WHAT GROUNDS YOU? 3

WHAT GROUNDS YOU?

WHAT GROUNDS YOU?

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will reflect on what helps them feel strong and supported, such as people, places, or values that are important to them. Using trees as the subject matter, they will create artwork representing what grounds them.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 3
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & HEALTH
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can use the Elements of Art to represent ideas.
  • I can represent what grounds me in life visually.

Essential Questions

  • How can I use the Elements of Art to represent ideas?
  • How can I visually represent what grounds me in life?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

HE3.1 Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.

HE3.1.c Prevent and manage emotional stress and anxiety in healthy ways.

HE3.2 Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.

HE3.2.a Discuss how family and cultural factors influence personal health and well-being.

Arts Standards

VA3.CR.5 Demonstrate an understanding of the safe and appropriate use of materials, tools, and equipment for a variety of artistic processes.

VA3.CN.3 Develop life skills through the study and production of art (e.g, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication).

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Standard 1: “Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health” (NHES, 2007).

M-3.1.1 Identify examples of mental, emotional, social, and physical health.

M-3.1.3 Identify healthy ways to communicate (e.g., verbal, nonverbal, written).

Standard 2: “Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors” (NHES, 2007).

M-3.2.1 Identify sources that both positively and negatively influence an individual’s mental, emotional, and social health behaviors.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.

Benchmark VA.CR I can combine several elements of art to express ideas.

Indicator VA.CR NM.1.2 I can combine several elements of art to construct 2D or 3D artwork.

Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Benchmark VA.CR NM.2 I can use some materials, techniques, and tools to create artwork.

Indicator VA.CR NM.2.1 I can use two-dimensional art materials and techniques to make art.

Anchor Standard 4: I can organize work for presentation and documentation to reflect specific content, ideas, skills, and or media.

Benchmark VA.P NL.4 I can show and describe the idea of my artwork.

Indicator VA.P NL.4.2 I can describe my artwork

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Support system - Family, friends, etc. who listen, empathize, and offer encouragement

Arts Vocabulary

  • Line - A continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point. It may be two dimensional, like a pencil mark on a paper or it may be three dimensional (wire) or implied (the edge of a shape or form) often it is an outline, contour or silhouette.
  • Color - An element of art with three properties: 1) Hue: the name of the color, e.g. red, yellow, etc.; 2) Intensity: the purity and strength of the color (brightness or dullness); 3) Value: the lightness or darkness of the color (shades and tints)
  • Texture - The surface quality, or "feel" of an object, such as roughness, smoothness, or softness. Actual texture can be felt while simulated textures are implied by the way the artist renders areas of the picture.

Materials

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Show students images of the following artworks: Swamp Maple by Alex Katz, Graft by Roxy Paine, and White Beeches in the Fall by Christian Rohlfs.
    • Ask students to discuss how they are similar and different.
  • Review the Elements of Art and discuss how artists use them as a tool of communication.
    • Discuss what the different trees in the artworks might represent and why. Include observations about the lines, colors, and textures that the artists used.
  • Show students additional photos of different types of trees. Ask students to think about what kind of tree would represent who they are and why.
  • Allow time for students to share with a neighbor.

Work Session

  • Next, discuss the role of roots in a tree. Students may discuss that it’s how trees get water, it’s what keeps them from falling over, etc.
  • Ask students to reflect on what “grounds” them? Family members, friends, sports, music, etc. Have them write down four or five things that ground them.
  • Tell students that they will create a tree that represents themselves and the things that ground them.
  • Provide time for students to sketch ideas in their sketchbooks. Remind students to use the Elements of Art, such as line, texture, and color, to communicate their ideas.
  • When students are ready for their final draft, they will begin by orienting the paper portrait style and folding it in half. On the top half, students will draw the tree in pencil; on the bottom half, students will draw the roots. The folded line represents the ground.

A simple pencil drawing of a tree with bare branches at the top and exposed roots at the bottom, sketched on a plain piece of paper, evokes mindfulness and grounding.

