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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THE ART OF CHANGE– A CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL ADVENTURE: EXPLORING PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGES THROUGH INDIGO DYEING 5,7

EXPLORING PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGES THROUGH INDIGO DYEING

THE ART OF CHANGE–A CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL ADVENTURE:EXPLORING PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGES THROUGH INDIGO DYEING

Learning Description

Students will explore both physical and chemical changes by using the visual arts process of indigo dyeing to help students apply their understanding of chemical and physical changes as they go through the various steps of dyeing fabric.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 5,7
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can use art materials to engage in the artistic process of indigo dyeing./li>
  • I can differentiate between which steps in the visual arts process were physical changes and which were chemical changes.
  • I can justify my artistic choices using my knowledge of both physical and chemical changes.

Essential Questions

  • How can visual arts be used to demonstrate understanding of what constitutes a physical change versus a chemical change?
  • How can the artistic process of indigo dyeing be used to model and classify both physical and chemical changes?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 5:

S5P1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain the differences between a physical change and a chemical change.
a.Plan and carry out investigations of physical changes by manipulating, separating, and mixing dry and liquid materials.
b.Construct an argument based on observations to support a claim that the physical changes in the state of water are due to temperature changes, which cause small particles that cannot be seen to move differently.
c. Plan and carry out an investigation to determine if a chemical change occurred based on observable evidence (color, gas, temperature change, odor, new substance produced).

Arts Standards

Grade 5:

VA5.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.
VA5.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes.
VA5.CR.3 Understand and apply media, techniques, processes, and concepts of two-dimensional art.
VA5.CN.2 Integrate information from other disciplines to enhance the understanding and production of works of art.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 7:

7-PS1-2. Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.

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

  • State of matter - The distinct forms that different phases of matter take on: solid, liquid, gas and plasma
  • Physical change - A change from one state of matter to another without a change in chemical composition
  • Chemical change - A change that produces one or more new substances and may release energy
  • Substance - A type of matter that has a unique set of properties
  • Material - Relating to, derived from, or consisting of matter
  • Heat - The movement of thermal energy from one place to another
  • Reversible change - A change that can be undone; often called a physical or temporary change
  • Irreversible change - A process that is not reversible
  • Mixtures - A combination of two or more substances that can be separated by physical means
  • Compound - A substance made up of two or more elements that are chemically combined. For example, carbon dioxide is a compound that is chemically combined
  • Oxidize - To undergo a chemical reaction in which a substance combines with oxygen, resulting in a change in its chemical composition

Arts Vocabulary

  • Indigo dye - An organic compound with a distinctive blue color; historically, indigo was a natural dye extracted from plants, and this process was important economically because blue dyes were once rare
  • Indican - The compound that yields indigo blue, is a glycoside: a sugar (in this case a form of glucose) bound to another molecule, indoxyl; when the glycosidic bond is broken, the indoxyl is freed; then the indoxyl compound is oxidized, it becomes blue: indigo blue
  • Shibori - A Japanese manual resist dyeing technique, which produces patterns on fabric
  • Resist - A technique where a substance or material is applied to a surface to prevent certain areas from absorbing paint, dye, or ink; it creates patterns, designs, or textures by "resisting" the medium in specific areas


Materials


Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Review physical and chemical changes.
  • Introduce students to the art of Shibori with images.
    • Have students observe the images using a visual thinking strategy, such as the artful thinking routine of 10x2 or the artful thinking routine of Colors/Shapes/Lines.
      • 10x2 Artful Thinking Routine:
        • Look at the image quietly for at least 30 seconds. Let your eyes wander.
        • List 10 words or phrases about any aspect of the picture.
        • Repeat Steps 1 and 2: Look at the image again and try to add 10 more words or phrases to your list.
      • Colors/Shapes/Lines Artful Thinking Routine:
        • Look at the artwork or object for a moment.
          • What colors do you see?
          • What shapes do you see?
          • What lines do you see?

Tell students that Shibori is a technique that results in both physical and chemical changes.

Work Session

Teacher note: This activity can be done in small groups or as a whole class.

Hand out the physical and chemical changes checklist. Students may complete this individually or in pairs/groups. Students will complete the checklist during the process.

