POLLUTION MATTERS: THE LORAX LANDSCAPES 3-5

THE LORAX LANDSCAPES

POLLUTION MATTERS: THE LORAX LANDSCAPES

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will listen to the story The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. Students will discuss the elements of art they see in the illustrations. Then, students will recreate their own scene analysis of the illustrations before and after the Onceler arrives in the story. Students will also focus on the changes in mood throughout the story. Students will then create a persuasive writing piece comparing and contrasting the Lorax’s habitat.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 3,5
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can create a persuasive piece to compare and contrast the scenes in the Lorax’s habitat before and after the Onceler.
  • I can create a piece of art that shows the cause and effect of the pollution that occurred in The Lorax.

Essential Questions

  • How can art be used to compare and contrast the land of the Lorax before and after the Onceler?
  • How can you analyze the mood in a piece of artwork using key vocabulary?
  • What are the effects of pollution on people and the environment?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 3:

S3L2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the effects of pollution (air, land, and water) and humans on the environment.

a. Ask questions to collect information and create records of sources and effects of pollution on the plants and animals.

b. Explore, research, and communicate solutions, such as conservation of resources and recycling of materials, to protect plants and animals.

Arts Standards

Grade 3:

VA3PR.1 Creates artworks based on personal experience and selected themes.

VA3PR.2 Understands and applies media, techniques, and processes of two-dimensional art processes (drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed-media) using tools and materials in a safe and appropriate manner to develop skills.

VA3AR.1 Discusses his or her artwork and the artwork of others.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 5:

5-ESS3-1. Evaluate potential solutions to problems that individual communities face in protecting the Earth’s resources and environment.

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

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Compare/contrast - To find similarities and differences between two things
  • Cause and effect - A relationship between two events or situations where one event (the cause) directly results in the other event (the effect)
  • Pollution - The introduction of harmful or toxic substances, known as pollutants, into the environment
  • Conservation - The careful management, protection, and preservation of natural resources, the environment, and wildlife to prevent depletion, degradation, or extinction
  • Environment - The conditions and factors surrounding an organism or group of organisms, influencing their development, behavior, and survival. It includes both biotic factors (living elements like plants, animals, bacteria) and abiotic factors (non-living elements like sunlight, temperature, water, soil, and air)
  • Air pollution - Harmful gases and particles are released into the atmosphere, often from vehicle exhaust, factories, and power plants. Common pollutants include carbon dioxide (CO₂), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter
  • Land pollution - Chemicals, pesticides, and waste materials contaminate the soil, often due to improper waste disposal, use of pesticides, or industrial spills. This affects soil quality, plant life, and can contaminate crops.
  • Water pollution - contaminants enter water bodies like rivers, lakes, and oceans, often from agricultural runoff, industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills. This pollution harms aquatic life and can make water unsafe for human consumption.

Arts Vocabulary

  • 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)
  • Warm colors - Yellow, orange, red (and shades of each)
  • Cool colors - Purple/violet, blue, green (and shades of each)
  • Shape - A flat, enclosed line that is always two-dimensional and can be either geometric or organic
  • 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.
  • Contrast - The arrangement of opposite elements in a composition (light vs. dark, rough vs. smooth, etc.) Similar to variety, which refers to the differences in a work, achieved by using different shapes, textures, colors and values.
  • Landscape - A type of art that shows a wide expanse of land and shows depth through a background, middle ground, and foreground
  • Background - The area of the artwork that appears furthest away and is smallest
  • Middle ground - The area of the artwork that appears in the middle of the picture plane between the background and middle ground
  • Foreground - The area of the artwork that appears closest and is largest

 

Materials

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Select one illustration from the first half of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.
  • Engage students in the See, Think, Wonder Artful Thinking Routine.
    • What do you see?
    • What do you think about what you see?
    • What do you wonder about?

Work Session

Part 1:

  • Read the first half of The Lorax as a whole class.
  • After the first half of The Lorax with the students, discuss as a group the art elements they saw while reading. Ask them to identify colors, lines, shapes, and textures.
  • Use The Lorax movie clip to help with recalling the mood of the “beginning” of the story.
  • Pass out mixed media paper to students. Students will fold paper in half (landscape).
  • Students should label “Before the Onceler” on the left hand side of the paper and “After the Onceler” on the right hand side of the paper.
  • Show students the parts of a landscape diagram. Look at an illustration from The Lorax and have students identify the parts of a landscape in the illustration.
  • Have students lightly sketch the horizon line, the foreground and the background on both sides of the paper. After students sketch, they will use the black sharpies to go over the major lines in their drawings.
  • Students will then use oil pastels to recreate the before scene. Ask students to focus on using color to communicate the mood of the story at this point. This will be where the colors are warm and bright.
  • Remind students to include the characters Barbaloot Bears, Truffala trees, Hummingfish, and Swammie Swams in their artwork.