  • Students will then go over their lines in permanent marker.
  • Have students then write the things along the roots that they identified that ground them.
  • Finally, have students add color using watercolors, colored pencils, markers, or a combination.

A watercolor painting of a tree with green leaves, brown trunk, and large roots. The background fades from yellow to orange to gray, evoking mindfulness.

Closing Reflection

  • Arrange the artwork around the room. Engage students in a gallery walk.
  • Encourage students to observe what type of trees their classmates chose to represent themselves and what they wrote that grounds them.
  • Provide time for students to share if they feel comfortable.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Observe students’ responses to the opening.
  • Observe students’ brainstorming, planning, and artmaking processes.

Summative

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

Have students do more in depth research about different types of trees and what environments they live in. Students will select a tree to represent them based on their research. They will include an oral or written explanation of why they chose that specific type of tree.

Remedial:

Allow students to trace printouts of trees, guide students through step-by-step instruction on how to draw a tree, or allow students to collage their trees.

 

Credits

U.S. Department of Education- STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning

Ideas contributed by: Katy Betts

*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:  August 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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CAPTURING EMOTIONS: IDIOMATIC ILLUSTRATION 3

CAPTURING EMOTIONS: IDIOMATIC ILLUSTRATION

CAPTURING EMOTIONS: IDIOMATIC ILLUSTRATION

Learning Description

Students will explore the rich world of idiomatic expressions. Through creative illustration, students will not only deepen their understanding of idioms but also gain insights into their own emotions and the emotions of others.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 3
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS, ELA & HEALTH
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can create a visually compelling illustration of an idiomatic expression that effectively conveys its emotional significance, demonstrating empathy and understanding of the emotions expressed in both the expression and my artwork.

Essential Questions

  • In what ways do idiomatic illustrations encourage creativity and critical thinking?
  • How can the artistic process of illustrating idiomatic expressions enhance our self-awareness?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

ELA

3.T.SS.2.a Identify and describe the use of figurative language, such as similes, metaphors, and idioms in a wide variety of texts.

Health

HE3.1 Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.

HE3.1.e Identify behaviors that show respect for themselves and others.

Arts Standards

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.CN.2 Integrate information from other disciplines to enhance the understanding and production of works of art.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

ELA

ELA.3.AOR.1.2 Identify and explain the purpose of forms of figurative language to include metaphor, hyperbole, and idioms.

Health

Standard 1: “Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health” (NHES, 2007).

M-3.1.1 Identify examples of mental, emotional, social, and physical health.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.

Benchmark VA.CR I can combine several elements of art to express ideas.

Indicator VA.CR NM.1.2 I can combine several elements of art to construct 2D or 3D artwork.

Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Benchmark VA.CR NM.2 I can use some materials, techniques, and tools to create artwork.

Indicator VA.CR NM.2.1 I can use two-dimensional art materials to explore ways to make art.

Anchor Standard 4: I can organize work for presentation and documentation to reflect specific content, ideas, skills, and or media.

Benchmark VA.P NL.4 I can show and describe the idea of my artwork.

Indicator VA.P NL.4.2 I can describe my artwork.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Idiomatic phrase - A group of words that, when used together, have a meaning different from the literal meaning of the individual words

Arts Vocabulary

  • Space - The distance or area between, around, above or within things. Positive space refers to the subject or areas of interest in an artwork, while negative space is the area around the subject of an artwork. It can be a description for both two and three-dimensional portrayals.
  • Color - An element of art with three properties: 1) Hue: the name of the color, e.g. red, yellow, etc.; 2) Intensity: the purity and strength of the color (brightness or dullness); 3) Value: the lightness or darkness of the color (shades and tints)

Materials

  • 18x24 drawing paper
  • Pencil and eraser
  • Black sharpie marker
  • Crayons, markers, colored pencils
  • A list of idioms:

A list of 24 English idioms with their meanings, featuring idiomatic illustration and examples that reveal the emotions behind phrases like

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Begin with a discussion on idiomatic expressions, showing several examples, and explaining that these phrases often have meanings beyond their literal interpretation.
  • Students will brainstorm and share idioms they've heard before, exploring their literal and figurative meanings. This activity fosters communication skills and encourages students to consider language in a nuanced way.