  • Pass out the Indigo Dying Chart to students. Spend a few minutes going over the document.
  • Follow these steps for preparing the indigo:
    • Fill a bucket with four gallons of water.
    • Add the thiox and soda ash to the water while stirring.
    • Add the reduced indigo.
    • Stir in a clockwise motion until indigo is dissolved, reverse the direction and place the lid on the bucket.
    • Let indigo sit for twenty minutes.
  • While the indigo is sitting, demonstrate or show students a video of shibori folding techniques. Students should fold their cloth and bind to create a resist.
  • Remove the lid from the indigo vat and remove the frothy bloom. The bloom is the result of oxygen leaving the vat. Now the vat is ready for dyeing.
  • Put on rubber gloves.
  • Dip the fabric bundle into clean water and wring out.
  • Hold your bundle under the surface of the indigo vat, massaging the dye into the fabric for one minute.
  • Remove the bundle; notice the physical characteristics of the bundle.
  • It should be a yellow color that changes from green to blue as it oxidizes.
    • Ask students to make observations about what is happening to the color and why they think it’s changing.
    • Discuss what it means for something to “oxidize”.
  • The bundle may be dipped multiple times to obtain a deep blue color.
  • Allow the bundle to sit for ten minutes.
  • Rinse the bundle under water.
  • Unbind your bundle and admire your design.
  • Hang to dry.

Closing Reflection

  • Have students reflect on the following questions either in small groups or in a written format:
    • How did engaging in the arts support and build upon your understanding of chemical and physical changes?
    • How did this STEAM activity help you understand chemical and physical changes in the world around you?
    • If you were to go through this artistic process again, what would you do differently? Why?


Assessments

Formative

  • Observations of students in the artistic process
  • Question and answer

Summative

Indigo Dying Chart


DIFFERENTIATION

Acceleration: 

Ask students to predict their shibori pattern based on their folding technique. Compare the predictions and final product.

Remediation:

  • Chunk the lesson by periodically stopping to review the Indigo Dying Chart with students and discuss the physical and chemical changes that are taking place.
  • Allow students to work with a small group or in partners on the Indigo Dying Chart.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Shibori: https://www.seamwork.com/issues/2015/08/shibori-dyeing


CREDITS

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

*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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CLASSY CLASSIFYING OF ARTSY ANIMALS: CREATE A CRITTER 3,5

CREATE A CRITTER

CLASSY CLASSIFYING OF ARTSY ANIMALS:CREATE A CRITTER

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will explore animal attributes by creating a one-of-a-kind critter using the art technique of “exquisite corpse”. The synthesis of knowledge of animal classification in this visual way is both engaging and memorable. Students will write a description of their critter detailing the characteristics of each animal group they integrated into their design. Students will name their animal and present their animal to the class via a “Wanted” poster.

 

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 critter that integrates three different animal parts.
  • I can create an original name for my critter based upon the attributes.
  • I can create a “Wanted” poster for my unique critter that describes its animal characteristics.

Essential Questions

  • How can I apply my knowledge of animal classification to create a new critter using the “exquisite corpse” technique?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 5:

S5L1 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to group organisms using scientific classification procedures.S5L1.a Develop a model that illustrates how animals are sorted into groups (vertebrate and invertebrate) and how vertebrates are sorted into groups (fish, amphibian, reprise, bird, and mammal) using data from multiple sources.

Arts Standards

Grade 5:

VA5.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.VA5.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 3:

3-LS2-1. Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.3-LS3-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have inherited traits that vary within a group of similar organisms.

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.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Vertebrate - An animal that has a backbone or spinal column, which is part of an internal skeleton that supports its body
  • Invertebrate - An animal that does not have a backbone or spinal column
  • Mammal - A warm-blooded vertebrate animal characterized by the presence of hair or fur, the ability to produce milk for its young through mammary glands, and (in most cases) giving live birth
  • Amphibian - A cold-blooded vertebrate animal that typically has a life cycle with both aquatic and terrestrial stages
  • Fish - A cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrate that lives in water and breathes through gills
  • Bird - A warm-blooded vertebrate animal characterized by feathers, beaks (instead of teeth), and the ability to lay eggs with hard shells
  • Reptile - A cold-blooded vertebrate animal that typically has scaly skin and lays eggs with leathery or hard shells
  • Insect - A small invertebrate animal that belongs to the class Insecta; Insects have three main body parts: The head, thorax, and abdomen
  • Classify - To organize or group objects, organisms, or phenomena based on shared characteristics or properties
  • Characteristics - The distinguishing features, traits, or properties of an object, organism, or phenomenon that help to identify or describe it
  • Organism - Any living thing, whether it's a plant, animal, fungus, bacterium, or microorganism, that exhibits the characteristics of life
  • Backbone - A flexible, column-like structure made up of individual bones called vertebrae
  • Warm-blooded - Refers to animals that can regulate and maintain a constant internal body temperature, regardless of the temperature of their surroundings
  • Cold-blooded - Refers to animals whose internal body temperature is largely determined by the temperature of their environment
  • Reproduce - The biological process by which living

