MONA MESA: WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?
Learning Description
Students will look at the painting, the Mona Lisa, by Leonardo DaVinci and talk about what they see, think and wonder. Students will identify visual clues to help them form an opinion about what they think the painting is about, and will write an opinion paragraph on the Mona Lisa using evidence to support their opinions. Students will then take what they learned about portraiture and create their own Mona MEsa self portrait!
Learning Targets
"I Can" Statements
“I Can…”
- I can describe what a portrait is.
- I can create a self-portrait inspired by the Mona Lisa.
- I can write an opinion paragraph using evidence to support my reasoning.
Essential Questions
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How can I describe a piece of art by forming opinions?
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How can I use visual evidence to support my opinion?
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How can art stimulate my imagination and help me understand the process of portraiture?
Georgia Standards
Curriculum Standards
Grade 2:
ELAGSE2W1: Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
ELAGSE2SL1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
Grade 3:
ELAGSE3W1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
ELAGSE3SL1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Arts Standards
Grade 2:
VA2.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.
VA2.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes.
VA2.CR.3 Understand and apply media, techniques, and processes of two-dimensional art.
VA2.RE.1 Discuss personal works of art and the artwork of others to enhance visual literacy.
Grade 3:
VA3.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.
VA3.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes.
VA3.CR.3 Understand and apply media, techniques, processes, and concepts of two dimensional art.
VA3.RE.1 Use a variety of approaches for art criticism and to critique personal works of art and the artwork of others to enhance visual literacy.
South Carolina Standards
Curriculum Standards
Grade 2:
WRITING - Meaning, Context, and Craft
Standard 1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
1.1 Explore print and multimedia sources to write opinion pieces that introduce the topic, state an opinion and supply reasons that support the opinion, use transitional words to connect opinions and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
COMMUNICATION - Meaning and Context
Standard 1: Interact with others to explore ideas and concepts, communicate meaning, and develop logical interpretations through collaborative conversations; build upon the ideas of others to clearly express one’s own views while respecting diverse perspectives.
Grade 3
WRITING - Meaning, Context, and Craft
Standard 1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
1.1 Write opinion pieces that: a. introduce the topic or text, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that includes reasons; c. organize supporting reasons logically; d. use transitional words or phrases to connect opinions and reasons; and g. provide a concluding statement or section.
COMMUNICATION - Meaning and Context
Standard 1: Interact with others to explore ideas and concepts, communicate meaning, and develop logical interpretations through collaborative conversations; build upon the ideas of others to clearly express one’s own views while respecting diverse perspectives.
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 5: I can interpret and evaluate the meaning of an artwork.
Key Vocabulary
Content Vocabulary
- Topic sentence - The sentence of a paragraph that states the subject of the paragraph
- Closure - The summary ending of a paragraph
- Opinion - The creator’s point of view on a topic
- Evidence/reason - Information from the source to support a claim
Arts Vocabulary
- Portrait - A depiction of a person
- Self-Portrait - A depiction of the artist, by the artist
- Proportion - Relative size and scale of the various elements in the portrait. How one thing relates to another thing in terms of size
- Background - The part of a picture or scene that appears to be farthest away from the viewer, usually nearest the horizon
- Foreground - The area of a picture or field of vision, often at the bottom, that appears to be closest to the viewer
- Shape - Shape is one of the seven Elements of Art and is a flat enclosed area that has two dimensions, length and width. Artists use both geometric and organic shapes.
- Horizon line - An implied line that separates the earth and the sky
Materials
- 8.5” x 11” tracing paper (1 per student)
- Digital Mona Lisa painting to project on board
- Digital image of a pre-Renaissance portrait (profile)–see “Additional Resources”
- Copy of Mona Lisa painting for each student
- Pencil with eraser
- Sharpie or other black marker
- White drawing paper
- Multicultural crayons, markers, or colored pencils
- Regular colors of crayons, markers, or colored pencils.
Instructional Design
Opening/Activating Strategy
- Project the Mona Lisa and a landscape painting.
- Ask students to explain the difference between what they see in each of the paintings.
- Students should notice that the subject/topic of the painting in the Mona Lisa is the figure and the subject of the painting in the landscape is the scenery.
- Explain that the Mona Lisa is an example of artwork called a portrait because the subject of the painting is a person. Teacher will explain that when an artist makes an artwork of themselves, it is called a “self-portrait”.
- Engage students in the See, Think, Wonder Artful Thinking Routine.
- First, with a partner, students will identify what they see in the painting. Emphasize that they should make objective observations about the image (i.e. physical features, colors, textures, etc.).
- Next, ask students to identify what they think about the image. Emphasize that students should be creating inferences using visual evidence from the painting.
- Finally, ask students what they wonder about the image.
- Facilitate a class-wide discussion around students’ observations, inferences, and questions.
Work Session
- Explain that the artwork students are looking at is an example of a landscape painting. Landscape paintings show a wide expanse of land–usually a countryside–and show depth through a background, middle ground, and foreground.
- Show students the diagram of a landscape. Explain that the background is what is farthest away from the viewer, the foreground is directly in front of the viewer, and the middle ground everything in the middle.
- Ask students to try to identify the background, middle ground, and foreground in Landscape from Saint Remy by Vincent Van Gogh.
- Explain to students that texture in art is how something feels or looks like it feels. Ask students to identify textures in the landscape painting.
- Tell students that they will be creating their own landscape artwork based off of an informational text. Provide each student with a copy of the informational text that connects to a region students are studying in Social Studies (if applicable).
- With partners, have students annotate the text as they read, looking for details that describe how the region looks such as landforms, colors, etc.
- Facilitate a discussion with students around what details they might include in the background, what details they might include in the middle ground, and what details they might include in the foreground.
- Instruct students to locate and research an additional informational text on the same region.
- Students should use their knowledge of research practices to identify a reliable source. Students should annotate the text as they did previously.
- Students will synthesize the details that they found in the two sources to create their landscape artwork.
- Introduce students to the term Collagraph Printmaking.
- Printmaking is a process by which the artist creates an image that has texture and transfers that image repeatedly onto another surface like paper.
- Tell students that the printing press is an early example of printmaking.
- Explain the process of creating their artwork.
- Students should glue the landforms down to a piece of cardstock or cardboard starting with the background and moving to the foreground.
- Students should use overlapping as they glue each layer down.
- Students will draw a rough draft of their landscape on blank paper using evidence from both texts. Students’ rough drafts should have a background, middle ground, and foreground.
- Out of cardstock, students will cut out landforms like mountains and physical features like forests that they included in their rough draft.
- Once they have created their landscapes, students will create a rubbing by placing a piece of computer paper over their landscape. Using a crayon or oil pastel, they will rub across the surface to pick up the texture of the landscape.
- Students can then add in details and additional texture using colored pencil, crayon, or oil pastel.
Closing Reflection
- In small groups, students will present their portraits to their groups. In their presentation, they will share the background images they drew as well as their attention to detail in creating their self-portrait.
Assessments
Formative
Teachers will assess student understanding by observing students’ responses in class and small group discussion and students’ ability to explain what a portrait is and what their portrait shows.
Summative
CHECKLIST
- Students can create a self-portrait inspired by the Mona Lisa.
- Students can write an opinion paragraph on the Mona Lisa explaining what they think the painting is about, why they think that (cite evidence). Students should include a topic sentence, body sentences with specific evidence, and closure.
Differentiation
Acceleration: Students will write an artist statement about their Mona MEsa portrait (see additional resources below). Remediation:
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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*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.
Ideas contributed and updated by: Debi West; updated by Katy Betts
Revised and copyright: May 2024 @ ArtsNOW