create more detailed or larger-scale emotion spiral artworks as a form of therapeutic self-expression.
Standards
- Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): HS-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
- Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS.MATH): HSF-IF.C.7 Graph functions expressed symbolically and show key features of the graph, by hand in simple cases and using technology for more complicated cases.
- National Core Arts Standards (NCAS): VA:Cr2.1.HSIII Through experimentation, practice, and persistence, demonstrate acquisition of skills and knowledge in a chosen art form.
- Social Emotional Learning Standards (CASEL): Self-Awareness: Identifying Emotions; Self-Management: Stress Management
Disclaimer
This lesson was created and edited with assistance from ChatGPT-4.0. using the following prompt: Create a secondary interdisciplinary lesson, that makes use of regenerative learning methods, that relates spirals found in nature to social and emotional spirals experienced by man. Provide a teaching standard if they exist.