Georgia Standards

 

South Carolina Standards

 

Key Vocabulary

 

Materials

• Small cardboard tiles with a hole cut out for stringing (several per student)
• Magazines
• Scissors
• Glue
• Oil pastels
• Modge podge sealant
• Paint brushes or sponges to apply modge podge
• Raffia/string/yarn
• Miscellaneous collaging materials like various types of paper and stickers

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

• Project an example of a collage artwork, such as a collage by Karen Michel. Ask students to work collaboratively to engage in the See, Think, Wonder Artful Thinking Routine.
  • First, students will identify what they see in the image. 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 image.
  • Finally, ask students what they wonder about the image.
• Facilitate a class-wide discussion around students’ observations, inferences, and questions.
• Explain to students that this is an example of collage art. Ask students if any of them has made or knows about collage. Explain that a collage is an artistic work made by combining and pasting materials and images over a surface.

 

Work Session

• • Show students examples of collage art by Basquiat, Michel and Rauschenberg (see links in “Additional Resources”).
    • Ask students to compare and contrast the collages. Students should notice how different the artists’ styles are even though they are using the same artform of collage.
  • Tell students that they will be making a collage that tells a story.
  • Have students brainstorm a personal or fictional narrative experience. Students will need to establish the setting, characters, and main plot points.
  • Facilitate a discussion around examples of symbolism.
    • Draw or project symbols on the board such as a peace sign, a heart, a smiley face, a stop sign, etc. Ask students to tell you what each means. Then, explain that a symbol is an image that communicates meaning.
    • Explain to students that they will be using cardboard tiles and magazine images to represent these elements visually. Each tile will represent something different–one tile for each setting in the story, one tile per character, one tile per plot point, etc.
    • Have students brainstorm with a partner how they could represent each of their story elements using visuals.
  • Pass out cardboard tiles that will function as pendants on their necklaces. Have students write their names on their tiles.
  • Students will be given magazines and will cut out images and symbols that represent something from their narrative. As these images are cut out, comment on how the student has had an aesthetic reaction to the color, shape, or image and have the student reflect about this.
  • Students will glue these images onto their tiles.
  • Tell students that negative space in art is the area around the subject matter, or the “empty space”. Students will look at the negative space in their work and fill it with color, textured papers, or text.
  • Students will complete their collaged pieces by adding a touch of oil pastel to the edges, giving the pieces a border, and seal with a modge podge (or watered down glue mixture).
  • Students will then string their completed pieces onto yarn or raffia, creating a wearable piece of artwork. Remind students to think about sequencing as they choose the order in which they string their collage tiles.
    • For example, if a character is not introduced until after the beginning of the story but before the rising action, the character collage tile should probably be strung between the exposition and rising action tiles. Or, if the setting changes for the conclusion of the story, the corresponding setting tile should go after the climax tile but before the conclusion tile.

• Optional: Allow students to add additional decorative elements, such as pony beads, wooden beads, or buttons to give their necklaces more character.

• Once students have completed their necklaces, each student will write their narrative essay. Narrative writing should meet the grade level standards criteria.
  • Students should be sure to include descriptive details and sensory language, transitional words and phrases, logical sequencing, and a sense of closure.
  • Students should engage in a peer review process if time allows.

 

Closing Reflection

Allow students to share their personal narratives with each other, using their necklaces as part of their presentation.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding of the content throughout the lesson by observing students’ participation in the activator, discussion of collage as an artform, discussion of symbolism and story elements, artmaking process, and conferencing with students during the writing process.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

• Students can tell a narrative using symbolism through the artform of collage.
• Students can use logical sequencing when creating their collage necklace compositions.
• Students can tell a narrative through writing that includes the elements of a story and meets grade level criteria.

 

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Acceleration:  Technology: Create a collage using web 2.0 tools compatible with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and online availability. Students will take pictures using digital cameras, or find images and symbols online that they find interesting. Guidance on online research may be needed. When the student has saved all of their images to a folder, they can be uploaded to a site to create the collage. Three suggested sites to use are: Fotor (Android, iOS, Mac and Windows platforms) http://www.fotor.com/features/collage.html; Photocollage (Android, iOS, Mac and Windows platforms) http://www.photocollage.net/; and PiZap (Android, iOS, and web platforms) http://www.pizap.com/. Have students create a collage necklace to retell a story that has been studied in class or to go in depth exploring a particular character through creating a collage necklace about that character. Remediation:  Reduce the number of elements required in the personal narrative necklace. One way to do this is to focus solely on creating tiles for only the plot points. Provide a graphic organizer to help students structure their writing.