Arts Vocabulary

  • Surrealism - A 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images
  • Exquisite Corpse - A method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled (much like a collage)
  • Line - Curves or marks that span a distance between two points
  • Texture - The feel, appearance, or consistency of a surface
  • Shape - The form of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, texture or material composition
  • Space - Any area that an artist provides for a particular purpose, this includes the background, foreground and middleground, and the distances or around, between, and within things
  • Subject matter - The topic dealt with or the subject represented in a work of art

 

Materials

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Show examples of exquisite corpse artwork using https://www.britannica.com/art/exquisite-corpse or drawings by Surrealist artists.
    • Lead students through the See, Think, Wonder artful thinking routine for one of the images. Instruct students to look at the artwork or object for a moment.
      • What do you see?
      • What do you think about what you see?
      • What do you wonder about?
    • Tell students that exquisite corpse drawings were a form of artwork where one artist would draw one portion of a figure, another artist would add another portion without looking at the first portion, and so on.
    • Exquisite corpse drawings were part of the Surrealist art movement.

Work Session

  • Review characteristics/attributes of each vertebrate group (bird, fish, mammal, amphibian, reptile).
  • Tell students that they will be demonstrating their understanding of vertebrate groups through creating exquisite corpses.
  • Review procedures of working with groups and time constraints for the lesson.

Part I–Creating the Exquisite Corpse:

  • Show students how to fold paper so that there are three vertical sections.
  • Each student will roll a die. They will draw the body part according to the number they roll:
  • 1= bird 2 = fish 3 = mammal 4 = amphibian 5 = reptile 6 = invertebrate. For example, if “mammal” is rolled. the student could draw the head of a dog on the top section.
  • Students should focus on communicating the defining characteristics of that group of vertebrates, such as fur, a beak, scales, etc.
  • After a specified amount of time, the student will fold the paper so that only the middle section is showing (IMPORTANT–the student needs to continue the top part of the drawing slightly into the next section so that the next student knows where to start drawing) and pass to the next student. The students will again roll the die, and draw the torso of an animal that represents that group.
  • After a specified amount of time, the student will fold the paper so that only the bottom section is showing and pass to the next student. The students will again roll the die and draw the bottom (feet, tail) of an animal that represents that group.
  • The last student in the group will open the paper to reveal the three sections.

Part 2–Creating the “Wanted” Poster:

  • The student will take the created critter and develop a name for the critter using all three of the animals in the picture.
  • The student can now outline with markers if desired, add color and an environmental background for the critter.
  • Each section of the critter should be finished using different textures and colors accurate to that group of vertebrates.
  • This paper will then be turned into a “wanted poster”. The student will write a description using some characteristics of all of the animal parts. (E.g. Be on the lookout for a missing “Ligerdile” (lion, tiger, crocodile) that has escaped.  It has fur, is warm blooded and might be near the eggs it laid. It was last seen…..)

Classroom Tips:

  • Encourage students to consider placement and size of each body part; center each part; draw large enough to show texture and details, etc.
  • The teacher should emphasize that while the drawing does not have to be realistic, it should include enough detail to show characteristics of the vertebrate group.

Closing Reflection

  • Students should reflect on the following questions at the conclusion of the lesson. This can be done as a discussion or in written form.
    • From using the exquisite corpse technique, what did you learn about animal classification?
    • How realistic was this–does this sort of cross-breeding happen in real ecosystems? Can we brainstorm some examples of this?
    • What sort of adaptations could we envision these critters having? How would these help them survive in their ecosystem?