Part 2:

  • Read the second half of The Lorax with the students.
  • Discuss as a group how the illustrations changed in the second half of the story. What colors do students see?
  • Students will then use oil pastels to finish their landscapes recreating “After the Onceler”.
  • Remind students to think about how many characters have vanished from the setting. How did the colors change? What happened to the Truffla trees?

Part 3:

  • To conclude the project, as a whole class, discuss the point of view from the main characters (Onceler and Lorax). Have students pair up and recreate a quick conversation between the characters.  Point of view must be clearly identified and supported.
  • Students will then create their own persuasive writing piece using their Suess inspired illustration picture to compare and contrast the Lorax’s habitat before and after the Onceler.

Closing Reflection

  • Facilitate a discussion around the following questions:
    • How does the Land of the Lifted Lorax compare after the Onceler?
    • How would you describe the mood of the scene before and after the Onceler?
    • What was the main cause of the destruction to the Land of the Lifted Lorax?
    • How did you use color to communicate the mood of the story before and after the Onceler came?

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Teacher will observe the students for the understanding of appropriate usage of unit vocabulary through the lesson as well as their ability to connect color and mood.

Summative

 

Differentiation 

Accelerated: 

  • Students can create a third panel of the artwork with the possibility of the UNLESS scene and how they think it would look (possible outcomes, new small plants growing, grass beginning to grow again etc.).
  • Discuss the artist Vik Munez. Use pictures to discuss his artwork and what inspires him.  Students can create their own art pieces using collected garbage.

Remedial:

  • Provide pre-folded paper with a horizon line drawn for students.
  • Provide sentence starters for students.
  • Include a visual word bank for additional support.

 

Additional Resources

 

Credits

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

Ideas contributed by: Jill McNally, Alisa Moore, Julie Palmieri, Edited by Dr. Carla Cohen, Edited by Jessica Espinoza and 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:  June 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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ARTFUL EARTH–EXPLORING ROCKS AND SOILS: WORD ART AND ROCK RIDDLES 3-4

WORD ART AND ROCK RIDDLES

ARTFUL EARTH–EXPLORING ROCKS AND SOILS: WORD ART AND ROCK RIDDLES

Learning Description

In this arts integrated lesson, students will use visual arts and theatre to demonstrate their understanding of rocks. Students will create a Word Art illustration focusing on one of the three types of rocks. Students will then create and perform a riddle and or monologue in which the class (audience) tries to guess which rock it represents. Students will compare and contrast the attributes/characteristics of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 3,4
CONTENT FOCUS: THEATRE & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can identify the three types of rocks: Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
  • I can create and perform a monologue/riddle describing the three types of rocks: Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
  • I can compare and contrast the three types of rocks: Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.

Essential Questions

  • How are the three types of rocks formed?
  • How are the three types of rocks alike and different?
  • What is the difference between the three types of rocks?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 3:

S3E1 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the physical attributes of rocks and soils.

S3E1.a Ask questions and analyze data to classify rocks by their physical attributes (color, texture, luster, and hardness) using simple tests.

S3E1.b Plan and carry out investigations to describe properties (color, texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support growth of plants) of soils and soil types (sand, clay, loam).

S3E1.c Make observations of the local environment to construct an explanation of how water and/or wind have made changes to soil and/or rocks over time.

Arts Standards

Grade 3:

THEATRE: TA3.PR.1 Act by communicating and sustaining roles in formal and informal environments.

VISUAL ARTS:

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.

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

Grade 4:

4-ESS1-1. Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.

Arts Standards

THEATRE: Anchor Standard 3: I can act in improvised scenes and written scripts.

Anchor Standard 8: I can relate theatre to other content areas, arts disciplines, and careers.

VISUAL ARTS:Anchor Standard 5: I can interpret and evaluate the meaning of an artwork.

