Character & Values

ARTEFFECT spotlights diverse Unsung Heroes from history who demonstrated altruistic character traits and values and took heroic actions that benefited others and society. This lesson explores ways students can connect with these role models by developing historical empathy. Historical empathy can lead to increased creativity and understanding in visual art activities. Explore K-12 curriculum connections, social-emotional learning, hands-on activities, and arts integration across history and ELA. Practices that build critical thinking and inquiry, mindful-looking, and vocabulary skills are modeled.

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ARTEFFECT professional development sessions are free to attend and will be recorded. All registered attendees will receive a recording of the session and a lesson plan via email. A PD certificate will be available for download. Attendance at ARTEFFECT online events constitutes consent to its recording and distribution.

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In this session, you will:

1. Understand historical empathy as a tool for students to examine issues and problems from the past, placing people and events in a matrix of time and place.
2. Create approaches forteaching students the importance of individual moral standards, character traits, and heroic actions with an emphasis on the LMC Unsung Heroes.
3. Support students in visually interpreting the stories of LMC Unsung Heroes as role models who have made a difference in the lives of others by comparing the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of events and decisions, and determining the lessons that were learned.
4. Strengthen connections between visual art, English language arts, and social studies.

Dr. Veronica Alvarez

Executive Director, Create CA, Pasadena, CA

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Born in Michoacán, Mexico, Dr. Alvarez is an educator, historian, and arts advocate. She has worked with students of all ages, teaching subjects such as Spanish, ancient Greek and Roman history, and inclusive pedagogy. She was a museum practitioner for over 20 years, working at the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art where she wrote curricula and led professional development for teachers. Dr. Alvarez has served as an education consultant for various entities including UCLA’s Fowler’s Museum, LMU’s Family of Schools, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the U.S. State Department, and the State Department of Cultural Affairs in Chiapas, Mexico. Dr. Alvarez has also developed online learning models on arts integration with the Teaching Channel and the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Dr. Alvarez holds a BA in Liberal Studies, an MA in History, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership for Social Justice. Dr. Alavarez is currently Executive Director of Create CA, an art education advocacy organization, and was previously Executive Director, Community Arts Partnerships at CalArts.