 

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Jean Michel Basquiat Karen Michel Robert Rauschenberg

 

*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 by: Debi West, Drew Brown, and Katy Betts. Technology by: Ramsey Ray.

 

 

 

Georgia Standards

 

South Carolina Standards

 

Key Vocabulary

 

Materials

• White paper
• Pencils
• Fine tip black markers
• Markers in multiple colors
• Oil pastels
• Images of Ndebele artwork

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

• Using an image of Ndebele artwork, ask students to work collaboratively to engage in the See, Think, Wonder protocol.
  • First, students will identify what they see in the image. Emphasize that they should make objective observations about the artwork (i.e. lines, colors, shapes, etc.).
  • Next, ask students to identify what they think about the image. Emphasize that students should be creating inferences using visual evidence from the image.
  • Finally, ask students what they wonder about the image.
• Facilitate a class-wide discussion around students’ observations, inferences, and questions.

Explain to students that they are looking at an example of Ndebele artwork.

Work Session

• Discuss the importance of a handprint, thinking about how each hand print is unique, just as each person is unique.
• Ask students to choose three things about themselves that make them unique. Students should complete the sentence, “I am ________, ________ and ________”.
  • Allow students to pair share.
  • Ask several students to volunteer to share one thing about their partner that makes them unique.
• Tell students that they will be using the art of the Nbedele people to inspire a “self-portrait” that shows what makes them unique.
  • Have students follow along with this chant saying:

Ndebele, Ndebele,  

With their hands they made their art! Colors, lines and shapes,  

These are the elements from which to start!
Rhythm-ong ©

• Show students on a map where the Ndebele people are from–primarily South Africa and Zimbabwe.
• Facilitate a brief discussion about the art of the Ndebele Tribe, looking closely at their colored patterned artworks.
  • Direct students to describe the types of lines used to create patterns.
  • Then, ask students to describe the color combinations that the artists use.
  • Have students conduct additional research on the Ndebele people and the role of art and decoration in their culture (see “Additional Resources”).
• Give each student a piece of scratch paper. Students should fold the paper into thirds.
• At the top of each section, have students write the adjective describing themselves that they identified earlier.
• Have students experiment with different types of patterns and lines to express each adjective. For example, if a student wrote “outgoing”, they may try a pattern that uses a bold line. If a student wrote “kind”, they may make a pattern with loopy, flowing lines instead of sharp angles.
  • Project an image of the art of the Nbedele people to remind students of the types of pattern and lines they used in their art.
• Pass out paper. Demonstrate to students how to trace their hand with a pencil onto their paper. Students will go over their hand outline in black marker.
• Using black markers, students will choose line designs from their scratch paper to fill in their hand outline. They should include one pattern for each personal characteristic.
• Tell students to select three colors–one for each characteristic that makes them unique.
• Students will then begin the coloring process. Tell students to color in the spaces between the black lines with the colors they selected, paying close attention to each individual shape created. Encourage students to “paint” with their markers by coloring their “brush strokes” in the same direction.
• Students will then embellish their art with oil pastel blending techniques using a cool (green, blue, violet) or warm (red, orange, yellow) color palette. They will go around the hand with their darkest value color first (red or violet), medium value (orange or blue), then lightest value (yellow or green) to create a “glow”.
• Finally, students will write about their artwork in multi-paragraph form.
• Writing requirements:
  • In their writing, students should include the following:
    • Who the Nbedele people are and the role of art and decoration in their culture (students should use information from their independent research).
    • How students’ art is inspired by the art of the Nbedele people.
    • The three personal characteristics they identified.
    • Which patterns and colors correlate to which characteristic.
    • How each color and pattern shows each personal characteristic.
    • How they made their artwork (what were the steps).
  • Students’ writing should be well-organized and group ideas together logically. It should have an introduction and conclusion.
  • Students should use visual art vocabulary (line, shape, color, and pattern) in their writing.
  • Students should use transitional words and phrases to link ideas and develop structure.

 

Closing Reflection

• In small groups or with a partner, students will present their artwork to their classmates.
  • Students should share how the artwork of the Ndebele people influenced their pattern choices.
  • Students should share the colors and patterns they used and why they selected them.