Anchor Standard 7: I can relate visual arts ideas to other arts disciplines, content areas, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Rock - A naturally occurring solid substance composed of one or more minerals, mineraloids, or organic materials
  • Sedimentary rocks - A type of rock that forms from the accumulation, compaction, and cementation of sediments over time
  • Metamorphic rocks - A type of rock that forms when existing rocks—either igneous, sedimentary, or other metamorphic rocks—are subjected to high heat, pressure, and/or chemically active fluids over long periods of time
  • Igneous rocks - A type of rock that is formed from the cooling and solidification of molten rock (magma or lava)
  • Magma - Molten rock that is found beneath the Earth's surface
  • Weathering - The process by which rocks and minerals break down into smaller pieces or change chemically due to exposure to environmental conditions such as wind, water, temperature changes, and biological activity
  • Sediments - Small particles of rock, minerals, organic materials, or other substances that have been broken down or weathered from larger rocks over time

Arts Vocabulary

  • Voice - Actors use their voice to be heard by the audience clearly. Actors must also apply vocal choices such as pitch, tempo, and volume to the character they are dramatizing.
  • Pitch - The highness or lowness of sound
  • Body - Actors use their bodies to become a character through body posture and movement. What your mind thinks, what your emotions feel, all of this is supposed to show up in your body.
  • Texture - When referring to an actor's voice, texture describes the unique quality, feel, or timbre of the voice. Just as texture in visual art or touch refers to the surface characteristics (smooth, rough, gritty, etc.), vocal texture relates to the way the voice sounds and the impressions it conveys.
  • Word art - A form of visual art that uses words, letters, or text as the main medium to create an artistic representation
  • 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

  • Each table/group will be given three samples/examples of rocks.
  • Using a Three-Column Blank Chart, the groups will discuss and fill in their chart writing down their observations.
    • Students should note the attributes in size, texture, color, hardness, softness, etc.
    • They should be able to identify all three rocks: Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
    • The students should also explain how each rock is created in a different manner than the others.

Each group will share their observations with the rest of the class. The teacher will compile the group observations into one large three column chart paper.

Work Session

Part 1:

  • Ask each small group to create a riddle for an assigned rock (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic).
    • The riddle must be written in first person.
    • Students must decide what kind of voice they think that rock would have and how they think that rock would move if it came to life.
      • Ask students to think about the pitch (how high or low) and texture (rough, smooth, etc.) of their rock’s voice.
    • Teacher will demonstrate and share an example of a rock riddle: I am smooth to the touch. I am round in size and gray in color. Where you may find me is in the river. What type of rock am I?

Part 2:

  • Each group will perform their riddle for the class in character using their voices and bodies.
  • The class will then try to guess which type of rock is being demonstrated by the words given in the riddles along with any movement that may assist in better understanding.

Part 3:

  • Give students a piece of blank paper.
  • Students should create Word Art to express the type of rock that they wrote the riddle about: Igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic.
    • Students should consider the color and texture of the rock and include this in their lettering.
    • Students should consider the type of chemical/physical change that takes place in order for nature to create the rock.
      • As part of their Word Art, they should illustrate this change in a way that demonstrates the type of new rock that forms. This may look like the letters changing from the beginning of the word to the end of the word.
      • Project Word Art Examples to help students understand the expectations of the artwork.

Closing Reflection

  • Students should create a written reflection explaining the type of rock they chose, how it is formed, how they used their voices and body movements when performing their riddle to describe the rock, and how they used color and texture to demonstrate characteristics of their rock and how it’s formed in their Word Art.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Teacher observation of students while writing their riddles and creating their rock characters to assess their knowledge of the three different types of rocks

Summative

  • Students’ rock riddles contain accurate information about the attributes of their type of rock.
  • Students’ use their voices and bodies to embody the attributes of their rocks.
  • Students use color and texture to communicate the attributes of their rocks and how they are formed in their Word Art.

 

Differentiation 

Accelerated: 

  • Allow your higher-level learners as well as gifted students an extension research activity. Put these students in pairs. The small groups will be given a mineral. They should identify the attributes of their mineral, where their mineral is found, and what the mineral is used for or its purpose.
    • They can then write a short informational essay using the above information. Then they can create a “Who Am I” riddle for their assigned mineral. They can then teach this new information to other students.
      • Example of a “Who Am I” mineral riddle: I am yellow and soft. I smell really bad. I leave a yellow stain. I am a mineral. Who am I? Answer = sulfur
    • Students can write an informational piece demonstrating their knowledge of the following: the three different types of rocks, their attributes, as well as how each type of rock is created. Informational Writing Rubric

Remedial:

  • Provide these students with photographs/pictures of the three types of rocks so they are able to refer back to the three different types of rocks and are using the correct terminology as much as possible while working on the project. These photographs/pictures could be of the three types of rocks in their natural settings so these learners are able to make better connections.
  • Allow students to orally present their reflection rather than writing it.
  • Format the written reflections as a question and answer.

 

Credits

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

U.S. Department of Education Arts in Education--Model Development and Dissemination Grants Program Cherokee County (GA) School District and ArtsNOW, Inc.