Work Session

  • Students will select an idiomatic expression from a curated list or think of their own.
    • They will reflect on the emotional connotations of the chosen idiom, considering how it relates to personal experiences or feelings. This step promotes self-awareness as students connect the idioms to their own emotions and experiences.
      • Example: A student might choose “fish out of water” reflecting on a time when they felt out of place in an unfamiliar situation.
    • With their chosen idioms in mind, students will then begin the artistic process of illustration.
    • They will use various art materials such as pencils, crayons, markers, or colored pencils to create visual representations of their idioms.
      • Discuss how color can be used to represent emotions and meaning.
      • Discuss how students should use the whole space on their paper to create their artwork. Discuss how choice of placement and size can communicate meaning (i.e. elements in the center and elements that are larger usually communicate more importance).
      • Encourage students to think creatively and metaphorically, using imagery to convey the essence of the idioms and the emotions they evoke.
    • As students work on their artwork, facilitate discussions on emotions and empathy.
      • Students will be encouraged to consider the emotions expressed in their chosen idioms and how they might resonate with others. This promotes relationship skills as students engage in perspective-taking and empathy-building exercises.

Closing Reflection

  • Once the artwork is complete, students will have the opportunity to share their artwork with the class.
  • They will explain their chosen idioms, discuss the emotions they aimed to convey, and reflect on the significance of their artistic choices, such as color and use of space.
  • Sharing promotes social awareness and encourages students to appreciate the diverse perspectives and experiences of their peers.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students by observing students' discussion responses and checking in with students during the art-making process.

Summative

 

Differentiation

Acceleration: 

Have students reflect on the experience that inspired their artwork; have students create a written explanation about how their artwork demonstrates their experience.

Remediation:

  • Chunk the artmaking process for students.
  • Allow students to work with a partner to create their artwork.
  • Provide a list of idioms for students to choose from.

 

Credits

U.S. Department of Education- STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning

Ideas contributed by: SAIL Grant Teacher Leaders–Chad Itnyre, Kristen Alvarez, Leah Patel, Lucerito Gonzalez, Tamu Clayton, Sandra Cash, Erin Smullen

*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:  August 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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EMOTION ABSTRACT ART: PAINTING FEELINGS 3

EMOTION ABSTRACT ART: PAINTING FEELINGS

EMOTION ABSTRACT ART: PAINTING FEELINGS

Learning Description

Students will create abstract artworks that convey different emotions using color, shape, and texture, fostering self-expression and emotional awareness.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 3
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & HEALTH
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can create an abstract artwork that effectively conveys different emotions using color, shape, and texture, demonstrating my understanding of the relationship between art and emotions.

Essential Questions

  • How do artists use their own emotions and experiences as inspiration for creating abstract art, and how does this influence the viewer's emotional response?
  • How can color, shape, and texture be used to convey emotions in abstract art?
  • What role does personal experience play in interpreting and expressing emotions through art?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

HE3.1 Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.

HE3.1.c Prevent and manage emotional stress and anxiety in healthy ways.

Arts Standards

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.CN.2 Integrate information from other disciplines to enhance the understanding and production of works of art.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Standard 1: “Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health” (NHES, 2007).

M-3.1.1 Identify examples of mental, emotional, social, and physical health.

M-3.1.3 Identify healthy ways to communicate (e.g., verbal, nonverbal, written).

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.

Benchmark VA.CR I can combine several elements of art to express ideas.

Indicator VA.CR NM.1.2 I can combine several elements of art to construct 2D or 3D artwork.

Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Benchmark VA.CR NM.2 I can use some materials, techniques, and tools to create artwork.