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Class discussion
  • Teacher should check in with small groups as they work on their critter to ensure they understand the attributes of each animal group
  • Questioning

Summative

Project Rubric for the “Wanted Poster”

 

Differentiation

Acceleration: 

  • Students can use ChatterKids to make their critters come to life and share their descriptions and characteristics that they wrote.
  • Students can create a three-dimensional model of the critter by molding aluminum foil for the body and gluing textured materials on the surface.
  • Students can do additional research on the different types of vertebrate groups prior to making their exquisite corpse critters.
  • Students can write a story in which their critter is the main character.

Remediation:

  • Students will be provided with different pictures of invertebrates and vertebrates cut up into three sections (the head, torso, and legs). They will create a creature by gluing down the parts of the pictures they choose. Students will roll a dice. They will paste down the body parts according to the number they roll:
    1= bird 2 = fish 3 = mammal 4 = amphibian 5 = reptile 6 = invertebrate
  • Writing Accommodations:
    • Label critter’s characteristics directly on the poster using a word bank provided by the teacher.
    • Students may type their critter descriptions in OneNote using the “Dictate” feature. Students can then copy the description to their poster. (OneNote > Learning Tools Add-in > Dictate).
    • Students can write a longer description including how their critter’s characteristics contribute to their ideal habitat.

 

Credits

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

Ideas contributed by: Sarah Weiss, Virginia Diederich, Abby Hernandez, Edited by Jessica Espinoza, Edited by Dr. Carla Cohen

*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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ECO-EXPRESSIONS: MONET MASTERPIECES 4-5

MONET MASTERPIECES

ECO-EXPRESSIONS: MONET MASTERPIECES

Learning Description

Students will analyze the Water Lilies series by Claude Monet inspired by his garden in Giverny, France. Students will then create their own paintings that depict the ecosystem. Students will be asked to visually represent the roles of consumers, producers, and decomposers, as well as their energy sources, through their artwork. Students will be asked to reflect on how they synthesized their knowledge of the ecosystem in their impressionistic paintings.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 4,5
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can identify consumers, producers, decomposers and their energy sources.
  • I can apply impressionistic techniques while painting an ecosystem landscape.
  • I can analyze the relationships of the different roles in the ecosystem
  • I can interpret the various roles in the ecosystem by making body movement and voice choices.

Essential Questions

  • How can I demonstrate my understanding of the interworking of an ecosystem through visual arts?
  • What are consumers, producers, and decomposers, and what are their energy sources?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 4:

S4L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
a.Develop a model to describe the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a community.
b.Develop simple models to illustrate the flow of energy through a food web/food chain beginning with sunlight and including producers, consumers, and decomposers.
c.Design a scenario to demonstrate the effect of a change on an ecosystem.
d. Use printed and digital data to develop a model illustrating and describing changes to the flow of energy in an ecosystem when plants or animals become scarce, extinct or overabundant.

Arts Standards

Grade 4:

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.
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.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 5:

5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the 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 5: I can interpret and evaluate the meaning of an artwork

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Bacteria - Microorganisms that can make you sick, but also can help you digest food; found everywhere in nature
  • Carnivore - An animal that eats only other animals
  • Camouflage - Process of animals changing their colors, patterns, and shapes to disguise themselves from predators or prey
  • Community - All the organisms in an ecosystem
  • Consumer - An animal that gets its energy by eating plants or other animals
  • Decay - To break down into simpler materials
  • Decomposers - A living thing that breaks down the remains of dead organisms
  • Ecology - The study of how living and nonliving factors interact
  • Ecosystem - A system made up of an ecological community of living things interacting with their environment especially under natural conditions
  • Energy source - A source from which useful energy can be extracted or recovered either directly or by means of a conversion or transformation process (e.g. solid fuels, liquid fuels, solar energy, biomass, etc.)
  • Extinct - A species that is gone forever because all of its kind have died
  • Food chain/web - The path of energy in an ecosystem from plants to animals (from producers to consumers)
  • Habitat - The place where an animal or plant lives
  • Herbivore - An animal that eats plants
  • Hibernate - When animals go into a deep sleep
  • Interdependence - When living things in an ecosystem need each other to meet their needs
  • Microorganisms - Very small living things
  • Omnivore - An animal that eats both plants and animals
  • Organism - A living thing
  • Photosynthesis - Process through which plants make food
  • Plankton - Small organisms in water that are producers and give off oxygen
  • Producer - A living thing (such as a green plant) that makes its food from simple inorganic substances (such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen) and many of which are food sources for other organisms

