ART UNIT Essay, Research Paper

Art Lesson

Title of Lesson : A Colorful World

Appropriate Age : Six years old.

Objectives : At six years old, most children already have set preconceptions of how things are supposed to look. This lesson is designed for them to use their imaginations and experiment with color. They will get to look at landscapes painted by Paul Gauguin to see how he experimented with and used color. The students also practice using oil pastels and their techniques. They will also get a chance to work from life (either outdoors or pictures).

Materials : Photographs of the outdoors (taken in advance by the teacher), prints of some of Paul Gauguin’s landscapes, white paper, and oil pastels will be needed for this lesson.

Motivation : The class is told that they will be creating a picture of the outside world (landscape). The teacher asks the class – What color is the sky?, the grass?, a field?, a lake?, a tree?. The students are then told that for this lesson they are to forget about all that.

The teacher introduces the Post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin to the class. A variety of his paintings are shown to the class including – Matamoe ( a landscape with peacocks), Tahitian Pastorals (has a red body of water), Tahitian Landscape watercolor (trees and bushes all different colors), and Riders on the Beach (the sand is painted pink). The different colors used are pointed out to the class while looking at the paintings.

The teacher asks the class to imagine a world where every thing is a different color then what it normally is. The teacher tells them to keep that image in their head. The teacher does a demonstration using oil pastels reminding the students of the different techniques that can be used.

Procedure : The class is going to be drawing a landscape. If it is not possible to go outside, photographs can be taken of trees, hills, streams, fields, ect. These photographs are to be passed out to each student for them to work from. The students are instructed to look at their picture and imagine that every thing is a different color, for example, a tree might be purple and the sky

might be green. The students are to use white paper and oil pastels to draw their landscapes. They are to use the different techniques of oil pastels – layering the colors, blending, pressing hard for a textured look or pressing soft. The students are to fill the whole paper and when they are finished, the pictures are to be hung up in the front of the class.

Closure : The students have their finished landscapes hung up for every one to view. Even though every thing in the pictures are different colors then normal, it is still very apparent what things are. It seems that changing the colors gives the pictures more feeling. The teacher asks the class what feelings they get from looking at the pictures. It is observed that the pictures look like “fairy tale worlds”. Most students used bright colors which gave the pictures a happy feeling. Some students used black and other dark colors which gave the pictures a scary feeling, making them look almost like a “forbidden land”.

Evaluation : The students got a chance to use their imaginations and experiment with color. They were able to use the colors differently then they normally do. They successfully used the oil pastels and their techniques. It seemed that the photographs worked just as well, if not better, then actually going outside.

Art and Writing Lesson

Title of Lesson : And To Think That I Saw It…

Appropriate Age : Six years old.

Objectives : This lesson is to get the students to activate passive knowledge and think more about the things that they see every day. The students will use their imaginations to make up a story about something that they see every day ( an animal, a plant, a car, ect.). The students will learn to convey their thoughts and ideas down on paper (with help from the teacher if needed). The students will also get to practice techniques of tempera paint.

Materials : To do this lesson, the materials needed are, the story And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss, writing paper, pencils, poster board, tempera paint, and paint brushes.

Motivation : The teacher starts the class off by reading And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss. This is a story about a boy who only sees a horse and wagon on his way home from school so he turns it into so much more (a whole parade) so that he has a story to tell his father. The students are to think of something that they see every day and make up a story about it. The teacher gives an example – Every day she looks out her window and sees a small cluster of trees. Only she doesn’t just see them as trees, she sees a whole family with a mom, dad, and children. When it starts getting cold out, the mom and dad shake their leaves off so that the children can use them to keep warm. The teacher tells the class that their stories can be about anything and as silly as they would like them to be.

Procedure : The students are to think of something that they see regularly and tell a story about it. Once they decide on their story, they are to write it down (with help from the teacher if needed). Each student will then get a piece of poster board to illustrate their story on. Using tempera paint, the students will paint a picture of the object that they selected. The picture should show the object’s personality or show it doing what ever it does in the story.