Indicator VA.CR NM.2.1 I can use two-dimensional art materials to explore ways to make art

Anchor Standard 4: I can organize work for presentation and documentation to reflect specific content, ideas, skills, and or media.

Benchmark VA.P NL.4 I can show and describe the idea of my artwork.

Indicator VA.P NL.4.2 I can describe my artwork.

 

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Emotions - How a person feels inside

Arts Vocabulary

  • Color association - The idea that color is associated with concepts
  • Color symbolism - The idea that colors can represent concepts
  • Overlapping - A technique where one object is placed in front of another, so it partially covers the object behind it
  • Layering - The technique of building up multiple layers of materials or elements to create depth, texture, and complexity in a piece
  • Variety - The differences in a work, achieved by using different shapes, textures, colors and values
  • Shape - A flat, enclosed line that is always two-dimensional and can be either geometric or organic
  • Composition - How an artist arranges the Elements of Art (line, shape, form, value, color, space, texture) to create an artwork

Materials

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Begin by discussing the importance of expressing emotions through art.
  • Show examples of abstract artworks that convey emotions through color, shape, and texture.
  • Explain that students will be creating their own abstract paintings to express different feelings.
  • Lead a guided discussion about emotions, asking students to identify and describe different feelings they experience.
    • Use prompts such as "What does happiness feel like?" or "How does anger look?".
    • Encourage students to share personal experiences or examples of times when they felt each emotion.

Work Session

  • Color exploration:
    • Introduce the concept of color symbolism by discussing how different colors can evoke different emotions.
    • Show examples of color associations (e.g., red for anger, blue for sadness, yellow for happiness) and discuss why certain colors might be linked to specific feelings.
    • Have students write various emotions on a blank sheet of paper. Allow students to experiment with mixing colors on their palettes or paint trays to represent these emotions.
    • Have students then create custom color palettes for their artworks based on the emotions they want to express.
  • Planning:
    • Have students look at additional examples of abstract artwork–particularly those that have a variety of shapes and textures (examples by Vasily Kandinsky).
      • Ask students to look at the shapes the artists used. Have students identify how the artist used layering, overlapping, and variety.
    • Have students sketch a plan for their compositions.
  • Artistic expression:
    • Distribute canvases or heavyweight paper to students.
    • Students should then sketch their plan lightly on their paper/canvas..
    • Encourage students to experiment with brushstrokes, layering, and texture to express the intensity and complexity of emotions.
    • Remind students to consider how color choice and composition can enhance the emotional impact of their artworks.

Closing Reflection

  • Sharing and reflection:
    • After completing their paintings, invite students to share their artworks with the class.
    • Ask students to describe the emotions they aimed to convey in their paintings and explain how they used color, shape, and texture to represent those feelings.
    • Facilitate a reflection discussion on the experience asking questions such as, "How did it feel to express emotions through abstract art?" and "What did you learn about yourself and others?".
  • Closure:
    • Summarize the key concepts learned during the lesson, emphasizing the power of art to convey emotions and foster self-expression.
    • Encourage students to continue exploring and expressing their emotions through art as a way to enhance emotional awareness and creativity.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students by observing students' discussion responses, observing their paint palette explorations and artwork plans, and checking in with students throughout the artmaking process.

Summative

 

Differentiation

Acceleration: 

  • Display the students' abstract artworks in a classroom gallery and encourage them to write short descriptions or titles for their pieces.
  • Explore the work of abstract artists who have depicted emotions in their artwork, such as Wassily Kandinsky or Joan Miró, and discuss how their use of color and form conveys feelings and experiences.
  • Collaborate with the school counselor to integrate discussions about emotional regulation and coping strategies into the art lesson.

Remediation:

  • Chunk the artmaking process for students.
  • Allow students to work with a partner to create their artwork.
  • Generate a class list of colors and feelings that are associated with those colors.
  • Provide shapes for students to trace.