Ideas contributed and edited by: Diane McMullen, Edith Alexander, Liz Pendlington, Jessica Espinoza, Richard Benjamin Ph.D., Michele McClelland, Mary Ellen Johnson, Jane Gill

*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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ARTFUL EARTH–EXPLORING ROCKS AND SOILS: SOIL STUDY LANDSCAPES 3-4

SOIL STUDY LANDSCAPES

ARTFUL EARTH–EXPLORING ROCKS AND SOILS: SOIL STUDY LANDSCAPES

Learning Description

This arts integrated lesson should be taught after the students are able to identify the types of soil, compare and contrast the types of soil, as well as classify soil based on its attributes. The students will be led through a “Gallery Walk” of photographs of plants and/or animals living in specific types of soil. The students will create a landscape depicting plant life that lives in a specific type of soil.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 3,4
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can use visual arts to demonstrate my knowledge of the properties of different types of soils.
  • I can create a landscape that has a background, middle ground, and foreground that accurately represents my chosen type of soil.

Essential Questions

  • What are the characteristics of the different types of soil?
  • How can I use visual arts to demonstrate my knowledge of the properties of different types of soil?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 3:

S3E1 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the physical attributes of rocks and soils.

S3E1.b Plan and carry out investigations to describe properties (color, texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support growth of plants) of soils and soil types (sand, clay, loam).

S3E1.c Make observations of the local environment to construct an explanation of how water and/or wind have made changes to soil and/or rocks over time.

Arts Standards

Grade 3:

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

Grade 4:

4-ESS1-1. Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.

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

  • Soil - A natural resource made up of a mixture of minerals, organic matter, air, and water
    • Sand - Contains a high proportion of sand particles, which makes it well-draining but less nutrient-rich
    • Clay - Contains mostly fine clay particles that retain water and nutrients but drain poorly, which can lead to waterlogging in plants
    • Loam - A balanced mixture of sand, silt, and clay; it is ideal for most plant growth because it has good drainage while retaining sufficient moisture.
    • Silt - Composed of very fine particles, smaller than sand but larger than clay
  • Rock - A naturally occurring solid substance composed of one or more minerals, mineraloids, or organic materials
  • Sedimentary rocks - A type of rock that forms from the accumulation, compaction, and cementation of sediments over time
  • Metamorphic rocks - A type of rock that forms when existing rocks—either igneous, sedimentary, or other metamorphic rocks—are subjected to high heat, pressure, and/or chemically active fluids over long periods of time
  • Igneous rocks - A type of rock that is formed from the cooling and solidification of molten rock (magma or lava)
  • Magma - Molten rock that is found beneath the Earth's surface
  • Weathering - The process by which rocks and minerals break down into smaller pieces or change chemically due to exposure to environmental conditions such as wind, water, temperature changes, and biological activity
  • Sediments - Small particles of rock, minerals, organic materials, or other substances that have been broken down or weathered from larger rocks over time

Arts Vocabulary

  • Landscape - A work of art that primarily depicts natural scenery, such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests
  • Texture - The surface quality, or "feel" of an object, such as roughness, smoothness, or softness; actual texture can be felt while implied textures are implied by the way the artist renders areas of the picture
  • Color - Reflected or absorbed light; properties of color are:
    • Hue - The name of the color, e.g. red, yellow, etc.
    • Intensity - The purity and strength of the color (brightness or dullness)
    • Value - The lightness or darkness of the color (shades and tints)
  • Background - The part of a landscape that appears farthest from the viewer and appears the smallest
  • Middle ground - The part of the landscape that is in between the background and the foreground
  • Foreground - The part of the landscape that is closest to the viewer and appears the largest

 

Materials

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Review the main types of soil: Sand, silt, clay, and loam.
  • Discuss their characteristics, including texture, water retention, and nutrient content. Make sure students can differentiate between the types.
  • Set up a "Gallery Walk" of photos of plants and or animals living in specific types of soil around the classroom.
  • Have students walk around the room in small groups or pairs and observe the images completing their Soil Observation Charts. Ask them to consider the following:
    • What type of soil do you think these plants/animals live in?
    • What textures do you see? How is the texture of each type of soil different?
    • How do you think the soil affects the plant or animal’s ability to grow or survive?
    • What does the landscape look like? (E.g., dry and barren, lush and green, etc.)
    • What colors do you see in the images?
  • After the Gallery Walk, bring the class together and discuss their observations. Use chart paper or a whiteboard to record the types of soil associated with each image and the plants or animals living there.
    • Be sure to discuss the textures and colors that students noticed were associated with each type of soil.
  • Discuss why certain plants or animals thrive in specific soil types, emphasizing the connection between soil properties (like drainage, texture, and water retention) and living conditions.

