Elementary Unit
This is a unit I taught along with 2 other girls in September/October. These students do NOT have an art class normally, so while they were in 3rd grade, they are not as advanced visually as students would be if they had art on a regular basis.
With this unit we had to have a literacy connection, we did a mixed fall setting. The literacy connection being that we were creating a setting with characters. The unit lasted for 6 50 minute classes.
Day 1- We had students paint a tree, which would be the main character in their setting. This really let them use their imaginations. We showed them trees from Disney movies (what is the difference in the tree from The Lion King and Pocahontas?) as well as trees by Van Gogh and other artists. We played music for the kids as they worked and they were very quiet. They were excited to paint and because they were making something from their imagination, they had no hesitations. We talked about line quality and how to make our work unique.
Day 2- Today we did leaf printing on tracing paper. We talked about how leaves would show our viewer that our setting was Fall. We talked about art needing visual cues, and one way you tell that it is fall is through the leaves changing colors. We discussed how artists can use nature to create art. We did leaf printing (painting the leaves, then placing the leaves down onto paper) on tracing paper so that once the leaves were cut out, they would be opaque enough to see the tree paintings underneath. We wanted students to do this on a separate sheet of paper because it took them a while to make consistently good prints.
Day 3- Today we did observational drawings of fall objects which would then be used for lesson 4. We started with blind contour drawings which the kids LOVED and then we did observational contour drawings. When they were finished we had students trade objects and draw them from various angles. Originally this was to be lesson one, but it was WAY better as 3. The students already had a boost in confidence from painting their trees, so they were ok with drawing today.
Day 4- Today we started a 2-day lesson in printmaking. We did styrafoam print plate prints because they’re way easier to do with younger kids! You draw into a styrafoam plate with a pen to create indents, then you can use a brayer and ink or markers and water to create prints. This day we just had the kids make the plates, using the drawings they had done on the third day. They redrew their images onto a piece of paper, then taped them onto the plates and traced them, and made a few print plates each.
Day 5- Today the students printed their fall objects! We used markers and water. You use a spray bottle to spray the paper, color on the styrafoam with markers and press! It’s so quick and easy. The students traded print plates, used different colors and made tons and tons of prints. We talked about variance in prints.
Day 6- Other than the initial tree painting, everything else had been done on separate pieces of paper. Today the students cut the best pieces out and assembled them onto their paintings. We talked about composition and started with a small “game”. I had the tree painting I did laminated, and then laminated leaf prints, the print I made from the styrafoam plate, and my drawing and put double-sided tape on all of the “extras”. I had the students come up and practice arranging the pieces to create a good composition. We talked about eye movement and how one places the pieces can affect the piece. We talked about how even though the students made many prints and drawings, they were only to pick the best ones, or else they would completely cover their tree paintings! Some students finished early and began drawing other images into their pieces.
All of the work turned out great! There pictures are some of the students’ finished pieces. :) (Click the photos to view them larger!)