 

Credits

U.S. Department of Education- STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning

Ideas contributed by: SAIL Grant Teacher Leaders–Chad Itnyre, Kristen Alvarez, Leah Patel, Lucerito Gonzalez, Tamu Clayton, Sandra Cash, Erin Smullen

*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:  August 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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AFFIRMATION ART: INSPIRED BY JASPER JOHNS 3

AFFIRMATION ART: INSPIRED BY JASPER JOHNS

AFFIRMATION ART: INSPIRED BY JASPER JOHNS

Learning Description

Students will create mixed media artworks inspired by the art of Jasper Johns, incorporating positive affirmations, fostering self-esteem, creativity, and artistic exploration.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 3
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & HEALTH
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can create a mixed media artwork incorporating positive affirmations, inspired by the style of Jasper Johns, to express self-esteem and confidence through visual art.

Essential Questions

  • How can words and affirmations influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions?
  • How does the repetition of positive affirmations in artwork impact the viewer's perception and interpretation of the artwork?
  • What artistic techniques can we use to visually represent positive affirmations in our artwork?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

HE3.1 Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.

HE3.1.c Prevent and manage emotional stress and anxiety in healthy ways.

HE3.1.e Identify behaviors that show respect for themselves and others.

Arts Standards

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.CN.2 Integrate information from other disciplines to enhance the understanding and production of works of art.

 

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Standard 1: “Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health” (NHES, 2007).

M-3.1.1 Identify examples of mental, emotional, social, and physical health.

M-3.1.3 Identify healthy ways to communicate (e.g., verbal, nonverbal, written).

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.

Benchmark VA.CR I can combine several elements of art to express ideas.

Indicator VA.CR NM.1.2 I can combine several elements of art to construct 2D or 3D artwork.

Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Benchmark VA.CR NM.2 I can use some materials, techniques, and tools to create artwork.

Indicator VA.CR NM.2.1 I can use two-dimensional art materials to explore ways to make art

Anchor Standard 4: I can organize work for presentation and documentation to reflect specific content, ideas, skills, and or media.

Benchmark VA.P NL.4 I can show and describe the idea of my artwork.

Indicator VA.P NL.4.2 I can describe my artwork.

 

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Positive affirmation - A short, clear, and encouraging statement that one repeats to oneself to promote confidence, motivation, and a constructive mindset

Arts Vocabulary

  • Overlapping - A technique where one object is placed in front of another, so it partially covers the object behind it
  • Layering - The technique of building up multiple layers of materials or elements to create depth, texture, and complexity in a piece
  • Variety - The differences in a work, achieved by using different shapes, textures, colors and values
  • Jasper Johns - An American artist best known for his paintings and prints of familiar, everyday symbols like flags, numbers, targets, and maps. He played a major role in the transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art in the mid-20th century.

Materials

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Begin by introducing the artist Jasper Johns and his iconic artwork featuring numbers and letters.
  • Show students Jasper Johns’ artwork, “0 Through 9”. Ask students to identify what shapes, colors, and lines they see in the artwork.
  • Show other examples of Jasper Johns' artwork, highlighting his use of bold colors, textures, and repetitive patterns.
  • Explain that students will be creating their own mixed media artworks inspired by Jasper Johns. However, instead of numbers, they will incorporate positive affirmations.
  • Lead a guided discussion about the power of positive affirmations and self-esteem.
  • Discuss what positive affirmations are and how they can influence our thoughts and feelings.
  • Encourage students to share examples of positive affirmations they use or have heard before. The teacher can create a list on an anchor chart.

Work Session

  • Instruct students to brainstorm and write down positive affirmations that inspire them or make them feel confident and empowered.
  • Encourage students to think about words such as "brave", "kind", "smart", "unique", "loved", etc.
  • Provide students with assorted colored paper or cardstock and markers or colored pencils.
  • Allow students to experiment with cutting out letters from the colored paper to spell out their chosen affirmation words.
  • Distribute poster boards or heavy paper to students as the base for their artworks.
  • Instruct students to arrange their positive affirmations on the poster boards to create a visually interesting composition, taking inspiration from Jasper Johns' use of repetition and pattern.
    • Encourage students to experiment with overlapping, layering, and varying the sizes and orientations of their affirmations.
  • Provide additional mixed media materials such as markers, colored pencils, or collage materials for students to further embellish their artworks.
  • As an alternative to creating a collage, students can trace the cut out letters, overlapping them, using colored pencils or markers to add color. Or, students could use a combination of tracing and collage.