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess student understanding through student discussions of the art of the Nbedele people; students’ use of line, shape, color and pattern; and students’ ability to select colors and patterns that have personal meaning.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

• Students can use the elements of line, shape, and color as tools of communication to create a unique artwork.
• Students can use the characteristics of the artwork of the Ndebele people to inspire their artwork.

• Students can use visual art to tell others about themselves.
• Students can explain their artwork through writing meeting stated requirements.

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Acceleration:  Have students add expressive words or vocabulary words into the artwork. These words can be hidden or obvious and give each piece a more individual feel. Teachers can also tie this lesson in with Australian Aborigines art or prehistoric handprint art. Remediation:  Reduce the length of the writing assignment and/or provide a graphic organizer to help students structure their writing. Provide a hand outline template for students to use rather than tracing their own hands.

 

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Classroom Tips: Using markers as opposed to paint makes this lesson very doable in any classroom setting. The success lies in teaching your students how to appropriately “paint” with markers keeping their “strokes” going in the same direction. Images of Ndebele artwork Encyclopedia Britanica Kids - Ndebele Khan, Gulshan, et al. “Ndebele Art.” Getty Images, www.gettyimages.com/photos/ndebele-art. Accessed 26 June 2023.

*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 and Katy Betts

Revised and copyright:  August 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

Georgia Standards

 

South Carolina Standards

 

Key Vocabulary

 

Materials

• Visualizing Vocabulary graphic organizer
• 12” x 18” white mixed media paper
• Pencils with erasers
• Markers, crayons, colored pencils 
• Collage materials
• Glue (if using collage)
• Sponges for glue (if using collage) 
• Paint
• Paintbrushes (if using paint)
• Water cups (if using paint)

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

• Show students an artwork by the artist Roy Lichtenstein.
• Ask students to make observations about the colors and shapes that they see in the image. 
• Next, ask students what the word means. Do students see any connection between the background and the word? If so, what?
• Help students make the connection between the meaning of the word and visuals that Lichtenstein used.
• Tell students that in the lesson today, students will be visualizing vocabulary words from their lesson through artwork.

 

Work Session

• Introduce the lesson by reviewing vocabulary words from the unit of study. 
• Pass out the Visualizing Vocabulary graphic organizer. Assign a word to each student and have them find the definition and use it in a sentence. 
• Facilitate a discussion around examples of symbolism.
  • Draw or project symbols on the board such as a peace sign, a heart, a smiley face, a stop sign, etc. Ask students to tell you what each means. Then, explain that a symbol is an image that communicates meaning. 
• Ask students how they could represent the meaning of the word symbolically, or using images. Students will brainstorm creative ways to visually show what their word is. Have them draw in the third column of their graphic organizer.
• Tell students that now they will make an artwork to show the definition of their vocabulary word. 
• Refer back to the artwork by Lichtenstein. Ask students to observe how and where Lichtenstein drew the word “Pop”. Students may observe that he drew it large, the letters make shapes rather than just lines, and that he placed the word in the center of the artwork.
• Have students draw their word with a pencil on their paper. Encourage them to write big and fill the space on their paper. 
• Next, students will fill in the negative space, or “empty space”, around their word with images that represent the meaning of the word. They can draw, collage, paint, or use a combination, depending on what the teacher chooses. Encourage students to completely fill in the negative space of their artwork.
• Refer back to the artwork by Lichtenstein. Ask students to make observations about how the artist used color to make the word stand out.
  • Students may notice that the word “Pop” is much brighter than the other colors in the artwork, that he used a different color from the background, and that the letters are outlined in black. 
  • The way an artist arranges the elements like lines, shapes and colors in an artwork is called composition.
  • Tell students that by using a color for their word that is different from the background images, it will create contrast and make the word stand out. Tell students that this is called emphasis in art.
• Now, have students go over their word with markers creating emphasis.

Closing Reflection

• Hang the artwork in the hallway or around the classroom. Conduct a gallery walk so that students can observe how their classmates interpreted their vocabulary words.
• Facilitate a discussion around how students used images to represent meaning.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding of the content throughout the lesson by observing students’ participation in the activator, completion of graphic organizers, brainstorming of ways to show a word visually, and artistic process as they create their artwork.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

• Students can creatively use images in artwork to demonstrate their understanding of an assigned vocabulary word.
• Students can use color and shape to create emphasis in art.