Work Session

  • Explain that students will choose one type of soil and create a landscape depicting plants (optional to include animals, too) that thrive in that specific soil type. They should use visual evidence from the images they looked at to create their landscapes.
  • Show students an example of a landscape (such as "Predernal" by Georgia O'Keeffe) and a diagram of the parts of a landscape. Ask students to identify the background, middle ground, and foreground in the landscape artwork.

Create Landscape Artwork:

  • Have each student choose one soil type (sand, silt, clay, or loam) and the corresponding plant (optional to also include animal) that lives there.
  • Provide the following requirements to students. Landscapes must include:
    • A background, middle ground, and foreground
      • The background should depict the natural environment (e.g., a desert, forest, wetland).
    • Plants (optional–animals) that are well-suited to live in that soil type
    • Visual details that help depict the characteristics of the chosen soil, such as color, texture, and details that represent the environment accurately
  • Students should plan their landscape using plain computer paper and a pencil.
    • Demonstrate how to fold paper into fourths and label each section.

A diagram with four horizontal sections labeled Sky, Background, Middle ground, and Foreground—ideal for soil study or illustrating layers of rocks and soils. Each section is divided by a black line.

  • Students will then create their landscape on a piece of mixed media paper.
    • Students should fold their paper first and then sketch in the landscape before adding color.
    • Students should then use watercolor to paint in the main colors in their landscapes.
    • After the watercolor is dry, students can add details and texture with oil pastels, crayons, or markers.

Gallery Share:

  • Once students have completed their landscapes, set up a "mini-gallery" by displaying their artwork around the room.
  • Have students walk around and observe each other's work, making connections between the soil types and the plants/animals they depicted.

Closing Reflection

  • After the gallery walk, gather students to share their artwork. Ask students to write a written reflection answering the following questions:
    • What soil type did you choose and why?
    • How did you depict the connection between soil and the plants that live in that environment (texture, color, details, etc.)?
    • What did you learn from this project about soil types and the environment?

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Observe student participation during the gallery walks at the beginning and ending of the lesson and class discussion to assess their understanding of soil types and their connection to living organisms.
  • Student Soil Observation Charts

Summative

  • Review the students’ artwork for accuracy in depicting the chosen soil type and the plants’ connection to that environment.
  • Evaluate the students' written or verbal reflections for comprehension of the project and their ability to link soil characteristics with plant/animal habitats.

 

Differentiation 

Accelerated: 

  • Have students work in groups to create a 3D model of a particular soil environment, such as a desert or wetland, and include various plant or animal figures.
  • Ask students to incorporate the concept of ecological balance into their artwork. They can depict how organisms depend on each other and how soil affects their survival. For example, they could show a symbiotic relationship between plants and animals in a specific soil type, such as how certain plants rely on specific animals for pollination or seed dispersal.
  • Have students reflect on the importance of soil beyond just its role in plant and animal growth. They can write or discuss how soil shapes the landscape, affects water cycles, or influences climate.
  • Students can write a fictional short story about a plant or animal living in a specific type of soil, describing how it survives, thrives, and interacts with other organisms. They could then create an illustration or series of illustrations based on the scenes from the story, integrating scientific accuracy with creative narrative.

Remedial:

  • Provide written instructions and visual step-by-step guides for creating their landscape.
  • Break the art creation task into smaller, manageable steps (e.g., first draw the soil background, then add the plants, and lastly add texture to show the soil type).
  • Allow students to collage instead of drawing and painting; students would cut out pictures of plants/animals and gluing them to a background or using textured materials to represent the different soil types.

 

Credits

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

U.S. Department of Education Arts in Education--Model Development and Dissemination Grants Program Cherokee County (GA) School District and ArtsNOW, Inc.

Ideas contributed and edited by: Diane McMullen, Edith Alexander, Liz Pendlington, Jessica Espinoza, Richard Benjamin Ph.D., Michele McClelland, Mary Ellen Johnson, Jane Gill, 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:  June 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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GEOMETRY: SCULPTING WITH GEOMETRY: EXPLORING ANGLES AND LINES WITH ALEXANDER CALDER 4

SCULPTING WITH GEOMETRY: EXPLORING ANGLES AND LINES WITH ALEXANDER CALDER

GEOMETRY: SCULPTING WITH GEOMETRY: EXPLORING ANGLES AND LINES WITH ALEXANDER CALDER

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will create sculptures inspired by the artist, Alexander Calder, to demonstrate their understanding of types of angles, parallel lines, and perpendicular lines.

 

Learning Targets

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

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can create a Stabile inspired by the artist, Alexander Clader, that is free-standing.
  • I can draw polygons with parallel lines, right angles, acute angles, and obtuse angles.
  • I can identify parallel lines, right angles, acute angles, and obtuse angles.