Arts Vocabulary

  • 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
  • Color - An element of art with three properties: 1. Hue, or the name of the color (e.g. red, yellow, etc.); 2. Intensity, or the purity and strength of the color, such as brightness or dullness; and 3. Value, or the lightness or darkness of a color
  • Emphasis - In a composition, this refers to developing points of interest to pull the viewer's eye to important parts of the body of the work. A focal point is an example of showing emphasis.
  • Subject matter - Refers to the things that are represented in a work of art such as people, buildings, and trees
  • 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.
  • Impressionism - A painting style originating in France in the 1860s that depicts the visual impression of the moment, especially in terms of the shifting effect of light and color


Materials


Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • The students will view the following video clip of Claude Monet painting in his flower garden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJE4QUNgaeg.
  • Share the following information with the class: “Water Lilies” is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionist painter Claude Monet. The paintings depict Monet's flower garden at Giverny and were the main focus of Monet's artistic production during the last thirty years of his life.

Work Session

  • As a whole group, view “Claude Monet’s Garden” (4 minutes 3 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2KGkK2wcbk. In order to cut down on time, you could view the clip from the 1 minute 55 second mark till the 3 minute 6 second, as this part of the video focuses on the ponds and water lily plants.
  • Pause the video clip every once in a while to ask the class what types of ecosystems they see. Create a list of the producers, consumers, and decomposers that inhabit these gardens.
  • Once the list is complete, ask the students where the producers, consumers, and decomposers received their energy from. What is their energy source?
  • Project an image of the real water lilies in Giverny and Monet’s painted version.
    • Ask students what colors and textures they see.
    • Ask students how the painting is different from the photograph.
    • Discuss with the class the artistic methods Monet used in his paintings, such as big brush strokes, heavy use of oil based paint, etc.
    • This would be a good opportunity to collaborate with the visual arts teacher at your school.
  • Distribute mixed media paper and pencils.
  • Have students sketch out their own version of Monet’s water lilies on their paper.
    • They will include a water source, plants, as well as animals that may live in this type of habitat. In essence they will be creating an ecosystem with consumers, producers, and decomposers. The students must also include the energy sources as well in their painting.
    • Pass out water cups, paint brushes, and tempera paint pre-poured on paper plates.
    • Students will then use their tempera paint to paint in the style of Monet (broad brush strokes).
      • Alternative: Students can use oil pastels to create large “brush strokes” by making short, dashed lines with their oil pastels.
    • Students will write an “Artist Statement” paragraph about the piece they created. The statement should describe how the artist integrated science vocabulary and concepts into the painting.

Once the paintings have dried, host a “Gallery Walk” with the class. The students will take a tour of each painting. As they view the paintings they will discuss and identify the consumers, producers, and decomposers, as well as energy sources.

Closing Reflection

  • Facilitate a discussion around the following questions:
    • How did painting a Monet style painting help you better understand the roles/responsibilities of producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem?
    • Why is the energy source for producers, consumers, and decomposers an important part of an ecosystem?


Assessments

Formative

  • Class discussion, group discussions, and reflection questions
  • Anecdotal notes when observing students working in small groups

Summative

  • Monet style ecosystem painting (Monet Style Ecosystem Painting Rubric)
  • Students can accurately identify producers, consumers, and decomposers.
  • Students can properly order producers, consumers, and decomposers in the food chain/web.


Differentiation

Acceleration: 

After discussing the ecosystem shown in Monet’s “Water Lilies”, allow students to choose their own ecosystem to paint.

Remediation:

  • Provide students with a graphic organizer to identify the various parts of the ecosystem. Have students draw an image to represent each part.
  • Allow students to use alternative materials to paint in which they can achieve the same Impressionistic effect, such as oil pastels.


Additional Resources
  • The Magical Garden of Claude Monet by Laurence Anholt
  • Who Was Claude Monet? by Ann Waldron
  • Linnea in Monet’s Garden by Cristina Bjork
  • Monet Paints a Day by Julie Danneberg


    • Credits

    U.S. Department of Education- STEh3 + the Art of Integrated Learning

     

    *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

     

    Back to Lessons