Hands-on approach to LINE

-




I wanted a lesson for my fourth grade that wouldn't take five weeks... I came up with this lesson introducing the students to the idea of line. We talked about what line is and what it isn't. We soon found out that line is way more than what it is not. I used scratch paper for the lesson. I figured by fourth grade the students had used scratch paper before... I guessed wrong. This was a super plus for me because when I used the scratch stick for the first time, my students eyed lighted up. It was Christmas and Thanksgiving in one.... The students were so excited to be given a ruler and stick. I had the students trace their hand with pencil (lightly). Next, the students took the ruler and drew the horizontal lines. When they came to the outline of their hand they skipped it and continued on the opposite side. Once the students finished the horizontal lines we talked about the impact of curved lines. Curved lines can make an object POP or look as if it is 3-D. The students started at the wrist and continued to the tip of the fingers. It was a two class period lesson ... But the students loved it and the other grades react to the projects every time they walk past them. I love getting compliments from the other teachers, but the compliments should go to the students... Nice job!

Comments

  1. RenDecember 10, 2011 at 2:07 PM

    Hi Matthew! Thanks for your comment on my blog. I like your rendition of the picasso collage guitars as well. This one really stands out, I have a mountain of this scratch paper and this would be a great way to utilize it. I will try to link your blog to mine if that would help you out! This has been a really busy past few weeks so I haven't added many lessons but I'm planning on uploading some pictures soon! Take care :]

    ReplyDelete
  2. Katie MorrisJanuary 10, 2012 at 6:25 PM

    I like the approach you used- skipping over the hand until the straight lines were done. I think that would be a lot less confusing for my students than hopping over the fingers and coming back down.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mr. RJanuary 10, 2012 at 6:26 PM

    Matthew. Welcome to the blogging world... It is nice to see another male elementary art teacher... I love your scratch light hands. They are sweet....

    Keep up the blogging. And posting


    Mr. R.
    http://mymessyartroom.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. LaurieJanuary 10, 2012 at 11:18 PM

    What a great idea to use scratch paper! I have wanted to this project with a group of kids I work with- they are going to have a great time doing it this way.

    ReplyDelete
  5. susan dee huttonMarch 5, 2012 at 7:45 PM

    Fantastic idea for both 3_D drawing skills and for introducing the skill of sgrafitto! I love it! Thank you. Soon, (after our big ES art show) I will try it here at Saigon South International School with grades 3 and 4.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousAugust 21, 2012 at 4:43 AM

    These are wonderful - a really easy way for the kids to understand exactly what they are doing. (This is really important for me as I have children from Prep to year 7 in one class). I will be trying it out with my classes here (Australia) - I know they will love it!! Please come and visit me at dreampainters.wordpress.com :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eat Your Fruits And Veggies Mosaics!

-
Image
Pear Cherries Pear Orange (top view)  Banana   Green Pepper Lime Mosaic Fruits and Veggies! After finishing the toothbrushes I went right into another observation drawing hoping that we can continue to draw things LARGE! The students looked at a plastic fruit or veggie at their tables. The requirements were that the object had to have two sides / parts go off the edge of the paper, and it had to take up most of the paper space. I was worried, but soon blown away. The students drew outline drawings of the objects and outlined them with a wide black sharpie. The next class we looked at multiple examples of mosaic artwork from all around the world. The students  got the point quickly (NO PIECE OF PAPER CAN TOUCH ANOTHER PIECE). We looked at the highlights and shades (student had to use at least two or three different colors). By the way, great project if you have a large box of scrap paper. Students picked the colors and cut each piece of paper
Read more

Leonardo Da Vinci Flying Machines

-
Image
            Rocket Man             My fourth graders learned about Leonardo Da Vinci's many talents. I have to give mad props to my buddy Derek, an art teacher in Peshtigo WI (http://greatartdoors.blogspot.com/) for this lesson. Derek did this with his fourth graders (check out his blog) and used paper straws and other different materials. I used wood dowels, paper, string, twisty-ties, plates, hot glue, rice paper, cardboard, and plastic. I started the lesson by introducing the students to Da Vinci's many talents... science, military, and artist. We focused on his two studies on flight and their drawn models. The students examined the drawing, and then looked at drawn models from the Wright Brothers and airplane models drawn up till today. The students started by drawing their own blueprints showing a side, top, and front or back views. After their 2-D model was approved, the students started building their own flyin
Read more

5th Grade Emphasis… Work In Progress

-
Image
My examples of layered art objects (top right), emphasis example (lower right), and colored object example.  My students are close to finishing their EMPHASIS project with an object observation. Students made a layered black and white drawing of two different art objects. They started by tracing each object with pencil, followed by a "still-life" observation drawing to fill in the inner lines and details of each object. The lesson makes students aware of where things are on the page. The layered affect adds depth to the composition. When the students finished the drawing, we talked about an emphasis, and added color to ONE item on the page. Students used colored pencil to add color to their item. We are still working on them at the moment, but I was excited to show them off. Finished projects are soon to follow. 
Read more