 

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Acceleration: Have students create two artworks using this process that show the meaning of antonyms. Display the artworks side by side. Remediation: Allow students to work with a partner. Partners will have the same vocabulary word and will complete their graphic organizers together. Students will then create their own individual artworks.

 

 

*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 by: Debi West and Katy Betts.

Revised and copyright:  July 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

 

Georgia Standards

 

South Carolina Standards

 

Key Vocabulary

 

Materials

• Visualizing Vocabulary graphic organizer
• 9” x 12” white mixed media paper
• Pencils with erasers
• Markers, crayons, colored pencils
• Collage materials
• Glue (if using collage)
• Sponges for glue (if using collage)
• Paint
• Paintbrushes (if using paint)
• Water cups (if using paint)

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

• Show students an artwork by the artist Roy Lichtenstein.
• Ask students to make observations about the colors and shapes that they see in the image.
• Next, ask students what the word means. Do students see any connection between the background and the word? If so, what?
• Help students make the connection between the meaning of the word and visuals that Lichtenstein used.
• Tell students that in the lesson today, students will be visualizing vocabulary through artwork.

 

Work Session

• Introduce the lesson by reviewing synonyms, antonyms, and homographs.
• Pass out the Visualizing Vocabulary graphic organizer (each student will need two). Assign a word to each student. Have them determine a synonym or an antonym of that word. Students should find the definitions for both words and use both words in a sentence on their graphic organizer. Alternatively, assign students a homograph and have them do the same thing for both words.
• Facilitate a discussion around examples of symbolism.
  • Draw or project symbols on the board such as a peace sign, a heart, a smiley face, a stop sign, etc. Ask students to tell you what each means. Then, explain that a symbol is an image that communicates meaning.
• Ask students how they could represent the meaning of their words symbolically, or using images. Students will brainstorm creative ways to visually show the meaning of their words. Have them draw in the third column of their graphic organizers.
• Tell students that now they will make two artworks to show the meanings of their words.
• Pass out a pencil and two sheets of paper to each student.
• Refer back to the artwork by Lichtenstein. Ask students to observe how and where Lichtenstein drew the word “Pop”. Students may observe that he drew it large, the letters make shapes rather than just lines, and that he placed the word in the center of the artwork.
• Have students draw their words with a pencil on their papers (one word per paper). Encourage them to write big and fill the space on their paper.
• Next, students will fill in the negative space, or “empty space”, around their words with images that represent the meaning of the word. They can draw, collage, paint, or use a combination, depending on what the teacher chooses. Encourage students to completely fill in the negative space of their artwork.
• Refer back to the artwork by Lichtenstein. Ask students to make observations about how the artist used color to make the word stand out.
  • Students may notice that the word “Pop” is much brighter than the other colors in the artwork, that he used a different color from the background, and that the letters are outlined in black.
  • The way an artist arranges the elements like lines, shapes and colors in an artwork is called composition.
  • Tell students that by using a color for their word that is different from the background images, it will create contrast and make the word stand out. Tell students that this is called emphasis in art.
• Now, have students go over their words with markers creating emphasis.

 

Closing Reflection

• Hang the artwork in the hallway or around the classroom. Conduct a gallery walk so that students can observe how their classmates interpreted their words.
• Facilitate a discussion around how students used images to represent meaning.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding of the content throughout the lesson by observing students’ participation in the activator, discussion responses, completion of graphic organizers, brainstorming of ways to show a word visually, and artistic process as they create their artwork.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

• Students can creatively use images in artwork to demonstrate their understanding of synonyms, antonyms, and/or homographs.
• Students can use color and shape to create emphasis in art.

DIFFERENTIATION 

Acceleration: Have students engage in the same artistic process. Rather than using synonyms, antonyms, and homographs, this time have students explore different types of figurative language through visual art such as onomatopoeia, simile, etc. Remediation: Allow students to work with a partner. Partners will be assigned the same vocabulary word and will complete their graphic organizers together. Then, students will determine the meaning of the word’s antonym or a synonym for their word. They will complete their second graphic organizer for that word. Students will then create their own individual artworks–one word per student. The students will display their artwork side by side. This can also be done with homographs.

 

 

*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 by: Debi West and Katy Betts.

