ART EDUCATION PORTFOLIO

LESSONS

Here are a few examples of lessons I have conducted in the past.  Please keep in mind that I have taught a wide range of ages, and have also worked with the special needs population.  I don’t usually label my lessons with grades or age appropriateness- I find that for the most part the appropriateness of a lesson depends entirely on the maturity of the class over all, and not age.

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Landscape collage

Objective:

Students will create a landscape with paper and magazine clippings.

Materials:

• 1 large piece of paper

• Glue

• Scissors

• Paper and magazines to cut up

Procedure:

1. sketch composition on large paper. Include a foreground, middle ground, and background.

2. cut out clippings and colored paper to fill in sketch and create shapes and texture in composition. Collect as many images that seem appropriate to the idea.

3. arrange images in the way that you plan to glue them down for the final product. Make sure you like the way they are set up.

4. glue down clippings in the order of background first, middle ground second, and foreground last. The original large paper should not be showing through the clippings, and should instead be completely covered.

CCCS 1.1, 1.2, 1.6

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Sky and Clouds, an easy formula

Objective:

Students will learn a straight forward approach to painting a beautiful sky with clouds, and learn about contrast byu adding a black contrasting landscape.

Materials:

• paper

• paint

• brushes

• palette

• black paint OR black construction paper with glue and scissors

Procedure:

1. Paint white in large horizontal strokes, and in large patches on the paper.

2. add very small amounts of color in the spaces between the white, and blend into it horizontally. This will create tints of color for the sky.

3. clouds are then painted with strokes that move up and down, or in a circular shape, and are blended slightly into the sky. Use white and little bits of color for tints again.

4. students add black paint along the bottom of the paper to create a simplified landscape, or cut out black construction paper into shapes and glue the pieces on the bottom of the paper for the landscape.

CCCS 1.1, 1.2, 1.6

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Scratch Art

Objective:

Students will use various media to create a scratch art drawing.

Materials:

• stiff board

• crayon or oil pastels

• black paint

• brushes

• scratch tools (wood sticks, tooth picks, anything with a dull point)

• liquid dish soap

Procedure:

1. Draw various colors on the board with the crayons or pastels until the board is completely covered with color.

2. cover the board in black paint mixed with a tiny bit of the dish soap (don’t use any water in paint). Make sure none of the color shows through, but don’t make the paint so thick that it will crack.

3. let the paint dry completely.

4. scratch off areas of paint to reveal the colors underneath. Make a picture of anything you like!

CCCS 1.2, 1.3

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Tear Bear

Objective:

Students will make a teddy bear out of torn paper with a collage method.

Materials:

• 3 different colored pieces of construction paper.

• Glue

• Markers or crayons

• Optional googley eyes

Procedure:

1. pick 3 different colors to create a bear.

2. Designate one color as the background. Designate one color as the fuzzy part of the bear. Leave the last color for the smooth/accent parts of the bear.

3. Tear a large oval piece of paper for the bears body. Make sure the edges are torn to make the bear look fuzzy. Glue this to the center of the background paper.

4. tear a round circle for the bears head and glue this on top of the body.

5. tear 4 smaller circles and oval shapes for the bears arms and legs and glue down.

6. tear 1 smaller circle for the snout of the bear and glue onto the lower center of his head.

7. tear two small half circles for ears and glue.

8. now use the colored paper chosen for the smooth accents on the bear for the rest of the project. Tear a large oval that fits into the body fo the bear for the tummy patch and glue.

9. repeat step 8 to make small accent patches for the bear’s 4 paws, the center of his ears, and his nose. Glue everything in place.

10. draw on eyes or glue down googley eyes on the bear’s head.

11. draw a background with the crayons/markers and give the teddy bear a place to live and play.

CCCS 1.2, 1.3, 1.6

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Paper Mache Hot Air Balloons

Objective:

Students will make a hot air balloon sculpture out of paper mache.

Materials:

• balloons

• cups

• newspaper

• paper Mache glue

• yarn or string

• paint

• brushes

• gesso

• hot glue gun

Procedure:

1. blow up balloon and cover all over with one layer of glue covered newspaper. Leave a circle at the bottom of the balloon uncovered to act as an “opening” for the hot air balloon.