Essential Questions

  • How do artists use geometry in their artwork?
  • What are the defining attributes of polygons?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

4.GSR.7.1 Recognize angles as geometric shapes formed when two rays share a common endpoint. Draw right, acute, and obtuse angles based on the relationship of the angle measure to 90 degrees.

4.GSR.8.1 Explore, investigate, and draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse), perpendicular lines, parallel lines, and lines of symmetry. Identify these in two-dimensional figures.

4.GSR.8.2 Classify, compare, and contrast polygons based on lines of symmetry, the presence or absence of parallel or perpendicular line segments, or the presence or absence of angles of a specified size and based on side lengths.

Arts Standards

VA4.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

VA4.CR.4 Understand and apply media, techniques, processes, and concepts of three-dimensional art.

VA4.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.

VA4.CN.2 Integrate information from other disciplines to enhance the understanding and production of works of art.

VA4.CN.3 Develop life skills through the study and production of art (e.g. collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication).

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

4.G.1 Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (i.e., right, acute, obtuse), and parallel and perpendicular lines. Identify these in two-dimensional figures.

4.G.2 Classify quadrilaterals based on the presence or absence of parallel or perpendicular lines.

4.G.3 Recognize right triangles as a category, and identify right triangles.

4.G.4 Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.

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

  • Right angle - An angle whose measure is exactly 90°
  • Acute angle - An angle whose measure is between 0° and 90°
  • Obtuse angle - An angle whose measure is between 91° and 180°
  • Equilateral triangle - A three-sided figure with sides of equal length
  • Isosceles triangle - A three-sided figure with two sides of equal length
  • Scalene triangle - A three-sided figure with no sides equal in length
  • Parallelogram - A quadrilateral with both pairs of opposite sides parallel
  • Pentagon - A five-sided polygon
  • Rectangle - A parallelogram with four right angles
  • Rhombus - A parallelogram with four sides of equal length
  • Square - A plane figure with four equal straight sides and four equal angles
  • Trapezoid - A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides

Arts Vocabulary

  • Stabile - A type of sculpture created by the artist, Alexander Calder; these sculptures are geometric and abstract
  • Sculpture - A form of art that is three-dimensional
  • Shape - An enclosed line; in art, shape can be geometric or organic
  • Line - A mark connecting two points
  • Form - One of the seven elements of art; an object that has three-dimensions

 

Materials

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Begin the lesson by guiding students through a directed drawing.
  • Pass out note cards and markers/crayons/colored pencils to students.
  • Read the following instructions. Project the instructions on the board as you give them.
    • Choose a color. Draw one vertical line from the top to the bottom of your paper.
    • Using a new color, draw a line that is parallel to that line.
    • Using a new color, draw a line that is perpendicular to both lines.
    • Using a new color, draw two polygons that have acute angles. They should be different sizes.
    • Using a new color, draw two polygons that have obtuse angles. One should overlap something else on your paper.
    • Finally, using a new color draw one large polygon that has a right angle.

Have students compare their artworks with a neighbor. Students should check each other’s artwork using the instructions on the board.

Work Session

  • Based on what the teacher sees needs to be revisited after the directed drawing, review concepts with students.
  • Next, show students images of the artist, Alexander Calder’s sculptures, such as “Small City” or “Object in Five Planes”. Tell students that Calder called his geometric and abstract sculptures Stabiles.
    • Ask students to talk with a neighbor about what they see in the image–shapes, lines, colors, etc.
    • Allow time for students to share. Direct their attention to the types of shapes, angles, and lines that they see.
  • Tell students that they will be creating their own sculptures inspired by Calder’s Stabiles.
  • Assign students partners. (This can also be done individually if desired.)
  • Provide students with the materials and criteria for their Stabiles.
    • Sample criteria:
      • Stabile must include at least four polygons.
      • Stabile must show an example of a polygon with a right angle, a polygon with an acute angle, and a polygon with an obtuse angle.
      • Stabile must have a polygon with parallel lines.
    • Have students create a sketch of their design for their Stabile.
    • Pass out scissors and either thin cardboard or styrofoam plates.
    • Students should draw their polygons on the material prior to cutting.
    • Show students how to attach two shapes together by cutting small slits in the sides and fitting them together.
    • Optional: Students can add color using oil pastels prior to assembling their Stabiles.
      • If using color, ask students to consider how they might use color intentionally. For example, all triangles might be cool colors (blue, green, teal, and purple) and all quadrilaterals might be warm colors (red, pink, orange, yellow).
    • Students’ Stabiles should be able to stand on their own.

Pass out a new note card to students. Students should write on the notecard how they showed each of the criteria in their Stabile. Students will submit this along with their Stabiles for assessment.