Revised and copyright:  July 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

Georgia Standards

 

South Carolina Standards

 

Key Vocabulary

 

Materials

• Colored copies of book pages, Water Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas (see “Additional Resources”) 
• Pencils and erasers 
• Brainstorming graphic organizer
• White copy paper or writing journals for image brainstorming 
• Black markers (thin, medium) 
• White mixed media paper or cardstock for final artwork (teacher choice for size) ● Oil pastels 
• Colored pencils, markers and/or crayons for image brainstorming

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

• Start with students gathered in a common area to analyze and respond to some of the works of French artist, Claude Monet.
• Display several of Monet’s paintings incorporating water and ask students to engage in the See, Think, Wonder artful thinking routine about the paintings. ● After five minutes ask the students to turn and talk to another student about their thoughts and wonders. Students should notice that the commonality in all the paintings is water. ● Provide a few minutes to share their responses and jot them down on a “Wonder Wall” to capture their ideas. 
• Explain to students that water is one of four elements found in nature (air, earth, fire and water) that are the building blocks of our existence and serve as inspiration for authors and artists around the world. 
• Explain to students that part of the artistic process is responding to art, which includes how people feel when they see/create it. 
• Facilitate a class discussion around the following questions. This can be done as a Think Pair Share/Turn and Talk. 

○ Did you have the same feelings about the paintings? 

○ Why did some make you feel a certain way? 

○ Did you SEE any feelings or emotions in the paintings? 

○ How did the artist represent emotions without actually putting them in the painting? ○ What pictures in your mind (imagery) did you see when thinking and wondering about the paintings? 

○ What specific images stood out to you, and what do those images

 

Work Session

• Conduct a read-aloud with the book, Water Can Be (Optional: watch a read aloud video with the Author) by author Laura Purdie Salas and illustrator Violetta Dabija. ● Explain that the author and illustrator use symbolism and imagery in the book to encourage readers to visualize (imagery) the meaning of words. 
• Watch a brief video on Symbolism in Literature. 
• Use one of the book pages (see examples in “Additional Resources”) to model the process of determining meaning using imagery (optional video) or symbolism. ● Discuss the Elements of Art, color, shape, and value and provide examples using the Elements of Art handout. 

○ Ask students to identify where they see these elements in the illustration. ● Form small groups of students and distribute a different printed book page to each group.

○ With the teacher’s guidance, repeat the process from above and assess students’ understanding of the symbolism and elements within the illustration. 

• Pass out blank white paper. Have students fold it into fourths so that they have four sections. Ask the students to practice drawing the four elements of nature using the elements of color (crayons, markers, or colored pencils), shape (organic, which is what we see in nature), and value (lightness and darkness). 

○ Remind students of how Monet’s paintings and the illustrations from Water Can Be were stylized and didn’t look exactly like what we would see in the real world. 

Explain the final artwork to students. 

• Students will create an illustration of their selected element of nature using imagery and the Elements of Art of color, shape and value. 
• Students will write a descriptive, informative, or creative phrase (no more than two words) using figurative language (symbolism) about the nature element they selected. Once the phrase is completed, students will add their written phrase neatly and creatively to the final illustrated composition. 

Teach/Model/Practice 

• Display the following image: 
• Ask students to look carefully and think about what they see, then solicit a few responses. ● Explain to students that this is an “illustration/artwork” of all four elements of nature. ● Discuss how the “illustrator/artist” created artwork using all the natural elements. Point out 

different parts of the artwork that stand out, such as the tree in the center, the use of warm and cool colors (show students a color wheel so that they understand warm and cool colors), the movement of organic shapes, etc. Provide a couple additional examples (see “Additional Resources”) so that students are clear about the expectations of their artwork. 

• Tell students that in the artwork that they create, they will be selecting one element to depict instead of all four. 
• Tell that students will be using oil pastels to create their illustrations. Explain the texture, vibrancy, and the ease of blending with this type of medium. 

○ Provide time for students to experiment with oil pastels on scratch paper creating: ■ Striking and vivid colors 

■ Intense shades of color 

■ Crisp lines and clear contrast 

■ Movement in organic shapes 

• Distribute white paper and a couple of different oil pastel colors. 

● Ask the students to draw one medium-sized organic shape and practice adding color and value to that shape. Tell students to practice blending their oil pastels by overlapping them. Explain that this medium is forgiving, but the pastels can’t erase if they make a mistake.