2. repeat step 1 until balloon is covered with several layers of newspaper.

3. cover the cup completely with several layers of newspaper and glue. The cup will be the basket of the hot air balloon.

4. when the paper mache is dry, pop the actual balloon. Then paint the outside of the paper mache balloon completely with gesso.

5. also paint the cup with gesso. Cover the inside and outside of the cup completely.

6. use the colored paint to decorate the balloon and basket as desired. Bright colors and patterns work best on the balloon while neutral colors look better on the basket.

7. Use the hot glue cut to glue several strands of yarn into the top of the basket. Then glue the other side of the yarn to the balloon. If successful the basket should hang from the balloon like a real hot air balloon would.

8. Glue fishing line or string to the top of the balloon and use this string to hang the balloon from the ceiling. It will look like it is flying into the air!

CCCS 1.2, 1.3, 1.6

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Packing Tape Sculptures based on George Segal

Objective:

Students will make a life sized human sculpture out of tape based on the artwork of George Segal.

Materials:

• Several rolls of clear packing tape

• Scissors

• A mannequin, or a human model if students are mature enough

• Syran wrap

• Optional tape or papers for decoration

• Optional props to use as a mold or for reference in the decoration of human sculpture

Procedure:

1. Read the hand out about George Segal’s Artwork.

1. Wrap up the mannequin entirely with 1 layer tape, STICKY SIDE FACING OUT! Do not cover the tube for blowing it up. Do not wrap it too tightly.

1. Wrap up the entire mannequin again, now with the shiny normal side facing out.

1. Repeat step 2 again, and keep wrapping the whole mannequin for 3-5 layers, until the tape is thick enough to hold it’s shape without the mannequin.

1. Cut the tape off the mannequin, and then tape the shell closed. You will have a life sized person made of tape!

1. You may need to make additional hands and feet. Decide who will be the model and who will be the wrapper. Wrap the model’s hands and feet just like you did with the sculpture. Cut the tape shell off the model and then tape it onto the sculpture.

1. Decide if you want to add any more features to the face or body (like a hat, a prop, etc). Syran wrap is very helpful when trying to create delicate details on the sculpture (such as a nose or lips).

1. Decide if you want to leave the sculpture clear or if you want to paint it. If you are going to paint it, decide together what color you want to paint it.

CCCS 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 1.6

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Pop Art Student Faces

Objective:

Students will gain an understanding of Pop art based on the work of Andy Warhol, and make their own pop art prints.

Materials:

• Black and white photocopies from a photograph of a “pop icon” of the school (a teacher or student)

• Paint, brushes, and paper for printing

Or

• Color drawing materials

Procedure:

1. Explain the basic premise of pop art, and how Andy Warhol repeated black and white images, but silk screened different colors into each image.

2. Help the classes designate who would be a pop icon from the school, and obtain a photo of the person. Make many black and white copies of the photo- enough for each student to have several copies.

3. Show the students a printing method of their own: they can paint on a blank sheet of paper, press it over the photocopy, and then remove it. Their photocopy will be colored in a manner not unlike Andy Warhol’s process.

4. If students are younger, or dry materials are better, then let them color the images in with marker, crayons, colored pencil, etc.

5. Hang up all of the images together to make a unified pop artwork.

CCCS 1.2, 1.3, 1.5

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Gesture Drawings (“Scribble” drawings)

Objective:

Students will become familiar with line in the form of gestural technique.

Materials:

• Newsprint paper for experiments

• Good paper for finished drawings

• Any drawing medium (charcoal is good for advanced students. Oil pastels or crayon works well for beginner students)

Procedure:

1. Explain that there are lots of different lines that can be used to make a drawing, and looking at line types one at a time is the best way to learn about them.

2. introduce examples of gesture drawings and explain that they are quick and spontaneous, and loosen up the artist’s wrist like stretching loosens you up before gym.

3. students should hold their crayon and move it in circles in the air with their wrists only. Have them try the same thing on paper.

4. have students continue this, pressing lighter or harder on paper to make different lines.

5. have a student or teacher pose as a model for the class. Have the students draw a gesture drawing of the model. Many quick poses are better than fewer long ones for this assignment.