Closing Reflection

  • Have students display their Stabiles on desks or tables. Conduct a gallery walk so that students can observe where their classmates showed the criteria in their Stabiles.
  • Discuss as a class how each artwork displayed the same criteria but was different in the way students showed the criteria creatively.
  • Ask students to reflect on what they would do differently if they could create their Stabile again.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Teachers will assess learning by observing:
    • Whether students understand the vocabulary in the activator
    • Whether students can identify geometric concepts in Calder’s Stabiles
    • Students’ collaboration with their partners to design and create their own Stabiles using the established criteria

Summative

CHECKLIST:

  • Students can create a Stabile inspired by Clader that is free-standing.
  • Students can draw polygons with parallel lines, right angles, acute angles, and obtuse angles.
  • Students can explain how they showed parallel lines, right angles, acute angles, and obtuse angles in their Stabiles.
  • Students can identify parallel lines, right angles, acute angles, and obtuse angles in their classmates’ Stabiles.

 

Differentiation 

Accelerated: 

  • Add additional criteria to students’ Stabiles, such as different types of triangles, specific angle measurements, or incorporate calculating perimeter and surface area.
  • Require students to use color in their artwork. Alternatively, students can add line patterns and designs on cardboard.

Remedial:

  • Reduce requirements for students’ Stabiles.
  • Provide templates of polygons for students to trace and cut out.

 

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:  June 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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GEOMETRY: EXPLORE GEOMETRY WITH ABSTRACT ART 4

EXPLORE GEOMETRY WITH ABSTRACT ART

GEOMETRY: EXPLORE GEOMETRY WITH ABSTRACT ART

Learning Description

Delve into the abstract world of Wassily Kandinsky! Allow your imagination to soar as you discover mathematical connections within Kandinsky images. Students will be inspired by the work of Kandinsky to create their own abstract art that incorporates geometric concepts and the elements of art.

 

Learning Targets

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

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"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can create artwork inspired by Wassily Kandinsky that demonstrates my understanding of mathematical concepts.
  • I can describe my artwork in terms of mathematical concepts.
  • I can interpret my Stabile sculpture in a two-dimensional format.

Essential Questions

  • How can you utilize visual images to learn about mathematical concepts?
  • How are two-dimensional and three-dimensional artworks different?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

4.GSR.7.1 Recognize angles as geometric shapes formed when two rays share a common endpoint. Draw right, acute, and obtuse angles based on the relationship of the angle measure to 90 degrees
4.GSR.8.1 Explore, investigate, and draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse), perpendicular lines, parallel lines, and lines of symmetry. Identify these in two-dimensional figures.
4.GSR.8.2 Classify, compare, and contrast polygons based on lines of symmetry, the presence or absence of parallel or perpendicular line segments, or the presence or absence of angles of a specified size and based on side lengths.

Arts Standards

VA4.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.
VA4.CR.3 Understand and apply media, techniques, and processes of two-dimensional art.
VA4.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.
VA4.CN.2 Integrate information from other disciplines to enhance the understanding and production of works of art.
VA4.CN.3 Develop life skills through the study and production of art (e.g. collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication).

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

4.G.1 Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (i.e., right, acute, obtuse), and parallel and perpendicular lines. Identify these in two-dimensional figures.
4.G.2 Classify quadrilaterals based on the presence or absence of parallel or perpendicular lines.
4.G.3 Recognize right triangles as a category, and identify right triangles.
4.G.4 Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.

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

  • Right angle - An angle whose measure is exactly 90°
  • Acute angle - An angle whose measure is between 0° and 90°
  • Obtuse angle - An angle whose measure is between 91° and 180°
  • Equilateral triangle - A three-sided figure with sides of equal length
  • Isosceles triangle - A three-sided figure with two sides of equal length
  • Scalene triangle - A three-sided figure with no sides equal in length
  • Parallelogram - A quadrilateral with both pairs of opposite sides parallel
  • Pentagon - A five-sided polygon
  • Rectangle - A parallelogram with four right angles
  • Rhombus - A parallelogram with four sides of equal length
  • Square - A plane figure with four equal straight sides and four equal angles
  • Trapezoid - A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides
  • Parallel lines - Lines that will never touch
  • Perpendicular lines - Lines that intersect forming a 90 degree angle

Arts Vocabulary

  • Non-objective - Process of art-making that has no reference to the real world; strictly composed of design elements
  • Contrast - The arrangement of opposite elements in a composition (light vs. dark, rough vs. smooth, etc.) Similar to variety, which refers to the differences in a work, achieved by using different shapes, textures, colors and values.
  • Line – One of the seven elements of art; a mark made by a pointed tool such as a brush pen or stick; a moving point
  • Shape (Geometric and Organic) – One of the seven elements of art; a flat, enclosed area that has two dimensions, length and width
  • Negative space - Empty space; the background
  • Color scheme - A limited number of colors used in an artwork
  • Warm colors - Red, pink, orange and yellow
  • Cool colors - Blue, green, purple/violet
  • Primary colors - Blue, yellow, red
  • Secondary colors - Orange, green, purple/violet
  • Neutral colors - Brown, tan, black, gray