Closing Reflection

  • Sharing and reflection:
    • After completing their artworks, invite students to share their creations with the class.
    • Ask students to describe the positive affirmations they chose and explain why they selected them.
    • Facilitate a reflection discussion on the experience, asking questions such as "How did creating art with positive affirmations make you feel?" and "What positive messages do you hope others will take away from your artwork?".
  • Summarize the key concepts learned during the lesson, emphasizing the importance of self-esteem and positive thinking.
  • Encourage students to continue using positive affirmations in their daily lives and to explore the connection between art and self-expression.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Teachers will assess students by observing students’:
    • Discussion of Johns’ artwork
    • Responses to positive affirmations
    • Process of creating their artwork.

Summative

 

Differentiation

Acceleration: 

  • Have students create an artist statement explaining why they chose their positive affirmations.
  • Invite students to write short stories or poems inspired by their affirmation artworks, exploring the themes of self-esteem and confidence.
  • Have students research other artists who use words or text in their artwork, such as Barbara Kruger or Jenny Holzer, and discuss how their work relates to the use of positive affirmations.

Remediation:

  • Chunk the artmaking process for students.
  • Create a class list of affirmations for students to choose from.
  • Provide stencils for letters.

 

Credits

U.S. Department of Education- STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning

Ideas contributed by: SAIL Grant Teacher Leaders–Chad Itnyre, Kristen Alvarez, Leah Patel, Lucerito Gonzalez, Tamu Clayton, Sandra Cash, Erin Smullen

*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:  June 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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STARS & PLANETS: COSMIC COLORS–CRAFTING THE SOLAR SYSTEM THROUGH ART 4

COSMIC COLORS–CRAFTING THE SOLAR SYSTEM THROUGH ART

STARS & PLANETS:COSMIC COLORS–CRAFTING THE SOLAR SYSTEM THROUGH ART

Learning Description

In this visual arts lesson, students will use oil pastels to create a vibrant representation of the solar system, focusing on the unique physical attributes of each planet. Through a discussion on planetary characteristics, students will learn to apply elements of art, such as value for lightness and darkness, line and shape for planetary outlines and orbits, and texture to mimic surfaces like Venus's smoothness or Jupiter's gas swirls.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 4
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can create a model of the physical attributes of planets in our solar system using the elements of art.
  • I can use texture, line, shape, and color to depict the composition of stars and planets.

Essential Questions

  • How do the physical characteristics of stars differ from those of planets, and what methods can we use to observe and understand these differences?
  • How can I use elements of art to create a depiction of planets in our solar system?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

S4E1: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to compare and contrast the physical attributes of stars and planets.

Arts Standards

VA4.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes.
VA4.CR.3 Understand and apply media, techniques, processes, and concepts of two dimensional art.
a. Apply drawing and painting techniques with a variety of media (e.g. pencil, crayon, pastel, charcoal, tempera, watercolor, acrylic).