CCCS 1.1, 1.2, 1.3

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Massed Gesture Drawing

Objective:

Students will understand how to shade a subject with massed gesture lines.

Materials:

• Newsprint paper for experiments

• Good paper for finished drawings

• Any drawing medium (charcoal is good for advanced students. Oil pastels or crayon works well for beginner students)

Procedure:

1. Do a gesture drawing with the same procedure outlined in the first gesture drawing lesson. Instead of working from a model, working from a still life with dramatic lighting is best.

2. Point out where the darkest part of the still life is. Block out the dark parts of the gesture study using a basic geometric shape that fits the shape of the dark area.

3. color the basic shape in with more gesture lines to make it darker.

4. Explain that using a thicker medium creates a heavier line, and is both faster and gives a different kind of effect.

5. Encourage students to try this technique with different mediums.

CCCS 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.6

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Contour or “Outline” Drawing

Objective:

Students will become familiar with line in the form of a contour drawing.

Materials:

• Newsprint paper for experiments

• Good paper for finished drawings

• Any drawing medium, but pen and marker work best

Procedure:

1. Explain that contour drawing is a line that traces the outlines of a shape. Contour lines are graceful, light, and beautiful. Some contour drawings are detailed while others are simpler. Show examples.

2. have students practice contour drawing from a still life, drawing just the outline of the shape like a shadow. The line should be continuous as possible.

3. add details to the shape if desired with more contour lines.

4. the students can draw more than one contour shape on a paper and overlap them to make interesting compositions.

CCCS 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.6

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Shading Value in Shapes

Objective:

Students will learn how to shade a shape according to where the light source is.

Materials:

• newsprint paper for practice

• colored paper

• pencil

• colored pencil or pastels

• white chalk

• black crayon

• ruler

• worksheet with examples of different 3 dimensional shapes

Procedure:

1. draw c ircle.

2. label an X or draw a sun where the light source is.

3. divide the circle into three parts. The part farthest from the light source should be colored in with black crayon. The part closest to the light source should be colored in with white chalk. The part in the middle should be colored in with pencil.

4. add a shadow under the circle on the opposite side of the light source. Draw the shadow with the black crayon.

5. hand out colored paper and divide it into 4 sections. Students should draw 1 shape in each section with a light source and shade it in. they can use the worksheet for reference, or if need be they can shade right onto the worksheet instead of drawing the shapes themselves. Shapes can be done in black and white again, or in color.

CCCS 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.6

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Drawing a Shape Tower

Objective:

Students will demonstrate ability to shade value on an object by drawing a shape tower.

Materials:

• large paper

• pencil

• colored pencils

• ruler

Procedure:

1. hold the paper long ways and draw a horizon line.

2. pick where the light source is, and indicate it with an X or a sun.

3. draw one shape on the ground and shade it according to the light source. The shading can be in black and white or color.

4. Add another shape on top of the first, and shade.

5. continue adding different shapes, on top of the next, until there is a tower.

6. draw the shadow last. Make sure the shadow shows the whole tower as one shape, like a contour drawing. Shade the shadow in so that it is dark.

CCCS 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.6

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Altered Books

Objective:

Students will use various art media to create their own altered books.

Materials:

• an old book for each student

• any drawing media in the art room (mainly 2D media)

Procedure:

1. Show students examples of altered books, both done professionally and by students.

2. Explain that their books can be based around a central idea or can be a collection of themes or things they find interesting.

3. They should decorate the whole book, cover and each page, as they want. They can use any media to add to what is already in the book or completely cover the content of the book with something new.

CCCS 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.6

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Pass the Graffiti

Objective:

To enable students to cooperate as a class in order to complete an artwork together.

To learn about graffiti as an art form.

Materials:

• 1 large piece of paper for the whole class

• Markers or colored pencils

Procedure: Discuss the concept of graffiti as a cultural expression with the class. Each student gets a decided amount of time to draw on the paper before them. They may draw freely. When time is up, the student passes the paper to the right. The next students begins to draw on the paper, either adding to what the previous student drew or starting something new in a different place. This process continues as long as desired. When finished, discuss the development of the drawing with the class. Ask them to think about the final product, and decide whether it looks good or bad and why. They should discuss what the picture could be about to someone who was not in the class.

CCCS 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.6