Materials


Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Introduce this lesson by having students look at images of “Composition 8” and “Red, Blue and Yellow” by Russian artist, Wassily Kandinsky.
  • Have students engage in the Looking: Ten Times Two artful thinking routine.
    • Students will work collaboratively to identify ten things that they recognize in the image. Then, they’ll repeat the process; the second time, however, ask students to focus specifically on the colors and shapes that they see.
    • Facilitate a class-wide discussion around students’ observations.

Work Session

  • Looking at Kandinsky’s “Composition 8” and “Red, Blue and Yellow”, direct students to work collaboratively to use math vocabulary and concepts to describe the angles, lines, and shapes found within these abstract and non-objective masterpieces.
    • Students should draw and/or write their responses on sticky notes.
    • Direct students to identify the polygons within these images and their defining attributes.
    • Students should also look for examples of types of angles, types of triangles, and line relationships (parallel and perpendicular).
  • Project or draw a large Venn diagrams for students to use to compare and contrast the two different Kandinsky artworks. Students can place their sticky notes in the appropriate section of the Venn diagram.
  • Next, tell students that they will create their own non-objective artwork in the style of Kandinsky. Their two-dimensional artwork will be a 2D interpretation of their Stabile sculptures (from lesson two in this unit).
  • Project “Composition 8” and “Red, Blue and Yellow”
    • Ask students to make observations about how the space is used in the artwork. Students should notice that there isn’t much negative space or “empty space”.
    • Students may also notice that Kandinsky overlaps elements in his artwork.
  • Next, discuss the colors that Kandinsky used.
    • Project an image of a color wheel and discuss different types of color schemes: Warm, cool, neutral, primary and secondary.
  • Tell students that they will be using color to “color code” their artwork. How they do this is up to them.
    • For example, all polygons might be warm colors and all lines might be cool colors.
      • Students can then further categorize by making all triangles red and all quadrilaterals orange. Or, each type of triangle or each type of quadrilateral could be a different warm color.
      • All lines that intersect at right angles might be blue and all lines that intersect at obtuse and acute angle might be green. All lines that don’t intersect might be purple/violet.
      • These are just a sampling of ideas–encourage students to choose how they want to use color intentionally in their art rather than telling them how to do it.
    • Students should divide a page in their STEAM journals or on plain paper into four sections. Students should lightly sketch four ideas for their compositions–one per section.
      • Remind students that they are interpreting their Stabile sculptures in a two-dimensional format. This means that they must show the polygons from their sculpture in their two-dimensional artwork.
    • Students will choose their favorite and draw their designs lightly on paper in pencil.
      • Students will add color using oil pastels or crayons.
    • Next, using a color that is different from the ones already used in their artwork, students should paint an even coat of paint (watercolor wash) using watercolor or tempera cakes over their entire artwork. The crayon or oil pastel will resist the water in the paint.
    • In their STEAM journals, have students reflect on how their artwork changed when they changed mediums from a 3D sculpture to a 2D drawing/painting. Next, ask students to describe their art using mathematical vocabulary.  

Closing Reflection

  • Students will display their 2D artwork next to their 3D Stabile sculptures. Give students a “scavenger hunt” to find mathematical concepts in each other’s artwork.
  • See if students can figure out how other students used color in their artwork.


Assessments

Formative

  • Teachers will assess students’ understanding of the content throughout the lesson by observing students’:
    • Participation in the activator
    • Discussion of the mathematical concepts evident in Kandinsky’s artwork
    • Discussion of Kandinsky’s use of color and space
    • Ability to apply mathematical concepts to creating a two-dimensional interpretation of their Stabile sculptures

Summative

  • Students can create an artwork inspired by Kandinsky that demonstrates their mastery of geometry standards.
  • Students can describe their artwork in terms of mathematical concepts.
  • Students can use color and space intentionally in their art.
  • Students can interpret their 3D Stabiles as a 2D drawing/painting.


Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Have students identify the area and perimeter of the polygons in their artwork.

Remedial:

  • Provide students with specific concepts to look for in Kandinsky’s artwork using a word bank.
  • Provide visuals with examples of concepts to support students.
  • Allow students to work with a partner to create artwork.

 

Credits

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

Ideas contributed by: Darby Jones, Shannon Green, and 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:  June 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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