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Planet - Large natural objects that orbit around a star
  • (Composition) Gaseous - A planet composed of mostly gasses
  • (Composition) Rocky - A planet composed of mostly rocks
  • Relative size - How the size of one object compares to another
  • Satellite - Any object that orbits another object
  • Star - A massive, luminous sphere held together by its own gravity
  • Telescope - A tool used to observe far away objects

Arts Vocabulary

  • Blending technique - Mixing two colors or shades of oil pastels by layering them
  • Rubbing - Placing a piece of paper over something that has texture and rubbing a drawing utensil lightly over the paper to reveal the texture underneath
  • Color - An element of art with three properties: 1) Hue: the name of the color, e.g. red, yellow, etc.; 2) Intensity: the purity and strength of the color (brightness or dullness); 3) Value: the lightness or darkness of the color (shades and tints)
  • Value - This describes the lightness or darkness of a color. Value is needed to express volume.
  • Texture - The surface quality, or "feel" of an object, such as roughness, smoothness, or softness. Actual texture can be felt while simulated textures are implied by the way the artist renders areas of the picture.
  • Shape - A flat, enclosed line that is always two-dimensional and can be either geometric or organic
  • Line - A continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point. It may be two dimensional, like a pencil mark on a paper or it may be three dimensional (wire) or implied (the edge of a shape or form) often it is an outline, contour or silhouette.
  • Composition - How an artist uses the the elements to create a work of art
  • Proportion - The size relationships between different parts of an artwork. It determines how each element relates to the others in terms of size, scale, and placement.
  • Perspective - Representing objects and spaces in a way that mimics how we perceive them in the real world

Materials


Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Group students in small groups of three to four. Give each group an element of art (line, shape, color, value, texture, space, and form).
  • Discuss the definitions of each element of art using the Elements of Art
  • Show students the images below. Have students share how they see their group’s element of art in the images.
    • Discuss how each planet is more than one color and/or shade.
    • Discuss how each planet looks different and how the order of the planets is depicted.

Illustration of the solar system featuring the Sun, eight planets, and Pluto, all aligned with their orbits against a starry background filled with shimmering stars.

 

Illustration of the solar system with the Sun at the center, planets like Earth, Saturn, Jupiter, and Neptune orbiting in elliptical paths, and distant stars twinkling in the background of space.

 

Work Session

  • Discuss different ways the planets’ order can be depicted. Refer to the pictures from the opening activity.
  • Discuss how space in art is depicted. This is creating the illusion that some things are closer than others.
    • Discuss how each image is shown from a different perspective. How space is represented will depend on the perspective students choose.
    • Another resource to use for examples of perspective is from David A. Hardy.
  • Discuss how/why not all of the planets are the same size and color. Proportion is one of the principles of design in art; talk to students about how this is shown in the images of the planets (relative size).
  • Discuss the different compositions of planets. Ask students how this can be represented using texture. Students can represent gaseous planets with a smooth texture and blending using oil pastels and rocky planets by doing a texture rubbing on a rough surface.
  • Model for students how to blend their colors. This is a great time to discuss how value is demonstrated in art. You can use this video to demonstrate how to combine light values and darker values to create the illusion of form.
  • Refer back to initial images from activator. Ask students to observe how the space on the paper is used. Remind them to use the whole space on their paper when creating their artwork. Remind students to consider how they will also represent the size of the planets on their paper (proportion).
  • Have students sketch their design of the solar system first and then begin coloring/shading/creating texture rubbings of the planets with oil pastels.
  • After students have completed their artwork, have students sign their work and display it for future use.
  • If using neon oil pastels, after all models have been displayed, allow students to use black lights to observe other students’ models/artwork.

Closing Reflection

  • Compare and contrast the models.
  • Discuss how blending (and texture rubbings) allowed for the models to be more accurate than in other depictions of planets.
  • In groups, have students identify how they used the elements of art.


Assessments

Formative

  • Teachers will assess student learning throughout the lesson by observing students’:
    • Ability to identify the elements of art in images of planets
    • Ability to describe the attributes of planets

Summative

Use rubric to assess student work: VA - Lesson 3 Rubric.


DIFFERENTIATION

Acceleration: 

Advanced students can be asked to include items such as the asteroid belt in their models.

Remediation:

Allow remedial students to see a different type of model to assist them with ordering the planets, or students can choose one planet to model.


ADDITIONAL RESOURCES


CREDITS

U.S. Department of Education- STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning

Ideas contributed by: SAIL Grant Teacher Leaders

*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:  June 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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