The mistake can be covered with other colors, but the students need to think about their plan for use before they just dive in to use the medium. 

Final Student Task Launch Activity (Whole Group) 

• Provide each student with the brainstorming graphic organizer for writing down thoughts, words, imagery sketch ideas, or symbols. 
• Display vivid photographs or images of the four elements (examples of elements of nature illustrations) and spend time analyzing, questioning, providing examples, and guiding the students. Discuss the elements of art and emphasize the ones they will incorporate in their final illustration. 
• List the four elements of nature and ask each team to select one element that would inspire them. 

Final Student Task Application (Teams) 

• In their groups, students will analyze and discuss the content of each team member’s graphic organizer and use a highlighter to emphasize great ideas, words, or representations that could be used to create the artwork or students’ phrases. 
• Remind students that they will write a descriptive, informative, or creative phrase (no more than two words) using figurative language (symbolism) about the nature element they selected. Note: Each student is responsible for completing every task individually, but the final written phrase will be the same for each member of the team. 
• Allow students to use resources such as an online thesaurus to create their phrases. Their phrases must meet the following requirements: 

○ Use no more than two words for the final phrase 

○ Use powerful and unique words that serve as a symbol for the element of nature or unique words that best represent the element of nature 

○ Write the final phrase neatly and creatively on the final illustration 

• Students should take out their illustrations of the four elements that they previously created and share them with their teammates. They can discuss how each of them represented the different elements of nature. 

Creating Elements of Nature Artwork 

• Pass out mixed media paper/cardstock, oil pastels, pencils, and black markers to students. 
• Students can use their sketch for the final illustration that should align with the completed written phrase of their element of nature. 
• Encourage students to sketch out their design in pencil before beginning with oil pastels. ● Remind students of the benefit of using oil pastels to emphasize color and value in their artwork. 
• Tell students that if they want to use a thin or medium black marker before they use the oil pastels, they may do so. 
• Students should add the final written phrase neatly and creatively to the illustration as if it were another page in the book they explored. 

Writing Artist Statements 

• Students will write an artist statement about their work. Tell students that when artists show their artwork at galleries, they often include an artist statement to tell the viewer about their work. This is especially helpful for artwork that is abstract or uses lots of symbolism.
  • Students’ artist statements must include:

    ○ What inspired their artwork/why did they choose the element of nature that they did ○ What their two word phrase is and why they chose it 

    ○ What their artwork shows and how they showed it (e.g., using warm colors and curling lines to show the heat and movement of fire) 

    ○ How they made their artwork–this is where students will explain their process using sequential terms like first, next, last 

    • Allow time for students to engage in a peer review, editing and revising process.

 

Closing Reflection

● Allow either volunteers to share their artwork with their peers or display work and allow students to view each other's art through a gallery walk. This can be done with artist statements displayed next to students’ artwork.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding through observing students’ responses during the activating strategy, discussion of symbolism in literature and art, ability to identify the Elements of Art, practice drawings exploring the different elements of nature, collaboration with groups to create a phrase about their element using imagery, planning and execution of final artwork, and conferencing with students during the writing process.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST 

• Students can use figurative language to describe an element of nature in a short phrase. ● Students can use color, shape, value, and imagery to illustrate an element of nature. ● Students can write about their artwork and their process clearly meeting grade level standards and criteria.

 

Differentiation

Acceleration: 

• Integrate with a STEAM Project: 

○ Provide students with a basket of everyday small household or nature items to build a new use for water. (Several ideas for materials include: bark, leaves, twigs, rubber bands, pipe cleaners, paper clips, or thimbles.) 

○ Ask students to draw a prototype of the new use and share it with the class. ○ Ask students to create a sales flier using the elements of line, color, and shape to market their new use for water. 

Remediation: 

• Allow students to work with a partner to create their artwork. 
• Provide a graphic organizer to help students structure their writing.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Helpful Video Links  ● Symbolism in Literature  ● Water Can Be read aloud by the author  ● What is Imagery Video  Documents  ● Brainstorming graphic organizer  ● Examples of elements of nature illustrations  Examples of book pages from Water Can Be:  “Otter feeder” “Valley cloaker” “Salmon hIghway” “Bruise shrinker”  Note: Copies of pages extracted/displayed from the book, Water Can Be, are only used to assist with content understanding.

 

*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 by: Kim Spivey 

Revised and copyright: June 2024 @ ArtsNOW