EXPLORING THEMES THROUGH PRINTMAKING
Learning Description
Students will explore themes in fables and fairytales by identifying key details that support a central message. They will then create a symbol that represents this theme and use printmaking techniques to produce a visual representation of their understanding.
Learning Targets
"I Can" Statements
“I Can…”
- I can identify the central message of a fable, folktale, or fairytale and explain how key details support it.
- I can design a symbol that represents the central message of a story.
- I can create a printing plate using a styrofoam sheet and use it to make a print.
Essential Questions
- What is a theme and how can we determine it in a story?
- How do key details in a story help us understand its theme?
- How can we use symbols to represent ideas visually?
- What is printmaking, and how can it be used to express meaning?
Georgia Standards
Curriculum Standards
Grade 4:
4.T.T.1.c Identify and describe common themes in texts (e.g., good vs. evil) that are revealed through details about characters.
Grade 5:
5.T.T.1.c Explain how a theme is demonstrated through a character’s growth or conflict resolution.
Arts Standards
VA.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.
VA.CR.3 Understand and apply media, techniques, processes, and concepts of two-dimensional art.
South Carolina Standards
Curriculum Standards
ELA.AOR.2: Evaluate and critique the development of themes and central ideas within and across texts.
Grade 4:
ELA.4.AOR.2.1 Identify and explain an explicit or implied theme and how it is developed by key details in a literary text.
Grade 5:
ELA.5.AOR.2.1 Explain the development of an explicit or implied theme over the course of a literary text.
Arts Standards
Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.
Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.
Anchor Standard 7: I can relate visual arts ideas to other arts disciplines, content areas, and careers.
Key Vocabulary
Content Vocabulary
- Theme – The central idea or lesson in a story
- Key detail – An important piece of information in a story that helps explain the main idea or theme
Arts Vocabulary
- Symbol – A visual representation of an idea or theme
- Printmaking – The art or technique of making prints, especially as practiced in engraving, etching, dry point, woodcut or serigraphy
- Styrofoam printing plate – A carved surface used to make repeated prints
- Brayer – A tool used to roll ink evenly onto the printing plate
- Composition – How an artist arranges the Elements of Art (line, shape, form, value, color, space, texture) to create an artwork
Materials
- Selected fairytale or fable
- Pencils
- Copy paper
- Styrofoam sheets
- Dull pencils or ball point pens
- Water based printing ink
- Brayers
- Newsprint or packing paper
- Paper for printing
- Colored pencils or art sticks
- Drying rack or space to lay prints
Instructional Design
Opening/Activating Strategy
Engage (Read & Discuss)
- Read a selected fable or fairytale (e.g., "The Tortoise and the Hare", "The Three Little Pigs", or "The Lion and the Mouse").
- Discuss the story’s theme and identify key details that support it.
- Look closely at the illustrations.
- Ask: How do they support the theme of the story?
- Discuss what a symbol is, and ask students for examples of symbols in everyday life.
- Brainstorm symbols that could represent the theme.
- Here are some examples:
- Hard work pays off (e.g., “The Little Red Hen” – Symbol: Grain of wheat or a loaf of bread).
- Kindness is rewarded (e.g., “Cinderella” – Symbol: A heart or a helping hand).
- Patience and perseverance (e.g., “The Tortoise and the Hare” – Symbol: A slow-moving turtle or a clock).
- Bravery and courage (e.g., “Little Red Riding Hood” – Symbol: A shield or a roaring lion).
- Sharing and generosity (e.g., “Stone Soup” – Symbol: A steaming pot of soup”).
- Here are some examples:
Work Session
Explore (Sketch & Plan):
- Discuss how symbols can convey meaning visually.
- Have students sketch possible symbols on paper to represent the theme, focusing on simple yet effective designs.
- Next, have students sketch possible symbols on paper to represent the key details that help develop the theme, focusing on simple yet effective designs.
Create (Printmaking Process):
- Introduce and demonstrate the printmaking process:
- Carving the styrofoam plate:
- Draw lightly with a pencil before pressing into the styrofoam to avoid mistakes.
- Use a dull pencil or ballpoint pen to carve designs—press firmly but avoid puncturing all the way through the styrofoam.
- Keep lines simple and bold for clear prints; intricate details may not transfer well.
- Vary line thickness for added depth—thicker lines hold more ink, while thinner lines create subtle details.
- Inking the plate:
- Roll out a thin, even layer of ink on a tray before applying to the printing plate with a brayer.
- Then, using the brayer, roll a thin, even layer of ink over the styrofoam plate. Too much ink can make details disappear!
- Students should take turns rolling ink on the plate while their partner watches for even coverage.
- Printing process:
- Carefully place the inked plate face down on paper—one student can hold it while the other presses.
- Use hands or a clean brayer to press firmly and evenly over the entire plate.
- Lift the plate slowly to reveal the print!
- Carving the styrofoam plate:
Students may need to repeat this process, experimenting with different amounts of ink and application of pressure when transferring the print.
- Composition:
- Have students arrange their prints to show how the key details support the theme. For example, students might put the print representing the theme above the prints representing the key details, which might be arranged in a row below the theme.
- Cleanup and reflection:
- Lay prints flat to dry before handling.
- Have students compare their prints and discuss what worked well.
- If needed, allow students to re-ink and try again.
- Once prints are dry, add color and details with art stix, crayons, or colored pencils.
Classroom Tips:
- Students can work in pairs to create prints.
- Encourage students to work carefully.
- Make sure there is a piece of newsprint under each printmaking station.
- This process works great as a center. Set up a station and allow student pairs to rotate through to create their prints.
Extension:
- Use Book Creator to record short videos discussing the theme of their assigned fairy tale or fable.
- Students can also create digital storyboards with apps like Storyboard That to map out key details leading to the theme.
Closing Reflection
Reflect (Gallery walk and discussion):
- Display student prints and discuss how each symbol represents the theme and key details.
- Have students write a reflection explaining their design choices and how their symbols connect to the story’s theme and key details.
Assessments
Formative
- Teacher observation during discussions and sketching phase
Summative
- Final print and reflection explaining their artistic and thematic choices
Differentiation
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Accelerated:
Remedial:
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Additional Resources
Credits
Ideas contributed by: Shannon Green
*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.
Revised and copyright: May 2025 @ ArtsNOW