Closure : The students will take turns going in front of the class. They will tell their story and show their picture.

Note : This lesson will take two days.

Evaluation : Did the students use their imaginations to come up with a story? Did the students successfully put their thoughts down on paper? By reading their stories and looking at their pictures, is it clear what they were writing about? Did the students successfully use the tempera paints to create a picture of their story?

Art Lesson

Title of Lesson : I Wish That I Had…

Appropriate Age : Six years old.

Objectives : This lesson is designed so that the students use their imaginations. They should also learn that they are best just the way they are. The students will practice and learn techniques of sculpy clay.

Materials : The materials needed for this lesson are the story I Wish That I Had Duck Feet by Theo. LeSieg, writing paper, pencils, and sculpy clay.

Motivation : The teacher reads the story I Wish That I Had Duck Feet by Theo. LeSieg to the class. Together as a class, talk about how even though the boy thought that it would be a lot of fun to have some thing different, like duck feet, there were always negatives that came out.

The teacher does a demonstration of how to make a person out of sculpy clay.

Procedure : Each student thinks of something that they would like to have like duck feet, wings, fins, or a turtle shell. With help from the teacher (if needed) the students are to write down a list of reasons why they would like it and another list of reasons why they are better without it.

Using sculpy clay, the students will make themselves with whatever it is that they want. They will first make their body by rolling the sculpy -making it long and round. They will then roll a ball out for their head. Place the head on top of the body, push it down hard enough so that it stays. Make the face by first pinching out a nose, the eyes will automatically be indented. To finish the face and add detail, the sculpy can be pinched out or added on to. Use pieces of the sculpy to make arms, legs, feet, clothes, ect. (make sure that they are attached so that they do not fall off). Remind the students to add whatever it is that they want. Details and texture can be added with a pointed object like a sharpened pencil. When finished, they need to be cooked so that they harden. It may be necessary to have the students cook them at home.

– Bake the sculpy on a cooking tray at 275 degrees for about five minutes. If the sculpy is still

Closure : When the students are finished, they each get a chance to tell the class what it is that they would like to have and why. The whole class is to pretend that they have it.

Evaluation : Did the students use their imaginations when thinking of an animal part that they would like to have? Did the students successfully use the sculpy clay to portray themselves with this part? Were their projects each unique? Did the students come up with reasons why they would like to have this part? Did the students realize that they are better off with out it, being just the way that they are? Did the students enjoy pretending to have the animal parts?

Dramatic Play and Writing Lesson

Title of Lesson : What Do I Want To Be ?

Appropriate Age : Six years old.

Objectives : The students will use their imaginations to think of what they would like to be if they could be any thing (no limits). The students will practice writing and conveying their thoughts on to paper. The students will use dramatic play to express their thoughts to the other classmates

Materials : To do this lesson, the materials needed are, the story book and song of In My Own Little Corner / lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, music by Richard Rodgers; illustrated by Katherin Potter, writing paper, and pencils.

Motivation : Listen to the song and read the story In My Own Little Corner. Discuss what the song is about – a little girl that, while sitting in a corner, imagines that she is many things like a dancing mermaid.

Procedure : Each student is to think of something that they would really like to be. Encourage the students to pick whatever they want no matter how different or strange it might seem – it can be anything from a whale in the ocean to a king of the jungle. Each student will take a turn acting it out in front of the class. The other students have to guess what it is that’s being acted out. Afterwards, have the students sit down in their seats and write why they want to be what they picked. The teacher may have to go around the room and help with the writing.

Closure : The students draw a picture of themselves being what it is that they want. These pictures are to be hung up around the classroom for every one to view.

Evaluation : Did the students use their imaginations to come up with something that they would like to be? Did they successfully act it out, and were the other students able to guess it?

Were the students able to write down their reason(s) for picking it? Were the students able to draw themselves as what they wanted to be?

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